Question-- how does the LS430, being RWD, handle in the snow & rain, ice, sleet, gravel roads, other slick conditions? This car is highly appealing to me, but I live in Denver and go up frequently to the mountains skiing in the winter. It's only practical for me to have one car, so wondering if this car is even a consideration? Also I know on all Lexus models the rear seat does not fold down, but is there a rear seat middle passthrough slot in this car to slide skis and other long objects through? I once looked at a 2000 LS400 and I could have sworn there wasn't one.

 

The car handles ok in snow (I'm on stock Dunlops all season), great in rain. Throw on a set of winter tires and you should be fine. The car is definitely pretty well balanced and will only oversteer in the snow if provoked.

As for the pass through, I believe there is a small slot (in non-UL models I think) behind the rear armrest. Simply open it and you have a small area to the trunk (enough for skis probably).

Good luck with your search! What year/color combo/trim level are you most interested in?

 

I think all ls430 except the ul have the trunk pass through. As far as snow and sleet the ls is so so to me, some people say its all in the tires too. In the rain its fine.

 

Vegas1,

I live in Rochester, NY with 100+ inches of snow per year. Drove an LS400 for 15 years and now an LS430 for 2. Snow tires make all the difference in the world and I put weight in the trunk with a sand bag tube. It handles well though not outstanding.

On my 05 there is a trunk pass through for skis.

Love the car!

 

Driving in the mountains in winter, going skiing on a regular basis - snow banks, slush, loading ski gear in and out - seems to me like a very poor task for an LS430.. a heavy, low ground clearance, rear wheel drive sedan.

I suggest a 4 wheel drive vehicle for that environment - I would choose a late model mid size 4 wheel drive SUV with a little more ground clearance - Subaru Forester, Toyota HL, Lexus RX350, etc

 

I drive quite alot in the snow skiing in the UP of Michigan and the snow belt and in the Milwaukee area one of the snowiest major metro area in the country.

As JW said there is low ground clearance so the wells pack up with snow. You would need good snows for some of those gridlocks on I-70. If you are an avid skier I would be looking for an A8 myself but ya won't have the reliability of the LS.

I can get 3 pair of skiis in the center pass thru.

 

HAving said that 2 pair of powder boards Like Mantras or Ross s7's

 

My LS430 saw limited winter use late last winter with no issues. As other have said, snow tends to pack into the wheel wells due to the close clearance and the fuzzy material inside the wells. I mainly drove the Subaru last winter, but late in the season that car was in more frequent use by my wife's caregivers.

I'm in the process of replacing the Subaru with a new Prius, so we'll see how that does in the winter. (Lack of window frames on the Subaru makes it hard for the caregivers to transfer my wife into the car.)

 

Driving uphill and downhill on I-70 in LS can be challenging even with snow tires. AWD comes to mind as a better option.
I fit a pair of skis in ski bag in pass-through. I think my ski bag is for two pairs of skis so it's a plenty of extra material around.

 

I agree that AWD might be the better way to go for mountain driving in the winter. I’ve driven a V8-powered RWD Lexus sedan in nasty Minnesota winters for the last 6 years (GS 430 for 5 yrs., and an LS 430 last yr.) without ever losing control of the car. I’ve gone through snow (at low speed) that was so deep I could hear it rubbing on the underside of the floor pan, and I have NEVER gotten stuck. My daily commute to work is 52 miles and I haven’t missed a day of work, due to weather, yet. The first thing I did was buy snow tires for each of these cars, however (Dunlap Graspic DS2’s for the GS 430, and Michelin X-ice 2’s for my LS). Both are very good winter tires. I think that you probably COULD make the LS work (with top-shelf snow tires, some extra weight in the trunk, and maybe a set of tire chains for emergencies), but you might still have a few tense moments along the way, which AWD would probably mitigate.

There IS a pass-through on LS 430s that DON’T have the Ultra Luxury option package. I can fit my downhill skis in the car – barely. The shape of the pass-through is a tall, narrow rectangle. I have to bag my skis in a very particular way, to make them fit: bottoms-facing-outward, and with the tip of one ski opposite the tail of the other. I then slide the bag through the opening with the skis “stacked” vertically, rather than side-by-side. If I bag my skis in the more traditional manner (bottoms-together, tips at the same end of the bag, and with the ski brakes interlocked), they won’t fit... Open or closed, I can't get both (of the heel pieces) of the bindings to pass through the opening at the same time - it's just not big enough. It’s a pain, but now that I have figured out how to make them fit, I’m willing to live with it. I LOVE my LS 430 so much that I will happily put up with this minor inconvenience…

I rarely advise anyone AGAINST getting an LS 430, but in your case, I think I would say it’s not ideal.

 

Imo, you should probably should just get a awd GS or a RX or GX.

 

^ Although I have never taken my LS through the snow, I have to say that you, sir, are really hardcore! Purely subjective, of course, as I come from the part of our land where people miss work due to rain.

 

Absolutely no snow problems with the LS430 (I live in the Phoenix area!).

 

As stated earlier snows are a must and down sizing the rims to 16" or 17" helps with the clearance issues that some have referenced.

 

Hardcore? I live in central wisco south of GB drive 90 miles RT on 1/2 worn Primacies never thinking to get snows just slow down a dozen times a year. Then I haul up to the snowbelt in the UP every other weekend to ski and chase storms. I can see the lake off the lifts and it is a weather machine, gotta love lake effect snow and powder..

I just think of the gridlock as the snow and ice from tires and exhaust builds up on I 70 that is nothing I want to chance getting stuck in or an accident. You can sit for 3-4 hours up there witth a wreck or AC work. As tight as the clearance is chains would not work. The wheel liners are felt and collect snow like a magnet.

How does downsizing rims help clearance?