lexus600hl

Disclaimer: While I did own many Lexus cars, I don't consider myself an automotive expert - just a very experienced consumer.. It is not my intention to challenge anyone's opinion.

Yesterday, I went for a short test drive of the 2013 LS 460. Frankly, I didn't even go on the highway - due to my own time constraints.

As I wrote elsewhere, I have owned several LS cars, over the years. 1990 through 2008. A total of 9 LS cars over 23 years. Currently, I have two LS 600HLs.

The original 1990 LS 400 ($32,000) was a car far ahead of its time! It was a superb execution of perfection. The 2005 was not a good improvement (if any).
2008 was a good improvement in engine performance. They all looked about the same till about 2001. 2001 was a modest improvement over its predecessor - nothing amazing. Until 2007, I felt that the S class and the 7 were actually better looking cars.

2007 was the best looking Lexus LS ever and for the first time, in my opinion, the 2007 LS was the best looking among its peers - until the next (current) generation S class came out, of course. Even then, the LS is, I think, a beautiful car.

Now the good news for me! the 2013 is not particulary "awe inspiring". Nothing wrong with it. Frankly I am very happy that it looks not too far advanced than my 2008 LS. Obviously, the front grille is strikingly different and the rear lights are different - the 2013 LS rear looks more akin to the bmw 7 now and the LS does not have a "japanese looking rear end/rear lights". I could almost see the cues of the 7 series in the new LS's rear deck/lights.

Of course, there are a few more "improvements" - the hood has a ridge in the middle etc.. but from the side, it looks almost the same as my 2008 LS.

I am no expert driver and I didn't put the car through a test drive pace... but my first impression is that there is not much of an improvement (if any?). Please don't get me wrong.. It drives very nicesly, as does the current gen LS. I could not find anything "awesome" about the driving improvements (if any). I didn't even bother to take it onto the highway. I will do so, next week.. frankly, I don't expect much difference..

It seems to me that the engine and drive train are almost the same as the current LS. I didn't check the technical details but they "feel" just about the same.

Interior: Of course, it is nice but in my opinion "only a slight improvement". I am not a fan of the "mouse" type navigation systems. I prefer my touch screen. We still can't enter the route, while car is moving (Mercedes allows it. BMW and Audi, I think, also allow it).

Large screen but so what? It has climate control on the right - which is basically useless - who is going to use the mouse to change the temperature? It was kind of dumb, i thought.. I don't usually use the climate control screen.. The car is in auto temp and that's it.. Fortunately, they gave us hard temp related buttons.

I didn't try the apps feature (you can link the system to your phone on bluetooth and use some of the apps like bing and open table it seems). But the navigation does not seem to be a great improvement.. I liked the Audi's nav - yes $30/month for the car to have its own sim card.. but the car becomes a wifi hot spot and you have google maps - always upto date and easy to enter destination - simply search for it in google! I had expected lexus to give us a "tablet" in place of the nav - with multi touch/pinch type touch to zoom in and out.. and real time google browser and maps. Yes, even if restricted to car being stationary! They could have done better than Audi and added wifi connection to my phone - so that the car does not even need a sim card.. This way, I would have a 10" tablet in the car, running google and google maps etc.. Come on lexus! You are behind times and your nav updates are like 5 years behind (we have new interchanges in Milwaukee and lexus does not bother to update - as of 2012).

The interior seemed essentially same. It was an ls 460. Mine is 600h. The 600s have better interior (leather dash etc)..
While the interior of the 2013 is nice - its nothing spectacular.. nor is it much different from current gen cars! To be honest, I didn't spend much time examining the details of the interior.. It looked just about the same as current ls except that the dash is different.. The dash is nice but nothing "wow" about it..


Anyway.. that's my 2 cents worth of review.. Clearly, not enlightning but, just my humble opinion and ranting..

and yes, good news to the current 2007 - 2012 owners. Many of us can keep our cars for a few more years, without them looking outdated! BTW, to the new grille

SW17LS

The screen to the right is customizable, it can display many more things than the climate control...

Nospinzone

Motorweek profiled the 2013 LS460 this week. The interior looked nice, but that front grille is so butt ugly. I think Lexus made a mistake with that design, but the sales will tell the story.

lexus600hl

Glad to see that you wrote that! I also thought it was ridiculous looking.. but I refrained from saying so because I questioned myself.. Lexus is betting its future on that grille - all Lexuses seem to have that grill shape.. (including LFA?). They have gotta know a lot more than me! They must have done taste testing?

In my opinion, it is absolutely a dumb idea.. Compare it to the Audi A8 Grille.. Now, that's an imposing presence. Until recently, I felt that the A8 was not in the same "status" league of the LS (750il, S class and LS being in one league).. Now I think A8 is in the same leauge.. Such a beautiful car.. And their SIM card based GPS makes it even superior for Nav..

Really, what were the Lexus guys thinking - with that stupid grille design?

As you wrote, the sales will tell the story.. As an experienced Lexus customer, I think I am going to bet that you and I are not alone in thinking that the new grill is a dumb idea.. It was like they looked at the A8 front and decided to put a japanese look into it and in the process, totally screwed it up!

I am no longer going to be an LS customer - for another 8 years.. I love the Jaguar XJL.. and am excited about the redesigned 2014 S class (not seen pics yet - but typically you can look at the honda accord and get an idea.. they always copy the S class shape, and release a year ahead of time.. Would I be wrong this time?)
Not a fan of the 750il - I prefer my current LS to the BMW.. but that Jaguar.. now, that's a beautiful design.. I bought an XF for my son.. The interior was in the leauge of my 600! Leather dash etc.. Beautiful.. And the jaguar's new shift **** was a verry innovative design - as opposed to Mercedes gear shift stalk (totally dumb idea.. What were you thinking, mercedes?)..

