You'll be so awed by new LS 460's frills, you'll forget how to parallel park. (That's OK – it'll do it for you)
By Pete Szilagyi

SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN


Saturday, October 28, 2006

As the auto industry's incubator for new technology, high-end luxury sedans often answer questions no one has asked.

When you get into a car, you don't request a shiatsu massage, nor do you ask that the door sounds as solid as oak wood when it slams.


A 5-speed automatic transmission satisfied most drivers. But eight speeds?

You probably don't recall ever asking a car to parallel park itself. We normally take care of that ourselves.

Lexus has completely redone the LS series, its most expensive, refined and innovative, with these and enough other features to require a hefty wad of manuals for owner tutorials. (No, I'm not making the one up about the wood-sounding doors — that's Lexus' claim.)

For the new LS 460, Lexus' touchy-feely team focused on cabin ambience and an expensive feel, including tuning doors to sound like expensive oak when they close. The numerous electric motors have been tuned for unobtrusive operation. The LS body and engine are extensively inspected for excessive mechanical noise during assembly, according to Lexus.

A team of robots polishes bare metal body panels so the paint has a deep luster. The headlight designs are inspired by Baccarat crystal.

As with luxury competitors from Germany, the LS has a velvet hammer drive train, all new for the 2007 model, including a 4.6-liter V-8 with 380 horsepower connected to that 8-speed automatic, which one-ups Mercedes-Benz's 7-speed transmission. So close are engine tolerances that the manual calls for 0W-20 motor oil.

For a sedan about the size and weight of a bank vault, the LS has nimble moves and a comparatively tight turn radius, although the steering is too feathery for my preference.

Much of my LS test-driving was done in city traffic, sometimes fast and frantic, with quick lane changes and squirts through traffic gaps. The LS did it all with composure, thanks in part to that 8-speed transmission, which readily, quickly and nearly imperceptibly downshifts when needed.

The brakes stop this rolling vault without drama, thankfully. Lexus' latest passive electronic safety systems, arguably the industry's best, are built into every LS.

The LS is indeed quiet, as Lexus advertises, and eminently comfortable, like sitting in a leather sofa at a fashionable club. However, the driver is confronted by a myriad of buttons on the dashboard, console and navigation screen.

Although potentially intimidating, the LS 460's controls are actually simpler to operate than the "joystick" systems used by German manufacturers. Nevertheless, new LS owners will need an evening of study to figure it all out.

Of all the features, the LS 460's Park Assist system has generated most interest. It works well but does require driver input.

The driver finds a parallel parking space that appears adequate, pulls up along side the car in front of it and presses a button that turns on video cameras on the rear of the LS. The image appears on the navigation screen with a yellow LS-size box overlaid on the space.

The driver then can adjust the box, which shows where Park Assist will park the car, to be closer or farther from the curb, say, or more forward or aft. Push another button — hands off the wheel and gas pedal — and the LS steers itself into that space. The system also can back the LS into a head-in space. It's a hoot.

This fine sedan will include a stretched wheelbase version (the mechanical shiatsu provided in its reclining rear seat) and, next year, a hybrid version, the LS 600.

As for the doors Lexus that says sound like wood. Not to my ear, they don't. They missed it, but that's the only stumble on this magnificent product.

In his 24 years of writing a column for the Austin American-Statesman, Pete Szilagyi has driven more than 1,200 new cars and trucks. You may reach him at petesz@macconnect.com.



According to Pete . . .


Target audience: High achievers and high spenders who desire a very sophisticated $60,000 to $70,000 indulgence.

Highs: Power train, styling, presence, Lexus reputation, safety systems, sybaritic comfort, attention to detail, dynamics, less expensive than Germans.

Lows: Too complex?

Bottom line: The LS is finally in a league with the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S Class.

Driving a Mercedes E63 AMG just prior to testing the Lexus LS 460
was a big mistake. The German and Japanese machines define the opposite poles of the luxury sedan spectrum. The E63 is for driving enthusiasts. The LS 460 is for people who hate cars.

At first glance, the LS 460 has finally stopped cribbing its design cues from Mercedes– and started cribbing from the BMW 7 Series. In the flesh, it’s clear that Lexus has turned inwards for inspiration. As I patrolled my dealer’s lot to scan color variations, I couldn’t distinguish an ES from an LS. In fact, the Japanese brand’s “L-finesse” design philosophy Lacks-finesse across the entire model range. There are no exterior character lines worth mentioning. I like the way the LS’ exhaust pipes integrate into the rear valence. And, um that’s it.

