realkrs

I've been looking for a nice used LS460 with AWD, preferably an L-Certified car, but since that has seemed like an impossible find. I've put a request in at the local dealer specifying AWD, ML, and black leather and have no result in over six weeks.

Seems like folks in the Pacific Northwest don't see a need for the AWD feature. With the rain, and for me snow, black ice, and regular ice very often it surprises me to see so few cars with the AWD feature. We're at 1000ft elev with a ten mile curvy mountain road to town for groceries

Is this a trouble prone system? I mean are there things about the feature that I should know and don't?

Both my wife and I have had harrowing experiences on ice in our 2001 LS430. I did a full 360* at about 5 mph in the smog station's parking lot. A slow motion spinout that didn't stop until all of the big car's intertia was used. It was iced over completely and invisible. The girl who did the inspection apologized saying "I guess the boss forgot to put out the warning signs. Luckily I was early enough that nobody else was there so it was kind of fun but if there'd been any car within range I'd have thumped into it. With the wheel turned into the slide there was nothing else I could do to stop, just sit there feeling half stupid and half amused.

I came away believing that such big RWD cars need AWD more than smaller lighter ones do.

SW17LS

Not trouble prone, and my AWD LS is great in the snow. My RWD LS430 and 400 were terrible.

realkrs

Thanks for your quick response.

It's beginning to look as though I'll need to buy out of eBay. There's quite a few available around the country.

Or maybe try on a GS AWD. There's more of those out here but I'd need the side-to-side legroom. I've got a condition that makes my lower leg skin hypersensitive and if a car's made so it makes me squeeze my leg against anything it's like being tortured with a blowtorch ..or something. That's what first got me into an LS400 and now an LS430.

comotiger

There are huge #s of AWD, ML CPO 460s from 2012-2015 across the country, depending upon your budget and how far you can travel to buy. If going the eBay route, be sure to get a complete pre-purchase inspection (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...nspection.html). Personally, I would visit the dealership, buy in person and drive back (as I did a few months ago ).

SW17LS

Having come from the GS to the LS, if rear legroom is a big concern the GS is very tight in the rear. Front legroom is tighter than the LS too, and the AWD hump in the drivers side footwell is more pronounced. It's also a much firmer ride. Great car, I loved mine but quite different.

teedub21

2 wheel or 4 wheel doesn't matter in ice. Buy a good set of stud less snow tires and that rwd LS will go places the awd one won't on all season tires.

realkrs

I haven't sat in an AWD GS, or any GS later than a 2006 so I'm gonna' have to schedule a trip to the dealership to try on some cars. That 'AWD hump' is a concern to me. Lateral footroom is a measure never found in auto specifications yet for me it's the single most important element of my driving comfort.

Thanks again, SW15LS.

SW17LS

It didn't bother me, but on the GS I could rest my thigh on that hump. I kind of liked it actually.

roadfrog

I agree with Teedub21, dedicated snow tires all around, and set the trans for "snow" and you'll be amazed at how well the RWD LS will perform.

greg3852

Several of us have driven through Boston's worst winter on record in RWD LS's without issue. The car will make it through just about anything provided it is driven correctly. The 460 is a million light years ahead of how my LS 400 was.

SW17LS

Unless traction control has taken a marked step forward since 2004, I would be dubious as how snow worthy a RWD LS actually is, because my 400 and 430 were certainly not, and yes I know how to drive a car in the snow.

I would caution people who run winter tires and/or put a bunch of weight in the trunk from extolling the virtues of a RWD car in the snow without disclosing the fact that you're using and doing these things to improve traction.

comotiger

AWD has clear advantages in slippery conditions, so while RWD with snow tires may work reasonably well, AWD with decent tires would be definitely better. My brother-in-law in Iowa sold his RWD 740iL because he was having a hard time negotiating driveways in the winter (OK, he also hated the service visits), and convinced me that an AWD luxury car would be better for the midwest winters. I can also attest to this from my 20+ years with an AWD Subaru.

teedub21

Don't get me wrong, with the same tires awd will definitely be better but a rwd car with dedicated snow tires (Blizzak, etc) will be very effective in the snow.

comotiger

I have no experience with RWD cars or snow tires, but does ride quality get worse and is road noise increased significantly with winter tires like Blizzak?

While AWD comes with the added cost of mechanical complexity and higher price, RWD folks have to invest in a new set of wheels and tires and swap them twice a year.

roadfrog

What the heck did we do 20 years ago when AWD was almost non-existent? Everyone drove around with snow tires on JUST the rear tires and went skiing, commuted to work in 3 ft of snow, etc. There wasn't carnage on the roadways and everyone seemed to be able to go about their business. I must be getting old. Between traction control, anti-skid, "snow" mode etc, the LS handles like a champ....albeit WITH dedicated (Blizzak etc) tires.

I will add, that I see more AWD, 4x4 etc crashing in the snow than I do FWD or RWD cars. Naturally, these are folks that get a false sense of security because they think they can drive in a more aggressive manner than those without. That and the fact that AWD doesn't stop any better than RWD.