Striker223

This has been a long time coming and I have already compared my other D4 to the XF40 however I think I am going to revisit this again in the light of other threads comparing German cars to others as well as the LS500 etc....and also because quite frankly there is such a gulf between a 12 cyl car and the "normal" versions and the perceived difference between Lexus and the "normal" German full size cars. The comparison has vastly changed vs when I did a similar review of the 460 vs my 2015 since the former is now on real tires, has an LSD, and has a tune plus 100% mechanical function with all new suspension etc. I feel that this is fair since unlike post 2013 where Lexus just stopped trying during these years there was still parity and only with the top specs do the Germans walk away.

I'll preface this with saying I love both of them and I also firmly think the XF40 is the last true flagship Lexus made and is as special of a car as things like the S-Class/A8/7-series but in a very very different way and with a "limit" in the sense they can't compare at the max level in certain aspects. This is not for lack of ability in my opinion, it's because that is simply not the goal/experience the makers wanted to accomplish. This is not a one sided comparison, though you can make the entirely valid argument that perhaps it is since I have not used the LS in a month due to the Audi.

Non-driving inputs

I'll start off with comparing all the user inputs that do not involve driving the car, so no steering/brake/ACC/etc info just purely everything else you would use when operating the car that is not part of the act of driving. Everything about the Lexus is softer and In my opinion more refined, all switches have a oiled feeling and a "rolling" actuation breakover. When you press a control it has a feeling of pushing a heavy object though oil with a letoff of resistance once you activate the control, all controls feel like this with the turn signal really exhibiting the greatest point of contrast vs the Audi. In the A8 the turn signal has an extremely defined "snap" to it's movements and a audible click when coming back to center or moving up/down. This extends to most of the controls in the A8 but oddly enough the light control dial has the same smooth feel of the Lexus rotating controls but none of the other controls share this. The MMI and HVAC control ***** have VERY distinct detents and a "click" akin to a mechanical keyboard at every step along a 360* rotation, in fact near every button/key in the car has this "click" feeling and sound to it that leaves no doubt if you activated it's function or not. I have found I do not like this nearly as much since it almost feels as if the control is cracking/shattering in some fashion, I will concede that it aligns with the brand image of precision technology but I think it is out of place in an otherwise insanely quiet, refined car. The worst offender is the right side steering wheel volume control wheel, if you click it ("press" is a bad description of the action) it feels like you snapped it off inside the wheel, I find it to be jarring. There is not any attempt at subtly in the control feedback on the Audi whereas in the Lexus if you turn the feedback "beeps" off you could never hear any of the switchgear.

The door handles and latches also have a very different feel, once again the Lexus is heavy but very smooth with no real felt feedback and very even weighting unlike the A8 with a very defined point of resistance when the latch actually acts to open the door. When closing the doors there is a huge difference, the soft close on Lexus is near silent and will engage at the slightest touch of the door with a sense of serenity that encourages you to use it just to watch it work. The Audi system requires you to push the door closed to a first "stop" that emits a very loud "Click" and then an easily noticeable motor whine starts a series of clicks until the door is closed. According to the cars respective brochures I think this is simply a difference of intent, the A8 describes the system as finishing pulling the door closed for you aka you are in the car closing the door before you leave but the Lexus literature implies you are closing the door when leaving the car. This would follow my next observation of vastly different closure sounds and air pressure change upon closing........the Lexus has an extremely quiet door when swung closed from outside and doesn't require much force to close from outside or inside, additionally the door "pull" on the inside provides much more leverage than in the Audi allowing easier closing and at moderate speeds there is not uncomfortable pressure change generated. The A8 on the other hand had a door with much more aggressive stops and requires more force to close (not open though) combined with a very noticeable latch strike noise and "TUHD" even with a normal effort close, there is also a high pressure wave if you close the door from the inside that is noticeable in your inner ear. Closing the door from the inside requires more force due to handle position and style if you want the door to fully close, this is why you can have the unpleasant air pressure change.....however the door is easier than the Lexus to pull to the first latch "strike" point that triggers the soft close. I personally think that this is how it is supposed to be used and the motor noise when inside both cars when soft close is active is quieter in the A8. The powered trunks are the same way, the Lexus is slow and controlled the whole way with a very quiet latch vs the A8 having a fast, distinct motion with a thump at the end when closing. The Audi caps off the closing event with an again, distinct latch actuator noise.