60_2007ls460.jpgThis deeply conservative (not to say bland) approach carries over into the interior, which seems carefully designed to avoid offense. While you can’t fault the LS 460's ergonomics or the luster of its wood accents, the $61k-and-up car's cabin comes off just a little bit, well, cheap. The buttons are made from plastic that Audi wouldn't use for the A8's trunk release. And Lexus can buff that leather as much as it wants; it still feels like it came out of a Camry. Of course, the LS 460 boats— I mean boasts every luxury car toy on earth, including intuitive parking assist (Danger Will Robinson!) and power everything you can imagine (and much you can’t or wouldn’t).

The LS’ optional beat box is the cabin's highlight. Mark Levinson's ICE includes 19 speakers and 15 bridged amplifier channels running 450 watts of power (continuous average power, all channels driven, at 0.1% THD; 20 - 20,000 Hz, in case you thought that was a bit woosy). The system can play Dolby Digital 5.1 DVD audio, MP3 and WMA files. An eight gigabyte hard drive automatically records up to 2k songs as you play them. The only features missing are internet access and a built-in Play Station 3, which are no doubt available in Japan. And the sound– you could blow $100k on a home system that doesn’t sound half as good.

13_2007ls460.jpgFiring-up the LS’ 4.6-liter V8 is about as aurally exciting as switching on a pool heater– which is fair enough. The driving experience is a bit like swimming in warm water. Helming the LS, I thought I'd become an automotive quadriplegic; my mind was operating the vehicle rather than my extremities. I had no sensation whatsoever from the steering wheel, throttle or brakes. Every control involved with the vehicle’s operation lay just within the range of human perception.

The LS 460’s electronic brakes were designed for women wearing high heels; the slightest touch of a stiletto brings the car to a complete stop. Steering feel isn’t. There's only one way to know the slushbox is changing gears: watch the tacho needle bouncing gently up and down. Unless you depress the throttle at 45mph. Then there's an unacceptable hesitation as the transmission rows through a few gear changes before finding the meaty part of the engine’s torque range. Remind me again why Lexus needs an eight speed transmission? Oh yes; Mercedes has a seven speed.

The LS 460’s handling reminded me of a 10-month old Golden Retriever puppy: affectionate but clumsy. Turn-in is irrelevant. You can’t feel the car settling into a corner and you only realize that you are exceeding the vehicle’s limits when the door’s angle of attack relative to the road exceeds 15 degrees, and the traction control wrests control (you mean I was driving?) away from the driver.

07_2007ls460.jpgLexus claims the LS 460 wafts from zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds. Given 380 horsepower and 367 lb. ft. of torque in a 4244 pound luxobarge, that sounds about right. But it felt a lot slower. It could be the complete lack of sensual feedback or the effects of that pesky E63 again. Anyway, the LS 460 desperately needs a sport package. Alas, none is available. I suspect Lexus knows its target audience will be more impressed with (though not concerned about) the sedan's extraordinary 21 city and 27 highway miles per gallon.

I last drove an LS in 1990. Compared to the competition over at Mercedes and BMW, the LS was a breath of fresh air: bargain-priced and elegantly engineered. I almost bought one. OK, I’m trying to impress you with my open-mindedness. And it's true: I can see the virtue of a machine that functions without any apparent effort from man or machine. But I struggled not to giggle at the LS 460’s “Luxury Car for Dummies” perfection. If Lexus added an in-dash popcorn maker, I’d find more reason to buy this mobile entertainment lounge. But nowhere near enough.

When it debuted at auto shows earlier this year, it was clear the 2007 Lexus LS 460 -- the Toyota brand's flagship sedan -- was all about superlatives.

The Japanese luxury liner has the world's first eight-speed automatic transmission. You can order an optional Mark Levinson Reference Surround Sound system with a whopping 19 speakers. And, as one Toyota executive put it, you can "live in the back seat," especially if you order the Executive Class seating package on the LS 460L. Goodies on that include a right rear-seat recliner with multifunction massage and an ottoman, rear-door power sunshades and a rear console with a fold-out table.

The Lexus designers took their inspiration from the first-class cabin in an airplane and when consumers got their look at the company's redesigned sedan, it usually triggered a gasp.

