by Bill Zervakos
I think one of the most interesting things about being a boomer, especially on the “older” side of boomerville, is seeing the tremendous change in automotive technology. While all manufacturers have progressed leaps and bounds from a couple of decades ago, it seems as though Lexus is continually on the cutting edge. The all-new Lexus LS460 and LS460L are no exception as they reach the pinnacle of L-finesse styling that began with the GS series.
Simply stated, this car is stunning, something I have here-to-fore been unable to say about the LS. My partner and I were invited to San Francisco to attend the unveiling of the all-new LS460 and LS460L, and I really wasn’t prepared to be as impressed as I was. This is one stunning motor car. If you’re not familiar with the L-finesse philosophy, Lexus refers to it as; the fusion of incisive simplicity and intriguing elegance. I refer to it as understated elegance.
What it is though, is a classic example of less being more. Styled at Toyota’s Global Design center in Tokyo, complex lines and surfaces are incorporated throughout the body portraying power and speed even while sitting still. Minimal body gaps and a low front grille and muscular fenders give the LS and impressive, aggressive stance. This new car is a much improved and huge departure from the original model.
Some of the detail that goes into the LS is really hard to comprehend. As an example, the thought process behind something as mundane as headlights. The engineers wanted the projector xenon headlights to have thick walled lenses with crystal-like properties. So, to better understand the properties of a “crystal” lens the team literally made a headlamp out of crystal. Gathering information from that process, a new lens was molded and hand polished to reproduce the inherent look of crystal. And to put icing on the cake, the headlight actually reaches up to 60 feet further then the previous headlights.
Inside the LS sedan has always been plush, almost to a fault, but this new iteration is absolutely gorgeous. It seems to envelop you without infringing on your “personal” space. Passenger touch points were softened to create a relaxed atmosphere that’s rich and luxurious.
Getting back to the technology I mentioned earlier, Lexus completely redeveloped a system of buffing robots to allow three-dimensional movements in order to prepare the body of the LS for paint. That said Lexus felt that technology can’t replace the quality they want so they have every vehicle hand sanded, twice, to smooth and refine the surface to allow for the mirror-like quality of the finished vehicle. That’s just another example of Lexus’ Relentless Pursuit of Perfection.
Another technological advance was the development of a brand new 4.6 liter V8 mated to the first eight-speed automatic transmission that handles getting the 380 horsepower and 367 pound-feet of torque to the ground smoothly and seamlessly. This is the first all-new engine since the brands launch in ’89 and features the world’s first electric-motor driven, Variable Valve Timing with intelligence and Electronically controlled intake cam or VVT-iE.
I can’t even begin to explain what all that means other then to say this car performs incredibly well and unbelievable smoothly. Remember the commercial with the wine glasses on the hood? This is even better thanks to a crankshaft polished to a mirror-like finish to minimize friction between the crankshaft and pistons. In final assembly each engine is run to check for vibrations by an accelerometer mounted to both ends of the crankshaft to measure rotational differences. To top all that off, a Master Technician runs final check for sound and vibration on each and every engine before it goes into the LS.
Another bit of technology that isn’t new, but it doesn’t come on a lot of vehicles is the automatic parking feature. Parallel parking just doesn’t get much easier. Just pull up to the spot you want to park, align the vehicles up as the instructions tell you to, then let go of the steering wheel and sit back and relax. The LS does the rest. It is very strange to do that the first couple of times. That same feature allows you to back into a parking space also. While I’m not sure how often one would use it, I can remember being in San Francisco and finding a spot that was just big enough and unfortunately it required a bit of jockeying to get my car in the spot. This car would have done it perfectly the first time.
The ergonomics on the LS are really well laid out and pretty user friendly. The Bluetooth system works flawlessly and with voice controls available, there really isn’t much to worry about. The seating areas are living room comfortable and the back seat room in the long wheel-base makes sitting back there incredibly comfortable. The Mark Levinson sound system in the tester was fabulous whether listening you the symphony or you favorite rock station.
When it comes to driving the new LS460 sedan, there are few words to convey just how fabulous this vehicle is. There is a nearly perfect balance of form and function that was missing in previous iterations because the ride and handling was way too soft. This car gives wonderful feedback without upsetting the wine glasses if you will, and the potent engine propels this big sedan effortlessly to cruising speed where the gas mileage is phenomenal because of the 8-speed transmission. At 75 miles per hour the engine lopes at around 1700 rpm, and I must tell you, it’s amazing to see the instant fuel economy flirting with 30mpg on a sedan this big with this much performance.
As you can probably surmise from this article, I wasn’t a big fan of the LS430 but all that has changed dramatically with this new car. It is a wonderfully built beautiful sedan that is a pleasure to drive, whether you’re putting around town or on the highway. It offers an awful lot albeit it doesn’t come inexpensively with the LS460 starting at just over $61,000 and the long wheelbase model basing just over $71,000. That said, there is quite a bit for the money, so, if you’re in the market, check out the all-new LS Sedans from Lexus. I’m betting you’ll be glad you did.
