2011 LEXUS LS 460 REVIEW
The Lexus of Lexuses

Back in 1990, Lexus turned the luxury car market upside down when it introduced the LS 400. At $35,000, it was quieter, rode better, and put together better than any luxury car on the market. The car sent the competition back to the drawing boards. That was over 20 years ago. Fast forward several generations and several tens or thousands of dollars more to the latest counterpart of the original. Today, it’s called the LS 460, and we sent LA Car Editor-at-Large Doug Stokes to see if the new one is a worthy successor to the original. By Doug Stokes The hastily hand-scrawled sign on the shuttered bells and whistles superstore reads: Sorry … Closed Today, Out of Everything and I know why. And now you will too. The simple fact of the matter is that the Lexus people were in there outfitting this new LS 460 and just "took the lot" apparently checking every box on both the standard equipment and on what Lexus refers to as the "installed options" list as well. With well over 10,000 U.S. dollars in optional items, to report that this Starfire Pearl machine is well-equipped is to belabor the obvious. The truth is, (this exact second) I’m mulling over the Monroney (window price sticker), breaking it up and organizing it into neat paragraphs, and breathlessly writing one final sentence summing-up the whole incredible laundry list of features that this machine encapsulates.

I need to lay my head back against one of the "Advance Active Headrests" and chill while I resist the above temptation. All kidding about it aside, this Lexus is contented the way that a fine car that carries a $65,380 price tag ($78,379 as tested) should be. And yet, driving this car never feels over-the-top or ostentatious—everything works, everything is suited to the purpose, nothing shows off here. True class. Hard not to mention the urge that the 460's muscular 4.6 liter V-8 sends coursing through this car. Connected to the world through a superb eight (you read that right, eight) speed automatic gearbox, this Lexus is never out of just the exact combination of revs and torque for the situation, whether gracefully drawing up to the club, or effortlessly putting great gulps of distance into the rear view mirror* in tiny fragments of time. A bit of a confession here, the MORE powerful a car sometimes the least aggressively I find myself driving it. Oh, I hit the hyper-drive to change lanes plenty, but I just wasn't as hard on the loud pedal with this one. The real reason is that there is just so much in reserve here that you start to feel like demi-god among the mere mortals out there on the road. No need to blow this lot off at the stoplight, we'll simply motor on by whenever we care to put a few more ounces of foot pressure on the gas pedal. If anything, the horsepower numbers on this Lexus are really understated, there is something exceedingly strong lurking under that engine cover up front.

This is a big car. The LS460 models are the heaviest sedans that Lexus makes, but the effortless balance with which this one carries its 4,224 pounds with totally belies that number. Maybe the real reason this car feels so lithe is the impressive structural rigidity of the chassis. This car feels as though it was machined from solid billet of aircraft aluminum. This is where nothing is calculated to be simply "okay". See if this explanation works for you: The LS feels almost as though it is simply one object with a number of uses built in to it. As readers might by now know, any vehicle I review with that little "Sirius" sticker on the window is tuned to the Siriusly Sinatra (channel 71) as soon at the key is turned the first time. Putting a very sharp point on the car for me was that the Chairman of the Board started singing "The Good Life" on at least three different times when I fired the car up. The good life, indeed! The seats in this machine are at least as good as they get, maybe better. This is a full set of high quality driving furniture, so good that every time I took this 460 out of my driveway to the right I was sorely tempted to head toward 'Vegas and every time that I turned left onto my street I started thinking about later in the day and how I'd go about explaining to my wife that I was calling her from San Francisco.

Alas, we really did not do any distance driving in this born long-ranger. Happily, even the short hops were satisfyingly swift. I particularly liked the driver seat’s ability to lengthen in the fore-to-aft axis, adding adjustable full thigh support for different sized drivers. Here, Lexus is very correctly taking into account that almost all of the difference in people's heights is in the femur, ever noticed that heights are far less evident when they are sitting? You're welcome. And the rest of the interior is just as well thought-out and ergonomic. Nothing is left to chance, but nothing seemingly added-on or extraneous. This is a fully-evolved interior that transcends the word luxury, and which quickly becomes "right". We are not airline pilots, and Lexus understands that fact. You'll want to take a look at the Standard and Installed Options list that will follow this driving impression. "Comprehensive" is the best word for it from the outside, but a week in the car would give you a sense that nothing in this car is any sort of an affectation or a frivolous add-on. We mentioned the eight-speed sequential-shifting automatic transmission earlier. What we didn't mention is that the lucky driver has a choice of a "normal" tunnel-mounted shifter or a set of the best paddle shifters that I've ever had the use of. Simply leaving the Lexus in D is fine too, because there's an intuition built into this machine that knows when you need full ahead and doesn’t hesitate to provide it.

