For 2001, Toyota has redesigned its flagship, the Lexus LS luxury sedan. The new car, now called the LS 430 to reflect a larger, torquier engine, is at once magnificent and sad. Magnificent because of the unparalleled array of features it manages to seamlessly integrate into an amazingly comfortable package. Sad because Toyota for some reason has been unable to discard its compulsive, for some time outdated desire to out-Mercedes Mercedes. Despite this car’s extreme competence, more than ever it seems to lack the security necessary to acknowledge and proudly display its own identity.

Lexus LS 430 Reliability

People often email me asking about the reliability of the cars and trucks they are considering. Existing sources of reliability information just aren't helpful enough.

In response, my website, truedelta.com, will more clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a big Lexus rather than something else by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). Those who help provide the data--which will require just a few minutes a year--will earn free access to the site's reliability information. To encourage participation, this access will otherwise cost $24.95.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

Background

When word first leaked out that Toyota was developing a car to challenge the best from Mercedes, the automotive world scoffed. No Japanese company could ever match the engineering and heritage of the fine Europeans. Then the LS 400 appeared in the fall of 1989, and these derisive voices quickly fell silent. Though even then it looked a bit much like a Mercedes, the new car was such a competent performer, was so smooth, was so quiet, was so comfortable, and all for a base price of $35,000, that it revolutionized the entire luxury car industry. In two ways. First, Mercedes and BMW soon recognized that they could no longer engineer their cars to death without regard to costs, that they had to align their prices to what consumers wanted to pay. Second, the Germans realized they would have to attend to interior comfort and ambiance as much as powertrain and chassis performance.

Nothing hit these points home more than the reception received by Mercedes' new S-Class flagship when it was launched two years after the first Lexus LS. The new car was soundly criticized for its many excesses. It was just too big, too heavy, and too loaded with gadgetry of questionable utility. It even had motors to pull the doors closed. Massive, slab-sided styling made an already huge car look even larger. No one thought it beautiful. Did I forget too expensive? Even the base car, which relied on a six cylinder to move its 4500 lbs, cost over $70,000, nearly twice the price at the time for the V8 Lexus LS 400. The V12 could cost twice that again. All in all, it was just too much. Sales suffered as Mercedes feverishly sought to reinvent not only its cars but itself.

Mercedes learned from this debacle. The new S-Class that debuted in 2000 is stylish, 500 lbs. lighter, and is overall a much better value than the old one. Somehow, Toyota did not. While the rest of the world derided the 㥤 S-Class, Toyota apparently saw something wondrous. They saw a hand they not only had to match but raise one. With the redesign, the Lexus LS now includes many features from the big Mercedes, including power door closers, electrically adjustable rear seats, and, most shocking of all, nearly identical slab-sided styling. To Toyota’s credit, the new LS somehow manages to stuff all of these features into a package that, at two tons, weighs just a few pounds more than the old car.

Inside stuff

When I drove this car, the salesmen were still learning about it. In fact, the official introduction was still two days away, so I wasn’t supposed to have access to the car at all. For over an hour my father (who went from an LS to a GS and was thinking he might want to go back), myself, and two salesmen poured over the new LS 430, exploring its many new features. The car in question included an “Ultra Luxury Selection” that, at $12,290 plus another $2,105 for the upgraded leather that must be ordered with this package, costs more than a number of entire cars. It also boosts the price into S-Class territory: this car is no longer a "half price special," but will have to sell on its own merits. What does this "Selection" get you? I usually shy away from regurgitating brochures, but some of this stuff just blows the imagination. Things like Dynamic Laser Cruise Control, which I found really does adjust the speed of the car to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you. As the name implies, lasers are used to measure this distance. My father and I spent six miles or so simply marveling at this feature. More importantly, both of us thought it would be very nice to have in real-world driving.

Other features in the "Selection" include an adaptive variable air suspension that continuously adjusts to match your driving style and the road conditions. Those power door closers. A DVD Navigation system. A Mark Levinson stereo system that puts all others, even the awesome Nakamichi that used to be the optional system, to shame. (At least if the brochure is to be believed. My ears aren't that picky, so I'd probably save $1200 by going with the standard system.) Front climate control seats with multiple heating and cooling settings (a number of fans circulate heated or cooled air through the holes in the perforated leather). A few other, more prosaic things like a moonroof.

Finally, the coup de grace, a “rear-seat luxury group” that includes power adjusters, heaters, massagers, a separate A/C system, and a refrigerated cooler for the rear seats. Rear seat passengers get a fifteen button control panel ( and a few more buttons elsewhere) to manage all of this. This car has never been about driving, and it seems Lexus with this package has provided a huge incentive for Lexus LS owners to finally break down and hire that chauffeur. After all, you couldn’t possibly get this package and still ride in front.

