460 SWB vs 430 rear legroom
#91
Lead Lap
I have certainly heard good things, but after having LX470 for several years, I am happy back lower to the ground. I will grant you that the Q7 is far more carlike than for all intents and purposes a Land Cruiser, but the center of gravity is still obviously higher. That said, I would not shock me to read that a Q7 sports a much better skidpad and slalom numbers than a 460.
#92
Lexus Fanatic
Totally different sort of vehicle from an LX, much more catlike.
#93
Lead Lap
Indeed. I even pointed out that very thing down to saying it was far more carlike. The Q7 in this iteration probably qualifies as a crossover whereas the 1st gen Touareg, Cayenne, and less so the Q7 had legit off-road capability. Especially those equipped with locking diffs.
#94
Racer
Thread Starter
I believe LexusLSGuy recently purchased a 2014 A8 CPO. I was shocked how much cheaper it is than a comparable LS. It piqued my curiosity enough to search cargurus. The A8 is another car from my youth that I was always intrigued by, due to their Aluminum Space Frame. I remember sitting in an A8 way back in the late 1990s at a car show. I may search out one to at least test drive and experience. The maintenance on Audis still intimidates me as I'm not familiar with European makes and Consumer Reports does not have any reliability data going back 10 years! What the heck!?!? Also, a 2014 A8 is 202.5 inches long, and the A8L 207 inches!
Anyways, back to the thread title...I test drove a 2013 460 SWB this morning. Nebula Gray, 69K miles, and current owner purchased it as a CPO. There is about 1,000 miles left on the CPO warranty, whereas the powertrain is unlimited miles. The car rode very well and felt extremely solid riding on 19-inch tires (wish they were 18s). The mouse controller is finicky but oh well. It has the air suspension and I was impressed with how quickly it changed modes. I can see myself mostly staying in comfort 95% of the time though, which probably defeats the purpose of having air suspension but the car has it nonetheless. It also had the rear seat upgrade. I told the seller I was wary of the reduced trunk space but wanted to experiment and see how well we could package a full set of suitcases. To our amazement, we managed to fit a BOB jogging stroller and all three suitcases!! The suitcases measure (all in inches), 31x21x12, 29x19x10, and 26x14x8. Even more impressive is that the smallest suitcase is more representative of future use than the Minnie Mouse kids mini-suitcase that we took to Disneyland, and everything still fit! Shocked doesn't begin to describe my reaction, plus there was even a little room to spare for a backpack or two! We have a pre-purchase inspection scheduled for Monday. If we can't close the deal on this car then at least I know not to fret about trunk space going forward. I just can't believe the smaller trunk held everything! The 2013 trunk must be an inch or so taller because I am not able to stand the largest suitcase on its side in the LS 430 trunk. I still like having the rear reclining seats (which this car has) and the included 4-zone climate control may be a boon since with the wife and daughter in back, one is always cold and one is always hot. Once I had the driver's seat set to my liking, there does appear to be about 1.5 inches less legroom than the LS 430. Below are photos comparing the jogging stroller and three suitcases in the 2006 LS 430 vs 2013 LS 460 SWB w/rear seat upgrade.
2006 LS 430:
2013 LS 460 UL:
Anyways, back to the thread title...I test drove a 2013 460 SWB this morning. Nebula Gray, 69K miles, and current owner purchased it as a CPO. There is about 1,000 miles left on the CPO warranty, whereas the powertrain is unlimited miles. The car rode very well and felt extremely solid riding on 19-inch tires (wish they were 18s). The mouse controller is finicky but oh well. It has the air suspension and I was impressed with how quickly it changed modes. I can see myself mostly staying in comfort 95% of the time though, which probably defeats the purpose of having air suspension but the car has it nonetheless. It also had the rear seat upgrade. I told the seller I was wary of the reduced trunk space but wanted to experiment and see how well we could package a full set of suitcases. To our amazement, we managed to fit a BOB jogging stroller and all three suitcases!! The suitcases measure (all in inches), 31x21x12, 29x19x10, and 26x14x8. Even more impressive is that the smallest suitcase is more representative of future use than the Minnie Mouse kids mini-suitcase that we took to Disneyland, and everything still fit! Shocked doesn't begin to describe my reaction, plus there was even a little room to spare for a backpack or two! We have a pre-purchase inspection scheduled for Monday. If we can't close the deal on this car then at least I know not to fret about trunk space going forward. I just can't believe the smaller trunk held everything! The 2013 trunk must be an inch or so taller because I am not able to stand the largest suitcase on its side in the LS 430 trunk. I still like having the rear reclining seats (which this car has) and the included 4-zone climate control may be a boon since with the wife and daughter in back, one is always cold and one is always hot. Once I had the driver's seat set to my liking, there does appear to be about 1.5 inches less legroom than the LS 430. Below are photos comparing the jogging stroller and three suitcases in the 2006 LS 430 vs 2013 LS 460 SWB w/rear seat upgrade.
