Sorry you were not able to register - didnt think about it out of the US/Canada range - but enough research Im sure you can find what your looking for - there has to be a Lexus knowledge base available for where you live.

Good luck and hope all works out!

 

Hey Jac,
Glad to see you've made your move! Congratulations on picking up such a beauty! Blue/tan is very nice to look at and those 18in 5 spokes are sweet. How are you liking your new ride?

 

Hi CarGuy89,

Thanks.
The 18" wheels are standard over here, so there is no real choice.
It might be that 17" are a bit more comfortable, but the 2001 LS430 I have driven over a year ago is not that clear in my mind anymore.
18" looks good, but since I cannot see them when I sit in the car, I don't give a hoot for that. It is the same with the shape of the car. Not what I would call pretty, but the interior is fine. Albeit a bit on the plastic-side of chique...

I have not yet made my mind up about the optitron meters. Looks like a lot of costs and advertising for a readability that can just as easily be realized with conventional meters...

It is just a mixed bag of feelings so far, actually.
I most certainly do not like everything about this car.
What I do like though, is the quietness in the car and the smoothness of the engine/transmission. Certainly the best I have ever experienced.
I suppose it is top of the bill by any standards.

When I drive at 120 km/h (= 75 mi/h, the speed limit here), the rev counter indicates less than 1900 rpm. So it definitely must be in 6th gear. Well, I hadn't noticed that it had changed gears so often!
Super-smooth, and very much to my liking. This certainly must be amongst the best achievable.

I miss the windscreen wiper on the rear windscreen. And the rain sticks to the side windows more than I am used to. So much for the safety Lexus is bragging about!
The car handles like a heavy car, which could be better, and steering stability straight on is also different from what I am used to. My previous car seemed to run on tracks. Always as you intended, with no unwanted reactions in the steering wheel. Front-wheel drive, so it drives different from the Lexi anyway. I might get used to it.

In contrast to the usual opinion, the navigation system works fine for me.
Fast recalculation and clear voice guidance. The price for updates is over the top (my Nokia phone has them for free, and they are better updated!), but again, it works fine.

The seats are (for my back) a major step backwards (no pun intended!).
But from all cars I have test driven (or just sat in), still the most acceptable.
I have a lot of trouble with my back, so this is a major aspect for me.
I am not particularly fond of leather upholstery, but nevertheless Lexus uses good quality leather. Not bad at all.

Suspension is good, but nothing special.

I found out that the parking spaces are too small for the LS430 over here.
The car always sticks out and the width of the space is also only just adequate
But that is no fault of the car, of course.

Well, that's about it for now.
Thanks for reading all this

Jac

 

Nice LS...I have the same color combo.

 

The interior looks more coherent in daylight than it does at the flash photos.



Hope this gives a more realistic view of how the interior looks.

Jac

 

Nice car!!
I am also fairly new to Lexus.(02 UL LS430) I have since gotten over the repair stress. I feel it is such a wonderful machine that I will fix or repair as needed and just enjoy every minute of driving.

 

Thats looks very nice.
I wigh I could have found that color combination in Canada. Looks great
I too wanted a lighter interior, so many LS cars here are dark interiors.
I don't mind the extra cleaning.

enjoy !

 

I'm the opposite,I held out for a car with a dark interior,so I wouldn't stress as much about the possibility of marking it.

My Celsior had the tan interior and it showed marks pretty easily.


Justin...

 

Thank you all for your good wishes!

Most cars over here have a dark interior.
Especially due to the black leather seats it all is too somber for my taste.
We have a relative dark country, so a lighter interior is helpful for a positive mood.
The major disadvantage of course is that it gets dirty very easily.

It took some time to find one. Unfortunately it is not the UL version, but apart from the beverage cooler and the adjustable back seats and separate air conditioning, it is very complete.

Let's all hope that our cars live up to their expectation and need very little repair jobs!

Jac

p.s. so many people, so many tastes! It is nice though that Lexus made a suitable combination for us all.

 

Very interesting combination of color and features. Looks like the underdash and center bottom console is not leather (material) wrapped, but just the plastic, which to U.S. is Modern Lux or below, but air is UL trim. Has the headlamp washers which are CL or above.

Strange that Lexus would manufacturer these various trims and features just for different countries rather than just make one standard group of vehicles and ship abroad. Is the NL so against leather perhaps that they went less-is-better route?

 

Hi Jac -

Congrats on the purchase. Having read your previous postings and the myriad of considerations you had to deal with as compared to purchasing here in the U.S.A./Canada, I wasn't sure whether you'd take the plunge.

One of my favorite and most useful threads here in the Lexus forum gave me some insights into our two LS430's we'd never be aware of without other memberr's input. You can view them at:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...d-threads.html

Hope this helps you discover some of the various features you paid so dearly for

Good driving to you !

 

@ AlexusAnja:
There is an amazing quantity of real plastic in the car....
In NL we most certainly are not against leather, quite the contrary.
It would have had my preference to have leather armrests and leather center console finishing.
But it is what it is.
I am not certain if the top model over here (we only 2 versions of the LS430) does have more leather though. It might very well be the same as with mine.

@mewee:
Thanks Will.
I did read a lot on this forum before making the step and actually bought an LS430.
But still I find useful information that I had not read or found before.
Hope I can contribute something as well.

The user manual of the car in NL is different from the USA.
No listing of voice commands for example. According to the dealer, such a list is not even available over here!
I printed out a list I found on the internet (maybe on this forum, I can't remember) and just made a lot of photos of the various help screens just to be able to see it in the comfort of my home.
For me it helps if I can read it on beforehand, in stead of guessing on the way.

The Japanese must be polite and quiet people, cause the manual does not indicate how to operate the horn! I just had to guess and happily guessed right. Not that I intend to use the horn a lot, but it is nice to know how it's done.

Today I also looked a bit into the hidden service menu.
But I am cautious, as I have read that one wrong command can cost you a new ECU to get the navigation working again (which undoubtedly will be a few grand).
The menu's did not refer to anything concerning the suspension or engine.
Is it possible to get that info anyway? Or would I need an expensive OBD2 tester?

Jac

 

It appears that all LS430's sold in NL (at least in 2004) had a lot of plastic i.s.o. leather.
I found a picture of the most luxurious of the 2 versions available (in principle also comparable with the UL in America), and it appears to have the same amount of plastic as mine:



Jac

 

Welcome aboard

the cashmere/ivory is a little more yellow than ecru. The ecru is more lighter.
well, here's my ecru:

 

GS3Tek: very nice car you have!
Dashboard top looks lighter than mine.
The UL certainly has a nicer looking array of switches (mine is missing the back seat switch of course).

There seems to be an endless number of variations produced.
My maintenance book says "LA07 ivory", but perhaps the very same colour is named different elsewhere, who knows...
The sticker in the door opening just says "LA07" as trim identification.
I'll compare the printed colours in the brochure with the reality in the car.
See if there is any match

Thanks for your input!

Jac