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I don't think any one manufacturer makes "the best interior", they all have some great interiors and some not great interiors, as long as you are below Rolls/Bentley level.
Originally Posted by AJT123
Agree. LS430 is basically a perfect car. You won't find anything cheap inside one. Nothing. From the speaker mesh to the headliner to the massive amounts of wood, to how they curved the dashboard into the tweeters (check next time) it's seriously nice. Build quality is astounding, materials are too. I wish I had the leather upgrade but it comes with the nav screen and stuff I don't want..
What I didn't like about the 430 vs the 400 was that the door armrests and pulls are just injection molded vinyl and not leather unless you get a CL or ML car, that to me really reduced the luxurious feel of the car vs the 400. Our 430 was a UL and that was one of the biggest reasons why. I also never liked the styling or layout of the 430 dash, but quality as very good, just a hair below the 98-00 400 IMO. LS460 had the same issue with those armrests and pulls until the 2013 refresh...
What I didn't like about the 430 vs the 400 was that the door armrests and pulls are just injection molded vinyl and not leather unless you get a CL or ML car, that to me really reduced the luxurious feel of the car vs the 400. Our 430 was a UL and that was one of the biggest reasons why. I also never liked the styling or layout of the 430 dash, but quality as very good, just a hair below the 98-00 400 IMO. LS460 had the same issue with those armrests and pulls until the 2013 refresh...
what the designers and engineers giveth, the accountants taketh away.
what the designers and engineers giveth, the accountants taketh away.
LS430 had tonnnns of upgrades. Steve is right about the arm pulls but all the leather upgrades that came with the 430, etc had that. The amount of wood increased dramatically in the 430, not even close. Center stack is a tad unusual on 430s but you get right used to it.
I don't think corners were cut on 430s. Early 460s that's different. The 430s with the leather upgrade feel almost hand built, it's crazy. Get a black interior and the wood is burned and blends into the black color of the interior.
i think that's a bit too broad as ALL cars have screens now. maybe you mean on screen touch controls can suck. i know i would HATE a car that only has climate temp controls on screen for example. both my coupe and suv have the nice clicky up/down toggles for left and right climate. the screen shows the temps of course. the lc500 has terrible more detailed climate controls on screen but fortunately i NEVER use them because their climate 'concierge' is so good. it does though have several buttons for climate as well in the high touch center group.
one real quirk of the lc500 is that it has a single center vent (see above), one to the left of the driver gauge cluster, and THREE on the passenger side - 2 'thin' ones and a normal sized one.
i do also love those hefty inside door handles!
Yeah. The door pulls are good. I like the door pull in my new SUV. Has a ribbed feel on the inside of the door pull
LS430 had tonnnns of upgrades. Steve is right about the arm pulls but all the leather upgrades that came with the 430, etc had that. The amount of wood increased dramatically in the 430, not even close. Center stack is a tad unusual on 430s but you get right used to it.
I don't think corners were cut on 430s. Early 460s that's different. The 430s with the leather upgrade feel almost hand built, it's crazy. Get a black interior and the wood is burned and blends into the black color of the interior.
What you describe is exactly what I had in the 430, the UL with the dark antiqued wood. I just never liked the 430 the same way I liked the 400, design or execution. If anything, I thought it had too much wood. Sadly, corners have been cut in every successive generation of the LS, they fixed much of that in the 13 refresh of the 460 but not all of it…I’ve just never owned a car since that 400 that felt quite built as well.
Dont get me wrong the 430 was a really well built car but I just never loved the looks of it inside or out.
I was really blown away by the interior of the new DS4. The screen integration, button design, color choices and general shapes in the cabin all have so much thought put into them. This belongs in a flagship sedan or luxury GT car, not a subcompact crossover that competes with the Lexus UX.
I felt that the LS430 was wonderfully built, especially in comparison to the contemporary Mercedes S-class. The design of the interior, however, was staid and for that reason I never considered it something I truly loved. The nav screen implementation in particular always irked me, it’s as if the center stack has a big forehead.
For me, the interior I truly enjoy these days is that of the Continental GT:
Truly everything there is to touch is bang on. I have no notes. There’s something a bit off about the exterior of this generation of Bentleys though, I just have no desire to own one.
What you describe is exactly what I had in the 430, the UL with the dark antiqued wood. I just never liked the 430 the same way I liked the 400, design or execution. If anything, I thought it had too much wood. Sadly, corners have been cut in every successive generation of the LS, they fixed much of that in the 13 refresh of the 460 but not all of it…I’ve just never owned a car since that 400 that felt quite built as well.
Dont get me wrong the 430 was a really well built car but I just never loved the looks of it inside or out.
Yeah for sure. You have to get the right rims on a 430 IMO for it to really pop out. LS400 needed nothing, and the 2 tone paint still looks good today. And to me there is no such thing as too much wood lol. It’s excessive in the 430 but that’s absolutely how I like it.
Ok so I know this thread is supposed to be positive, but I came across a couple of interiors on higher end luxury cars that piqued my interest. I know Lexus gets flack for lower end interiors, but these don’t look plastic-y to you? Lol
Ok so I know this thread is supposed to be positive, but I came across a couple of interiors on higher end luxury cars that piqued my interest. I know Lexus gets flack for lower end interiors, but these don’t look plastic-y to you? Lol
Well you see.....the issue is you didn't pay enough money for the high spec Porsche interior lol! What? Did you expect soft touch materials for a measly 150K? HA!
I have no idea for the Audi though, it's likely just what it is for a low end car like the Q3 though. The Germans are BRUTAL if you don't have enough money to buy the "proper" car, it's not at all like the Japanese brands who try and make everything in the lineup a nice place to be or Lexus in particular that tries to make everything uniformly quality. The Germans are 1000% more of the mentality of "if it's not nice enough for you buy the more expensive car"
Those are examples of why I said every carmaker seems to have good and not great interiors depending on the model...the Germans need options to make their interiors feel great, even in high end models.
The pictured Audi Q3 and Porsche Taycan have both been criticized for their plasticky exteriors in the press. That holds up in person although the Taycan's issues can be mitigated with additional options.