Test drove the LS460 L today
09-16-06, 12:41 PM
#1
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Test drove the LS460 L today
I had a chance to test drive an LS460 L pre-production model today at the Taste of Lexus event in Irvine. They had quite a few of the 460's there today, but all were pre-production, so it's hard to know how close they were to the finished product. They looked like they had been driven quite a bit.
I sat in the back seat of the LWB model with the executive seating package. The ottoman is an OK feature, but it is only useful if you move the front seat all the way forward, which of course means nobody can be sitting in it. Otherwise, the ottoman hits the back of the front seat when you try to raise it.
The power to the car was not on, so I could not try the massage feature. I'm told that it is nicer than the vibrating massage in the current LS430 UL package, which I currently have.
The trunk space was quite small, due to the extra AC unit in the rear seat which comes with the executive package. It was quite a bit smaller than the trunk on my LS430, even though I have the rear air conditioning unit in mine.
The test drive consisted of a lot of twists and turns, but not much room to get the speed going. I can confirm that the car is powerful, and the turns felt confident, but not much tighter than my LS430 with the sport suspension mode turned on.
I had a 10:30 appointment for a test drive, but I still waited in line for 45 minutes to do a 4 minute test drive. I could have driven other cars, including the BMW 750iL and the MB S550, but the lines were equally long, and I can just as easily go down to the local dealers to test drive those cars.
All in all, I have to say I left feeling more disappointed than excited about the LS460 L. The car is certainly very nice, but not that much more exciting than the LS430. The exterior styling is much sharper, but I'm not that into exterior looks. After all, you can't see what it looks like when you are driving it.
Given that I can buy my current 2004 LS430 UL off lease for $35K, and a new LS 460L is likely in the $80's, I was not particularly excited about shelling out all the extra money for the 460. It's a nice car, and if I didn't already have a really nice LS, I would definitely consider it as one of my top 2 or 3 choices, but I just was not blown away by the car. It's just another really nice Lexus, and not much more. Everything else has just been marketing hype. The sound of the door closing is just like any other car. The wood looks just like the wood in my current car, even if it all came from the same tree. The windows do slow down as they complete their roll up, but so what...
The marketing people there were all guessing what they thought the car was going to cost, but nobody had any idea when Lexus was planning on announcing pricing. I did hear a date of October 20 to hit the showrooms, so unless they come without stickers on them, I would assume we will at least know the price when they arrive at the showroom.
I'll be curious to see what others who went to the event thought. Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice car. It's just that after all the anticipation and hype, I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed by the whole thing.
I sat in the back seat of the LWB model with the executive seating package. The ottoman is an OK feature, but it is only useful if you move the front seat all the way forward, which of course means nobody can be sitting in it. Otherwise, the ottoman hits the back of the front seat when you try to raise it.
The power to the car was not on, so I could not try the massage feature. I'm told that it is nicer than the vibrating massage in the current LS430 UL package, which I currently have.
The trunk space was quite small, due to the extra AC unit in the rear seat which comes with the executive package. It was quite a bit smaller than the trunk on my LS430, even though I have the rear air conditioning unit in mine.
The test drive consisted of a lot of twists and turns, but not much room to get the speed going. I can confirm that the car is powerful, and the turns felt confident, but not much tighter than my LS430 with the sport suspension mode turned on.
I had a 10:30 appointment for a test drive, but I still waited in line for 45 minutes to do a 4 minute test drive. I could have driven other cars, including the BMW 750iL and the MB S550, but the lines were equally long, and I can just as easily go down to the local dealers to test drive those cars.
All in all, I have to say I left feeling more disappointed than excited about the LS460 L. The car is certainly very nice, but not that much more exciting than the LS430. The exterior styling is much sharper, but I'm not that into exterior looks. After all, you can't see what it looks like when you are driving it.
Given that I can buy my current 2004 LS430 UL off lease for $35K, and a new LS 460L is likely in the $80's, I was not particularly excited about shelling out all the extra money for the 460. It's a nice car, and if I didn't already have a really nice LS, I would definitely consider it as one of my top 2 or 3 choices, but I just was not blown away by the car. It's just another really nice Lexus, and not much more. Everything else has just been marketing hype. The sound of the door closing is just like any other car. The wood looks just like the wood in my current car, even if it all came from the same tree. The windows do slow down as they complete their roll up, but so what...
The marketing people there were all guessing what they thought the car was going to cost, but nobody had any idea when Lexus was planning on announcing pricing. I did hear a date of October 20 to hit the showrooms, so unless they come without stickers on them, I would assume we will at least know the price when they arrive at the showroom.
I'll be curious to see what others who went to the event thought. Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice car. It's just that after all the anticipation and hype, I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed by the whole thing.