"Wow," said Rick Anderson, 52, a Ford pipe fitter and a member of the 2006 Detroit News automotive consumer panel, as he studied the car at the North American International Auto Show in January. "I look at this car and I think, 'People who are in their 50s are going to be leaving their Lincolns.' It's impressive."

Actually, the new LS 460 has no real domestic-brand competitors, with the possible exception of the Cadillac STS-V, and even that pales in terms of roominess, creature comforts and fuel economy. Not to mention the fact that the Caddy costs $13,000 more.

The LS 460 really is aimed directly at Europe's two kingpins: The Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the BMW 7 Series. And, finally, it's been given the wherewithal, in terms of looks and performance, to compete on nearly equal footing.

The LS 460 is on sale now, with prices starting at $61,715, including shipping. Despite all the upgrades on the redesigned 2007 model, the LS still maintains a hefty price advantage over its competitors; the BMW 750i starts at $75,695, while the Mercedes-Benz S550 is priced from $86,525. In comparison, the long-wheelbase LS 460L, with lots more standard equipment, carries a sticker of $71,715.

The exterior design of the new LS 460 is the most mature -- and least derivative -- yet for Lexus, adapting cues from the brand's ongoing "L-finesse" theme, as seen previously in the IS, GS and ES sedans. The styling continues to stir controversy; critics, especially in Europe, claim it doesn't look rich or distinctive enough alongside its chief German rivals from BMW and Mercedes.

What they can't argue about is the new powertrain. Lexus has fitted its latest twin-cam 4.6-liter V-8, which makes an ample 380 horsepower and 367 pounds-feet of torque. That's right up there with the 5.5-liter V-8 in the S550 and considerably more stout than the 4.8-liter V-8 in the 750i. What's more, Lexus boasts the world's first eight-speed automatic (Mercedes has only seven speeds, BMW a mere six), a sequential unit with manual shift capability.

The combination is smooth and potent in action, providing brisk acceleration: 0-60 miles per hour in about five and a half seconds. Furthermore, the fuel economy, as measured by the EPA, is exceptional for such a large and powerful car -- 19 miles per gallon in city driving and 27 on the highway. The Germans lag well behind those numbers.

We are also impressed with the LS 460's impeccable manners on all sorts of road surfaces. Sitting on 18-inch wheels independently sprung at all four corners, its ride is supple, without feeling floaty or bouncy. The electric power steering is well-damped, yet provides good feedback and crisp responses to driver inputs. The four-wheel disc brakes are simply sensational.

As you would expect from Lexus, the LS 460 bristles with the latest safety hardware, starting with the prerequisite antilock brakes, traction and stability control, and progressing to rain-sensing wipers, adaptive headlamps and a rear backup camera. An option worth having is the pre-collision system that senses an impending crash, tightens the occupants' safety belts and puts the car's other safety systems on high alert.

The pre-collision system comes bundled with a dynamic radar cruise control that automatically adjusts the vehicle's speed to maintain a specified distance from the car ahead.

The LS 460 also comes with eight standard air bags, including side curtains to protect all outboard occupants, as well as side and knee bags for front-seat occupants. Rear side bags cost extra.

One of the gimmicks that have garnered much publicity for the new LS is the optional Advanced Parking Guidance System with Intuitive Park Assist, which basically lets you park the car semi-automatically. You draw the vehicle up to the target space -- angle or parallel -- tap the brakes, and the car steers itself into the slot.

The cabin is more inviting than that of either the S-Class or the 7 Series. Trimmed in fine leather and grain-matched wood, the interior of the LS 460 is roomy and supremely comfortable -- exactly the sort of environment you'd fantasize about for longer excursions. Electroluminscent gauges stare at the driver from behind a gorgeous wood-and-leather steering wheel with power tilt/telescope function (you can also order a heated wheel).

While the basic LS 460 comes with all sorts of bells and whistles, it's possible to load up even more options, including climate-controlled front seats and a one-touch open/close power trunk lid. Lexus hasn't forgotten about the rear occupants either. Included in the equipment list are such features as rear power heated seats with climate controls and individual rear vanity mirrors.

Given that level of luxury, the temptation may be to let someone else drive and simply settle back into that sumptuous rear compartment and relax.

Avoid that temptation. The LS 460 is also meant to be driven, and driven hard. It will take all kinds of punishment without complaint, and will return many satisfying miles without leaving you drained and exhausted at the end of the journey.

Few cars can claim that sort of performance -- at any price.