The small quality of life items also follow this trend, the cup holder cover on the Lexus is smooth, slow, and silent vs a quicker action with felt catch when closing on the A8. Glove boxes have the same differences. Window controls in the Lexus are smooth with only a moderate "bump" in resistance to access the auto functions, in the Audi the switches have no resistance up to the "break" point that sounds and feels like a "click" with a 2nd "click" allowing auto up/down. One point I will totally give the win to the 460 though is the sunroof controls, they feel cheap and out of a Passat on the A8 to me...I don't know why there is a disconnect there but you can tell the overhead switches are not inline with the rest of the car. Overall I prefer the design decision Lexus chose, for the most part Audi did an exceptional job as well but I do not like the style as much.

If I had to sum it up the LS is oiled glass, silk, and a heavy silence over a mountain vs the A8s chilled metal, a custom rifle bolt action, and quick motions in an otherwise dead silent and still room.

Driving inputs/impressions

This is going to be an interesting section due to the simple fact the LS needs 3500-4000 rpm to match the acceleration the W12 generates at 2000-2300 rpm, in terms of outright performance there is just no contest since the 1UR makes less peak TQ than the W12 makes literally off idle. I'm not going to concentrate on that though since it's painfully obvious, instead I am going to focus on how the power is delivered and the interaction between the drivers inputs and the cars reactions to them. I'll get the other obvious difference out of the way as well.....the body control on the LS460 is just not in the same league as the A8, on the softest setting possible the Audi is about twice as tight as the Lexus in terms of allowed roll and movement. Right so now that the glaringly obvious differences are addressed lets move on lol!

The cars both exhibit a sense of extreme ease and willingness to move at any RPM with minimal throttle, you never feel like you are having to rev or push the cars with the W12 feeling like it is asleep/annoyed you would ask for RPM since that is "unnecessary " and indeed the Audi barely ever downshifts in normal traffic even if you need to go from 30 to 50 and RPMs are only at 1200. In comfort mode the A8 simply lets the car pickup the 20 mph with no need to waste a gear change since a minor increase in throttle blade opening is enough to access about 400 engine TQ. The Lexus is forced to downshift a gear or two and smoothly picks up speed and then switches back to about the same running RPM, both cars are calm and collected with no jumpiness or a false sense of eagerness nor a façade of power the engines can't back up like many 6 cyl cars oft present.

However the strange result of this is that the cars feel nearly the same in casual traffic. The Audi hides it's speed so well however if you were not paying attention you will easily be going 20-40 mph faster, the experience is so refined and controlled on top of how insulated and silent the chassis is that it honestly makes the LS460 feel like how the LS makes normal cars feel. The total lack of RPM required and resultant engine vibration etc lends the whole thing an EV quality but with superior silence as a result of the rest of the cars attributes. Both engines however like to rev and do so smoothly with no gaps in the power out to redline, the response is about equal but the Lexus most certainly has the advantage in this comparison since the W12 needs to be carbon cleaned and tuned to really achieve the same snap response.

Steering is very interesting to compare and from a input smoothness/feedback I have to give it to the EPS system in the Lexus. The Audi still uses a hydraulic pump with the W12 engine but that is covered under the layers of a variable intermediate rack similar to VGRS and computer controlled boost levels, still the calibration and overall system smoothness is superior in the LS460 in terms of feel when at low speeds or maneuvering. Both cars react instantly to corrections/turn in but the Lexus will have the body roll against the direction of the turn, I like this to some extent since it is a point of feedback as to what the chassis is up to while the A8 just isolates it all away and leaves you with a very uncommunicative event when in comfort mode. It's strange, almost like a Miata effect in terms of transmitted feedback and involvement in the LS. The Audi is just isolated to a fault until you switch over the drive mode to dynamic and it stiffens out to the point you swear it was a different car. Sport vs standard mode in an XF40 makes nearly no difference from what I have experienced in other cars including F-sports, in the Audi it becomes like having a 2nd car on hand that is 50% smaller and lighter with a heavy, direct steering that transmits everything. The A8 overall is more of a car that wants you to drive it harder to receive feedback, if you try and go around really laid back and slow you almost get a sense of contempt from the car that you are wasting it's time. The LS always gives you some info and never feels annoyed with how you decide to drive it, expecting to push it extremely hard being the exception.

