New Lexus sedan: fast, classy - and dull
The ride is smooth, but the 2007 Lexus LS 460 is a little too quiet.
FORTUNE Small Business Magazine
By Alex Taylor III, Fortune senior editor
December 1 2006: 7:07 AM EST

(FSB Magazine) -- I drove a Lexus for the first time on the German autobahn at 150 miles an hour. The year was 1989, and Lexus was launching in front of U.S. journalists.

For the unveiling of the latest Lexus flagship sedan, the 2007 LS 460, my introduction was a lot less dramatic: It came on the leafy streets and well-policed highways of the New York City suburbs. But that didn't seem to matter. Quality and craftsmanship, not speed, are what have propelled Lexus to become the bestselling luxury brand in the U.S. - and made it a classy, comfortable car for meeting and chauffeuring clients.

Because it competes with top-of-the-line models from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, the LS 460 is crammed with enough new technology to claim bragging rights.

The eight-speed automatic transmission - nobody else's has more than seven - delivers smoother shifts and improved fuel economy. A user-friendly navigation system provides real-time traffic information with alternate routes around bottlenecks. And a much-promoted hands-free parking system gauges the size of the space using sensors and turns the wheel to guide the car into it. The driver controls the speed of the process with the brake pedal (although if you try to park on an incline, as I initially did, it won't work).

As with most Lexus models, the LS 460 is loaded with thoughtful details. As you approach the car, the key signals a sensor in the door to set the interior lights aglow. And sensors in all four tires - plus the spare! - trigger a warning light when air pressure is low.

Still, a charisma transplant wouldn't hurt. The exterior sheet metal lacks chrome trim, while inside the leather seat coverings don't have any piping or exposed stitches - admirable restraint to some, plain and uninspired to others.

Lexus designs famously quiet cars, but this one is almost too quiet. Passengers are sheltered from obtrusive noises, but also from the mechanical music of its V-8 engine.

The 380-horsepower motor propels this sedan to 60 miles an hour in 5.4 seconds - faster than a Porsche Boxster - and gets 27 mpg on the highway. That kind of performance deserves more aural fanfare.

The LS 460 began arriving at dealerships in late fall at a starting price of $61,000. Considering all the new technology, that's nearly as good a value as the original 1989 model, which cost $35,000 ($57,500 in today's dollars). Yet my emotions remained curiously unmoved. Perhaps I missed the autobahn more than I thought.


From the December 1, 2006 issue


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http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/f...ion=2006120107

 

"too quiet".

If the MB S-Class was this quiet they would be praising it and calling it
a huge engineering accomplishment. Seriously.

 

Arent these cars suppose to be quiet tho?

All the journalists need to be lighten up a bit. It's a large luxury sedan for god's sake. WTF are they talking about when they say it's too quiet etc? Give me a freakking break!

 

Lexus intended there cars to be quiet so we can buy aftermarket exhaust..LOL

 

I know Honda/Acura has implemented that active noise cancellation in vehicles (Pilot, RL, maybe others) - maybe that's the way to go and have a switch for it or even a 'volume control' or a 'journalist mode'.

 

Stop taking it personally; there are more important things in life.. Not everyone is going to like the Lexus.

 

i thought the new s class is a bit quieter than lexus in tests?

in any case, i think the s class is pretty quiet. but man if i am getting a car of this class / purpose and get something as noisy and stiff as the 7 series, personally i would kill myself

 

That's one of the main reason why I bought the lexus
They make it sound like it's a negative trait.

I like it smooth, quiet, and to cruise with a nice tune on.

Journalist mode is sporty-stiffer and beefier suspensions, chassis, able to make 90 degrees at 90 mph.

Seriously, when I was watching National Geographics/Travel Channel (I can't remember which) about Japan, they talked about how people have to travel to work everyday.
My gosh, even when the subways are packed to the max, they need to assisted to make sure no body parts are hanging out
The streets are packed like ants each moving about in their own way.
After seeing that, it makes more sense.

So lexus is quiet, big deal.
Drive a car with poor insulation and they call it loud, noticeable engine noise...

 

Here's one more

 

Yeah the s class is very quiet too. I don't know why they don't b*tch about that?

 

What does this have to do with the article?

 

Uhmm beacuse they say the LS is too quiet when it's supposed to be. And if the S-class was just as quiet or more, they'd praise it for being so.

 

Wha-wha'd you say?! SPEAK-UP!

Mainstream auto writers like this guy are stereotypical...pro-Euro only so they mince words to downplay how nice the car is. It need not go any further than the annual sales numbers to relay just what drivers are putting their $$ towards.

 

Can you prove this? No. Were specific decibels listed? No. Was any objective information posted? No. Again, what does the sound in the S-Class have to do with the article? Nothing.

 

and what does your b!tC#ing has to do with the article?