I've been lurking around this site for quite a while. I've always liked Lexus vehicles but never jumped on the opportunity to buy one until now. I currently commute about 100 miles a day and use an 06 Altima 2.5 4 cylinder for the duty but now my parents need a car and I was thinking of passing that down to them and buying something that offers a smooth ride and delver mpg in the high 20's. I think the LS accomplishes that. Ive searched the forum and have read many posts and I am liking what I have read so far. I have looked online and have come across some really nice ones. I'm leaning towards 98+ because of vvti and 5-speed auto. Can any of you guys give me some insight into what i can expect as far as highway mpg and reliability?

 

As far as reliability goes, LS400s are the Best engineered mechanical objects known to mankind. Figuratively speaking of course..

My 95' gives me about 22 MPG in town and about 25-30 on the freeway.

The 98+ models have a bit more OOMPH due to the VVT-I and the additional gear, so from what I understand they get slightly better than the 95-97 models.

 

I just took a 500 mile roundtrip this past weekend in my 99. I got 28 mpg on the way there and 26 with a 20+ mph headwind on the way back. I too get around 22mpg in town.

The 98-00 have a little lag from 0-40 (still blowing away 80% of cars on the road) but accelerate incredibly well at highway speeds. I had no trouble passing cars on our trip, even on steep inclines, and the engine did it with ease. They are quieter than any other car I've been in on a road trip.

Learn about the basic wear and tear on this forum as these are some of the last great cars that generally handy people can maintain. Find one that has been well maintained and you'll look forward to your commute (as much as you can!).

 

The 98 - 2000 models give you the best power and mileage. Where you guys are getting 22 mpg in-town is a mystery. Stop and go traffic and in Colorado? Uh, no.

The best realistic mpg is around 28 (2000 rpms or about 65 mph) under ideal conditions on the highway. I have seen as high as 31 on a long stretch of road but that is not sustainable. 17 in the city is about average. The car is rated at 18 / 24 and for the most part that is what she really gets. Amount of ethanol in the fuel, octane, and elevation do effect mpg but plan on getting around what the car is rated at.

The 98 - 2000 are the ones to get. Best of the 400's.

 

To be honest, since your commuting 100 miles a day, considering the gas price, and as nice and reliable the LS is its not the best choice from economical term. I would get a car with a lot more mpg. But if you don't mind about mpg, forget what I just said and pick yourself up a 98-00 model, they are the best of the ls400. Good luck

 

That level of miles per day unless you need a client car, there are other commute options that would do the duty. The '06 Altima has updated safety standards and while the LS is a safe car, it is 6 years different in that technology dept. It will be the nicer built car obviously. If all the maintenance is current on the prospective LS400's and the miles is reasonably low, you'll be in a good spot.

 

I'm in same boat wanted a 98-00 for a while now, it won't be my daily so mpg isn't too much of a concern right now for me. I'm picky and will wait for the right one.

 

Uh... yeah, actually... I check every fill up, and have never gotten less than 21. I'f mine was averaging 17 in town I would have some serious concerns of it needing additional maintainance.

Unless you're hot rodding it of course, which is temping in these sometimes!

 

16-19mpg city and 22-25mpg highway is a good range for a properly working '98-00.

anything better or worse is due to a combination of driver and environmental variables.

 

i had 2000 Ls and that was best car ever (much better than mine 02 gs430)
higway using cruise up to 28mpg (city in traffic 16-18mpg)

 

Highway is all cruise control and slow if you want the best mpg. Just today, on the ride home I set it to 2000 rpms and was fluctuating between 27.5 and 31.5 according to the computer average during the highway portion (17 miles with hills). Obviously, city mileage depends on where you live. In-town might mean a town without much traffic.

Lowering the LS and upgrading the wheels / tire size makes it drive like a different beast. Much harder to go slow when she is planted to the ground like a sports luxury sedan. As far as 430's go, it's better to get an 04 and up. Little better gearing on those with the 6 speed transmission.

 

I've tracked every single gallon of gas from when I bought my 2000 LS400 at 38,000 miles to its current 163,500 miles. It is hard to say what percentage of driving is on city streets vs. higher speed highways but the trip computer overall average speed runs about 35 mph. My perception is that I usually drive about 60% on 25-45 mph city streets and 40% on 55-65 mph highways. I usually don't drive all that hard except when I do - like today when I did a full throttle 25-65 mph short run this afternoon when merging on to an Interstate.

I just now checked the last ten fill-up mileage calculations. Eight of the ten were between about 20.5 mpg and 23.6 mpg. One was 27 mpg when on a 400 mile mostly highway trip. The other was 17 mpg during a very snowy week in which I had the transmission in snow mode quite a bit and avoided highways.

In "perfect" conditions (no or low wind, few hills) on highway trips, the car often averages between 26.9 and 27.1 mpg. One time with a super strong tail wind, the calculated tank mileage on a Tulsa to Kansas City run was a little over 30. Unfortunately, perfect conditions are rare and normal highway-only mpg is more in the 25-26 range.

So ... I am confirming the information that PureDrifter and Lavrishevo have provided. The 98-00 won't even begin to average in the high 20's.

As far as reliability, the 98-00 is pretty reliable but it is far from cheap to maintain if done by the book and by a professional mechanic. My wife's perception - she is a CPA and tracks all costs - is that my 2000 LS400 has been WAY over twice as expensive to maintain and run as the 98 Toyota Camry V6 she bought new and recently sold.

 

Great feedback, I definitely didn't expect the maintenance to be cheap as that for a Camry but compared to other cars in it's class it probably does a lot better. If I pick one up it will literally be a weekend car when I'm not driving the other weekend toy lol.

 

For a V8 in a heavy car and these members are reporting of great MPG there isn't really anything to even consider twice if you have been wanting this particular year model. Just like with any other car, maintenance must be up to date and everything else needs to be in working condition to achieve what these guys are getting. My 96 gets 24-25 on the highway and around 17-18 around the city and although gas price has gone off the roof for premium I honestly think she's doing great. However, I do have a daily too so that helps a lot haha.

 

If you are buying an LS400, the fuel economy should be the least of your concerns. The cost of paying someone else to fix stuff is what kills people!... That and not wearing you seatbelt.... or falling from heights, those kill people too