The W12 hides it's speed so exceptionally you don't really get a sense for just how hard you a pushing the car until you stop and think "Huh, I just went 55 though a roundabout" and were not alarmed at all due to just how damn well it drives in dynamic mode, it lives for the extreme and really comes into it's own at that level. If you try this type of stuff in other cars you will crash. The engine ALWAYS has a wall of torque and never, ever has a delay or confused moment and the 12 cyl soundtrack is freaking amazing at 4k+ I can't stress enough just how engaging to drive the W12 engine is even vs my 4.0TT car that is faster under 100mph.


The XF40 has every advantage in this comparison as well, it has 100% new suspension and really good tires vs "who knows" on the Audi since I can't stop driving it enough to actually inspect it. Even so the Audi walks away when you really start asking a lot of the cars but the Lexus is always willing to walk in step with you while imparting a sense of solid confidence, I can't really pick a favorite but I will say if I am in the mood to really drive I know I'm going with the German car. If I'm going on a trip I very well might take the LS instead.

NVH/isolation

Oh boy. This is going to be contentious I'm sure since the LS460 has a reputation for being an isolation chamber on wheels but I have to hands down hand this to the A8. Unlike my last comparison between a LWB 4.0 car and my SWB 460 the reference I am using this time around is a 2014 LWB LS as well as my 07 SWB vs the W12 spec Audi with the end result of the Audi definitively defeating both of them in near all aspects. The top trim W12 has exclusive sound deadening that none of the other D4s have and this difference is not something that can be ignored or overcome by cars that cost 100k less, the "lesser" cars do however hold their own in a very unexpected area....

The engines. Yep, the W12 is not any smoother than the 1UR engine in it's current state of needing a carbon clean and possible motor mounts. Lexus did one hell of a good job with the LS460s V8 for smoothness throughout the rev range even when cold, the W12 needs a while to warm up to be compared but when warm it is impossible to tell the car is on. This may (and hopefully should) invert once I have gotten around to actually maintaining the new car but as it sits smoothness is not an advantage to the W12 from the perspective of idle smoothness and noise. The difference would come down to the fact the W12 never needs more than 2300 rpm in any normal situation including on ramps, the lack of RPM allows it to remain totally in the background. Engine tone however is a very clear advantage to the W12, there is just no masking the 4 extra cylinders and the smoothing effect they have on the induction noise when getting to high RPM. The 12 cyl engine actually becomes calmer and perhaps quieter? the higher you go in the rev range vs the V8s usual ascending fury. My preference is the V8 but the W12 is simply so unique I have to give it the win. The Audi also has FAR superior direct injection noise suppression, you NEVER hear the injectors if the hood is closed vs in the LS460 with the ever present specter ticking away just on the other side of the firewall if you stop and listen.

Tire noise and wind noise are not the strong points of an LS460 unless you performed the wind noise fix, if that fix is done then it becomes a wash with the defining difference being tire noise. On both of the 460s the wheel wells are not at all the same as on an A8, the combination of plastic, felt, metal, and underside tray materials on the Lexus cars is very high quality and good at their jobs but can't compare to the brilliant, if not somewhat strange way the Germans decided to use to nearly totally eliminate tire noise. The A8 has no inner fender. There is nothing between the tires themselves and the engine bay fuse boxes, coolant tank, wires, etc other than a 1/4 inch thick felt type material pressed into the shape of a fender liner. This "liner" is free to flex and move to some extent and acts like a massive sound absorber with no solid connection to the vehicle body/core structure to act as a conduit for vibrations or noise. The pros to this are numerous....it is very very quiet, it is very easy to clean off or service the car, it's overall lighter than a metal inner fender, and patching it is possible. The disadvantage is if you run over something it can be launched THROUGH the liners and into the engine bay, ask me how I know.....anyway the result of this and the felt underlines is nearly no tire noise at all even with much larger tires and 2 more inches of rim.

