ls430lover

yes a way to make it sportier pick another vehicle
the car you have has gone thru extensive years of r and d to be exactly what it is
so enjoy it for what it is its the last vehicle that will be made with the attention to detail and quality ever,
also the people that would like our ls 430 to get 38 mpg its time to search for a different vehicle as well
safe driving to all

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

It's the difference in coming from a BMW m5 with a v10 and 500 hp.... It's comparing a ls430 that's faster than 90 pct of all the cars on the road with one that's faster than 98.5 percent of them.

OP you should look at the new GS, much better compromise of handling and luxury. Not all,that much faster straight line than the LS but better handling than many new German cars. OR sit back and enjoy the luxury and quality of the LS. You'll come to appreciate it.

I agree with the earlier comment of checking the glovebox contents for your dash rattle. The ls430 isn't as prone to that compared to many newer cars.

Tom57

LS comfort and handling is mutually exclusive of sport handling = you simply can't have both in the same vehicle because the engineering is completely different. LS always gets the bad wrap that it isn't the sporty-feel like other cars ... it wasn't designed and engineered to be that way. The mid-2000's LS is simply the best car "in its class" -- which is LUXURY SEDAN. I'm on my 4th LS and have driven 500K+ comfortable and break-down free miles in a LS. Owned original '90 LS 400 (200K+ miles) and '95 LS 400, and currently own '01 LS 430 (235K miles) and just bought '06 LS CL (45K miles). (My Lexus part mgr. says the LS 430 was the best car Lexus has ever made. Having driven LS for 23 years, I would agree.)

warminwisc

I would take an A8, 05 or later was a redesign, any day over my LS, sorry, it has handling and comfort. Just can't afford the repair bills. In 04 the LS was rated best Luxury car in many publication so your opinion Tom57 is valid.

Stu

Really ! If you have trouble merging into traffic with an LS430 then you don't need a faster car, what you DO need is driving lessons.

jcp

My gripe in regards to the power of the LS430 is more centered on the throttle response versus power. When I merge onto a busy surface street from a dead stop I would prefer not to mash the throttle each time to avoid oncoming traffic. However, at half throttle it picks up speed slowly.

I agree the LS has sufficient power and accelerates briskly when the throttle is floored. It's just the delay in throttle response to get the car to accelerate at anything less than full throttle. Also, there is a noticeable lag for the car to kick down to lower gears.

I removed everything from my glovebox except for the manual and the rattles are still there. It literally started when the temps dropped outside. The car was dead silent during the summer months.

I know there is a sporting compromise compared to the LS' german counterparts for the sake of reliability, but I really didn't think the gap was this wide.

I test drove LS430's and LS460's at a dealership, but they were always on their test loop which did not include many corners if any. It was my fault for not pushing harder during my brief drives. I'm just trying to figure out how to make my LS430 more enjoyable to drive on the daily grind.

Thanks for the comments gents!

XJSFan

Maybe u have a mechanical problem with your LS? My 2006 LS has more then enough power and throttle response to do just about any driving maneuver. I have also owned just about every car mentioned in this thread and my LS has not limited me at all... I would go to a lexus dealer and have your car checked out...

I live In WI and it's been below zero here and my car has ZERO rattles or creaks. Good luck.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

I like the air suspension honestly. Some don't. I think it is a great balance between comfort and sportiness with a flip of a switch.

One thing to consider is that your shocks / struts may be worn. Can you rock the car by grabbing the fender or bumper and using your weight to rock it? In my opinion, come 60 - 120k miles based on road conditions even the OEM KYB's have about had it. OEM sport shocks are not that expensive from Lexus of South Atlanta too. About $60.00 more then KYB gr-2's through RockAuto.

There are easy ways you can improve the handling for not much money and something you will probably have to replace before too long anyway. Try driving in manual mode when you want that more responsive feel. You will have to shift the gears but it won't drop down to 6th on you. You can just keep it in gear as long as you like.

Oh yes, the rattle in the dash is probably behind the nav. It's a pretty easy fix that involves some tape. Search the forum. Here is one thread about it.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...-the-dash.html

jcp

My car currently has 61k miles and I believe the shocks are fine. According to the tech who serviced my car, he said there were no leaks and all the bushings looked good. My car feels similar to the other 430's I drove previously.

The dash creaking bothers me the most. I will read up on the tape fix behind the Navigation unit thread. However, I don't believe this is where it is coming from. When I hear the creaks going over bumpy roads, they will generally go away when I push against the top of my instrument cluster. I was thinking about wedging something between the windshield and dashboard to see if that works.

jcp

You have a good point. However, I think the Germans have done a very good job of combining comfort, luxury and handling. I recently drove in a friend's E63 and that car did it all. It was at least as comfortable as my car and more luxurious, but from a performance standpoint there was no comparison. Then again, it's 6 years newer and a lot more $.

The LS430's trouble free reputation was the primary reason I decided on the 430. I just wish Lexus made a full size sedan that accelerated and handled like an M5 or AMG but with Toyota's legendary reliability and cost savings.

I think the closest Toyota has come so far in offering a multi-dimensional performance luxury car is the 2011+ IS-F, but it was too small for my needs.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

The Germans have done a lot of things well, except for building a reliable car.

I was very serious about getting an s55 or 55 AMG, I even joined benz world forums, but they are just a nightmare waiting to happen.

Benz owners are always in denial too, saying things like 'oh well, all cars breakdown from time to time" or the classic sucker phrase " you gotta pay to play"

Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar = Don't buy without a FULL warrantee

BMW7_LS430

Lexus LS-F Rumored for 2016

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...-for-2016.html

SW17LS

To the OP...you just bought the wrong car. There's just nothing sporty about an LS430...even to look at it...nothing about it even looks sporty. Its a fabulous car, but it is what it is. Everything you find dreadful about it is exactly how its supposed to operate. Its supposed to be a laid back highway cruiser...and that it does better than any car I have ever driven.

The LS460 made several moves towards sport, but even it is really a boulevard cruiser designed for tomb like silence and refinement. Even a new F Sport.

To me you have two options, you can get out of this car and into something thats a better compromise for you...or you can spend potentially thousands of dollars trying to turn it into something that its not...and still run the risk of not being happy. Then you have a heavily modified car you can't get out of without getting killed. In stock form someone will buy your LS in a heartbeat, do a bunch of suspension mods...probably not.

If you want a big, better handling car...I would recommend a 7 Series, A8 to a lesser extent, or even an S Class, which has a little tighter german feel.

To echo what Dave is suggesting here. I got started with Lexus because of my Dad's LS which I loved. I'm surprised by how much I love my 4GS. It reminds me of the LS when driving down the road, but handling wise it can become a whole 'mother animal. Something to think about, although the price jump from an 06 LS to a new GS would be considerable. You can find CPO 2013s for the early $40ks though.

Jabberwock

I did drive a 2011 LS460 Sport model that was very very nice... The muti-setting air suspension on LS460 Sport made for much more precise and firm handling on the LS. If i was wanted a sportier ride in a full size sedan that was still Lexus reliable, I'd get the current LS460 in Sport model option. But even in Sport mode it is still a big heavy car. If I wanted a smaller lighter more fun car to drive I'd likely get a nicely optioned 2-3 year old BMW 335.

warminwisc

zero to 60 under 5 secs. 370 ft lbs of torque Sign me up I will loose a few lbs!