JDR76

After reading so much on here about how small the LS500 interior is, I was actually pretty surprised by its size when I tried it out for myself. Coming from a GS, it felt pretty huge for me, but in comparison to the previous LS or the competition, I can see how it feels limiting to some.

signdetres

Interesting. I had the opposite experience. After also coming from from the GS, when I drove the LS500, it felt a bit tight & didn't feel all that much larger than the GS up-front, especially in the headroom area (this is an area I struggle with in the GS as well). It felt like what I'd imagine a next-generation GS would have felt like (as next gen vehicles tend to increase in size, slightly). Didn't feel like a jump from mid-size to full-size as expected.

I was unable to sit upright in the rear seats of the LS without craning my neck and had to recline the rear seat quite a bit to sit comfortably back there. Lexus does not seem to design their sedans with taller drivers in mind, in my opinion.

JDR76

Probably because I'm not tall.

I have odd torso vs legs proportions. I am 5'10", but my inseam is 36", which means I have long legs but a short torso. For me, headroom is NEVER an issue in any car. Leg room is a bigger deal for my body type.

peteharvey

5LS has bags of rear legroom - though not totally capacious like a long wheelbase S Class.
5LS rear doors taper a lot to compromise the rear shoulder room.
5LS headroom is low.

The trunk is reasonably long and wide, but way too shallow - despite having no spare tire whatsoever - even in the LS500 gasoline model.

AJT123

My LS430 feels more spacious inside than the 500. I've always thought the sheer amount of head, shoulder, and legroom for the front passengers in the 430 is ridiculous for a car that's not even that big. Back seat feels about the same as the 500, except the 430 has much more headroom (duh, it's a product of the somewhat frumpy design).

The materials inside the 500 are stunning, however.

It's just too small. Another reason I think people buy the huge SUVs is bc the way cars are designed now, space is compromised. There is no shortage of room in a Tahoe or Expedition; that's a big part of the appeal.

MattyG

The LS 500h took the midde road so that's why reviewers at car magazines don't praise it and gush over it. MB took the "go big" route and stuck a turbo V6 in there in addition to the battery pack. They would like yo to believe that it's the equivalent of the regular 560, which is of course, a ttV8.

BMW parks a small turbo-hamster motor in the engine bay, with just 2.0 liters that have to be pumped up to 255 hp in the 740e. So they use gearing to move the big 7 series around in addition to the batteries.

Lexus went the middle way. They didn't stick the regular LS' V6 turbo in the hybrid and went with a NA V6 and put in the additional oomph from the battery power. The LS 500h won't sell in big numbers anyway, so one has to wonder if they have something else in the pipeline like all electric - if they do, they better get to it.

UDel

I wonder if this could possible be good news for the justification for a future GS. Lexus may have assumed the LS500 would get the GS sales from buyers who want something nicer/RWD/AWD over a ES but since sales are so low for the LS they may figure they still need some higher end sedan above the ES that can get some more volume then what the LS is getting/going to get.

AJT123

I've said it before I'll say it again, this is the last LS.

mmarshall

....or, Lexus marketers can just admit that the reason the latest model is not selling is, not because the sedan market is dying, but that the new LS simply went too far in its redesign, strayed too far from previous models, and bring back something more along the lines of previous versions. The LS doesn't have to be dropped....if it is, then Lexus will have made the same mistake that Ford and GM have done by dropping many of their sedans.

UDel

Why would they do that because they screwed up on one model? The LS has been with Lexus since it started, I don't see them killing it just because one gen is not selling. Is Lexus just going to sell Avalon based ES's with a bunch of CUV's and a coupe or two and dump the GS, LS, possibly the IS? Might as well not even bother as a Luxury brand if that is all they are going to do.

They should just learn from their mistakes, make this LS a very short gen. 4 years or so and design something more along the lines of what the LS460 was, a S class competitor.

I don't think anything can really save this one because the styling is just so exaggerated, can't do much with the interior either, I am not even sure giving it a V8 now will help much as they will then just significantly raise the price for the V8 on a car the market has already basically rejected base on other things

mikedozz

They would never drop the LS, it's the flagship, just do a quick redesign in 4-5 years like the previous poster mentioned and save the sports design and theme for the GS market...simple.

SW17LS

This will not be the last LS, everybody needs to relax lol.

Toys4RJill

What makes you so sure?

Bob04

I never thought the LS would be the car we see in showrooms today, so nothing would surprise me any more.

mmarshall

Don't bet the farm on it, Steve. I wouldn't put anything past auto marketers these days. They seem to live in a world to themselves.