Mercedes-Benz dealers across Europe begin selling the new S-Class this week. Glenn Brooks, who has been driving one of its rivals, the Lexus LS 460, considers it to be an excellent car that continues to be unfairly overlooked, at least in this part of the world.
Let’s be clear on this: the chief engineer did not have Europe-based buyers in the forefront of his mind when designing the Lexus LS. This big sedan has always been far more at home in the US, Canada, the Middle East, Australia, and increasingly, in China. In all these places, it is seen as a direct rival to the S-Class, as well as to the BMW 7 Series and Audi A8/S8. It’s not so much that European customers think of the LS as an inferior product but rather, many of them tend not to think of it at all.
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Large capacity petrol V8s used to rule in this class but even in the US that has changed in recent years. In Europe, a four- or six-cylinder diesel has become the default choice, though Audi has had some success with the petrol-electric powertrain of the A8 hybrid. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, thinks the forthcoming S-Class Plug-in Hybrid might also tempt a decent number of prospects away from the competition. I should also mention the Jaguar XJ but outside the UK, very few are sold, something Jaguar is currently trying to remedy with a four-cylinder petrol engine now available for China and soon, India too.
Given that Toyota Motor Europe is handicapped from the start by not offering a diesel, it does fairly well with the Lexus LS. The smallest capacity engine in the line-up is a 4,608cc petrol V8 which produces 285kW or 382bhp @ 6,400rpm, while maximum torque of 493Nm is developed at 4,800rpm. This is enough to push the LS 460 to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph, while 0-62mph/0-100km/h takes 5.7 seconds.
None of the figures just noted can convey how the power delivery takes place. The best word to describe it would be ‘silent’, unless you give the throttle a firm push, but more on that topic in a moment. The LS has always been a remarkably quiet car, ever since the first generation model appeared in 1989. The fourth generation model has been with us since 2006 but there have been two updates since then, one of them a major package of revisions announced a year ago this month.
The facelift was remarkably effective at giving the LS the appearance of a new, rather than updated car, thanks to fresh styling at both ends as well as sportier looking wheels. Another change was the launch of the first F Sport derivative, a rival for the albeit far more powerful Audi S8 and Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG.
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By GlobalDataDepending on the market, both rear- and all-wheel drive LS model variants are available, each in standard or long-wheelbase form.
The range differs from country to country but can comprise any or all of these: LS 460, LS 460 L, LS 460 F Sport, LS 600h and LS 600h L. The last two are the petrol-electric hybrids, cars which in fact caused both BMW and Mercedes-Benz to develop direct rival models (Audi’s A8 hybrid isn’t a true competitor as it has a four-cylinder engine).
The current generation LS was first seen in the form of the V8-engined LF-Sh concept at October 2005’s Tokyo motor show. The production model soon followed, premiering at the Detroit show in January 2006. It was another eight months until cars began to reach showrooms, however, with Japan the first market, followed by the US, Europe and elsewhere from October 2006.
The hybrid, which was first seen at the New York show in April 2006, is especially interesting. It combines a 5.0-litre petrol V8 with two electric motors, a CVT gearbox with eight programmed ‘gears’ (for downshifts when decelerating) and total power of 290kW. Lexus chose to hold off on launching the long wheelbase hybrid until the Paris motor in September 2006.
A facelifted model range appeared at the Frankfurt IAA in September 2009 but there were no changes to power outputs. Toyota, to its credit, tackled one of the few things that the LS h could be criticised for – a less than generous amount of boot space. The battery pack was repositioned, while hybrid cars also gained their own grille and a few other distinguishing touches. Lexus Europe launched the facelifted range in March 2010.
Fast forward to a special invitation-only event in San Francisco in July 2012 and the first sighting of the latest model, which also marked the launch of the F Sport model grade. The fact that the car was given a second styling update and therefore a far longer than usual lifecycle for an LS surprised many. The makeover saw some big changes to the interior too, so it could almost be argued that this is in fact a fifth generation model rather than a second update for the fourth generation car.
It’s an overused term but this vehicle really is full of surprise and delight features. Need to raise or lower the mounting point of the seatbelt on the B-pillar? No manual adjusters here – it’s done electrically and of course, in silence. Similarly, if you don’t quite close any of the doors, there’s no have a second go as a sensor instantly commands an unseen electric motor to pull a half-shut door tight.
I love electric rear blinds in cars like this, but the Lexus has an especially clever piece of detailing. The moment you slide the transmission into reverse, should the blind be up, it quietly and quickly descends to give you a better view out the rear window. Something else happens the instant R is selected: BOTH mirrors dip to show you the gutter. In this country of narrow streets and laws which allow you to park in whichever direction you wish to, that’s a handy way of preventing your alloys getting scratched.
Want to hear about other fantastic attention to detail? How about 16-way electric adjustment for the driver’s seat (and 14 for the front passenger) – how could anyone not find the perfect position to commit to one of the memory buttons? Other techy touches voice command for audio, navigation, phone and climate control. If you’re in the back, there are treats for you too: an almost ridiculous amount of lounging space, even in the standard wheelcase body style, plus illuminated flip-down mirrors in the headliner.
The suspension which has pneumatic springs, and the ride height can be adjusted by a console-mounted rotary controller. This is also the central adjustment point for the car’s onboard systems and like its German rivals, you can pretty much tailor-make all sorts of functions such as interior lighting and so on for your personal preferences. And as always with a Lexus, the (19-speaker) Mark Levinson sound system is a lesson to almost all other manufacturers.
Things that surprised me included no paddle shifters for the eight-speed automatic transmission but there again, my test car was the LS 460, not the F Sport.
I can be a bit of a lead-foot, and when a V8 sounds as melodious as this one, it’s hard to resist hitting the right pedal hard-ish when the traffic clears ahead of you. The car handles far better than the pre-facelift model – the float which characterised its super-soft ride is now gone.
The LS might be big but it’s not that heavy compared to its rivals. For a steel-platform car as loaded with luxury gear as this one, a kerb weight figure of 2,080kg is nothing to be ashamed of. Nor is fuel consumption as bad as you might think, given the size of the engine. The official Urban average is quoted as 26.4mpg by Toyota Great Britain, while the Extra Urban is 36.2 and Combined is 31.7. I would say an owner could typically expect somewhere between 23 and 30mpg, especially if most miles are on motorways.
Insurance group for the LS 460 is 48E, the VED band is L, the Benefit-In-Kind figure is 35%, and the average CO2 emissions are quoted as 249g/km. On the road price? GBP71,995 though that included optional metallic paint on the test car.
I started this review by comparing Lexus’ flagship to the new Mercedes S-Class. The Tahara plant in Japan’s Aichi prefecture will likely build somewhere between 15,000-20,000 units of the LS this year (on a line staffed by white-gloved workers). By contrast, the Sindelfingen plant in Germany which makes the S-Class will probably produce about two and a half to three times that volume. I haven’t driven the new Benz but I hear it’s very impressive. And I ask myself one question: in this segment, what defines luxury? For some, the answer will be a car loaded with world-first technology, while for others, exclusivity is what matters most.