Lexus openly claims that its newest top sedan, the LS 460, is better than competing German models, such as the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which have long dominated this segment. While it’s not world-beating, the new LS 460 does offer a level of luxury, style and sophistication that will give the European makes pause, particularly because it comes at a lower price. The new Lexus is also more spacious inside and more powerful than some of its competitors.

Both the LS 460 and the longer LS 460 L have identical powertrains: an all-new, 380-hp 4.6-liter V8 engine and the world’s first eight-speed automatic transmission. They also have, for the most part, the same bodies and options. The big difference is that the L version has a nearly four-inch-longer wheelbase, which translates into roughly that much more legroom for a pair of very fancy rear seats.

The LS 460 L will ideally be chauffeur-driven, its owners swanning in the back in something approaching business-class airliner comfort (including a nine-inch DVD screen for the optional wireless-headsets entertainment system). The L is Lexus’ first long-wheelbase version of the LS and its foray into a niche that was, until now, reserved for the Brits (Jaguar XJ8 L) and the Germans (Audi A8 L and BMW 760Li).

Lexus claims to build LS 460s with inordinate attention to detail, including two sessions of hand-sanding of the body paint and six hours of buffing of the steering wheel leather for perfect smoothness. The interior of each engine is so finely finished and polished that Lexus specifies the use of super-thin 0W-20 engine oil. This low-viscosity fluid, which produces less internal drag than normal syrupy oils, is one reason for the car’s excellent 27 mpg highway fuel economy. (It gets an estimated 19 mpg in the city, which is good for a car this size.) Other factors contributing to the great fuel economy include outstanding body aerodynamics and the efficient eight-speed transmission.

Not all of the new technology on the LS 460 has such palpable advantages. Lexus demonstrated the car’s self-parking feature, which uses cameras and sensors to parallel-park itself, using an unrealistically large parking space and wouldn’t let us try the system in a normal-size spot.

Exterior

The original Lexus LS was essentially a bland copy of an E-Class Mercedes-Benz in dimensions and styling. This newest iteration, however, is arguably more attractive than the S-Class against which it now competes, though it’s a close call. (The S-Class’ crude wheel-well surrounds, which seem borrowed from a Ford Focus, don’t help its case.)

Japanese automobile marketers are skilled at suggesting that their designs owe much to the culture’s supposedly Zen-centered grasp of shape, form and cool beauty. And Lexus uses such buzzwords as “holistic,” and phrases like, “a balance between simplicity and elegance” and “a deep sense of emotion” to buttress the new design.

However you translate them, this big sedan has a clean, conservative, yet absolutely contemporary shape, accentuated by a forward-thrusting arrowhead motif carried through from door handles to the front and rear lamp units and even the large, unusual twin exhaust-pipe diverters low in the rear bumper.

Interior

To criticize an automobile of the quality and near-perfection of a Lexus LS 460 is akin to griping about a fine symphony orchestra because a third violinist flubs a note. Having said that, this new Japanese super-sedan challenges the widely accepted notion that the Germans are wrong in pursuing their attempts to concentrate as many control functions as possible onto a central computer joystick or controller. BMW’s system is called iDrive, Mercedes-Benz has Comand and Audi’s is called MMI (Multi-Media Interface).

Lexus, instead, has a riot of buttons and switches, some of them half-hidden, with sometimes-incomprehensible acronyms. Air-suspension settings, an electric parking brake, brake hold, radar cruise control with distance-setting control, four-zone climate control, 16-way power driver’s seat, 12-way front passenger seat, a complex 19-speaker audio system, an embedded 30-gigabyte hard drive for both music and navigation-data storage, navigation system, Bluetooth telephone integration, parking assist plus a totally automatic parallel-parking system, rain-sensing wipers, heated steering wheel, heated and cooled seats, power mirrors, pivoting headlights … these and other features, some standard and some optional, all require switches, buttons, ***** and a touch-sensitive screen. And that’s just for the driver; in the long-wheelbase L version, various upgrade options can litter the huge between-the-seats rear console with controls as well.

This being a large luxury car, all four seats are, not surprisingly, hugely comfortable and roomy. The right rear seat in the 460 L, if it’s equipped with the Executive Seating Package, is a throne for the boss. It’s assumed that only a chauffeur is up front, because the front passenger seat is then not only run full forward with a control on the massive rear console, but its backrest automatically folded forward as well, to provide room for what Lexus terms “an ottoman” — what any business-class airline traveler would call a leg rest — to motor out and up.