Now at the risk of sounding like the Lexus has no plus sides lets move on to interior NVH/transmitted forces.

On the inside and in the drivers seat the LS460 is able to really show off it's party trick of simply "removing" certain unpleasantness that you KNOW should be there on certain areas of road. Even though both cars have nearly the same suspension systems the LS somehow, though the body dynamics, mounts, rubber bushing types, or choice in mounting locations is able to just outright not allow much to get to you though the seat or vehicle body. This may be more of an issue of the A8 is so controlled normally that you just "notice" anything that gets though more easily but I really suspect the soft nature of the LS allows it to absorb and "glide" over annoying imperfections. The armrests just never seem to transmit anything or vibrate/shake at all, this extends to the whole car really....the Audi is very close to the same but sometimes there will be a slight vibration allowed to come though the car under certain impacts.

The last thing I will remark on is overall isolation in the sense of how much awareness you have of how fast you are traveling or not, and the same at lower speeds. The Audi wins at high speed due to the flatter chassis control/lack of feedback in comfort mode. 110mph feels like 80mph in the A8 vs the LS460, however at lower speeds the Audi feels "busier" as if the chassis has no flex at all and allows itself to be effected by the road more easily. The LS has that signature Lexus "glide" at lower speeds that the Audi doesn't really have the ability to replicate unless it's going at least 40/50 mph. I was really reminded of this today on the way back home from the range on the 23 onramp, the LS just floated over the imperfections without transmitting the shock at all, on the exact same section that I drove two days ago in the A8 I felt vibrations from the impact in the seat bottom.

Ride quality/smell/materials

Ride quality is a mixed bag with both cars. They both have strong points and weak points, from a practical perspective the LS is probably the better of the two if it has air suspension since you don't really need the performance the A8 gives at 70/80/120 mph......however you do really need air on the LS to even make this comparison at all. The main reason for this and honestly the real differentiating factor between an XF40 and D4 is that the air suspensions can dampen out certain shocks, body movements, and changes in overall vehicle attitude that will otherwise result in your body in the seat being moving around in certain ways vs not. I am NOT referring to "felt" vibrations or bumps, I am only referencing things like your head and torso positions changing relative to the car interior cell. Air suspension DRAMATICLY reduces these events and outright eliminates them in the same way the LS460 suspension "removes" certain NVH from the road surface, there can be times the "illusion" is broken and the actual body motions can "break though" the isolation of the air ride but this is only as noticeable as it is due to how well the system normally conceals everything. The moments that there is "breakthrough" and you experience more movement in your seat are actually still objectively less than what you experience in a coil sprung car, it can however appear "worse" since it's so much more noticeable. Akin to someone speaking in a tomb vs in a lunch hall, you won't notice the latter but the former will be glaring. I myself was not really aware I was doing this until I actually put an accelerometer in both cars and drove them at the same speed on the same roads, the air cars are just flat out superior but to give credit to the LS460 on coils they did a killer job of spreading out the body motions in such a fashion to make nearly any event invisible to you. LWB vs SWB is mostly a peak force difference and the LWB cars also have less disruptive events that mentally register with the driver in general. Both/all three cars are excellent for comfort. However, the Audi has the ability to really stiffen up and dig in to the road in a very pleasing fashion so if you want to push it you don't need the same level of awareness/practice to push the A8 as hard as you will need in the LS. In terms of speeds through known corners they are close but on unknowns the Audi walks away....

The smell of these two brands is very different, there is enough leather in both that the smell is easily noticeable on all 3(4 if you count my 2015) cars in this comparison. I like high end cars to have a distinct smell since it engages an additional sense and lends them more individuality/character, between the LS and A8 I firmly prefer the A8 since it is more noticeable and leathery. I am very poor at describing smells so I'll leave it at I never really liked the scent Lexus picked for their brands leathers and this is a purely subjective choice on my end and both pass since they execute it well.

