bjjones

For those who have been inside the new LS 500, how comfortable are the front door armrests? Hopefully they aren't too narrow and offer good support for the forearm & elbow.

comotiger

Mmmm, I don't remember testing armrest height since I seldom rest my arm on it (or do I?). The "floating" armrest looks pretty neat, but it is supported by a brace behind it, so it should be stable enough for resting your forearm. I did check the height of the center console and the reach to the shift lever, and it felt fine, similar to the LS460.

bjjones

Thank you for the response. I travel long distances so having adequate front door armrests are important. If they are too slender to where I can barely rest my arm or elbow without falling off, then I probably would have to look at another premium luxury sedan like the 7 series, which has wonderful front door armrests that have enough width to accommodate a wide variety of people with different sized arms.

BMW 7 Series


Lexus LS 500

comotiger

I don't know for sure, but I am guessing the placement of the armrest in the LS500 is probably identical to the LS460. While the front part of the armrest is "floating", the rear section where your elbow would rest is wide, and you should be OK. I agree though, that this is a big deal for anyone spending significant chunks of time in the car. For me the comfort of the center console armrest is paramount, and that felt fine. One other driver issue that I forgot to test was the design and comfort of the front seat massager.

tfischer

I don't think I've ever rested my left arm on anything while driving. The center armrest is a big deal, and should be wide enough to be comfortable and tall enough for my elbow to hit it in the sweet spot. I had an '04 RX, and I spent some money to replace the little fold down armrest on the driver's seat with an aftermarket wide one, which was a great addition. The center armrest in my SC and RC have been fine.
Frankly, I have never thought that the armrest on the door was meant for anything other than as a handle to close the door; at least that's all I have ever used it for, but I will start trying it out on my RC and see how it goes.

ryco25

I found them quite comfortable; they are pretty wide and have nice cushioning. They also look super cool as noted with the floating armrest design.

bjjones

Thanks for the great responses! Hopefully they'll have a new LS 500 at my local Lexus dealer soon so I can check it out.

comotiger

I never realized it, but I do use the door armrest all the time to rest my elbow while driving. I did not notice anything strange about this armrest in the LS500, although I may have been distracted because I was just enjoying the gorgeous styling of the interior