2006 LS 430:
2013 LS 460 UL:
Last edited by FatherTo1; 04-25-18 at 10:07 PM.
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Mbbarron (04-26-18)
#95
Lexus Fanatic
Fingers crossed for you! Excellent taste in colors . Grey interior like mine?
If you're going to keep it a long time, I wouldn't even consider an A8 vs an LS. For a couple years sure, but not for 10+.
If you're going to keep it a long time, I wouldn't even consider an A8 vs an LS. For a couple years sure, but not for 10+.
#96
Racer
Thread Starter
#97
Thanks, Steve! Can't wait for Monday. It is flaxen interior with the shimamoku wood. I find the combo works well together. I really like that the ventilated/cooled seats actually produce a true draft, as opposed to the barely functional ventilated seats in the 430 and earlier 460s.
#98
The long wheel base A8 is really big in the back. It's a long car too. It does cut the trunk space down but that's ok. We don't really need it. Lot more then my 05 UL had. The car is a couple inches longer then a new Escalade.
Rear Head Room - 39.1 in.
Rear Leg Room - 42.9 in.
Rear Shoulder Room - 57.8 in.
Rear Head Room - 39.1 in.
Rear Leg Room - 42.9 in.
Rear Shoulder Room - 57.8 in.
#99
Lexus Fanatic
Nice! Yeah I had the choice between nebula and flaxen and nebula and grey, I had the flaxen on my GS and wanted something different, but it's a great color!
Do it!
Do it!
#100
#101
Lexus Fanatic
That brown is a great color, that would be my choice in an Audi.
#102
Racer
Thread Starter
Right you are, Dave! It does have the semi-aniline upgrade and alcantara headliner. This example seems to have it all except for the dynamic cruise control. I like how the BSM works and the cross-traffic backup sensor detects other vehicles at least two parking spaces away, before I will see them when backing up. To be honest, I don't get what is so special about the alcantara headliner on this car or our LS 430. It doesn't particularly feel luxurious. I thought alcantara is more like stiff suede. On this 2013, and our 430, the headliner feels wool-like but not particularly unique or high-grade. The whole alcantara headliner feature is lost on me is all. I wonder how effective the air purifier works (this one has those ceiling "speaker-looking" things for the purifier). I think the only thing I would change on this car is to swap out the 19-inch Eagle RSAs for some Pirelli P7+. But, I'm getting ahead of myself, need to buy it first. The seller doesn't have the title yet, which was a slight concern at first but he works in banking and apparently we can walk into the bank together and I should be able to have the title sent to me after the bill of sale OR we can arrange it so the title is present at the bank branch prior to us closing the deal. I don't have any second thoughts on this car like I did with previous opportunities. Hoping the PPI doesn't reveal anything troublesome.
#103
Racer
Thread Starter
Dave, how did you spot the semi-aniline upgrade? I thought all 2013+ had leather on the door handles so I'm not familiar with how else to identify the semi-aniline upgrade (other than the seller mentioning it). Thanks!
#104
Lexus Fanatic
You can tell it has the semi aniline leather because it has the alcantara headliner, and because it has a leather stitched airbag cover on the steering wheel.
I like the alcanatara headliner, but I also really like my standard headliner. Very rich also.
I like the alcanatara headliner, but I also really like my standard headliner. Very rich also.
#105
Racer
Thread Starter
Oh, the leather-stitched airbag cover on the steering wheel is not standard on all 2013+? Thanks, Steve. I guess every 2013+ I saw online must have the semi-aniline upgrade package. I really like the leather airbag cover on the steering wheel, but saw it so often I mistakenly thought it was standard (and another reason why I thought the 2013+ interior is better).