LS460 review from UK
08-15-06, 05:15 PM
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LS460 review from UK
This is from Channel 4 car News from the UK. Interesting slant (biased ?) on this great car.
http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-te...est.jsp?id=822
http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-te...est.jsp?id=822
08-15-06, 06:21 PM
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Great find, Car Nut!
All in all, a pretty good review for the LS! Good job Lexus!
Choice quotes (emphasis mine):
Overall, they liked the car, but did have the slant on the 'image' + 'passion' factor. Their criticisms included the interior wood finish + plastic buttons. They called the trunk size 'average,' which is ok. On the driving area, they said the engine setup looked good 'on paper' but that the execution with the smaller displacement engine had drawbacks; the 8-speed gearbox required 'too much hunting' and the brakes were 'grabby.' However, they felt the performance and handling was improved, plus better ride quality in city than the S-class.
I agree on the plastic buttons, which I think are decent for this class, and certainly improved in styling. However they are not the metal buttons of the S-class, and I wonder if a mid-cycle refresh might change that. Not sure on their driving theory, and the LS brakes have been grabby to me for a long time and I am used to it. One area I disagree with is the suggestion that the LS 430 is ugly, but at least they call the LS 460 attractive and proportioned right--they like the way it looks.
Interesting how the European reviewers are getting the car first--first Auto Bild, and now Channel 4. The LS 460 is being revealed to the world...
All in all, a pretty good review for the LS! Good job Lexus!
Choice quotes (emphasis mine):
the LS460 uses the same 'L-finesse' design language that makes its IS and GS little sisters so attractive and distinctive - and is all the better for it. Its lines flow, its proportions are near perfect and its detailing nicely resolved.
Behind those attractive lines lies probably the most technically sophisticated car ever to come to market. No car can drive itself but, as we will find out, sometimes the Lexus makes you wonder.
Behind those attractive lines lies probably the most technically sophisticated car ever to come to market. No car can drive itself but, as we will find out, sometimes the Lexus makes you wonder.
This is the first generation of LS that actually encourages the enthusiast driver to press on a bit.
[...] While the car floats down the road so serenely, it seems hard to conceive that it's going to be sufficiently firm and responsive to make it worth punting through some quick curves.
Well, it has a surprise waiting for you. Although it does quickly start begging its electronic safety systems to rescue it from its nasty driver if you try to bully it through a hairpin, in faster turns progress is much more assured. Indeed in long, fast curves it settles very securely onto its springs and can barrel through with great aplomb without compromising the comfort of those on board.
[...] While the car floats down the road so serenely, it seems hard to conceive that it's going to be sufficiently firm and responsive to make it worth punting through some quick curves.
Well, it has a surprise waiting for you. Although it does quickly start begging its electronic safety systems to rescue it from its nasty driver if you try to bully it through a hairpin, in faster turns progress is much more assured. Indeed in long, fast curves it settles very securely onto its springs and can barrel through with great aplomb without compromising the comfort of those on board.
If ever there was a candidate for safest car on the road, this surely is it. While other manufacturers concentrate on getting lots of stars for crash test performance, Lexus has not only made sure the LS460 has all the secondary safety systems you could wish for, should you crash, it has also done more than anyone in history to make sure you don't have the accident in the first place.
The LS will steer itself to make sure you stay plumb in the middle of your motorway lane. It will scan the road ahead and, if it sees something you have not, it can slam on the brakes and prepare the steering and suspension for an emergency lane-change manoeuvre. Honda and Mercedes have systems that will do this too, but only if you're about to smack another metallic object, like a car. The Lexus can 'see' anything, including human beings.
The LS will steer itself to make sure you stay plumb in the middle of your motorway lane. It will scan the road ahead and, if it sees something you have not, it can slam on the brakes and prepare the steering and suspension for an emergency lane-change manoeuvre. Honda and Mercedes have systems that will do this too, but only if you're about to smack another metallic object, like a car. The Lexus can 'see' anything, including human beings.
I agree on the plastic buttons, which I think are decent for this class, and certainly improved in styling. However they are not the metal buttons of the S-class, and I wonder if a mid-cycle refresh might change that. Not sure on their driving theory, and the LS brakes have been grabby to me for a long time and I am used to it. One area I disagree with is the suggestion that the LS 430 is ugly, but at least they call the LS 460 attractive and proportioned right--they like the way it looks.
Interesting how the European reviewers are getting the car first--first Auto Bild, and now Channel 4. The LS 460 is being revealed to the world...
08-18-06, 07:48 PM
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The Mercedes 5.5 V8 has higher torque at lower RPM. I thought Lexus would eliminate that advantage by building a lighter LS. Unfortunately, the new LS is one heavy car: 4332 lbs for the LS460L versus 4465 lbs for the S550. Lexus will likely replace the 4.6 with the 5.0 liter engine from the 600hL in a couple years.
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