Material choices are one area where Lexus loses badly for the most part, I'll start out though with where they do a better job. The Glass used in the LS is better than on the A8, there is less distortion, the coatings are more effective, and the tone is more pleasant. Where plastics are used the LS also has an edge with "heavier" feeling plastic composition that doesn't feel like it will snap, this is most easily noticed on the front/rear cup holders and small trims in the glovebox etc...lastly the wood is fantastic, there is a very deep look to it with multiple layers of detail and a heaviness to the paneling that pleases you to look at.

Now in Audi world there is a very interesting trend of if something looks like metal it IS metal, down to the accent strips on the control ***** and window switches even. Same with leather, if it looks like it it is and lord let me tell you if it's not you will know it's not. The concept of soft touch plastics like on the lower 1/2 of a non-leather LS are just a foreign concept to the Germans, if no leather we go right to hard plastics. Thankfully, unlike my 2015 my W12 is blessed with a LOT of leather and Alcantara absolutely everywhere so in this case it's more than okay. Even the LS600 has a hard time here but as far as dash, doors, headliner, seats, and wood the XF40 absolutely can contend on this level with the only weak points being use of more plastics on controls vs metals. Leather quality appears to be very close, the Audi stuff wears much better but the Lexus hides are softer/less taut with the exception of the steering wheels where this is inverted. I personally dislike the leather only wheel in the Audi but I am correcting that with a Euro only wheel for the small sum of $1500, I am also changing out the grab handles and shifter for the same reason. The grab handles in particular are offensive since the LS460 has a very nice leather section with metal/plastichrome end rings vs just plastic in the A8s, again the Euro market version is real wood, leather, and aluminum that matches the rest of the car but for some reason they didn't think to offer this here.

Oh, piano black on both brands can go die.

Lighting/exterior/interior

This next section won't be all that long since looks are subjective but I will do over interface differences etc, I personally like both interior spaces quite a lot but there are some major differences.

The one area that I can provide objective commentary is the headlight/brake/turn light systems, the LSs use HIDs for the headlights and conventional for the fogs and some minor stuff like tag lights/map lights and the Audis in typical Audi fashion are pure LED. The headlights are something that many may disagree with me on but I firmly think the headlights on the 07 LS are THE best I have ever used, the fact the main light actually physically turns with the steering wheel at low/mid speeds is also far better than the Audi technique of simply turning on extra LEDs that point to the side. The throw, pattern, hue, and road following of the LS are all superior and the high beams are unequaled in outright reach and how far your ID range is for things on/near the road. My drive to work and back has several hills/bends and tree lines etc that really puts any light system to the test, the LS460 simply follows the road better with more light than any other system I have used to date and that includes all customer cars I've had so far. Now don't get me wrong, the Audi light system is KILLER and the fog light system had far greater reach than the LS to the sides and nearfield but the overall light pattern is just not the same and there are distinct "zones" from the 24+ LED array on the 12 and 50+ array on the 2015 however the Audi matrix system makes up for this in other ways. Brake light housings on both the W12 and the LS 460 are gorgeous IMO, the Lexus has floating "L" and the Audi has squared off rings with both exhibiting holographic like effects etc....very very nice on both cars but I have to give the nod to Lexus for overall appearance.

Front end accent lighting is all A8 though, the signature Audi look and overall imposing nature is great. Speaking of imposing that general vibe both cars give off are totally opposed, the LS is elegant, subtle, and has a very flowing overall look vs the W12s harsh lines and sectioned off panels. I personally think they look very very different but in all honestly both are understated and barring the massive grill on the Audi and the glaring 4 rings they are not too far off in style and multiple people have told me the W12 is my style of car/looks really similar to the LS460. The 2014 I used for referencing the XF40 air ride system has the OVERT predator grill as we all know, I think it's a little overdone even vs the W12 grill.

Interior layouts are similar considering the cars are in the same segment but the way you interact could not be more different, all inputs in the A8 are via hard inputs/controls like the MMI system with access keys to get to each aspect of the system. The LS uses a touch screen to get to many settings or the brilliant remote touch system, I hate touch screens and normally have mine turned off. Any D4 A8 has a center MMI screen that is quite small all things considered vs even a 07-12 LS460 and downright tiny vs a 13+ but it has certain advantages in the cluster screen being able to act as a full interface vs the very limited cluster screen in an LS. However the greatest party trick is that you can hide the MMI screen inside the dash giving you a "clean" smooth dash layout, I absolutely LOVE the fact you can do this and this is a massive selling point for the whole car to me. The tweeters also retract into the dash when the car is off, little things like this have massive wow factor and people end up telling everyone about it.

