DrComputer

The best I have been able to get in my LS600hL is 24 MPG on a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas at about 80-90 MPH average.

joelkrh

This is a pretty interesting write up, about the top 4 Luxury Sedan's available in Singapore right now.

Check it out: http://www.oneshift.com/members/all_...p?userid=12352

Here is the Article itself.

"Mention "Luxury Sedan" to any Singaporean, and the reply you get, is "Mercedes Benz S Class?". Thats right, brand plays a rather important role to many of us here in Singapore. So much so that you will find the renowned brand of Mercedes, being the benchmark for the rest of the Luxury Sedans out there. I have not heard of anyone, whom interested in a Luxury Sedan, does not go down to Cycle and Carriage for a test drive in the Mercedes S class.

In the past, the term "Luxury Sedan", meant a car thats radiating nothing but comfort, that the term "Class" oozes out of the car. Not soo much in the generation we live in. People who buy such cars these days, expect performance.
And this, is one thing that this dear LS460 does not lack. Lexus has learned from the engineering traits, from the Germans. So now, you do not only get reliability with Lexus, but you get the best of German+Japanese engineering. Which is easily noticed by subtle changes, like the design of the accelerator pedal, technical advancement, that was first found in the Mercedes S Class. You will definitely be impressed.

Before i get into the details of the test drive, i thought it would be beneficial for the readers to note, that the price you pay for an LS460SWB, what you get in comparison to the Germans, is a S300(Merc), A8 3.2(Audi), 730(BMW). Even though this car is meant to be compared with the more powerful models, like the S500, A8 4.2, 740li.

When you get to the Lexus showroom, you will realize, that their "sports" coupe/cabriolet, is not on the showroom floor. If you want to buy one, choices are limited, as Borneo keeps little stock. Wonder why? Well for starters, the LS460 is FASTER than that little sports car. Please understand that i'm not being critical about that car, which in my opinion still looks pretty amazing. But it is important to note that this LS actually means business.

"Luxury Car of the Year 2007" Thats gotta mean something. So out i drove from Borneo Motors, in a superbly comfortable LS460. It is amazing, the ride of this car. I have never sat in any other car that glides on the road as well as the LS does. In fact because of the ride comfort, you don't even feel the urge of testing the 380bhp 500nm of power. I mean it was especially hard to tell when the car had changed gears. I kid you not. The 8 Speed gearbox. Wow! Especially when you're cruising. At 90km/h, the engine is only rotating under 1,500rpm.

I took the car for a pretty long drive, and it was only towards the end, where i had to merge onto the main road, that i floored the LS. The power was really unexpected. So much so that the traction control had to kick in, even when the road was completely dry! You could even hear a short squeal from the Bridgestones. (: Torque is what you need, when driving in countries like Singapore, and the LS does not lack.

There have been comments on how disconnected the steering feels. But in my opinion it was pretty good. Understanding that the car has an electric power steering, it makes good sense to see why this car would feel disconnected, but there is an adequate amount of feedback, especially for a car this size. The turn in is quite sharp, but what follows is the body, that seems to be lagging a step behind every abrupt action you take with the car. That is the downside. The suspension. Although allowing the car to ride beautifully down the road, handling is sacrificed. In fact the car actually felt bigger, when driving it, compared to when looking at it!

However, it is my opinion, that the suspension set up, is the right way forward. I mean lets all be frank. This car is a REAL bargain. $300,000 for a car with a 4.6litre V8 engine. Plus the standard features that come with the car, appear as OPTIONS in the German counterparts. I mean yes, an S500 rides much better than the LS in terms of performance, and when you want comfort, you can have that at a touch of a button, and although not as great as the LS in that area, you at least have the option. I agree. But have you seen the price difference?

In Singapore roads, its not as if you are going to go drifting down the street(which FYI, is very easily achieved in the LS460) or take at sharp bend at 120km/h. Especially since Singapore's law limits us to speeds ranging from 50km/h to 90km/h. And even if you cross the border, its been reviewed, that the LS is more than capable at taking bends at 200+ km/h.

If you're understanding where im coming from, a 0 to 100km/h time of 5.5s(timed by me) is already in the range of the High Performance cars. Plus this engine is naturally aspirated. Thus i feel, this car is built for countries like Singapore. Whereby everyday we are faced with slow traffic, city driving, being handicapped to the speed of 90 on the expressways. That MOST people, would choose ride comfort, and the driveability of this car, over handling. I mean Lexus has every area covered. In the city, the light steering allows easy maneuverability. Even has an air purifier. On the expressways, your car glides in near silence, and overtaking is definitely a breeze. In emergency situations, the power of the electronically controlled brakes, stupendous amounts of driver aids, and 10 airbags, see you avoid the obstacle, or crash well protected.

In conclusion, i feel that whats out there for us in the "Luxury Sedan" range, is really subjective. It is really up to each individual to choose. For instance, the S Class may look more attractive on the road, and the Audi's A8 has great style, especially the design of the interior. BMW's 7 series is for the family man, with an interest for performance. And the LS460, well i think, it is a compromise in all areas.

Which is why, Germans... you gotta BEWARE! "

spwolf

what about city driving? I get like 14-16 mpg average in my GS350 AWD... yes... 15-20l/100km in the city.

LS600guy

City is about 12 l/km. I'm just 7 mins from our city center, with my home at the top of a high hill (think San Francisco on a smaller scale). So down to the city is great - probably half the ride is on regenerative mode - but of course I've got to get back

I got better mileage on a long trip recently, so accelerating and braking has a lot to do with the smaller economy, much like a standard gas car.

--------------------------
2007 LS600hL, 5 seat
2000 LX470 (traded)

Mercedes SL500 AMG (sun)
Mercedes SLK 230 (wife)
Suzuki Grand Vitara (rain & runaround)

spwolf

12l/100km is awesome for such huge car with awd.... amazing.

Honestly, I could care less about what is the best ever fuel economy - i know what is my average - which is between 14mpg and 16mpg for GS350 AWD. On highway, at 100mph it gets 22mpg, which is great but so what - thats 5% of my yearly driving.

LS600guy

It gets better as the car beds in. Around 10,000kms it starts to get optimum economy, and I'm at 7,000km at the moment.

Yes, fuel's just a fraction of the overall cost, but still some fun doing the challenge!

--------------------------
2007 LS600hL, 5 seat
2000 LX470 (traded)

Mercedes SL500 AMG (sun)
Mercedes SLK 230 (wife)
Suzuki Grand Vitara (rain & runaround)

dmince

the ls600h competes with naturally aspirated V12 like the one in the bmw 760i which makes the same bhp (438) with better fuel economy. the s600 has twin turbochargers on it so the output is about 510hp. if the traction motor (221bhp) in the ls600h was tuned to give its optimum power the total output would 610bhp. so the comparison between ls600h and s600 is not fair.

Johnny

Traction motors run very hot dues to tremendous electric high voltage loads, so running at maximum HP would require cooling it at a rate that would overwhelm its space constraint. The unit is already water cooled, so I suspect they couldn't get much more out of it. Where it benefits the car most is in its highly efficient torque output - which keeps it in step with the 600 moniker. The slow running limits in EV mode and electric drive below 60kph are just a bonus, imho. If they were able to size the cooling and battery without space constraints, then it could run at highway speeds, but the initial startup torque would probably glue your ears to the headrests. ... making some occupants a wee bit uncomfortable.

dmince

only if a tuning company had the idea to do this and create a new cooling system. the car probably get from 0-60 in less than 5 seconds!!! nearly 3 tons of car at that speed. lol