+ Click to Enlarge HANDSOME SHAPE: The LS460 has strong lines with lots of presence.

January 23, 2007
By Denis Droppa

The fact that there are almost as many gadgets in the back seat as the front tells you the Lexus LS460 was made for the chauffeur-driven segment of our society.

A control panel offering the incumbent a host of comfort-enhancing options is set into the leather-clad centre armrest of the individual rear seats; jab a button and privacy shades glide up to cover the side and rear windows - no photographs or autographs, please.

Press another button to recline the rear backrest to a more comfy position - should the fat cat wish to catch 40 winks between multi-million buck business deals. And there's a drinks chiller plus cupholders so he (or she) can toast them.

The air-conditioning can be set individually and all the seats in the car can be heated or cooled and the rear passenger(s) have personal controls for the 19-speaker sound system.

From the back seat you can increase your legroom by moving the front passenger seat forward at the press of a button. Not that there's any shortage of limb space to begin with.

The car's doors automatically pull themselves closed and lock or unlock merely by touching their release because the electronic key stays in your pocket.

Several functions, including audio, air-con and satnav, are controlled by a touch-screen interface on the fascia. Having all these features in one unit makes matters simple; they're mostly easy and intuitive to use.

That is, except for the satnav which we found to be more complicated than it needs to be; it's packed with too many seemingly needless features that detract from its user-friendliness.

A tour of the LS460's features feels like James Bond being briefed on his latest missionmobile; there are many we just haven't mentioned but the latest top-of-the range Lexus is a true limousine with the space, grace and comfort expected of the genre, its cabin is decked out in really classy leather and polished wood.

It has replaced the LS430 as the Lexus. Engine capacity has been increased to 4.6 litres and the refined V8 now supplies a claimed 280kW and 493Nm.

That's a fair amount of velocity just a jab of the throttle away but it's always cloaked in a sheath of soft-spoken refinement. The power's delivered with brisk pace but there's no roughness or violence - it's the Lexus way.

There's a muted thrum from the exhausts to let you know it's a V8 doing the work but otherwise silence and tranquillity prevail.

Somewhat less effective, tranquillity-wise, is the automatic transmission, the world's first with eight ratios. It's not that it doesn't do what Lexus claims, which is offer a wider spread of gears for brisker pull-off and more economical cruising.

No slouch

Indeed, the LS460 is no slouch off the line - 0-100km/h in 7.2sec on the Reef and a claimed 5.5 at sea level - and in top gear is revving at just over 1500rpm at 120km/h to return 10.6 litres/100km on a long cruise.

That's remarkable for such a big and powerful limo though the average with city driving rose to around 13.

The real trouble with eight speeds is that the car is almost constantly changing gear and, once you're on the move, the slightest tickle of the accelerator will induce one, two, or even three downchanges.

This over-zealous cog-swopping creates a busy and jerky driving experience; there is a manual/sequential auto transmission mode but it doesn't hold the selected gear.

Graceful glide

Where the LS460 truly excels is ride quality. It has regular coil springs instead of the air suspension of the rival Mercedes S-Class but you'd never tell. The car glides gracefully over all types of surface, filtering out ripples and other road imperfections and limiting the chances of the boss in the back seat spilling his Chivas.

The car's quite low, however, and prone to scraping its belly on driveway entrances.

The handling is what you'd expect of a modern luxury car; the LS460's size and weight preclude any hairpin heroics but it's capable of taking medium and long sweeps at a pretty fast lick without feeling soggy.

The tyres have plenty of grip and there's electronic stability control. The brakes are particularly good, not only stopping the car in a hurry but with great pedal feel.

Striking statement

Wrapping the flagship Lexus is a handsome shape that makes a sportier, more striking statement than past models. It has strong lines with lots of presence, with a pair of large, rectangular exhausts visually denoting decent firepower.

Lexus has largely flown under the radar in South Africa but is now on something of a conquest trail. It aims to entice more buyers out of their Mercs and Beemers and the three model ranges it launched here last year - the LS460, IS250 and GS300 - which will be available in larger volumes than their predecessors.

A major selling point for the brand is its continued success in customer satisfaction polls; it has topped the JD Power car quality survey in the US for six consecutive years.

SUMMARY

For pure snob factor you're still going to choose something with a star on its bonnet but Lexus presents itself as the thinking man's limo.

It's less obviously ostentatious but does all that a powerful luxury sedan should, with a lot of spec at a competitive price.

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