I will briefly derail and go on a remote touch tangent....why do people not love this system? It's freaking brilliant. The joystick has variable force feedback so unlike the Audi MMI system where you just scroll up/down a menu of options with a rotary dial the remote stick allows you to move in any direction you want on the screen and if you "contact" something the stick will become "heavy" and feel like a toggle switch as you move from selection to selection via haptics. I feel this is amazing since you combine the ability to move directly to a desired item like a touch screen but also since you have the variable haptic feedback you can also move though a list of items without needing to look at the screen at all via feel. You can easily feel moving up/down a list or across options but just feeling the haptic feedback! You do not get this from any other system and you don't ever need to move you hand or touch a screen, even the MMI system as good as it is doesn't allow you to directly move though menus. You have to instead hit one of the major shortcut buttons and while you can do it blind no problem it is not as flexible. The Audi system is easier to use at speed though, I will admit that. I never have had to look to adjust drive mode, ride height, temp, track/sound, etc....very well designed for a driver.

Seats in both cars are comfortable but the A8 front seats are the best I have ever used. There are SO many adjustments and air powered functions that you can truly custom fit the chair to your frame, the LS has softer padding sure but really it's not on the same level for comfort yet alone support during more intense maneuvers. The rear seats however are much nicer in the LS, yes even the W12 rear seats with their powered adjustments and heat/cooled/massage etc are not as nice IMO as the front seats in the A8 or the rear seats in the LS460 for pure comfort. That might just be a me thing though, but I really prefer the overly soft padding that Lexus selected and the shape/contour just works for me. I have been told the rear seats in the W12 are amazing though so I guess there is just something wrong with me? Seat adjusters are quieter on the LS for the major adjustments but louder for minor ones, the A8 has some air adjusted parts that are fully silent.

HVAC systems are ultra effective on both but the Lexus is simply quieter and better at it's job. The fan noise on max in an LS is the same as the A8 on half, selected temperature is more also more accurate and servo noise is totally non-existent, the heated wheel on the LS actually HEATS to a high degree vs the wheel on the A8 only tries to target 5 degrees over what you set on the climate control. Most of the time this leads to barely being able to tell it's on in the first place, you can recode the temp offset via VCDS or VACCOM but that is beyond what most owners will ever do....heated seats are far better in the German. Minor controls like the vent adjusters and on/off control dials are also in favor of the LS for feel and effectiveness. Small quality of like aspect such as these are something that Lexus has always done insanely well, you can tell so much time was put into these aspect that other brand overlook. Insulation effectiveness though in the A8 is superior, you do not lose heat inside when the car is off nearly as quickly as the LS does. Both retain heat/cold much better than lesser cars though to be clear...

Instrumentation in both cars is excellent, all relevant info is easily found and simple to adjust/interact with. The few things I don't like are the fact the A8 uses 8 lights to show engine coolant temp and fuel level vs a small gauge, I don't like the lack of precision of segmented bars but that is somewhat a preference issue. The ACC/cruise control interface on the LS460 is the same as any other Toyota and very easy to use, the control stick is on the opposite side of the turn signal while the A8 has it on a stick under the the turn signal. This had lead to me sometimes trying to turn right when I just want to bump up the setting by 2.5 mph lol! I love how the A8 displays your selected speed via a ring of LEDs outside the speedo ring, very easy to know where you have things set and the car also displays if it can see a car in front of it or not. Audi uses red LEDs for everything at night, it has a very sinister vibe IMO but I like it. You can adjust the ambient lighting in any D4 but the W12 allows you some extra zones etc, the LS460 is more subtle and has far greater attention to detail with items like inner door handle lighting, seatbelt receiver lighting, console, cupholder, and footwell lighting that all bleeds in progressively and reactively to exterior lighting conditions. This is probably one of the areas the two cars are the most different and I think this is better covered in the final section.