Anyway.. I am very happy.. that my LS will look nice for a few more years.. as opposed to the "butt ugly" faced new LS!

lexus600hl

You are right.. It would probably display the information typically displayed using the hard buttons on the current lexus - such as audio, info (for hybrid), phone data etc.. I didn't play with it.. I was not particularly pleased with the user interface.. As i wrote, I expected a multi touch display, with internet - as good as my android phone..

SW17LS

The grille will grow on you. I wasn't a huge fan initially, but I like it more and more.

I8ABMR

I would agre, although the car is new its still so similar to our LS gen. I dont know if this is going to hurt them or help them. I cant imagine many 4LS owners bailing on their cars unless they are leased.

SW17LS

I haven't seen the car in person yet, but from pictures I prefer the previous car inside. I like the big wide screen and you get used to the mouse controller, but the additional faux metal trim, 3 spoke steering wheel, its all a little too sporty for the LS to me.

Outside, I have to say I do like the spindle grill on the LS...

patgilm

I think the grille may grow on people, me included. I remember when Audi first debuted their large front grille, I as well as some of my friends, thought it was a very bold and terrible design. Now when I see it I think it looks great. Maybe this will happen with the spindle grille.

WhitBaby

Oh Gawd, I hope not!

bobp

My last two cars have been a GS 400 and a 2007 LS 460 - and both were great cars - and at the time when I bought them were market leaders in their features.

The new GS and LS, while they both have some improvements, seem more like "me too" and not "top this".

I'm probably going to be replacing my LS in the next few months - and the new GS and LS were prime candidates - but I was underwhelmed with the announcements for both new models - for several reasons.

First, the fuel economy was very disappointing - no significant improvement over my 6 year old LS - and with gas prices up again, it is noticeable how much it costs to fill up the 22 gallon tank! The GS 450h has better gas mileage - but a significantly smaller trunk.

Second, the onboard electronics are a step back from my LS. The mouse is not as easy to use as the touch screen - and they still lock out most of the functionality while driving. And while there are some apps now - they are still limited - and require bluetooth syncing with a phone to make them work.

After being underwhelmed by the new Lexus models - I put money down on a Tesla Model S. The all-electric car can go ~250 miles on a charge - which lowers fuel prices by about $2000 per year.

The Models S has a large 17" touchscreen, multi-touch, tablet with 3G/4G internet connectivity - plus you can get 7 years of free map upgrades ($250 per year savings). It has a small number of "apps" now and will expand those quickly (including smart phone apps for remotely accessing the car -such as turning on the AC before you get in) - and they are committed to providing software updates for the life of the car (whereas, Lexus probably will wait until new model years to provide new apps). And, it has a browser - to access the internet (while moving).

But this isn't a luxury car like the Lexus. The longer range is great for driving around town - but it will take several years for Tesla to build out their supercharger network (recharge 150 miles in 30 minutes) - so driving longer distances will be challenging, at least in the short term. And the car lacks many of the luxury features Lexus offers in their cars (adaptive cruise control, parking sensors, cooled seats, blind spot monitoring, ...). Plus, with the minimalist design, they currently lack even some of the basic features (such as storage in the doors and center console or even floor mats for the rear seats).

My reservation will likely be popping to the top of their queue in a few weeks - and I'll have to make a decision on finalizing my order or getting another car (LS, GS, or another manufacturer).

I just wish Lexus had been more aggressive in their new GS and LS designs...

WhitBaby

I've become a bit underwhelmed with the Lexus attitude the last couple years.

Have you taken a good look at the 429 HP Hyundai Genesis or Equus lately?

Whit

bobp

Drove one of those a few years ago - and they were nice - at least for a rental car - but gas mileage is worse than my 6 year old LS 460.

And it looks like it has a "****" controller - which may be worse than the new Lexus mouse.

But you're right, as far as overall features - the Equus appears to be pretty competitive to the LS - and at a lower price point.

lexus600hl

I agree with you about the new mouse and locking out functionality. I can't understand why they chose to lock out functionality, while other major companies like Mercedes et al allow it. Surely, the lawyers at Mercedeas and Jaguar have the same concernes as those at Lexus?

I do agree with you about the new Lexus models being underwhelming. Even being familiar with and owning 18 Lexuses over 23 years, even I seem to have mistaken a GS for an ES - until I saw the badge.. While the current generation LS and possibly the new LS are amazing feats of engineering perfection, I am very tired of them. mercedes S, jaguar xjs, audi 8, BMW 7, have all caught up and all seem in the same league of excellence.. each with its own personality but essentially all seem equally fine.
I think I will move to the jaguar XJS and possibly the 2014 S class. 250 mile radius is an issue for me, but for only 5% of my driving pattern..

jlawr

The features and software on a cell phones, navigation units or computers will always be better that what you can get in any car. But those devices can't drive you anywhere. We're talking about luxury transportation -- what's under the chassis, hood and grill. If you don't like the locked out Nav, Phone, App systems -- just order the car without these features (yeah, right) and use your better mobile devices. Or get the PS Override.
There will always be Canon vs Nikon vs Sony. There will always be Lexus vs Germany vs Korea.
Pick what's best for your needs now and keep the car longer until there's significant noticeable change.
I love my 2008 LS. I find the Passionate Pursuit of Perfection a slow process. It's hard to get dramatically better when you're already so good.
Anybody for the LS Sport?