XZLR8

I attended the Lexus "Taste of Luxury" event today in Columbus (short review on the SC board) and wanted to mention to you '04 LS Sport owners how impressed I was with your cars. I am sedan shopping for the fall and have been wanting to drive the LS Sport, but my dealer hasn't had any available. I do have an '05 coming on order, but was pleasantly surprised to see one at the Lexus event today.

At any rate, it was nice to be able to drive one back-to-back with the regular LS, as well as the competition. After years of German cars and more than a little admitted skepticism, the LS w/ the Euro suspension did a truly remarkable job on the driving course. And those cars were seriously punished.

I have heard that for '05, 18" wheels will be standard across the LS line. Has anyone heard anything about the Euro/Sport? Still 18s? All-season tires? Anything I should know about the Euro suspension that might help me in the shopping process?

I should mention, if you have the chance to attend one of these "Taste of Luxury" Lexus events, you should really do it. It was very well done and a heck of a lot of fun.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

zdude

I've had nothing but German cars since 1996 and last year I bought a LS430 w/Euro sport suspension and it is as much fun as any BMW or Mercedes that I have owned. I still have an E320 that my wife drives but she is now wanting a Lexus (after driving mine), so that will probably be the last German car I own.

ultra63

Agree. The tires are mediocre on the "04's-though they are quieter after 5500 miles. Better tires on the 05's would be nice as would a NAV DVD with less errors.

Mandingo

Partially copied from adjacent thread ("Class Action"):-

I have owned BMW's and sports cars previously and bought an LS430 with Euro in February 2004.

ETS strikes a perfect balance between handling for fast sweeping curves/tight twisties and everyday ride quality.

I was conflicted at the start whether it was a mistake to be sacrificing legendary LS ride quality but after 6 months with the Euro car I have absolutely no regrets - soft suspension cars I have owned begin to get boring around 6-12 months by my LS makes me smile every time I push it hard.

I believe it needs sports car handling to complement it's sports car engine performance.

Of course the 18" wheels don't hurt either.

No regrets.