A caveat: Even with the front passenger seat fully forward, the ottoman feature won’t allow longer-legged rear-seaters to stretch out.

All side and rear backseat windows have black-mesh, motor-driven sun filters that also act as privacy shades (standard on the 460 L, optional on the 460). The trunk is enormous, and it’ll easily hold four full-size golf bags.

Performance

Some cars stun you with their acceleration, a sonorous engine, the flash of their interior or over-the-top body styling. The LS 460 has yet another awe-inspiring characteristic: absolute quietude.

This is a sedan in which four riders can hold quiet conversations at 100 mph — or listen to the optional 15-channel, 450-watt Mark Levinson Reference Surround sound system, which Lexus claims would cost as much as $200,000 to equal with a home-audio setup.

While BMW and Mercedes-Benz have both adopted inconspicuous, column-mounted stub levers as transmission controllers in their competing models, Lexus has retained a center-console mounted shift lever with a manual gear-select function, thus using a bit of real estate that might be put to better use.

If anything, the eight-speed Lexus transmission seems a bit busier than the seven-speed in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is almost imperceptible in operation. The LS’ slightly numb-feeling electric steering also suffers a mite in comparison to the Mercedes mechanical rack-and-pinion system.

Optional on the 460 L is an air-suspension system with three modes of operation: comfort, normal and sport. The differences between the three seemed barely perceptible, though a bit more body roll is apparent in the full-soft comfort setting. The system also allows the entire car to be raised 1.5 inches for greater ground clearance, though it’s hard to imagine when a limousine would be on a road that requires it. This seems to be a “we added it because we could” feature.

Amid all the electronic marvels aboard the new LS, the one sure to be most frequently demonstrated to slack-jawed neighbors is the hands-off parallel-parking system, which automatically backs and steers the LS into a curbside gap. (It’ll also automatically back the car into a space between two cars in a parking lot.) Lexus demonstrated the system to automotive writers using a curbside gap a full eight feet longer than the car itself — hardly a typical urban parallel-parking spot. When I insisted they make the space smaller, they closed it up by less than two feet … and then refused to let me do the test parking, saying they “didn’t want to risk the car’s paint job.”

A Lexus representative let me watch the system do its job, which involved about 20 seconds of programming via the dash-mounted navigation screen, but I was impressed only by how much money I’d save by not ordering this option ($1,200 on the LS 460 L and $6,845 on the LS 460, because it’s bundled with other pricey options).

Is the new LS 460 L better than its most direct competition, the Mercedes-Benz S550? Unfortunately for the Japanese, the Germans have maintained their dynamic advantages with the 2007 version of their flagship sedan, but the difference is so slight that the LS’ value advantage could still sway many to its side

Having set a new benchmark for the luxury car segment when it launched the LS 400 in 1990, Lexus is at it again: The new LS 460 flagship sets new standards in just about every area. From its engine and the world's first eight-speed automatic transmission to the interior's unbridled elegance, it is destined to be a home run with the well-heeled.

The interior really is something to behold. Consider the audio equipment: If someone purchased the LS 460's optional 450-watt, 19-speaker, Mark Levinson sound system and tuned it to suit the acoustics in their house, it would cost a cool $200,000. Needless to say, the sound it reproduces in the LS is simply exquisite. Crank the engine to life, hammer the gas and the Olí Farts (my wife's name for the Rolling Stones) have never sounded so good. The fact I'm flogging the LS around the runways of Niagara Ont.'s regional airport makes it seem all the more surreal.

The remainder of the interior is executed with the same premium approach and attention to detail: The leather is superb, the driver's 16-way seat is comfortably contoured and the ergonomics are first-rate. It's also nirvana for anyone with a button fetish. Opt for the ottoman/shiatsu massage seat and there are more buttons in the rear than most cars have in total.

The ottoman is the interior's lone foible. Even with my short 30-inch inseams, the aircraft-style leg support is not long enough to be of any real value. The second drawback is more significant: To increase the available legroom, the front passenger's seat slides forward as the back rest is canted toward the dash. While this does increase the legroom marginally, it also puts the headrest in the driver's line of sight when looking right.

Technically, the LS is a tour de force. It has adaptive everything, 11 air bags and a self-park mode. A series of sensors allows the driver to parallel park without having to worry about bashing the brightwork.

