Wow, I never thought I would finally say this from an age of 24, that the LS460L is one piece of fine machinery! It moves effortlessly and it changes lane so cleanly and handles that turn like a luxury sedan should do but with fantastic handling that does not suffer any lean to one side or the other. Compared to my Dad's 2006 Audi A8L, this car feels big but feels fast and stable at every manuever I did ( not harsh ones beleive me but decent heavy turns and heavy braking at times). I love the way the seat cradles me and supports me in every aspects. The techno goodies are like a wonderland to me, with the most favorite one is the parking system ( its so easy!!) I dont get howw all these reviews are saying its tough or hard, thats the lack on their part to be clueless and not to understand how to work it before using it! Overall, this car is a winner!!! I think Lexus is gonna have a ball with this one once the sports package are getting out to the lot and the LS600h L are getting out as well.

 

I agree, it's a fantastic car. Glad you enjoyed your test drive!

 

Rexus I am glad you liked the car, I think Lexus is taking that road, the change on the lines and overall is targeted to attract more young croud. The car does handles amazing and very responsive.

IMHO I think the Advanced Park Assist was aim at the senior class, to make live little easier for them on parking such a big car, but I think the reviews are as such because it takes some time to get used to the system and clicking here and there. Remember, you were raised during the techno age, they were not. I am sure the young generation can figure that thing out w/o a manual in less than 1 minute, for the older group? Maybe lot longer and remember, would they trust a computer to park their 70K investment?

 

Now imagine the older generation figuring out the I-Drive in the BMW.

 

i couldnt figure I-Drive, and I work in software business.

Disclaimer: I am sure that after spending several months with I-Drive, you can memorize 4-5 functions and do them without looking at the screen (eg what takes 5 minutes to learn in every other car).

 

I'm also a retired software developer, and had no trouble learning the iDrive system, although I do find it more cumbersome than a touchscreen.

It's USING the iDrive that's the problem.

When you push, pull, or twist the iDrive ****, the response to your action can take anywhere from instant to 15 seconds.

All that time, your attention is diverted from the road, glancing back and forth to see if it's ready for your next action.

If it were always instant response, it would be tolerable, but as it is now, it's dangerous.

Not only do I find the touch screen easier to use, but Lexus either has a much faster processor or better software developers, because the response on my '03 LS430 is always immediate.

HBH

 

i am just curious, is the response time still that bad if you use the voice recognition? i have never tried it before, but from what genearch said it's much better?

 

Voice recognition is better than the i-drive ****, but still slower than reaching and pushing a button

Good to hear that the new LS is more controlled and well-behaved

 

The response time with the voice recognition seems about the same as using the iDrive.

By the way, one of the very few things I like better about the BMW is the voice recognition.

My '03 LS430 understood me MAYBE 5% of the time. The BMW understands me about 95% of the time.

HBH

 

if respnonse time is that time, i agree it's pretty bad.... i wonder if it's a trade off for better recognition than lexus. but ultimately taking your eyes off the road, that's no good

 

And that is why I-drive in a BMW puzzles me. It totally takes away from the DRIVING experience and these are "drivers" cars (though the majority are driven much like a Lexus owner). I cannot figure out how a "driver's" company would get rid of driver's oriented dashes for flat ones and put something like I-drive.

The funny thing is some others have followed
Benz
Acura
Audi
Infiniti

When Porsche goes to I-drive or Ferrari does, then I am convinced!

 

what I find really, really hillarious is that MB copied BMW for their S class. So they tried really hard to clean up the buttons on center console.... YET there are 20+ buttons on each door!

There is no sense in the madness.... and lexus sales keep going up! :-)

 

indeed one HUGE complain i have on bmw and mb is their button setup. gosh, can they actually put in more?! it's just stupid imho. maybe coz' i have been driving lexus for a while, but i love the clean look.

if lexus can do it with so few buttons, other manufacturers should learn

 

Because when they say that BMW/MB is a 'Drivers' car, they're referring to the handling, road feel, seat dynamics, etc.

iDrive vs button vs touchscreen is a separate, controller issue. All cars require control functions that have nothing to do with the driving per se.

Personally, having driven both, I much prefer the driving experience of the Lexus, especially on medium or long (1 hour or more) trips.

You hit the nail right on the head, though, when you said that the majority are driven much like a Lexus owner. Any superior handling characteristics (IF any) are rarely experienced in day to day driving, and would only be truly exploited by professional drivers on a track.

This may be a controversial statement, but I'm convinced that for non-professional drivers, off track handling is close enough to be essentially the same.

Given that, it's the comfort and convenience characteristics that are important, and on those, Lexus, partly due to it's non-iDrive touchscreen, shines.

HBH

 

^^ Couldn't agree more. I have driven the S-500 AMG several times and although it handles good, it has higher road noise in the cabin. Not to mention the plethora of electrical problems. I've logged 250 miles so far on my LS-460 and I am totally addicted to this car. Lexus is kicking some major German a$$!!