4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

Went to a release event for the LS last night, very lavish on par with Taste of Lexus. Lots of wine, champagne, finger foods, filet mignon, chocolates, real quality stuff. There were LOTS of people there interested in seeing it and were totally thrilled. They had about 5 LS460s, 3 standard wheel base and 2 long. Sterling McCall has a 100 person long wait list, and that was 2 weeks ago, who knows how long it is after a ton of people saw this car in person last night. Sterling is one of 4 Lexus dealers in the Houston area, I'm sure everyone else is booked too. There were no test drives in this event, Taste of Lexus Houston is tomorrow anyways. I didnt really get to test most of the electronics, the cars weren't on most of the time, again Taste of Lexus. Since there wasnt any driving all I can comment on is what you can see in a showroom, its paint, interior fit and finish.

Paint:
First off my dad likes to brag about this 2000 740i paint which is actually in very good for a 2000, but when he saw and felt the paint on the LS his jaw dropped and immediately said this is better than mine, so I guess it was that good. It felt like silk/glass to me, was perfect, checked many random spots, couldnt see any orange peel. There was a Obsidian LS460L there and it was stunning, imagine the deep gloss black you see on the the samsung plasma TV bodies and other TVs like that, just pitch deep black. Havent seen a black that deep before (but I dont want to clean it). Outside there was a Starfire Pearl LS460L. I caught some outside light coming in at an angle so I can see how smooth it was, again this was perfect, makes my IS paint look cheap, tons of pearl in it, camera lens-like smoothness

Interior:
Obsidian LS460L again has a black interior and a dark red wood, Navi, ML. Car wasnt on so couldnt test the electronics. Im more than satified in the leather of my IS, but the leather in the LS is ultra smooth and soft. They have tags on the seats saying genuine leather etc like you find on a leather furniture. LWB has a cavernous amount of space, I'm 5'10 and I sat in the back while other people were in the front adjusting the seat and I still had a clear 4" in front of my knees and feet. I started flipping random buttons and switches in the car to see how solid they are and they are very solid, distinct clicking noises to know you changed a setting, doesnt feel flimsy, everythings clearly labeled intuitively. Dash design is excellent, simple but tall and muscular almost like a mountain. Trunk is very large, Im guessing at least 2-3 golf bags. Power close trunk was a nice touch on this trim

We chatted with a older couple about the car and they were going gaga over it. So we closed the doors even tho there was about 100+ people chattering outside in the showroom and it was ultra quiet when it was closed. I could still whisper to the couple and they would still be able to hear us despite the people outside. Doors have tons of leather on it, theres not much non leather materials on it. Wood is very deep and rich in color. All the buttons are where you expect it, no guessing what does what, its clearly labelled. Cant say the same for dads BMW, strange button locations with strange symbols, I'm sure it was carried over to the new model as well.

Outside there was a starfire pearl LS460L and the electronics were on so we rushed in to sample things before it was turned off by the dealer. Cranked up the ML (only radio was available ) and it sounded excellent, much richer than my ML, but it has 5 more speakers and more power. So I can imagine what it soundslike when you put a quality source like DVD-A and normal CDs in. So messing around some more my dad pressed the gas pedal accidently and the car revved, we didnt even realize it was on it was that quiet. There were no interior vibrations to indicate the car was even on. Navigation screen is huge, easily Lexus' largest LCD, im going to guess it was close to 7-8" and the resolution was superb. I will test more electronics at Taste of Lexus Houston tomorrow.

I guess thats all I can say now, since there wasnt any gasoline flowing at this party. But tomorrows the big day I will get to test everything including the 750 and S550, and I'll try to take pics. Dad really loved the LS but its a large car, hes tempted but he doesnt like driving something so large. The older 740 is the size for him, not sure what he wants later on. But I think he got converted a little last night. I didnt hear him make any complaints

Excellent party Sterling McCall I loved it and unbelievable car Lexus

Car Nut

Great write up. I could almost picture myself being there!
Looking forward to your driving impressions later.

vraa

iTrader: (2)

Great, I didn't hear anything about it and we've bought more than 10 Lexus' from the dealer since the early 90's when Stan was there.

Do you have any pictures?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah, very true about the engine. duringn the launch event that i attended, they had two ls460 rolled in from the sides. the car was so quiet people couldn't really hear it running

GFerg

Nice review. Is the SWB LS still to long for him?? Should slot in nicely between a 740i and 740iL IMO. When driving the LS, to me it didnt seem like I was driving such a big car (and I drove the LWB model). It felt like I was driving a car the size of a GS.

nhey

You are the first person to describe the 460L trunk as very large. Did the car you sat in NOT have the rear cooling package which results in a 1/3 reduction in trunk space from 18 to 12 cubic feet?

encore888

Great writeup! I think you hit on all the right points--these details are what make the LS 460 rise above the rest.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i am sure for those of us who have seen the car, the paint is something dead impressive