NM600HL

I have driven, caddy's, lincoln tc's, LS400s, LS430's, Benzes - I haven't found many that come close to comparing to my 08 600HL on comfort setting... I love that it can have that cloud feeling and then i can punch into it / hit sport and away i go!

SW17LS

Try 16's. The LS didn't even have a 17" option until the LS430 in 2001. The 1990 has 15s. The 460 is a little sportier than the 430 or the 400, a lot of that is the larger diameter wheels I think, but the difference is subtle. I've driven 430s and 460s back to back and the 460 is a little crisper, but the ride is still there. The LS rides like an LS, to me no other sedan rides quite the same way.

The OP mentioned the ES, well the 07-12 and especially the 2013 ES ride significantly better than previous versions of the ES. My 2010 rides much more like an LS compared to my 2003 ES, and the 2013 with the longer wheelbase is even moreso.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

andywau,

Did you mistaken an IS-F to be a LS460?

Or you test drove an used LS460 on coilover and 23" rims with 25 series tires?

Even the latest LS460 F-Sport is not very sporty at all.

adamls2

The 460 definitely is more sportier than the 400 or even 430, but still compared to other cars the 460 is amazingly smooth. I love it personally, and I wouldn't mind even less cushy-ness for the extra performance factor.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

That depends on which one you compare to. Steel springs wise, the 460 is firmer then the regular 430 but is softer then the 430 on sport suspension. Air suspension wise, on sport mode, 460 is firmer then 430, but not by much.

Suspension feels is totally subjective, but I don't think anyone would call any versions of a stock 460 to be too firm. Unless someone's preference is a 1970 Cadillac Deville with worn out shock. That is why I question andywau's opinion.

Calling a LS460 riding too firm is like calling a stock IS-F or LFA riding too floaty..........it doesn't sounds right.

Zammer

I purchased a 2011 LS460 with 12K, (not air suspension) that I was too stupid to test drive first. I had a '94 LS400 that rode like a dream after 103,000K miles. I thought the 460 would be even better than the 400. I was wrong. On city streets, every bump is felt hard. On freeways every tar strip between concrete portions is strongly felt. And the car bobs like a canoe--a passenger got carsick, something that last happened in a car of mine 60 years agol'
I took the car to a local dealer (I'd purchased the car out of town.) They had the shop chief go for a test drive with me. He said he recognized that ride--Lexus had published an update replacing the front suspension, which made it ride as a Lexus should. It turns out the update was for models up to the 2010, the problem had been fixed at the factory for 2011 models. Except it hadn't--the shop chief recognized it.
The tires were changed from Dunlop Sports Maxx (on a 460? Sports tires don't make a car "sporty" on their own) to Michelins noted for comfort. They helped a little, as does using 30pPsi instead of recommended 34 ps, but that just makes the car less bumpy, reduce mileage and reduce the life of the tires.
The service manager, a Lexus area rep who happened to be there, and the shop chief drove the car, and found the ride "normal." (Yes, it was the same shop chief who'd found the suspension needed to be changed when he rode with me, but I don't blame him. Jobs are hard to come by. I think he'd already been taken to task for having told me what he had.)
The last word from the service manager is that "Lexus" had declared the ride to be fine, and would do nothing about the suspension. If I wanted to try the Lemon Law or other legal actions, it's fine with him.
Of course "Lexus" hadn't ridden in the car. The service manager surely told them it was fine, though he knew the shop chief's real opinion. The dealer wants $9000 for installing a new suspension. I'm considering take a $10K loss--CarMax offered that--and no more Lexuses.
By the way, a respected auto writer said of the 350 that Lexus tried to make it more like BMWs, and ended up with a car neither sporty nor comfortable.