I’d still want to ride in the driver's seat, and for that reason alone I’d skip this package. That and I’d rather put the money towards a one-year-old Miata or a year’s tuition for my daughter. No need to despair, the standard car still has plenty of stuff to surprise and delight the neighbors. For example, the climate control system uses sensors to determine how many people are in the car, where the sun is shining in, and where there are hot and cold spots; and than automatically adjust the air registers to send air of the appropriate temperature to the areas where it is most needed. These registers are fascinating to watch as they move back and forth, up and down, adjusting the temperature more precisely than the most compulsive passenger ever could. Did I ever feel a need for this? Could I tell the difference compared to less gifted systems? No on both counts. But the concept is fascinating and those registers really are a delight to watch.

This system is just one indication of the amount of thought that went into this car. The ceiling-mounted assist handles are leather wrapped. When released, they do not snap back into place, but retract in a slow, fluid motion. When you pull open a small tray in the dash, the front fluidly drops down to provide easy access for your fingers. Useful storage is everywhere, in the doors, in the dual glove boxes, in the bi-level front console, in the rear armrest. And I’ve already mentioned the refrigerated beverage cooler behind the rear armrest for those who must have that Ultra Luxury Selection. Finally, my favorite feature of the LS has always been the door pulls. Behind each pull resides what must be the softest leather available. Other companies put hard plastic here, since you can’t see it. I wish they would follow Lexus’ example here. When you get in the car and close the door, that leather tells you all you need to know about this car. Toyota has thought of everything to make this the most comfortable car you can buy.

The greatest achievement of this car may not be any one of these systems, but how easy they are to use. The scores of controls are excellently arranged. The appearance of a jetliner flight deck is somehow avoided. Despite the complexity involved, you are not overwhelmed. Nearly every control is so well placed, so well designed that its operation is intuitive.

American companies often load a car with gadgets in the hope that you’ll then overlook the mediocrity of the car itself. This is not the case here. Let’s begin with the core of the LS’s character, comfort. Both front and rear seats are extremely comfortable (with the definite exception of the center rear passenger). The front seats lack lateral support, but it is not expected in a car of this character. The only change I would make would be to raise the rear cushion a tad to provide more thigh support.

The interior is beautiful, though it breaks no new aesthetic ground. There is more wood than ever. What's more, borrowing a page from Audi, four different woods are available, with selection determined by the color and level of the leather. The upgraded leather in the car I drove was very soft and had that slightly velvety, creamy texture that marks the finest leathers. This leather covered not only the seats but the sides of the console, the lower half of the dash, and much of the doors. The height of luxury. The current S-Class, at least in 430 form, is a VW in comparison.

On the road

The experience of driving the car remains much the same. My father and I spent a second hour driving the car, first with the salesmen then without them. The Lexus LS has always had a unique driving feel, one you have to experience to fully comprehend. Everything is just so fluid. As in the past, the ride is extremely smooth and quiet. That said, I thought tar strips and the like were more audible and perceptible than in the past.

This was my first drive in an air-suspension equipped Lexus. It did not strike me as different in feel than the LSes I have driven with the standard, coil-sprung suspension. I would advise propective buyers to drive all three available suspensions (standard, Euro, air) before making a decision. I suspect the standard suspension will be the best choice for most who want this type of luxury car.

For 2001 the 4.0 liter V8 has been enlarged to 4.3 liters. It still makes 290 horsepower, but produces them 400 RPM lower, at 5600. Torque is up 20 lb-ft, to 320, and at 3,400 vs. 4,000 RPM. Given such figures, it comes as no surprise that the engine feels very powerful. Unlike the GM DOHC eights, this engine feels plenty torquey down low. I'd have to drive the old and new cars back-to-back, though, to be able to say whether it feels more powerful than in the past. As in the past, this engine is amazingly quiet given its output. It is virtually silent below 4000 RPM, and makes very refined, almost invigorating noises above that mark. If you want to hear the engine's wonderful noises a bit more, you'll have to get a GS.

The transmission shifts very smoothly. A manual-shift capability such as was available on the GS 400 is not available. Actually, it's not available on the V8 GS this year, either. The new 4.3 liter V8 meets ultra-low emissions (ULEV) standards, and apparently would not when fitted with a manual-shift capability. I'm not sure how often the driver of this car would use it anyway. Probably never. On the other hand, just about every imported luxury sedan in this price range now offers a manually-shiftable automatic.

