Hi all,
I just returned from a LS500 preview at Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis. Several photos and a couple of videos in following posts. Quick impressions.

1) The car is gorgeous The interior is very unique and sets it apart from the Germans and G90. The Kiriko cut glass, metal flutes on the dash are all very nice.

2) The interior feels disappointingly small. Several guests and even the sales people remarked that the rear seats felt claustrophobic. The roof line is very low, and compared to my 2014 LWB, head clearance appears to be a good 1-2 inches less. The knee space for rear passengers is also very tight compared to that in my LWB, even though the LS500 is about an inch longer.

3) HUD looks good, am not sure whether the size makes a difference.

4) The surround camera view must be good, but I could not work it properly. One of the videos shows it in action, and it looks weird.

5) No options for colored ambient lighting in passenger cabin unlike the S class and G90. Big disappointment!

6) Although the base price starts at around 75K, I was informed that most reasonably equipped models will have an MSRP of $87559. A fully loaded non-hybrid is listed at 103,899, and the fully loaded hybrid featured at the event was listed at 118,980.

Happy to answer any questions.

 

Nice LED whiskers for running lights. But turn signals weak and get lost in whiskers. See video.









Exterior bulge in rear section may be eating into rear passenger space




Rear LED lights and turn signals are excellent

Single fin on front window frame similar to LS460
Single fin on tail light assembly compared to two in the 460

 

The separate speedometer and fuel gauge clusters look nice.
The surround view camera system looks funky (see video). I couldn't figure out how to work it. The sales people weren't much help either.

HUD looks OK (see video). Nothing special.
HUD opening in dash



The air vents blend seamlessly and beautifully into the fluted metal trim


Ambient display panel with artsy image. Cannot be changed.

 

Gorgeous Kiriko cut glass panels. I ran my fingers over it hoping to feel the texture of the cut surface. No luck since the panel is covered by a flat glass piece. Go figure...

Rear seat controls. Nothing special.
The sunroof protrudes on top of the car. For a flagship, this just doesn't seem right. The opening also appeared smaller than in my 2014 LS.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting.

So much of me wants to love this car, but there are so many issues I have with it. Why can't that second screen be used, why is the legroom less than a camry? If I got that glass, I'd want to touch the grooves of it, otherwise whats the point? UGH...

 

Nice. Not sure i am sold on it yet. Our Dealership is having an event soon too.

 

After getting used to stepping into the 4LS, the lower height of the car (even when it is raised for easy entry) felt like I was stepping into a smaller car.

 

comotiger
Thank you sir! Most of your impressions echo mine. I'd like to add that they dropped the ball with that terrible touch pad controller.Much harder to use than the mouse.
And yes the sunroof opening above the car? Looks cheap!

 

Oh man, more cumbersome input system than even RTC?!?

 

Yeah, the smaller feel overall was something I was concerned about.

How did you feel about interior material quality vs your LS460?

 

Yes, I agree the touchpad is not an improvement over the RTC. The sunroof looks cheap like an aftermarket install. Seems to me it could be noisier than the previous version.


Well, it's the same system that's found in the latest ES and NX etc. It may grow on you, but I agree it was not very intuitive. Very touchy and the force-feedback felt odd.