My 2015 is certainly as quiet, perhaps quieter on the highway than my LS430 was. What is much louder about your LS460? Wind noise? Tire noise? When you say it's not as smooth is it balance of wheels? You mentioned that. Do you have 18s or 19s? What tires are you running and what tire pressures?

The only time my 460 is louder is at idle, the engine isn't as smooth and quiet at idle, and it isn't quite as smooth through its rev band. At speed though the car is very quiet, on my phone dB meter I get 58-59 dB at 70-75 MPH which is very quiet. Certainly not a "calibrated instrument" by any means, but it's interesting to use it in different cars (I have not driven/ridden in a car that measures under 61 dB or so at highway speed other than my LS)

The 460 is a little firmer over big bumps and ruts, but is very smooth and floaty most of the time.

Interior trim on the 13+ car is all stitched leather and imitation leather...nicer than the trim in a non CL/UL LS430 for sure.

 

While there have certainly been advancements in turbos, they still eventually need replacing. And while I know all parts eventually need replacing, twin turbos are an especially expensive replacement. I suppose time will tell, but it is not for nothing that most all premium cars eschewed turbos until things like gas mileage and CO2 became an issue.

 

Theres eventually, and theres 80k miles. I might agree with you if you said 150k miles.

 

Be interesting to see if you ever witness a million mile 460. Ran into a guy on Facebook who sold his 2007 460 with 379,000 miles. He purchased it with 170,000 and he said the only repairs he made were shocks, I thought that was pretty cool. He said the first owner was an insurance agent. The second owner was in sales.

The million mile car phenomenon is something I find very interesting (and misleading). I automatically discount any million mile car that's had any major component replacement, like a transmission or an engine. To me it kind of spoils the whole thing. Or if someone has an entire engine rebuild? I mean come on. Like the guy with the 3 million mile Volvo, he's had everything replaced, rebuilt, repainted, restored on that thing. I mean it's amazing he's driven that much but the steering wheel might be the only thing that's been driven 3 million miles. I love the real million mile stories, the cars that went that far with only suspension components, tires, brakes, fluids, belts, etc. The million mile cars that are burning two quarts every thousand miles and rattling their way down the road - those are the stories that are real, at least to me - and the 1 million mile LS400 certainly fits that bill. That car looks legit.

 

I agree on all fronts- my 460 is only louder at idle. It is more quiet and smoother than my 430 at any speed and I have bigger wheels (19") on my 460 than I had on my 430 (18"). I like the idea of testing the dB reading using your phone (and I know Steve test drives lots of cars) - not to get too far off tangent here but would love to know the dB level of cars that are in the same class (S class, A8, 750, etc) and would really like to know if you've tested it in a Model S.

 

VERY true. I have a better story with my brother's 73 Honda Civic. He bought it brand new and put over 200k miles on it. NEVER replaced the brake pads (no joke) and never replaced the clutch. Unbelievable. However. he did replace the muffler almost every year. He almost put a "lifetime guarantee" muffler company out of business. lol.

 

Yep - Trigger's broom..... "It'll last me forever.... it's only ever had 4 heads and two handles replaced since I bought it".

 

Rolls Royce used to specify their engines' power as "adequate"! Of course in this brave new world of marketing talking heads they realize they need power and torque numbers in their brochures.

 

Back to the OT when I was shopping I didn't really consider the 460 enough of an upgrade over my 430 to merit the extra cash; but it probably depends on the condition and options of the two cars you're considering. The power and extra features of the 600h (and the exec seating package) was the tipping point for me.

There are many documented differences between the two cars and many people come out on one side or another; but they are both great cars. Each has it's own personality and some people just want to be right; there is no right answer here except the one that makes sense to you.

I think it just depends on the deal and whether you think it's worth it. I was pretty much expecting to sell the LS430 after I brought the 600h home three years ago.

They both are now downstairs parked in tandem. No immediate plans to get rid of either. But that's just me.

 

I went from an 05 LS430 to an 08 LS460. Couldn't be happier. Even with the sticky leather and the torn armrest, it's still the greatest car I've ever driven.

 

While I think that the LS430 has a well deserved reputation for reliability beyond anything short of a 70's Benz, I do think the 460 might be unfairly maligned. I know several folks with 460's with 200,000 plus miles. Moreover, I cannot recall any real transmission issues.

While the 430 was a direct beneficiary of the one billion Dollar F1 project, the LS still is made in a special facility and only the best of the best work on them. Ok, I am sure they grabbed some LS workers for the LFA, but the 460 is something special. Heck, it represented Lexus's introduction to the JDM.

And while the 430 is beyond built to last, we are talking about a 15 year old design and actually I am sure the actual design itself is around 20 years old. While I really liked my 2005 430 UL, I love my 460. In fact, when I sold my LX470 to purchase his LS430, I had the biggest case of buyers remorse perhaps ever. In spite of it being in utterly immaculate condition,