Thats the issue when the ride gets too soft, you really can't tell whats going on at the wheels which really reduces confidence.

 

If you want a great ride, just get an almost new, low mileage LS400 and call it a day. I’m still seeing them exported from Japan as Celsior this part of the world. Ones that have done only 20,000km and don’t have a scratch. Some with original plastic delivery wrapping still on the rear seats.

 

Just pray it holds? Lol!

Jokes aside yeah a full on barge is something, unless you actually push it past point of no grip so you can feel what it's limit is they are hard to read.

 

All great points guys. I’ve never been inside or drove an LS430 but I want to. The only reason why I didn’t go for one was because of how old they look now. I’ve never been a huge fan of the boxy styling and short stature, but I hear their interiors are of higher quality than the 07-12 LS 460. But honestly my 07 isn’t terrible inside, I will say that even compared to my fathers 2012 S-Class, my LS 460 interior feels nicer than his car. The door panels on the S-Class of that generation is absolutely terrible! They creak, squeak and feel so cheap. The seats are nice, but the car definitely doesn’t feel like it’s worth over $100K when it was new. Even the doors feel light weight in comparison to my LS460 where it’s heavy and solid upon closing.

Another reason why I like the 07-12 LS 460’s mainly the L model, is because of how much more room you have in the rear seat which competes with an S-Class as far as rear seat legroom goes. It’s like a night and day difference between the SWB and the L model. Plus with the extra features and creature comforts, a longer wheelbase which equals a smoother more compliant ride, the L model was what did it for me.

I love the performance and power of the 4.6L V8. It simply hauls ***! It’s very smooth as well and I can’t even tell at times that the engine is even running.

The ride quality is superb with the air suspension. Though at times cracks and potholes on the road are felt into the cabin mainly because of having a short sidewall tire a 235/50/18R is small to me.

That isn’t enough meat around the wheels to absorb the more rougher pavement IMO. Sometimes I felt like my old ES330 with the 60 Series tires absorbed the bad streets better than my LS at times because of the taller tires. I’ve never been a fan of low-pro tires, whoever thought it was a good idea to put them on a luxury vehicle was simply an idiot.

Tires make a huge difference in how well a car rides and drives. You can easily damage wheels and totally mess up your suspension components faster with low-pros. This is why for years large luxury cars had fat *** tires to roll on because the manufacturer knew that more rubber between you and the road equals a more isolated comfortable ride.

I can’t speak for the late model Lexus vehicles, ones built in the last few years, but I will have to agree that Mazda hands down makes one of the nicest looking and feeling interiors for any price range. I too drove a 2019 CX9 and was blown away of how upscale it felt. It was easily Lexus like if not better.

Also after attending car shows (pre-Covid days) over the years that displayed of all makes and brand new models, to me newer car interiors this includes Toyota products as well, have too much cheap low grade plastics used. Nothing feels substantial anymore. The carpeting is thinner, the seat padding is shorter like they use less foam, more hard grainy plastics when before was a soft padded vinyl. Window glass is thinner although more laminated stuff has improved at reducing interior noise.

Even the paint, body panels such as sheetmetal all feel and look a lot less nice compared to older cars from 10+years ago. Especially compared to the early-mid 2000’s Lexus models. It seems like every older Lexus I see how the road this includes the ES300-330’s RX300-350’s and all LS model years it doesn’t matter what year, all still have perfect paint which isn’t fading or falling apart. I can’t say for sure how well the newer vehicles will age, but I hope it’s just as good.

 

Don't you know that every manufacturer has to make their cars as sporty as they can? If they don't then they failed, according to all the automotive idiots out there. Cars with fat sidewalls are a thing of the past, which is a shame. What cracks me up is seeing people with LS400's/430's and putting 22 inch wagon wheels on them. It completely ruins the look and feel of the car. You want to make a car look trashy, get an old Accord and have at it.

I agree that things aren't how they used to be quality wise. You'll hear people say that all these interiors are better than ever, but that's not true. It's styling more than anything and recency bias. Every manufacturer has cheapened out compared to how they did things 20 years ago.

 

These were the model T tires. 30 inch. We still have a long way to catch up from 90 years ago.

 

i've always said use one of these:



looks basically the same as an LS from that era, but who cares if a deville gets ruined lol

 

Those Devilles were nowhere near as well built, luxurious, nor as reliable as an LS430 or 460. The older Cadillac such as the 92 Brougham was a much nicer looking and feeling car than any Cad made after 93. Plus that thing is FWD, it’s a wanna be Caddy.

One thing I immediately notice on the RX300 is how fat the tires are. They’re huge by today’s standards but it gives the crossover a more tough feeling on the road. Like I can go over curbs or huge potholes and the RX wouldn’t even be fazed by it. Over time with newer models, the tires kept getting smaller and smaller while the wheels kept growing in size. I hear/read that the RX330 wasn’t as well constructed as the RX300 but again, I haven’t driven one or have rode in one before.

I did wish that Lexus put more effort into the look of the interior of the RX300. It’s pretty basic in styling and I guess more focused on utility over creature comfort’s, quality touches, compared to an ES. The ride quality is ok, it’s very choppy due to the go-cart size wheelbase and lack of wheel travel. It feels very sturdy on the road however, and when going over cracks on the streets it doesn’t penetrate the cabin all that much due to the fat 70 series tires that just cushions road impacts well.

How do the new Lexus models compare in road noise (NVH), seat and riding comfort, road impacts from potholes/cracks/dips and everything else in between to the oldies? I know performance wise they blow away the older cars, so I don’t really care too much about it. What about door panels feel, center console, dash, seat and switch quality? Door slam and overall feeling of solidarity?

Because one day I would like a new/newish Lexus, I just can’t stand their grills, they are hideous IMO. But i am curious to know if they are as good and well constructed as the old ones. I do notice every Toyota I have owned, including Lexus vehicles that are made in Japan, have a much better build quality. Less things break and they use better materials that last forever it seems. I’m I the only one that notices this?

 

where's 'this part of the world'? if you import an ls400 from japan, won't it be right hand drive? maybe where you are is the same.

but importing a 30 year old car with plastic on the rear seats doesn't make it 'new'.

enough with the inflammatory remarks. people disagreeing with your point of view aren't automatically 'idiots'.

 

my lc500 with 21" OEM wheels and 245/40R21 front and 275/35R21 rear tires is laughing.