Its no harder to clean a grille like that than it is any other grille.

I don't care for the gauge cluster either...

 

Agreed. The current design is 10 years old; which is ancient in car years.

But some people will still pine for the familiar; I still love the red-stained wood and general look of my LS430 despite the fact that the design is probably almost 20 years old by now.

 

I just had a 2016 GS350 loaner for a few days and getting my GS430 back made me appreciate the V8s smoothness so much more. The Lexus 3.5L is a great engine, however, it's nowhere near as smooth and refined as the V8. Lexus better have done one hell of a job refining a TT V6. I just don't see how they can achieve the grunt and smoothness of their V8 in a V6, let alone a turbo V6. Even the Mercedes TT V8 isn't as smooth as their naturally aspirated 5.5L it replaced. I don't doubt the LS500 will be a great car, but hell, please offer a V8!

 

I agree the gauge cluster is very controversial to some. But before everyone was complaining how everyone moved to fully digital gauges and Lexus still hasn't. But now they have and the complain is Lexus. You really can't please everyone. I for one think this car is freaking amazing inside out. And amazing attention to detail. I even noticed in some pictures near the dead controls there stitching over there too. Wow that is what you call attention to detail.

 

Yep, V6's are inherently unstable versus a straight six or V8 due to counter balancing of each piston firing.

That's another reason why I want a V8. I had the 3.5 liter V6 in the RL prior to this and the straight six in the BMW prior to that and V8 I have now is way, way more smoother. The BMW straight six 3 liter was smoother than the RL, even though the engine was much older, but this 4.6 liter beats them all in that department by a mile.

The 3.5 liter V6 in the RL wasn't smooth at all, no matter how often I had to change those damn hydraulic motor mounts, which failed every three years on average on that thing. Those mounts must have been under high duress or just cheaply made for me to have to change them three times in the ten year's I owned it.

This is my first V8 and it won't be my last. Just something effortless about them.

 

The issue is the sporty F style gauges on a car like the LS, which is supposed to be luxurious. I like the virtual gauges, but I would prefer a wider layout, like you see on MB and BMW vehicles.

 

One positive thing about this new car is it has slowed down our control arm bushing threads. At least temporarily.

 

Yes, it's going to be difficult for the 5LS to defy the laws of physics.
60 degree V6's have secondary vibrations, which the engine mounts will try to absorb.

Look at Lexus' new turbo four.
They have done a very good job with the engine mounts.
And a superb job with the massive amount of firewall insulation; loudness is not an issue with 200t.
However, once you put your foot down on the throttle, the famous in-line four and its NVH rears its head.

To reduce the engine capacity is one thing, but to reduce the number of cylinders is something else.

Ditto the big capacity 3.5L V6 TT.
A breakthrough in NVH is always possible as a number of posters are hoping for.
However, it will be very difficult to defy the laws of physics.
Expect a punchy, but coarse 3.5 V6 TT.

All this is great.
It means prices will fall to maintain sales.

 

And maybe, just maybe, the 4LS cars will be sought after for their smooth V8s, and retain their value better

 

Roadfrog has a point. You won't believe the hundreds of bugs that get stuck after a 5 hour drive at the height of our summer here. They are hard to remove from the grille and headlights even with a pressure washer and brush. I would be agonizing over the bugs that get thru and smash into the radiator fins (these cars still have them, don't they?). Maybe the grille will be electrified to vaporize the critters before they can pass thru

 

Well I just came back from the Boston Auto Show. No 2018 LS there. The woman in charge said there is only one and it is still at the Detroit show.

On the other hand, my wife really liked the Bentley SUV, the Bentayga. For about a quarter million dollars it's not bad for bringing home the groceries!

 

I never thought about this, but who knows, our cars could become the desirable used LS. Turbos aren't exactly known for longevity, so maybe after that first year hit, it doesn't falter nearly as fast as people might think it would.

I can can honestly see a few years from now when used 2018 LS start showing up, the current model might be retaining its value just fine, especially if there are problems with the engine.

Used car buyers looking for the typical Lexus reliability might gravitate and/or seek out these cars.

 

I had the same thought. BUT considering the damn HUD has grown to 24", I think that's a nice trade off to cramping more things onto a screen that would at most reach 12" for the speedo. 24" gives more space to spread the graphics out.

 

It's not clear what the 24 inch HUD looks like. Obviously it's not a 24 inch diagonal measure. It must be a 24 inch wide strip that is a few inches tall. Nonetheless, I agree that it will have plenty of space to have a whole lot of graphics, which hopefully won't become too distracting. I would hope the driver can customize the display, and for sure turn it off. The bulging single dial is not very pleasing to my eye, and I also wish it was less prominent and wider. Maybe not a tablet-type display as in the S-class, but maybe the Audi style. But I think the design choice may be related to hiding the bulge of the HUD hardware behind it on the dash. Those traction control and suspension setting ***** though are hideous.

 

...and that's a good thing! Very Good observation Buddy