Dave144239

SW17LS

I will look forward to watching that!

comotiger

Nice video, but some of the "cool" features he emphasized are plain dumb IMO.
- In the HUD, I cannot imagine the purpose of displaying the Stop sign icon in the graphics. The driver should be looking out the windshield at the actual stop sign, not at their HUD!
- The other HUD feature of showing direction of cross-traffic in the street ahead is downright silly. The driver should actually be looking out the car at the actual movement of traffic rather than their HUD. I understand the logic of RCTA, but not in front of the driver!
- The 360 degree surround view camera with the ability to change the car's color is silly. The whole display in that mode looks very poorly implemented and amateurish.
- He felt the lack of buttons for front seat controls was nice. Most people, especially some LS500 owners, find it annoying that simple controls are hidden behind several layers of on-screen menus controlled by that touch keypad.
- He's pretty funny. In some places, it looks like he is being a bit sarcastic, for example, when discussing the rear reclining seat, and many of the functions on the Nav Screen.

Note that I love the interior design of the LS500, especially the Kiriko glass, pleated door panels etc. I have discussed these points elsewhere, in a thread I started. The main complaint like many others here is the severely confining feel inside the car with greatly reduced rear legroom and headroom inspite of being the longest LS ever built.

Stroock639

i was a bit disappointed it was the hybrid model since that's not "the LS" but i guess i can't be too picky... i recognize doug's reviewing style of "is this his actual real life personality?" can often get mixed feelings, especially if the viewer is not aware of when something is intended to be a joke, but he is generally very thorough and i think the "doug score" provides a nice basis for quickly trying to get an idea of how two different vehicles might stack up against each other. plus i think if you watch enough of his videos, they start to get very funny, if not necessarily for the right reasons lol...

PatsSoxfan

The video is nice, but one gets the feeling that he is being sarcastic about some features. This is extremely important to me, but he totally fails to discuss the stop and go auto pilot or semi autonomous driving in the LS500. Could it be that it stinks compared to the new S Class? How about the fact that it does not have Apple Car Play or Android play? That's ridiculous in my opinion. One can purchase a $30K car with Apple Car Play these days.

Also, as the previous poster stated, that touch pad is awful to use.

arentz07

True, on the funny for the wrong reasons.

I do find it interesting he didn't know what the Smog Sensor was for, being an aficionado of rare and expensive cars - Mercedes has been offering a similar feature for some time.

JDR76

Lexus of Seattle. Woot! I saw this the other day when they posted it on their Facebook page. It's been a fantastic dealer for me, and is only a couple miles from my house so it's super convenient.

Beautiful LS in that video.

john341

Front Cross traffic alert can be very useful, especially here in Texas where big trucks are very common. I hate it when I am at a red light trying to turn right onto the street and there is a Bro Dozer on my left blocking the view. The street sign can also be very useful at night in rural areas where some of these signs are covered up by tree branches, the signs are linked with GPS data, so the car camera do not have to see it in order for it to display it. There are many use cases for these features, IMO.

peteharvey

So despite its front mid engine layout compromizing the cabin length, the 5LS still cannot handle like the S Class and 7 Series, let alone beat them for handling?
True - the 5LS is that bad, or just biased nonsense from an Europhile?

Vladi

My impression of LS is completely opposite of his. I find the exterior to be star of the show, I mean how many cars have glass on top of door frames to make it seamless? Beautiful stuff.

On the other hand interior quality was a let down for me. Everything felt so plasticky and rubbery. Major disappointment was the volume/seek **** combo, it's not weighted properly, doesn't feel like metal composite and it's missing proper clicks when twisting. But again I drove the F-sport version since buddy of mine went with White on black F-sport cause he got a deal on it. Aluminum trim is really not that great and again it's missing that cold touch feeling and overall feels like plastic. Same goes for door handles, window switches, etc.

It rides smooth and handling is spot on for flagship luxury sedan. Whoever tells you vanilla S-class or 7 rides better or handles better suffers from badge distortion effect that makes them believe it's instant super handler as soon as they turn the wheel for the first time. Again it was F-sport.

comotiger

Point taken. But FCTA and RCTA are just a driving aids. I would never take a right on red based on FCTA without pulling forward slowly and actually visually confirming that there are no vehicles approaching from the left. Trusting the FCTA without visual confirmation is asking for trouble, especially at cross traffic speeds above 30 mph. This is not an issue with RCTA since we typically use it in combination with the rear view camera in parking lots, with speeds less than 10 mph.


I will defer to your knowledge in this area, but when the GPS/map data in our Nav systems go out of date rather quickly, I wonder how accurate such information will be for the situations you describe.


IMO, some of these features are getting very gimmicky. Displaying a vast amount of information, some not very useful, on the HUD is only going to distract the driver. I realize some of these features can be turned off, and one could even customize the HUD info on the LS500, still I feel it's getting to be a bit much.

signdetres

5LS F-Sport out handles S-Class.

SW17LS

Really?!?!? I don't see that at all from the time I've spent in LS500s.

I'd encourage you to check out a non F-Sport.

franklexus

Having driven the LS 500 for quite a while now, I can sort of understand why the car is sometimes bashed by reviewers. Like all things Japanese, the car excels in areas where things are left unsaid. When more time is spent in the cabin, one realizes that a lot of thought has gone into even the simplest of designs. For example, the buttons on the center console are all perfectly angled towards the driver and at the right level / distance. This makes it very easy to change the temperature and touch certain buttons when driving. The interior cabin lighting is now entirely in LED. I was in a dark parking garage at night the other day and was surprised at how well illuminated the interior was. The power seatbelt buckles extend to make it easier to buckle up and then retract when you start the car. The side bolsters get out of the way to make it easier to enter / exit. The car raises to make it easier to get in it etc. All of this is a very subtle Japanese form of luxury, very understated and not ostentatious at all. It reminds me of flying longhaul on a Japanese carrier. Of course this differs from the European approach and some may prefer that kind of luxury but I am glad that Lexus has managed to bring out this Japanese form of hospitality very well.

Toys4RJill

The quality of the LS is very good. I would say exceeding or at least on par with Audi and MB. It also has a design that is interesting and not boring. That is an advance of the perception of Lexus in the past as boring or dull.

I think the biggest problem people have is that this new LS500 is a radical departure from what the LS was in the past, these people then take that disappointment or missed/mixed expectations out on other things such as the materials, engine size and what not. I can totally see Lexus offering multiple variants of the this design in a convertible, coupe and even large cross over form that addresses the tighter than expected interior dimensions.