09-16-06, 02:13 PM
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COMON lol... You just reminded me of the time when I wanted to ride a new rollercoaster; You wait sometimes up to 3 hours and then when you get on the ride, 4 minutes and it's all over. Let me elaborate, you wait 3 hours in the heat, standing up, moving slowly, you got a person that's right behind you breathing on your neck, bumping into you every now and then (frustrating). All that, for just a short moment of thrill. But it's worth it in the end!
All in all, I have to say I left feeling more disappointed than excited about the LS460 L. The car is certainly very nice, but not that much more exciting than the LS430
The LS430 is imo one of the most beautiful cars in its class and one of the best!
And yes it's not easy outdo an already perfect car!
So I understand what you're saying, however I am looking forward to the new LS460, because when I look at cars, I look in the details, what lies beneath! And because of that I beleive Lexus improved tremendoulsy.
VDIM, VGRS, Hard Drive, LKA, Auto Parking assist, Push button start engine, Live traffic update, better VR, navigation and screen resolution/display, auto closing trunk, Electric side window curtain, sensors that monitor passenger temperature, heated steering wheel, Tire pressure monitor for each wheel individually including spare tire, high speed/low speed cruise control and many many more things.
The windows do slow down as they complete their roll up, but so what...
See, that’s exactly what I love about Lexus and LS in particular, this is the kind of stuff, the kind of detail that earns Lexus respect… You don’t “need” this stuff, this is just pure luxury, and that’s what makes the Lexus LS an LS.
When I demonstrate to my friends those features and details, I always get the same reaction and answers, that’s:
Mmmm! (with a head nod)
WHaaaaa ( with open jaw)
Wow shi! They go that far ( with that “ im impressed” look)
They’ve definitely thought about everything
If Lexus thought “so what, that’s not important, no one is going to care about that” then we would have an Infiniti q45 or a Jaguar XJ. Instead the LS has consistently been the top selling car in it's class (Please this is NOT intended to start a flame war)
You need to spend more time with a fully loaded one, alone without feeling like you have to rush through the test drive.
Do you have pictures? lol
All in all, I have to say I left feeling more disappointed than excited about the LS460 L. The car is certainly very nice, but not that much more exciting than the LS430
The LS430 is imo one of the most beautiful cars in its class and one of the best!
And yes it's not easy outdo an already perfect car!
So I understand what you're saying, however I am looking forward to the new LS460, because when I look at cars, I look in the details, what lies beneath! And because of that I beleive Lexus improved tremendoulsy.
VDIM, VGRS, Hard Drive, LKA, Auto Parking assist, Push button start engine, Live traffic update, better VR, navigation and screen resolution/display, auto closing trunk, Electric side window curtain, sensors that monitor passenger temperature, heated steering wheel, Tire pressure monitor for each wheel individually including spare tire, high speed/low speed cruise control and many many more things.
The windows do slow down as they complete their roll up, but so what...
See, that’s exactly what I love about Lexus and LS in particular, this is the kind of stuff, the kind of detail that earns Lexus respect… You don’t “need” this stuff, this is just pure luxury, and that’s what makes the Lexus LS an LS.
When I demonstrate to my friends those features and details, I always get the same reaction and answers, that’s:
Mmmm! (with a head nod)
WHaaaaa ( with open jaw)
Wow shi! They go that far ( with that “ im impressed” look)
They’ve definitely thought about everything
If Lexus thought “so what, that’s not important, no one is going to care about that” then we would have an Infiniti q45 or a Jaguar XJ. Instead the LS has consistently been the top selling car in it's class (Please this is NOT intended to start a flame war)
You need to spend more time with a fully loaded one, alone without feeling like you have to rush through the test drive.
Do you have pictures? lol
Last edited by GSsnarl; 09-16-06 at 02:35 PM.
09-16-06, 02:16 PM
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I sat in the back seat of the LWB model with the executive seating package. The ottoman is an OK feature, but it is only useful if you move the front seat all the way forward, which of course means nobody can be sitting in it. Otherwise, the ottoman hits the back of the front seat when you try to raise it.
I think the Maybach that has the ottoman has a rear seat legroom of 46 inches.
09-16-06, 02:43 PM
#4
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LOL, you can't compare the LS460L to the Maybach 62, that's the long version of the Maybach & it's $350K+ . . . Now I don't know if I remember correctly, do they offer the ottoman feature for the SWB LS460 in Japan too ? I wonder how that would be like if that's the case . . .
09-16-06, 02:50 PM
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I had a chance to test drive an LS460 L pre-production model today at the Taste of Lexus event in Irvine. They had quite a few of the 460's there today, but all were pre-production, so it's hard to know how close they were to the finished product. They looked like they had been driven quite a bit.
All in all, I have to say I left feeling more disappointed than excited about the LS460 L. The car is certainly very nice, but not that much more exciting than the LS430. The exterior styling is much sharper, but I'm not that into exterior looks. After all, you can't see what it looks like when you are driving it.
ole thing.