Again, earlier I was not indicating that Lexus fibs about their horsepower ratings, but I will here strongly suggest that they have fed and taken care of their horses very well and that each of the listed 380 of them is in very fine fettle. Regular readers will remember that I feel that the torque number is equally as important as the horsepower quote and that matching numbers are what to look for rather than a high/low pairing. Here the torque is modestly stated at 367 pound-feet. And that's close enough to make every gear feel like first. I'd call the combination of engine and transmission here "uncanny" but that would be almost demeaning. And have you noticed, the LS460 is a beautiful automobile, with classic good looks and no need for artifice or distraction to hide a bad feature? It is not news to anyone that Lexus cars are world class. If you've read any review that I've ever written anywhere of a Lexus, doubtless you've heard the story of that day in 1989 when I drove a Lexus LS 400 home, pulled up in my driveway, keyed the engine (no push button then), and just sat there staring out at my garage door trying to gather up my thoughts and understand what had just happened. After hundreds of review-drives in all sorts of cars, that car was that good, it stopped me cold in my tracks. I've driven a lot of good and a lot of great cars since, but I still get that feeling with this one, all those years and miles later. There is a sense of real purpose that only the very best in any business carry off, and it resides in this LS 460. The technical marvels that this machine utilizes are all the very latest, very reliable systems. They include BOTH direct cylinder and port fuel injection (all the better for seamless speed transitions and leaving us searching for a better word than "crisp" to describe the effect), that glorious 8-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission (which can shock the drivetrain like 4-speed crashbox if desired), the dynamic traction control, the electronic brake force distribution and all of the other features that stay well out of the way of the most spirited driving but that are always there if the need arises.

The EPA fuel mileage numbers (16 and 24) are reasonable (they do not advertise this machine as a economy car) the car's on-board told me that I had averaged 19.8 MPG over the week that I had the pleasure. There is a four pound , six ounce owner’s manual (see photo) lurking in the Lex's glove compartment. I used the condensed version and didn't even think once about even attempting to use the self-parking system that's standard. The maker is very proud of the product and wants the owner to know all there is to know and has well and truly written a "book" on the subject. (For the video-inclined there's a CD compilation in there as well!) This car is as complicated as you wish it to be, for my part, I just drove it and enjoyed. In effect, this is a perfect cross between a limo and a lightning rod. This one has the power, the stance, and the stoppers (Brembo brakes all around in the Sport Package!) to invoke (and handily control) some very high performance episodes without ever even coming close to breaking a sweat (that’s you or the car!). Think of the LS460 as an automotive decathlete, no absolutes, but no drop-outs either. It has great performance right across the board, no matter what one's personal idea of "performance" might be. “Authenticity” might be a the best word for this experience. High values stated and then upheld. Even though I'm old enough, this machine is way out of my personal style and price range, However, I can see and agree with every dollar asked for the LS 460. The value is there on full view. I've said "29,000 dollars for THAT!" many a time, with this car that 78 with three zeros behind it is all there, all well accounted for. –DS *And maybe it's just me, but this is the first car that I've noticed as not having the "objects in mirror” warning etched into its right side rear view mirror. The only explanation that I can come up with is that any "objects" (such as other automobiles) which might be spied in the mirror are usually fading back at such a rapid pace as to be non-relevant for the driver. For more information on Lexus products, go to lexus.com

SPECIFICATIONS Name of vehicle: 2011 Lexus LS 460 Price Base $65,380, as tested $78,379 (includes Comfort Package, Navigation/Mark Levinson/APGS Value Edition, Sport Package) EPA mileage estimates City/ Highway: 16/24 Engine type: 4.6L V8 DOHC, 32-valve, Electronically Controlled Intake Valves Timing Horsepower: 380 @6400 rpm Torque: 367 pound-feet @ 4100 rpm Drive configuration: Front engine / rear wheel drive Transmission type: 8-speed Sequential-shift Automatic, Electronically Controlled Transmission Suspension * Sport-tuned, height-adjustable Adaptive Variable Air Suspension(AVS) with electronically modulated damping Wheels and tires: 19 x 8” 10-spoke alloy wheels 235/50 VR18 All-season – Full sized spare Brakes: Four-wheel power-assisted disc brakes with Electonic Controlled Braking (ECB), four-sensor, four-channel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake AssistFront Brembo® 13.1-inch Vented Disc Rear Brembo 12.3-inch Vented Disc Dimensions Overall length/wheelbase: 199.2 inches/116.9 inches Overall width: 73.8 inches Overall height: 58.1 inches Curb weight: 4,350 pounds Performance 0-60 mph 5.4 seconds Top speed 130 mph (electronically limited)