acarapella

Hey all,

Today I had to stop by Dorschel Lexus to get some small clips for my 4ES and when I was walking out, there was New Jersey "Manufacturer" plate wearing black-on-black LS500h.

I'll admit I was a little disappointed/concerned for the model's future when I saw photos of the 5LS for the first time.... I thought it looked too small and "rounded" or "nose-sloped-down" to be an LS. While the latter may be somewhat true, the car is in no way, shape, or form disappointing in person. Its beautiful and truly a wonderful expression of Japanese design and culture. This was an air-ride equipped model and sat in the showroom freshly clean after a car wash (but the salt was noticeable on the tread as it hadn't even been detailed yet). It was "on its tippy-toes" which is odd looking if you don't know why it's riding so high - i am actually shocked they didn't use smart key proximity and the lack thereof to drop it to normal height when the (lucky) driver walks away, but who cares? its beautiful even as it stretched up, begging someone to get in and drive it. Inside is amazing. The first thing I looked for was the Kiriko glass, but this model wasn't equipped as such. That's ok, the pleated door skin gives me anxiety just thinking about a detail (and NO, i wouldn't let someone else do it, as I cringe having my car touched... just this week I broke a tire's bead by hand to put in a valve stem in 20f weather, all so someone else wouldn't touch my car). The ONLY hard surface I could find was a screen or wood. Even the fascia around the seat controls was padded. The alcantara headliner was exquisite. There were speakers, indirect lit mirrors, a bowed sunroof, and more on it. For the life of me, I couldn't find the seatbelt height or headrest up/down control, but I realized it must be on the computer screen (car WASNT running) as the rear seats have several adjustments on the capacitive touch screen and not physical buttons. The buttons were totally Lexus - fluid and amazing, providing only enough "feel" to know they've been pushed.

The dealership was quite abuzz with people - God bless America! glad to see there are people buying luxury cars at 3pm on a Wednesday. Inside the car was silent, and I was so comfortable, so relaxed, I did not what to get out... 30 minutes went buy fast as I took it all in. The rear of the car was so satisfying, i couldn't see splurging for a Rolls Royce even if I had the money to burn... it would be a pearl white or silver LS500h. NO question.

While I happen to be fond of (facelifted gen 3.5) LS430 conservative styling and simplicity, and view the 1990 LS as a classic I want as a collection item (summer 2019?), I am not turned off or stressed out by the dynamic design of this car. I truly loved it. If I had to find a complaint, it would be that the steering wheel now has leather 360deg around the outside and wood only on the inside... I get that this is a major step up from all wood top and bottom with leather spoke wheels, but I actually prefer the wood in my hands over leather.

There is one thing I hated about the 2018 LS500h, and that one thing is the feeling I got when I walked up to my 4ES, took out the key, and got in. That is saying a lot, as the 4ES is in my top 10 list of all time, and I love mine. Thank God contentment settled back in by the time I left the parking lot, but it left a seed that will hopefully turn into a nice 5-10 year old used 5th gen v8 if they actually make one.