All in all, I have to say I left feeling more disappointed than excited about the LS460 L. The car is certainly very nice, but not that much more exciting than the LS430. The exterior styling is much sharper, but I'm not that into exterior looks. After all, you can't see what it looks like when you are driving it.
ole thing.
Then maybe the new LS is not for you. You can go to BMW dealer and find perfect happiness there. After 3 hours of waiting and 4 min behind the wheel, I cannot imagine how anyone can opine.
09-16-06, 03:20 PM
#6
Just got back a hr ago. I thought it was more fun to drive then the previous. I was very impressed with new LS over the old, interior, features, function, etc. Throttle response is much better. You can feel the power when you floor it. Handling much improved over the old LS. Overall, I thought it was very improved over the previous LS.
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09-16-06, 04:17 PM
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LOL, you can't compare the LS460L to the Maybach 62, that's the long version of the Maybach & it's $350K+ . . . Now I don't know if I remember correctly, do they offer the ottoman feature for the SWB LS460 in Japan too ? I wonder how that would be like if that's the case . . .
09-16-06, 04:31 PM
#9
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Interesting thoughts, folks. Thanks for all the great feedback. To respond to a few comments:
1) I'm quite sure I'm not interested in the BMW 750iL. Just look at my screen name and you can probably guess that.
2) I suspect the Taste of Lexus event was not the best way for me to first experience a new LS460. The cars were pre-production, and not up to the standards you would expect from a factory fresh Lexus. In addition, the number of people there was overwhelming. It was nothing like the personal touch of setting up an appointment with a sales person and taking the time to look through models, test drive a few cars, etc.
3) My overall experience of this event was skewed by my frustration of not knowing how much these cars cost. For me, everything has a value to it, and when the cost of an item is in proportion with the value, I can relate to it. If I knew the rear seat upgrade package was $500, I'm sure I would have loved it. Since I don't know for sure, I have a hard time determining how useful it would be to me. For $4K-$8K, I'm sure I would pass on it, since I hardly sit in the rear seat.
My situation may also be different from some of you, in that I am currently driving a 2004 LS430. 2004 was the first year of the mid life refresh, so it includes the rear view camera, bluetooth, keyless starting, etc. My current car has clearly surpassed my expectations in regards to reliablity, luxury and comfort. I say this after having owned both a MB and BMW and having spent way too much time in the service centers waiting for them to be repaired and choking on the bills when I saw what it cost to fix them.
Therefore, my overall conclusion was based on the currenty "utility" I am achieving by driving a $35K car (the amount of the residual if I buy it this month) versus the thought of buying a car that cost approximately $80K. I am hard pressed to say the new car is worth more than twice the price of what I am driving.
If I had an older car and it was clear that I was definitely going to buy a new car, the LS460 would still be my first choice. I would likely choose the MB550 second, and the BMW 750iL third. While the MB is a nice car, I suspect it will be about $20K more than the LS460L comparably equipped, and I don't think it offers anything special for the extra cost. The BMW is nice to drive, but beyond that it just doesn't excite me.
In any case, I look forward to visiting my dealership next month when they get some fresh inventory and when I can understand what the base and option prices are, and taking a second look at the whole buying decision. Until then, I'm thoroughly enjoying my LS430.
1) I'm quite sure I'm not interested in the BMW 750iL. Just look at my screen name and you can probably guess that.
2) I suspect the Taste of Lexus event was not the best way for me to first experience a new LS460. The cars were pre-production, and not up to the standards you would expect from a factory fresh Lexus. In addition, the number of people there was overwhelming. It was nothing like the personal touch of setting up an appointment with a sales person and taking the time to look through models, test drive a few cars, etc.
3) My overall experience of this event was skewed by my frustration of not knowing how much these cars cost. For me, everything has a value to it, and when the cost of an item is in proportion with the value, I can relate to it. If I knew the rear seat upgrade package was $500, I'm sure I would have loved it. Since I don't know for sure, I have a hard time determining how useful it would be to me. For $4K-$8K, I'm sure I would pass on it, since I hardly sit in the rear seat.
My situation may also be different from some of you, in that I am currently driving a 2004 LS430. 2004 was the first year of the mid life refresh, so it includes the rear view camera, bluetooth, keyless starting, etc. My current car has clearly surpassed my expectations in regards to reliablity, luxury and comfort. I say this after having owned both a MB and BMW and having spent way too much time in the service centers waiting for them to be repaired and choking on the bills when I saw what it cost to fix them.
Therefore, my overall conclusion was based on the currenty "utility" I am achieving by driving a $35K car (the amount of the residual if I buy it this month) versus the thought of buying a car that cost approximately $80K. I am hard pressed to say the new car is worth more than twice the price of what I am driving.