Overall both cars have elegant/understated interior designs that follow my personal tastes, no it's not the most flashy or distinct like a W222 S600 but I really enjoy being in both. The fact the screen can be hidden in the A8 is a massive plus for me.

Emotion/mentality

This is the greatest difference between my two silver flagships. The way the cars make you feel when you drive them could not be further apart, even though both cruise similarly, have comparable comfort, comparable ride, and on and on when all the aspects of the two cars are brought together you end up with vastly different emotions when driving them. When you get out of the car at a gas station for example the LS is silent, the doors are quiet, and you fly under the radar and just kind of go about your checks and fill without much flair, when you do the same in the W12 the mere act of closing your door sounds so different, distinct, and overt other people look to see the source since it sounds traditonally expensive. The starter of a 12 cyl is extremely distinct and draws attention as well, the engine also starts with the exhaust flaps open if you left it in dynamic mode. The Audi is not at all afraid to show off, it invites you to also do so in how it responds to user inputs. The W12 will cruise yes, but it prefers to pass everything it can on interstates while never even breaking 3k rpm. The whole time you are driving a car like this you feel amazing, truly like you are best thing on the road aka the classic German car experience. You know people are looking at you, you know they are messing with you at times and try to pass you just to prove a point. There is a W12 badge placed to ENSURE that any other car can see at least one at all times, overt in your face luxury with only Mercedes being more "loud" about it.

In the LS460 you are just another silver 4 door sedan. YOU know what you have but the car doesn't try and shout that fact to everyone around, you never feel a need to "match" the cars expectations of it's driver rather the car follows your lead. There is a very particular elegance to the LS that not many other cars come close to, the entire visual design of the car reflects this IMO. This is not really a car you would take out to impress someone overtly, rather one that you would use to gauge if a person has perception of quality that stands on it's own merits since it is absolutely something special but it will not tell you to your face that it is.

I will have many comparative pictures posted up later. Hopefully someone at least finds this entertaining if not useful if trying to decide between a D4 and XF40

xGS350x

Nice review, sir!

I agree with you on the Lexus interiors in the 2000's era. The slow touch points are what makes it feel luxurious. For example, I love the small resistance on the volume ***** in the GS and the slow sliding cup holders when you press it open. Things like that really adds up and gives the car a premium feel.

I also agree with you on the HID headlights. I prefer the color and slow warmup time on the HIDs. LED's are just too "crisp" and white/bluish imo. HIDs are also more exclusive now being that your average Corolla are equipped with LEDs. Even halogen bulbs can look really clean when done right. I prefer the halogen day time running lights on the 2000s Lexus's.

SW17LS

Fun read!

You have got to put the LS on really quiet tires to make it as quiet as it can be. You are so right that they don't isolate from road noise very well, all Lexuses have this limitation, and when comparing my previous LS sedans to my S560, thats the main difference, the S560 does a very good job of isolating the car from tire/road noise. You have to listen intently to hear the changes between different types of pavement for instance, where in the LS those differences are really clear. Your LS is on UHP tires right? Put a set of grand touring tires on it and the ride would be much quieter. But, you would loose a lot of handling. On my S560, switching from Grand Touring tires to UHP tires made zero difference in noise.

If anything my S560 has a little more wind noise than my LS460L, but the difference in road isolation may be why it seems that way.

You are also totally right on the air suspension, the LWB and the air suspension transform the LS, having had a SWB on coils and a LWB on air myself.

Margate330

One of the best reviews I ever read.
Enjoyed it!

The last part about emotion is dead on in my opinion.

I've had cars that I felt nothing, kinda like when I put something in the microwave, just an appliance so hurry up already. lol
And then there's the cars, like the ways you describe your Audi, invites you to be a part of the experience in every way.

I felt that way about my MB CL500.
Not on the same scale as your V12 but some cars are just fun and bring so much more to the table. lol

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

great job striker, but can you translate car codes for mortals? i've no idea what "d4" or "xf40" mean.

signdetres

D4 is Audi-speak for the 3rd generation A8. XF40 refers to the 4th gen LS.




@Striker223 , that was a very long but great read and comparison

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

signdetres - thank you!