When it comes to motivating all of this opulence, the LS is again up to snuff. The powerfully silky 4.6-litre V-8 pushes 380 horsepower and 367 pounds-feet of torque at 4,100 r.p.m. This is enough to waft the LS to 100 kilometres an hour in 7.3 seconds and turn the 80-120-km/h trick in 5.7 seconds. What impresses is the effortless manner in which these times are accomplished.

At 2,025 kilograms, this is a seriously large and heavy car. Having eight speeds in the gearbox helps matters enormously. The first three gears are short and snappy; the remaining cogs are spread out to maximize the engine's considerable sweetness.

The other part of the LS 460's repertoire that surprises is just how well it handles. Anything that rides on a 3,090-millimetre wheelbase is supposed to feel ponderous; the LS belies its enormity. While there is some body roll and the electronic stability control system nibbles away when you encroach on the limit, it hauls around a track in a highly entertaining manner.

The credit goes to the P235/50R18 tires and an adaptive air suspension. In reality, the comfort mode is just too willowy for anything other than highway travel; however, select the sport mode and the transformation is nothing short of remarkable.

The new LS 460 is all that and then some. I expected the LS 460 long-wheelbase sedan to be an oversized barge barely capable of being driven quickly, never mind enthusiastically. It not only handles the rigours of a race track with aplomb, it does so while coddling its riders in unadulterated opulence.

Nice one.

FACTBOX: Spec sheet

* Type of vehicle: Rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan

* Engine: 4.6-litre DOHC V-8

* Power: 380 h.p. @ 6,400 r.p.m.; 367 lbs-ft. of torque @ 4,100 r.p.m.

* Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

* Brakes: Four-wheel disc with ABS

* Tires: P235/50R18

* Base (price/as tested): $98,700/$122,700

* Destination charge: $1,775

* Fuel economy (L/100 km): 12.9 city, 8.2 hwy

* Equipment as tested: Four-zone climate control and all the usual power toys, including power trunk and door pull-ins, premium leather interior, full navigation system with voice recognition and backup camera, 450-watt Mark Levinsonaudio system with AM/FM/six-disc in-dash CD changer and 19 speakers, rear-seat DVD entertainment system with nine-inch LCD, smart key and push-button start, advanced parking guidance system, ottoman/shiatsu massage right rear seat, 11 air bags, pre-collision system, anti-lock brakes, traction/stability control systems and adaptive air suspension.

2007 Lexus LS 460 L
CNET editors' review
Perfect 10 out of 10

The good: The 2007 Lexus LS 460 L is a hit on all fronts, with live traffic on its navigation system, a hard drive for storing music, a self-parking system, a smooth-shifting and smart eight speed automatic transmission, decent fuel economy, and a dozen more useful high-tech features that all work well.

The bad: Navigating the music library could be a bit better.

The bottom line: With plenty to wow us, there's very little we can find at fault with the 2007 Lexus LS 460 L. It comes up to par with other luxury sedans in its class, then beats them all with a substantially lower price.

Read editors' review below

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CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Wayne Cunningham
Reviewed on 12/7/06


2007 Lexus LS 460 LThe Lexus LS 460 L is the best car we've seen. We can't put it any more bluntly than that. It checks off all the tech boxes, then goes and adds some new ones. The company's flagship sedan is a genius piece of work, combining technologies that contribute to a comfortable ride with the ability to tear down the roads and take the curves. And it does it all with amazingly good fuel economy, given the size of this thing and its competition.

Lexus redesigned its LS flagship for the 2007 model year, and gave it a bigger engine, more gears, and an expanded array of technology in the cabin. The automatic transmission gets eight gears to shift, more than any other production car. And this Lexus is the first car in North America to get Toyota's self-parking technology, which was previously released in the Prius for Europe and Japan. The LS comes in two basic styles, the standard LS 460 and the long wheelbase LS 460 L version. We tested the latter.

Although the LS 460 L gets a long list of options and standard technology, it's not a kitchen sink kind of car. We like how everything is integrated. We like how the car drives. We like the usability of the technology. We even like the self-parking feature, which is getting backlash from other media sources.

Enough speakers for heavenly sound
Our review car came with an upgraded stereo, a Mark Levinson reference system with 19 speakers. Yes, 19. We're not sure if that sets a record for a factory-installed system, but it must come close. That's six sets of two-way tweeter/midrange speakers placed along the sides of the car, one two-way in the dash for center fill, big woofers in each door, and a subwoofer in back. These speakers get 450 watts from 15 channels pumped through them. The result is near-perfect audio quality. We used various audio sources and different types of music in our testing, and the system created a nice surround effect while producing excellent separation and clarity with each one. Bass came through strong, while the highest notes still stood out. With the digital signal processor placing the sweet spot for the music dead center in the cabin, the audio actually sounded best in the back seat.




