I just got back from the Lawrence, Lexus, NJ preview cocktail party for the LS460.

Great party! Good food, two bars with wine and beer, constantly circulating hor dourves, music and even prizes.

There was one regular silver 460 on the floor inside, and one white one that we were told was a 460L out in the lot (fortunately the weather was incredible for mid October). The front seats were VERY nice, and the back seats luxuriously roomy. They did have the ventilated leather - a simple thing that I miss in my Lexi.

I had read the questions about the trunk on the site, so decided to take pictures. The regular trunk was OK, although having owned full size cars like the Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville, or even the midsize Mercury Sable, I felt it was on the small side. Sadly, the one billed as the LS with the back seat air conditioning system had a puny trunk. It was the the object of comment (derision might be a more accurate word). The salesman said that anybody with an $80,000 car will probably have another vehicle to haul things or even a chauffer. I think that misses the point. People buy this type of car to make long drives in comfort, and often need to put at least a mid-sized suitcase in the trunk!

Here is the "larger" trunk in the ls460 without the extra rear system:

 

Now here is a picture of the smaller trunk in the more expensive car. Note that you lose a lot of that little cave that provides extra front to back length in the trunk.

 

Lastly, I thought you would get a better feel for the trunk space with something next to it, so I asked my husband to take a photo with my arms stretched in the smaller trunk.

All in all this is a beautiful car, and I will have to look for an excuse to drive one at some point (something tells me that these will not be available as loaners in the service department). My guess is that the larger, super expensive flagship model with the small trunk will have a specialized audience, but the regular LS460 should do well.

I'm not including the other car photos - it was hard to get good ones with all the people and there seem to be plenty of regular shots available.

 

Thanks for the photos and commentary!!! I agree, for those long trips one would prefer to have space for many suitcases. IMO, there will indeed be lots of people who choose the LS 460 L without the 4-zone climate control because they want to keep the trunk space.

 

Silver,

Thanks so much for the pictures. I am heading out to Bergen Co. tomorrow for the showing in Englewood. How many people were at the event you were attending?

Is it true that a good number of these dealers are charging a huge chunk of money over sticker?

Let me know!

-Nello

 

Hi Nello3,

There were probably about a couple of hundred people - the event went from 6pm to 9pm and people came and went. We were there maybe an hour and a half.

The only price I heard mentioned was MSRP. If there was any negotiating going on, up or down, it was not in public. It was not a hard sell event at all, very tasteful. I did notice that the car on display on the floor was marked "sold".

Keep in mind there are probably a bunch of people out there with LS430's who have been waiting to trade it in for the 460, so there is going to be an initial demand and limited supply. The good news is that NY/NJ/PA has a number of Lexus dealers and they all know you have a choice.

 

very nice illustration there on the trunk space, i agree that's a perfect way to let people know the size of the trunk

 

I was also at the Lawrence Lexus show. I agree it was great, and the number of folks who attended was far more than I expected. It was very tastefully done. No high-pressure selling at all. I've already reserved a black on black 460L. They had 4 cars - two SWB and two LWB, and had 2 on display. The white LWB drew a lot of attention for the advanced parking system that was being shown over and over. The driver opened the moon roof and stuck both his arms straight up in the air as the car flawlessly parked itself. This drew oohs and aahs from the observers. The space in the back seat of the LWB is really great. I'm 5' 11" and have never had so much leg room in a car. The driver told me the front seats were as far back as possible and still the amount of leg room is terrific. I also found the leg room in the front seat passenger's side to also be excellent. This has not been discussed much in the reviews but it is seems to be greater than in my LS 430. The car looks really classy and a definite stylistic step up from the 430.

I was most concerned about the trunk space in the LWB so that was the first thing I looked at. I thought it was small, but probably around 3 feet in depth and 4' in width although I didn't actually measure it. It is definitely big enough for the weekly groceries and you probably can fit 2 large pieces of luggage in there. The trunk in the SWB in clearly larger (6 cubic feet to be precise) but a lot of the additional space is like in a cavern as Silverlady describes above, and may not really be that useful.

The new nav screen is really nice and has an updated map. There is a Westin hotel in the Princeton area that is not on my LS 430's nav system that I immediately tested on the new nav system and it was there. The new system has a new graphics treatment that is very large and easy to read. It also calculated VERY quickly being a hard drive based system.

Bottom line - gorgeous car, with the only downside being a small trunk. Can't wait for mine to come in.

 

Agreed, trunk space is a major disappointment with the car. What if I want to take a trip with the family? Of just go to the airport with luggage for the family?

Oh yes, and why can't we have a RSES, without losing the ability to carry 3 kids in the backseat?

 

Your grievances can be addressed as follows:

1. If the trunk space is limited, you can travel with less luggage. That will also help airplanes to use less fuel.

2. The RSES should not even be there in cars. Do you know how much radiation these kids are already axposed to? TV, computers, video games, its a relentless pursuit of eye damage. Kids should see the outside world instead of sitting in front of a screen 24/7.

TV came about in 1940s, 1950s in color, computers came about in 1980s and 90s. The amount of radiation we are exposed to makes it a blessing in disguise that LS 460 does not have RSES with three seats.

I hope it helps

Steve Kilburn

 

You sound like a Lexus apologist.

1. Is it too much to ask to have a trunk at least in the same ballpark, sizewise, as the erstwhile competition? Does Lexus' idea of luxury have to involve a trunk that is 12% smaller than a Corolla's?

2. Radiation isn't much of an issue with LCDs. If you're concerned about radiation, are you going to get an car without a Nav?

 

His post was tongue-in-cheek.

 

2007 Mercedes Benz S class Trunk capacity = 16.3 cu ft (mbusa)

2007 BMW 750Li Cargo/trunk capacity = 18 cu.ft.

The LS460 without the 4 seat climate/cooler box option is 18 cu. ft., so I'd say it's very comparable to the competition.
Only if you want the cooler/4 seat climate configuration does the trunk capacity shrink to 12 cu.ft.

The question is whether you prefer trunk space or more backseat luxury.

As for which configurations will have more demand, I think they would adjust their allocations accordingly with time to supply more of the more popular packages.

 

Ah, silly me!

 

My understanding is that the 16.3 number is with certain options (reclining seats? rear a/c? can't remember), and that without those options, the S is at over 20 cu ft.

Also, I think Lexus' measurements are suspect. If you look at www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm, you'll see stats that are hopefully calculated with the same methodology, regardless of brand. And on that website, the LS sure looks alot less roomy than the S, both in terms of passenger and cargo volumes.