Here is a subject that is near and dear to us all.

Does anyone have the crash tests results of the LS460? Also, how does the LS hold up in a crash in comparison to a 750 or S550?

 

The IIHS hasn't released the LS 460 results yet, but the LS 430 ones are here:

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=466

 

Thanks for the info! It would probably be safe to say that the new LS will crash better.

I am very curious to see how this will compare to its competition.

 

i just repaired a LS460 that hit a deer on the highway. the vehicle held up pretty well, but it was a very expensive repair.


i didnt hear anything from the customer though.

 

Test results are on their web site

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=744


http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_res...nts.aspx?lexus

Sadly it says "Marginal" For REAR CRASH PROTECTION and "Good" for FRONTAL OFFSET TEST

 

I am very surprised about the rear results!

 

Maybe that is why they tried to protect the passengers by installing the batteries there in the hybrid.

 

I have a question about the results. When it say "Marginal" does that mean marginal for the class of vehicle or marginal for all vehicles (AKA: results compared to the other cars in its class like 7, S, A8, etc.) OR does it mean that it is marginal even compared to a lesser car in an entirely different class?

 

I think it says Marginal compared to the other cars in its class.

 

Actually it is not in comparison based on what I'm familiar with. Rather, the rating is on a fixed scale of 1-4 (G/A/M/P).

In the past and recently, many vehicles had their weakest crash-test score on the rear collision protection issue. With newer models, that has improved...

...especially with the introduction of Active Headrests and other redesigned seats, rear impact test scores have gone up.

With the Lexus scores, you can see that the older models have the worst scores, and newer models are improved. The LS 460 is tested with "Most popular seat option" which means the Active Front Headrests are not installed during these tests---incidentally, reports are that US regulatory issues prevent them from being installed here---however they are installed now on the new LX 570 and Highlander, so perhaps US market LS models will add them to match with world production ones).

Looking at the competition:

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_res...ints.aspx?audi
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_res...aints.aspx?bmw
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_res....aspx?mercedes

It's interesting that previous results in the early 90's for the LS showed good results, but the standards may have been different then.