Through the 1970s and early-1980s, three Japanese companies, Toyota, Nissan and Honda upended the American automotive industry. With the help of lower manufacturing costs in Japan and favorable exchange rates, they entered at the low end of the market and offered consumers, affordable, higher-quality and more efficient cars than they could get from Detroit. After gradually filling in their lineups from the bottom up, by the end of the decade, all three were ready to expand into more premium offerings. Â After Honda launched Acura in 1986, Toyota and Nissan brought us Lexus and Infiniti three years later. Thanks mainly to the flagship Lexus LS sedan, the premium car market has never been the same and I recently spent a week with the latest edition of the LS460 AWD to see how it has progressed in 25 years.
By the beginning of the 1990s, Mercedes-Benz and BMW were experiencing some of the same sort of complacency that had undermined the Detroit Three in mainstream segments and they were ripe for disruption from the very same competitors. I got to drive a first-generation LS400 in 1991 when I was working at the GM proving ground and I was immediately impressed by the level of refinement and isolation it offered. Impressed, but not necessarily enamored. As a car nut, I’ve always liked feeling involved in the process of driving and for a long time, that concept was the antithesis of what Lexus was all about.
That first LS was incredibly quiet, almost coffin silent and it felt like I was driving the car remotely. Unlike American luxury cars of the time, it didn’t feel at floaty or wallow around corners and contrary to the Germans, the ride quality wasn’t harsh either. It just smoothly glided along, utterly composed but kind of boring. While I clearly wasn’t the target market for that car, it clearly had a lot of appeal for other customers and Lexus has been far more successful than Acura or Infiniti and at various times challenged the Germans for the top of the luxury ranks.
Back in the day, while everyone praised the workmanship and refinement of the early LS, the styling was often criticized for looking like a Mercedes-Benz knock-off. It wasn’t the low-budget copies you get from many Chinese automakers today, but neither was it original or even very interesting to look at. The current-generation LS which got a styling update a couple of years ago now has the trademark Lexus spindle grille found on the rest of the lineup, but the rest of the body remains fairly conservative although if anything it looks a bit more like the current BMW 7 Series rather than the Mercedes which has adopted more dynamic design. Like it or not, at least today’s Lexus models now have a distinct face that sets them apart from the competition.
For the past couple of generations, the LS has been available in two lengths and that continues with the base model stretching 116.9-inches between the axles while the L spans 121.7-inches. I drove the shorter version which nonetheless has an enormous back seat where you can stretch out even without the executive seating available in the longer model.
There’s a V8 engine under there somewhere
Over the years, as the big Lexus has grown, so has its V8 engine from the original 4.0-liters to 4.3 and now 4.6-liters. The direct-injected powerplant now produces 386-horsepower and 367 lb.-ft. of torque with rear wheel drive or 360-hp and 347 lb.-ft. with the more restrictive exhaust system of the AWD system. The tractive effort is delivered to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The LS is no lightweight but for its size, it’s not particularly porky either at 4,651-pounds. The rear-wheel-drive version will actually save a pretty substantial 420-pounds, bringing to just 4,233-pounds.
Despite its bulk, the powerful V8 moves the LS with more than adequate alacrity, hitting 60 mph in just 5.9-seconds (the rear-drive does it half a second quicker). While the LS remains a stunningly refined car, it actually has a bit more character now than in any of the various LS variants I’ve driven over the years. Where the original was virtually silent, the 2015 actually transmits a bit of muted engine growl under acceleration. You’ll never mistake the LS for the supercharger thunder of a Dodge Charger Hellcat or even the more restrained roar of the Hemi Charger but at least if feels more alive now.
One aspect of the LS that no one has ever complained about is the cabin and that remains true to this day. The seats and many of the other surfaces are covered in black leather with accents along the doors and center console wrapped in saddle leather. While I’m not a fan of most of the use of wood trim in luxury cars, Lexus has done a particularly tasteful job in the LS I drove. The top and bottom of the steering wheel, dashboard and center console are covered in a dark brown ash burl veneer with a matte finish. I think that unless the car wears the Spirit of Ecstasy any designer that opts for wood in passenger cabin should be forgoing high-gloss veneers in favor of matte finishes.
All seats in the LS are exceptionally comfortable and the front seats even have a modicum of lateral support for when the roads get twisty. One interesting feature that will come in handy for drivers that are paid to pilot the LS for other passengers are the position switches on the left hand side of the front passenger seat. If the driver needs to move the seat forward to provide additional leg-room in the back, they can do so without reaching across the seat to find the switch on the far side.
For those that want a more sporting big sedan, Lexus now offers an F Sport edition of the LS with larger Brembo brakes, 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive air suspension and more aggressive front and rear styling. Without that package, the LS will take corners better than you might expect for such large machine and won’t trip over itself. One of the current German options is probably better suited to those that truly value the art of driving but need the room offered by a big sedan. For the rest of the crowd, the LS is composed as it ever has been in its quarter century on the road while continuing to offer a surprising amount of value for the dollar.
The LS460 AWD starts at $75,456 and my test car totaled out to $80,630 with the comfort package, 19-inch alloy wheels, heated steering wheel and alcantara headliner. The EPA estimates fuel economy at 16 mpg city, 23 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined and I saw 17 mpg on the road. After a quarter century on the road, the LS is no longer just a challenger but a true member of the top tier.
Click here for full specifications of the 2015 Lexus LS460