CDs can be ripped to the LS 460 L's hard drive, which applies ID3 tags to the resulting MP3 files from its built-in Gracenote CD database.


But that's not all we have to say about this audio system. It has a hard drive. Actually, the main purpose of the hard drive is to store data for the navigation system. But there's 8GB left over that can be used for MP3s. Better yet, the system can be set to rip any CD that's put into the changer at either 256Kbps or 128Kbps. The system has the Gracenote CD database built-in and will automatically recognize CDs and apply ID3 tags to the ripped tracks. We like this a lot. We ripped six CDs to the system, and it told us we had used 3 percent of the hard drive space. Although 8GB isn't huge by today's standards, it's enough to carry around an adequate music library. The management screen for the hard drive is fairly easy to use, although it does require pushing a button labeled Play mode to change from artist to album selection. We found the music-management screen on the Cadillac Escalade EXT a bit better.

The LS 460 L's stereo can handle other audio sources, as well. It has a six-CD changer that can also read audio and video DVDs. Our car didn't have a rear seat entertainment system, although that is an option, but we could watch DVDs on the car's dashboard LCD. It also has an auxiliary audio input, for MP3 players, and comes with XM satellite radio. We found it easy to navigate the XM radio channels, using the touch screen to select a category and the tuning **** to choose a station within the category.

Having XM satellite radio is important because the car's navigation system has live traffic reporting, an XM service. We've previously seen this type of live traffic reporting in the Acura RL and RDX. The system overlays traffic information on the navigation map, showing traffic flow in red, yellow, or green for freeways and specific incidents as yellow icons. The system only shows traffic in specific metropolitan areas, and only for major roads, such as freeways or highways. We were impressed that the system in the LS 460 L spoke up when there was an incident along the route we had programmed, informing us of an accident 15 miles ahead. It gave us plenty of time to take an exit from the freeway and bypass the accident. The system can also be set to automatically route around incidents. In our testing we did notice some bad reporting, mostly showing green lines on the freeway, indicating free-flowing traffic, while traffic was moving less than 40mph. But that's a fault of the traffic-reporting infrastructure more than the in-car system.




Live traffic reporting shows free-flowing traffic as green lines, 20 to 40mph traffic as yellow lines, and traffic moving less than 20mph in red. Traffic incidents are shown as yellow icons and taken into account by route guidance.


Otherwise, the navigation system worked well. The screen was big, bright, and easy to read. The destination input screen is well-designed, both for aesthetics and usability. Its points-of-interest database is complete, including the usual restaurants, parking, gas stations, and ATMs, along with retail stores. And because it's a hard drive-based system, response times are faster than with a DVD. Route guidance is also very good, although the voice prompts can't read out names of individual streets. When the car approaches an upcoming turn on the route, the map goes to a split screen, showing the map on one side and a graphic of the turn on the other. Accuracy was very good in our testing, even among tall buildings.

At this level of luxury, a voice command system is to be expected. In our testing with the LS 460 L, it generally worked very well. It let us input destinations, recognizing every part of the address we spoke. We did find that we had to pronounce Rodeo Drive as ro-dee-o instead of ro-day-o. It also accepts commands for the audio system and Bluetooth cell phone integration. The phone system also worked very smoothly, letting us pair our phone up without a hitch. Even better, once the phone was initially paired, it immediately linked up with the phone again whenever we were in range (as long as our phone's Bluetooth transmitter was on). The car can copy over a phone's address book, up to 1,000 entries, although every time we tried it with our Motorola V551, it broke the Bluetooth connection.

But the feature that everyone is talking about, the one that invites awe at its technical wizardry or disdain for catering to less skilled drivers, is the parking assistant. The car can steer itself into parallel or slotted parking places. If the car has possible parking places around it and it's put into reverse, buttons appear on the touch screen that lets the driver choose parallel or slotted parking. Once the car is in self-parking mode, a green frame settles on the most likely parking spot, and arrow buttons let the driver adjust the positioning of the spot. Once the spot is chosen, the driver just needs to control the brake while the car steers itself back into the parking spot.

