My dealer let me take an 04' LS430 for several days to see if I like the car. I must say that I will be dropping the car off tomorrow after having it for a day. The car is a very nice well refined Luxury sedan and I would never compare it to my GS. But at this point in my life I am happier with a Sport luxury sedan besides my LX gives me a sense of relaxation when I drive it very much like the LS. The new LS has been on my mind for several weeks and I would have never lived it down if I didn't take one home for the night. All and All the car is super quite and handles well for a big car....BTW the Technology is the best I have seen even more so than your luxury mobiles with prices tags north of $100k. At the end of the day I must say that I like driving the GS "Specially with the S/C"

 

i agree, even if your a pats fan but i drive my friends ls430 and it is very nice but i am 23 and need the gs power and feal. maybe when i turn 75 i'll get a ls other then that the gs rocks.

 

... got an LS for myself, but I enjoy the sporty feel of GS everytime I drive my bro's GS3... handling department is just totally different

 

yup, the LS is awesome, but i won'tgive up my GS for the LS yet. i would love to own both. the GS is just faster

 

I'm looking to trade my SC430 for either the new GS or new LS in 2006, depending on how they turn out.

Sure the LS is targeting customers above my age group, but I will have no problem with buying one as long as I like it, & I don't care what others think. The GS will be sportier, but it's also appealing to me getting the flagship model where you get all the best features & technology a brand has to offer.

 

I don't think GS/LS can replace that luxury feel of SC though different class.

 

You mean SC430? Either way, LS is easily the most luxurious Lexus. I found the SC430 too cramped and surprisingly slow.

 

Yes, the LS is the most luxurious in terms of feature contents, but to me the SC430 is very fast for such a heavy car( heavier than your GS), & under ideal conditions can do 0-60 in 5.9 - 6.2 sec. It's also very comfortable for a guy my size - 5'10", 185 lb.

 

no way man, the SC430 is very nice but no way i can match the LS430 UL (first time ever i don't agree with wei, haha)

 

I agree, the SC is a beautiful car and i love how the interior looks but it is very small inside, and I didnt feel comfortable in it. The LS on the other hand has the most comfortable and luxurious interior that i ever sat in. The LS is def the top sedan for luxury.

 

mm I am 5'10 and fit in very comfortably in SC430, only downside is I cannot adjust my back low enough. Daym you tall people :P I have drvien/been in LS430 ultra Luxury for quite a few times, the experience is true to its name But I feel like I am pass 50 driving it.

When I drive SC the luxury is different, all the automatic fold down wood pieces beautifully connected the whole console, and I have a lot of fun with the convertible. You can't really own SC as your daily driver car, perhaps that's why the luxury level is a bit different to me. Speed wise if we really want fast cars, we wouldn't even look into Lexus I really love new LS430, imo it prevails S430 or 745i anyday, in look/luxury.

On the side note, when we bought SC430 last year, the 03 LS430 UL surprisingly costs very closely in the range, the margin of bargain you are able to gain upon LS is incredible

 

The bottom line with all of these models is that they are in their own class i.e. GS, LS, SC....I personally own the GS, SC and the LX. and currently have the LS for a demo. Luxury the winner is the LS hands down!!! For sport driving and feeling the winner "stock" is the SC. Now throw some mods into the picture and the GS wins hands down. I personally enjoy driving the SC the most at this point simply becuase it is a new car and I love the effortless driving. But the only thing that comes close to the feeling you get when driving the GS with mods like, Braking, S/C, suspension etc....it an E55 or M5 imho.

 

How does the 04' LS feel in terms of power compared to your GS?

 

it's just as fast, but to me the pedal response and stuff are not as responsive as my gs4

 

I wouldn't give my GS up for an LS, specially now with the S/C, but the 04 LS is a very very nice car.

We had a recent meet sponsored and venued by a local dealership. One of our members works there as a Master tech. Anyway, he brought out the 04 LS430. Personally, I was impressed on how the car looked just sitting there. It has a ton of features only found in cars $20-30K more. It has innovative features like the headlights and Navi. It is also definetly the flagship in the Lexus stall. It has very small details that are only found in a flagship car. Performance wise, I probably would not be so impressed but it is probably because I'm spoiled in my GS now. Luxury wise, I would put the new LS against any of the more expensive cars in it's class. I just wish Lexus would make the same car with more power (to go against the MB and BMW's of the world). I bet with only that change....all the german auto makers would quickly go back to the drawing boards to revamp their powerhouses. As it stands, Lexus seems to maintain their focus on Luxury rather than performance. That's cool, because we all know keeping a car stock is sacraligious around these parts anyway. I just hate that MB and BMW have no competition in their AMG and M series from Lexus.

The 04 LS430 is nice looking, well thought out car. Tons of amenities and Lexus pedigree to boot.