Unlike the last LS 400 I drove, the powertrain does not overreact when you tap the accelerator. It is much easier in the new car to move smoothly from a dead stop. The brakes are linear and very powerful, though feedback could be better. Like Mercedes, Lexus now includes a safety feature that automatically applies full braking force when a panic stop is detected.

On top of all this, the LS should be very safe and reliable. My father's 1990 LS 400 went nearly 140,000 virtually trouble-free miles before he traded it in on a GS 400. I've heard that these cars are good for at least twice that. I did not personally crash test this car, so I can add nothing to the safety information in the brochure. That said, this car seems to have every safety features available today, except for all-wheel-drive. This is one of the safest cars you can buy.

So what's not to like? I would like a lower dash. The new dash is taller than the old one, and makes the driver feel a bit closed in and closed off from the world outside, where the rubber hits the road. I suppose this was intentional. It fits with the isolating character of the car. It's just not the driving position I prefer. I drove a Mercedes S430 the same day, and found the much lower, much less imposing dash in that car much more agreeable.

As in the past, the LS is not a very entertaining car to drive. Lexus has attempted to answer such criticisms with a new “Euro-tuned Sport Suspension.” This suspension is available at no extra charge with the 17” wheels and tires, themselves only a $100 option. This may alter the character of the car a bit, but I doubt the change amounts to a transformation. It may be a while before a car with this suspension appears. The dealer said that all of the ones coming in the near future have the Ultra Luxury Selection, which includes the “Adaptive Variable Air Suspension.”

This suspension, which was on the car I drove, has two settings, “normal” and “sport.” I went through the same turn over a dozen times trying to discern a difference between them. In “sport,” the car leans a little less. I think. All in all, you cannot tell which setting is selected without looking at the button.

With either setting, my father and I both felt very disconnected from the car overall. Both my father and I felt far more confident when driving the Mercedes S430 aggressively. My father, in fact, could not get over how much more competent he felt when driving the Mercedes. This was due to the lower dash and the more connected feel imparted by the steering, and in spite of the fact that the Mercedes is a substantially larger car.

In defense of the new LS, I think I detected more feel of the road through the steering and the seat of my pants than in any past LS (ergo the aforementioned impact of tar strips), but not enough to transform this car into a sports sedan. I guess that’s not what this car is about. If you want a sports sedan, then Lexus offers the GS. Still, it's a bit of a shame, because the LS's chassis performs surprisingly well when called upon. If you dive hard into a turn the LS will lean, and the front tires will complain a bit, but the car will stick. Because feedback is so minimal, and because body lean is very apparent, this performance never fails to come as a surprise. So the LS will perform when called upon, but unlike the GS doesn't ask for it. As far as Lexus is concerned that's not its mission in life. Its mission is comfort, and it performs that task extremely well. I suspect this will suit many luxury car buyers just fine.

The old S-Class lives!

One aspect of the car I deeply dislike. Toyota put a great deal of thought into the interior and apparently none into the exterior. It seems that when Mercedes stopped using the sheetmetal dies for the late, unlamented S-Class, Toyota picked them up. This car is a blatant knock-off. This is doubly puzzling. With such a supremely competent, amazingly innovative automobile, why did Toyota feel the need to copy someone else’s styling? And if they had to copy, why copy the most criticized luxury car design of the past decade? It makes no sense.

Even worse, the copy does not look as good as the original. The LS is nearly a foot shorter than the old SEL, so it looks even more stout. Buried under these massive bodysides, the standard 16” wheels look tiny, something like those on an economy car. Especially when slathered with $1,700 of hubcap-mimicking chrome plating. DO NOT buy this car without spending the extra $100 on the 17” wheels. They do at least a little to improve a bad situation. If you have taste, avoid the chrome wheels and the gold package. The front end may be the worst aspect. It is so much taller than that on the old LS, a good two to three inches, it looks a bit like something off the front of an SUV. This does have a way of making the new car look far more substantial than the old one, but there are better ways to achieve this effect.

Last words

If you desire comfortable and refined luxury above all else, and can live with the styling, I heartily recommend the new LS. Even without the Ultra Luxury Selection it exceeds any other car in this area. At the same time, I cannot give the LS five stars until Toyota recognizes the unique, desirable character of this car and grants it styling to match. Stop trying to out-Mercedes Mercedes. Stop trying to be anyone else. This car, in the areas on which it focuses, is now better than they are. It’s time for the LS to grow up, to be secure in its own unique identity and adopt a look that reflects this confidence.