If I had an older car and it was clear that I was definitely going to buy a new car, the LS460 would still be my first choice. I would likely choose the MB550 second, and the BMW 750iL third. While the MB is a nice car, I suspect it will be about $20K more than the LS460L comparably equipped, and I don't think it offers anything special for the extra cost. The BMW is nice to drive, but beyond that it just doesn't excite me.
In any case, I look forward to visiting my dealership next month when they get some fresh inventory and when I can understand what the base and option prices are, and taking a second look at the whole buying decision. Until then, I'm thoroughly enjoying my LS430.
09-16-06, 06:33 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
LOL, you can't compare the LS460L to the Maybach 62, that's the long version of the Maybach & it's $350K+ . . . Now I don't know if I remember correctly, do they offer the ottoman feature for the SWB LS460 in Japan too ? I wonder how that would be like if that's the case . . .
09-16-06, 07:17 PM
#11
exBMWOwner, i think your points are valid. I think that this time, more than ever, Lexus has hyped a lot to the point of overdoing it. The new LS is more unprecedented than ever, particularly in 2 lengths, but as has been stated on this board by other previewers, the car is more evolutionary than revolutionary to some. There ARE revolutionary aspects, but the reality of the LS Series is that it also continually evolves on strengths.
I am perfectly comfortable with the LS 430, and I think that it is a worthy choice. The LS 460...maybe after the buying rush. Or maybe during, LOL.
But I would like to also point out that the LS 430 ALSO features wood all carved from the same tree; that 1 out of every 3 pieces of wood are selected/rejected for use; and that 1 tree is planted for every 1 tree cut down for Lexus wood.
The LS 430 is very impressive as well.
Thank you for your impressions!
I am perfectly comfortable with the LS 430, and I think that it is a worthy choice. The LS 460...maybe after the buying rush. Or maybe during, LOL.
But I would like to also point out that the LS 430 ALSO features wood all carved from the same tree; that 1 out of every 3 pieces of wood are selected/rejected for use; and that 1 tree is planted for every 1 tree cut down for Lexus wood.
The LS 430 is very impressive as well. Thank you for your impressions!
09-16-06, 07:38 PM
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I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your experience today. I was on my way down to Irvine as well but gave up due to traffic and the long lines that Rominl told me about on the phone.
The Taste of Lexus Event is just that..a taste. The cars are always pre production as you can imagine how beat up they will be once the tour ends. It's meant for a chance to test drive all different makes at the same time to do general side by side comparison without having pushy salespeople talking to you.
I confirm with my dealer today they heard it will start at $68,xxx with navigation on the minimum option car. Lexus has not yet decided on what packages to group together as it's not on their preference sheet (ordering form) yet. This is from a phone conversation with Lexus corp and it's not confirmed but I'm sure it's close. Just hang tight and I'm sure you'll do okay once you test drive the actual car and get accurate pricing info.
The Taste of Lexus Event is just that..a taste. The cars are always pre production as you can imagine how beat up they will be once the tour ends. It's meant for a chance to test drive all different makes at the same time to do general side by side comparison without having pushy salespeople talking to you.
I confirm with my dealer today they heard it will start at $68,xxx with navigation on the minimum option car. Lexus has not yet decided on what packages to group together as it's not on their preference sheet (ordering form) yet. This is from a phone conversation with Lexus corp and it's not confirmed but I'm sure it's close. Just hang tight and I'm sure you'll do okay once you test drive the actual car and get accurate pricing info.
09-16-06, 09:26 PM
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09-16-06, 10:41 PM
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those of you that were at taste of lexus, did you see the auto park-assist demo they showed every few hours? the car parallel parked itself! now, they didn't show how easy or hard it was to tell the computer how to choose the spot you want, but man, was that park assist cool.
09-16-06, 10:55 PM
#15
I thought for a pre-production model, these drove nicely overall. While the brakes felt a bit soft, it's pretty much 90+ there. I did notice among the 460's that they were at varying ride heights. The gold one sat the lowest of them all wheels at about 1-2 finger gap at all four corners.
The drive by wire I'm not used to. In my ancient 400, you stomp on it, and it downshifts and go. These, you pedal the floor and a blink later, the engine winds up. Ride quality is smooth and solid like the LS we expect. Handling, it's still that luxo barge but I'm sure the car is more than capable.
I only hope they have fixed the pesky moonroof shade rattles. I dunno why this persists as I had this in my '85 Cressida.
The drive by wire I'm not used to. In my ancient 400, you stomp on it, and it downshifts and go. These, you pedal the floor and a blink later, the engine winds up. Ride quality is smooth and solid like the LS we expect. Handling, it's still that luxo barge but I'm sure the car is more than capable.
I only hope they have fixed the pesky moonroof shade rattles. I dunno why this persists as I had this in my '85 Cressida.