In our testing of the system, we found it identified a valid parking spot very quickly if we had the car positioned properly. For parallel parking, the driver's seat should be next to the front bumper of the car the Lexus is intended to park behind. We found the system works best if the curb is of normal height and there are cars in front and back of the space. Identifying a valid parking space is the biggest challenge--once it's set, the car steers itself right in. We were particularly impressed when the car put itself into a relatively tight spot. When we tried to park in a slotted spot with no cars to either side, we had to spend more time adjusting the green frame, but the car smoothly put itself into the spot. Overall, we like this feature. Although it didn't work under all circumstances, it worked in more than we would have expected.

The materials in the cabin are very luxurious. Lexus' press kit on the car points out that all interior wood comes from a single tree, just to ensure that all the grain matches. We are also impressed with the interior lighting, which uses LED spots for each seat, making it possible for a passenger to read a book without interfering with the driver's night vision.

Eight gears to choose from
Although the cabin of the LS 460 L is impressive, Lexus doesn't skimp on the drivetrain, either. The automatic transmission has eight gears. And that's not just excess, as this transmission is pretty smart. In our test driving, shifts were smooth, and most of the time not even noticeable. When we needed power, the transmission was there for us. When going downhill, the transmission downshifted to add a little engine braking. When the transmission is in Drive mode, it uses all gears, but in its Sport mode it tops out at six. It also offers manual selection, where the whole range is available.

The LS 460 L's main competitor, the Mercedes-Benz S550, only has seven gears, but it has a bigger engine. As the name would suggest, the LS 460 L is powered by a 4.6-liter V-8 producing 380 horsepower. But the S550's bigger engine only seems to get worse gas mileage, as the LS 460 L gets to 60mph in 5.4 seconds, where the S550 takes 6.14 seconds. We found the engine to be more than adequate to move this big car around, pushing it up hills and off the line without complaints or hesitation. Better yet, the EPA mileage on the LS 460 L is 18mpg in the city and 27mpg on the highway. In our testing, which was biased toward highway driving, we observed 24mpg. Those are very good numbers for a big car with a relatively big V-8.

The S550 had a slightly more comfortable suspension than the LS 460 L, making the Lexus the second best we've ever tested. It floats over potholes and road imperfections, quickly damping out jolts. There is an air suspension option available that may produce an even better ride, but our test car was not so equipped.

Handling is also good on this car. At low speeds the steering is fairly light, but it firms up underway. It is a fairly big car, and we felt that weight on the curves, but the tires stayed firmly on the road. It's helped along by Lexus' version of stability control, VDIM, which stands for vehicle dynamics integrated management. VDIM takes into account lots of vehicle data, such as wheel slip, deceleration, braking, and speed to provide a smoother driving experience than standard stability control systems.

Four braking system acronyms
The LS 460 L also has an extensive array of braking technologies designed for safety and handling that go under various acronyms, such as ECB (electronically controlled braking), ABS (anti-lock braking system), EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution), and BA (brake assist). In our use, we always found the brakes responsive, without being too grippy. Even the parking brake is electronic.

Airbag coverage in the LS 460 L is more than complete. The driver and front passenger get front airbags, side airbags, and knee airbags, while side curtain airbags run from front to back. Our car also had an optional rear seat side airbag. Lexus Link telematic service is also available, which will automatically send out an emergency signal if airbags are deployed. The car hasn't been rated by the NHTSA for crash protection yet.

A couple of other nice features worth mentioning are the tire pressure monitor and hill hold. Tire pressures are shown on the instrument cluster display, and even include the pressure in the spare. Hill hold is activated by pushing a button on the steering wheel. When it's activated, the car won't roll when the brake pedal is released.

The Lexus warranty offers four years or 50,000 miles of basic coverage, and six years or 70,000 miles of powertrain coverage.

Our review car was the 2007 Lexus LS 460 L, with a base price of $71,000. It had a luxury package ($2,780) that added power rear seats and other options, the Mark Levinson stereo upgrade ($2,530), Lexus Link telematic service ($900), Intuitive Parking Assist ($500), and the whiz bang Advanced Parking Guidance System ($700). With the destination charge, the total came out to $79,125.

The near-$80,000 price tag is hefty, but it's substantially cheaper than the Mercedes-Benz S550 or the BMW 750Li. Its fuel economy is also substantially better than these competitors, which makes it a compelling choice in this segment. But if the price of the LS 460 L still sounds on the high side, $10,000 can be quickly shaved off with the standard wheelbase LS 460, which has a base price of $60,000.