I just test drove the LS460L this morning. Here are a few of my comments/impressions.

This will be my 5th LS in 12 years. I am currently driving an '04 LS430 Ultra Luxury and I love that car! When I first sat in the LS460L, I had a very positive sensation. It was new and cool and had lots of great new features, but at the same time it was very familiar. It seemed to me to be exactly what you would expect in the next generation LS. In other words, I felt right at home. I was able to quickly and intuitively use many of the new features.

The new navigation system is awesome. It has a beautiful, large, bright, high resolution screen. I was able to dig right into the system and start using it like I had been using it forever. If you are familiar with the previous generation, you won't skip a beat. The traffic feature is also pretty neat. You can have the traffic icons overlay on the screen and give you verbal feedback if you click on them. It's still not clear to me how effective this tool will be. Time will tell.

There is also a nice improvement to the computer display on the dash. There is almost a mini nav-type screen at the top of the dash that displays trip info, etc. It is very easy to read.

One new feature that just tickled me for some reason was the brake Hold button. At first it seems like it could be a bit gimicky, but it is not. It is WAY COOL. I had this on while I was driving, and every time I would stop at a stop light, I could just take my foot off of the brake and the car wouldn't move AT ALL. When you press the accelerator, the car just takes off like normal. According to the sales rep., if the car is sitting for a certain period of time in Hold mode (I think she said 10 minutes), the parking brake will automatically engage. You will then need to release the parking brake in order to drive again. She said something about the parking brake using less energy than the Hold mode.

The auto parallel park feature is also pretty cool. My sales rep demonstrated this with me in the car. She pulled up beside a parked car (3 feet away from it), then pulled forward a so that the LS front end was in front of the parked car. She then did some quick positioning with some grid lines on the nav screen and then told it to park. She had her foot on the brake and the car amazingly pulled right behind the car (very tight) with the steering wheel spinning on its own. All she had to do was apply the brake when it was time to stop. Unfortunately, we didn't have 2 cars to park between, so I didn't get the full effect. She told me that her boss parked it (with her in the car) between two cars in a tight space and it worked flawlessly. I'm not sure how often I will use this feature, but I was very curious to see how they were going to pull this off, and I was not at all disappointed. It's a real feature.

You can definately feel the additional horsepower. Its got plenty of get-up-and-go, but is silky smooth at the same time.

The stereo system sounds great. Like before, the XM Radio is integrated flawlessly and is accessed the same way as before. Apparently, when you put your audio CD or DVD into the car it gives you the option to burn the songs on to the car's hard drive (up to 2,000 songs). I saw how you would do this, but didn't get a chance to actually test it. The Aux input is on the front side of the inside of the arm rest. Also, according to the sales rep, you will be able to watch a DVD video on the nav screen if the car is parked AND the parking brake is on.

The push button on/off is great, the rear seat auto side and rear shades are great, the auto trunk open/close is great!

The back seat area is huge and very luxurious. There is tons of leg room, but there seems to be a bit less head room to me.

The trunk is definately smaller with the upgraded climate control, but it still seemed do-able to me.

This is a beautiful, elegant, well-designed car. I can't wait to get mine!!!

 

Great review!!! Your 5th LS!!! That's very impressive, and a IMO a testament to your career success to afford such a vehicle, and impeccable taste.

I agree that there is such an easy transition from the LS 430 to the LS 460, the functionality is basically the same, with a whole lot of new features added in.

You got to drive the car! I'm envious...I will test drive at Taste of Lexus soon though.

Good to hear that the verbal feedback is available on NavTraffic in addition to the messages; when I tested the system earlier, the audio was on mute so I didn't hear any messages.

The 'mini-NAVI screen' on the instrument panel is a TFT (thin film transistor IIRC) which is really cool indeed.

I didn't know you could have Brake Hold on all the time, I thought you had to press it every time you stopped at a red light. Sounds good to me either way!

There is less headroom in the back, particularly in the center seat, although in the 460 L I think the added room and other seating features will help.

And I BET every test drive, if the salesperson is smart, will include an Advanced Parking Guidance System demonstration!!! I thought that system was so cool when I saw it earlier this week. That is a 'marquee' feature which will sell the car--or at least raise some eyebrows. If I ever get an LS, I would like to get that system.

Anyhow, hope you enjoy your new LS when you get it!

 

another great customer review, good job!!! imho we need to see more of these, personally i think these are more important for most people

 

How did it drive? Any comments on handling or ride would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

I've been doing 3 year leases which explains why I have had so many cars. This has worked out great for me because I love getting a new car every 3 years and the improvements in the car over the past 12 years have been spectacular. The timing worked out great for the release of the new LS. My lease expires 12/15.

The break Hold feature is definately "sticky". You are either in that mode or out of it (it gives an indicator on the dash) at least while the car is on. I'm assuming it goes off when you turn the car off. This is really nice because if you like this feature you can turn it on once when you start the car and it will stay on until you turn it off. This feature is going to be huge in stop-and-go traffic.

The car is very quiet (even more than before), and as you would expect, the ride was teriffic. I took off down a curved entrance ramp, and it accelerated very nicely and you could hear the engine roar into action (which was a little suprising, but pleasantly so). It corners very easily and you feel very much in control. I'm a little embarrased to admit that after I drove the car back to the dealership I discovered that I had been driving in Sport mode. I can only imaging how smooth the ride is in Normal mode.

 

Did the one you drive have springs or air suspension? Comments on ride would be appreciated.

 

I've driven both the standard and LWB versions. The air suspension (AVS) choices make more of a difference than they do on the GS or the LS 430. Those looking for a true "sport" suspension still won't be happy with AVS. The LS is simply not meant to be bleeding edge sports sedan.

 

Thanks. The GS doesn't offer air suspension.

I for one am certainly not expecting the LS to be an M5 or anything but if the air suspension lessens float and body roll, that's a huge step up/

Can you describe the difference it makes over the standard coils on the LS?

 

I just drove both today. Your statement is quite an understatement!

Even in the "sport" mode of the LWB with the air suspenders, the car really wallowed around quite a bit.

I also thought that the car was not as quiet as I would have expected as there was quite a bit of rumbling over botts dots.

The interior is gorgeous and well put together. I guess that the many rear-seat options are a hint as to the nature of the car.

 

Exactly, the LS rear seat has become a world unto itself.

 

ummm, i will need to drive a lwb soon to find out how bad it is

 

Can you use all of the navigtions features and drive at the same time with this newer generation nav system or do you still have to use the trick to get it to work at the same time?

 

Is there a trick? I've been wondering about that ever since I bought the car. If you know what it is, please share it with us!

 

Yea I Just Recived 6 In My Dealer On Friday And There All Gone.. We Have A Waiting List Of 120 People Waiting For That Car To Hit The My Dealer

 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=216004