jrmckinley

I have a '10 L - I just noticed a posting for another '10 L for sale that showed the console area and I saw the "comfort" and "sport" button which my car doesn't have. Is that because my car doesn't have air ride? I thought the non-L's had comfort and sport? If so, it would be odd to require an "L" to have air ride to get that setting when it's offered on SWB models which don't even offer air ride.

As a guy who drives like he's 85, I'd really like to take my insanely cushy ride and make it even more cushy..!

SW17LS

Because it doesn't have the air suspension. Same for the SWB car.

13+ cars have a "sport" mode without air ride, but it essentially accomplishes the same thing as "ECT PWR" in the previous years, just improving shift points.

UDel

Your car does not have air ride suspension. You should be thankful it does not because it has longevity issues which can lead the car being undrivable and it is a huge repair bill. It is one of the main things to avoid on used LS460s.

teedub21

Air suspension is offered on SWB and LWB cars.

DJWLDW

My 2010 LS 460L does not have the air suspension and I love it. The best riding car I have ever driven. I consider myself lucky that it does not have the air suspension.

Dennis

dlbuckls10

One of the drawbacks to owning any vehicle with the air suspension is replacing one of the costly air shocks however the air suspension on the LS is better riding, adjustable and smoother.

SW17LS

I actually don't see much of a difference with the air suspension, at least in normal mode, which is where I would leave it. Had air on the 430 and 400, not worth it.

jrmckinley

I couldn't agree with you more about the ride quality. I have 11 years of LS driving experience under my belt ('96 400 and '04 430) and it was hard for me to imagine anything could ride better than either of those. I think a lot of it has to do with advances in technology to make the ride more comfortable, but I also think the extra 5 inches of wheelbase makes a difference. My father-in-law has a 2012 SWB 460 and has commented several times that my car rides smoother than his. I never drove an "L" before this one so can't comment on if air ride makes a difference or not. We have that on our LX570 and recently had it replaced under CPO coverage (about $2k) - my 460 is not CPO so I'm somewhat glad I don't have that thought in the back of my head knowing a repair is coming.

I wasn't dead set on buying an "L", I just ended up with it because it was a really well maintained car inside and out and hit a price point I liked. Now that I have it, I really appreciate the extra space in back (for my kids) and the ride quality that I *think* is attributed to the LWB. Pretty confident I'm an "L" fan for life.

DavidinCT

When I was shopping for my LS, I took about 5 for a ride. 3 of them had Air, 2 did not. I found the air models to be much smoother and bumps in the road were softened up quite a bit compared to the Non-Air models.

Like others, it was a feature that I wanted to avoid due to the random possable repair bill that could cause the car to become undriveable during the time to get parts, etc.

No question it wa a little smoother...

SW17LS

So many variables there, types of tires, air pressures, how well they've been maintained and how worn they are. With used ones you can drive two back to back and one will ride better than the other even in the same spec. I drove them brand new back to back and in normal mode I felt they rode more or less the same, in comfort mode you can feel its a little softer, but I wouldn't say "much smoother" at all, and the difference is not at all worth the potentiality that down the road I may have a $4k repair bill and be faced with the risk of having to choose to fork out for that repair or swap for a suspension that would change the ride, etc. One big thing too is with air suspension you also typically get 19" wheels, at least on the 19+, that difference will make up for any ride difference between air and non air.

Bottom line is...the LS is a great riding car whatever the suspension setup is, and in your every day ownership you won't be comparing them back to back. Having had the air suspension and the coil suspension, I'm never sorry I didn't get the air, but if I had the air and I were facing a $1k per shock cost to replace it I'd be sorry I had the air.

riknchar

I can definitely tell a difference in the Air Ride equipped cars vs the non-Air Ride cars, but like Steve noted, driving either day-to-day will be a pleasure and you'll never know the difference unless you happen to drive the other type back-to-back with your current car. I leave my LS600hL in "Comfort" mode all the time, as I prefer maximum smoothness (at the expense of "road feel" or sportiness).

I didn't really have the option of a non-Air Ride equipped car, as I had my heart set on an LS600hL, and they all come with the Air Ride (at least as far as I know). From reviewing the Lexus service history on my car, I see that the all 4 shocks have been replaced under warranty once already, all between 48 - 58K miles. My car now has 81K miles. My Extended CPO Warranty is good for another 3 years/up to 125K miles, and I'm hoping all 4 shocks fail once more while I still have the warranty. This is just one more example of why an ultimate luxury car costs more to drive than a Toyota Corolla, and I accept the cost to get the luxury amenities.