Lexus LS 500

• Introduction: Warp speed to Wagga
• Month Two: Cabin Fever
• Month Three: Farewell - Corner Exit

Introduction: Warp speed to Wagga

Trent takes command of Lexus’s limo to enjoy the finer things in life

According to studies done by people in coats with an IQ far greater than mine, our eyes are drawn to pictures before text. So, I bet you’re looking at this page, seeing a 2.2-tonne limo parked in front of an excrement-coloured lake beautified by a rainbow and wondering if you’re still consuming MOTOR. Don’t worry. The not inconsequential matter of 310kW sits on the other side of the equation.

Here’s the thing. Being a driving enthusiast doesn’t mean you have to steer flat-chat every time you get behind the wheel. Sometimes the joy is in something altogether calming that delivers a different kind of driving satisfaction. Enter the $195,953 Lexus LS500 F Sport. A car tasked with fulfilling the luxe-limo remit for the Japanese marque. It’s a statement-maker.

That fact set in quickly as Enright, Kirby and I stood with jaws dropped as the LS arrived. We’d all expected a ho-hum silver hue given its luxury-car status. ‘My’ Vermillion (Red) LS500 F Sport, rolling on dark grey 20-inch wheels with a Moon White/Naguri-style aluminium interior, certainly isn’t a shrinking violet. It’s refreshing to see a rather bold colour combination adorn such an automotive indulgence.

Yet it can’t just be a statement piece. The 5.2-metre long Lexus LS500 must be deeply soothing. And, within the first few days of ‘ownership’, 1RB2EF has its cross-country credentials well and truly tested. Bombing up the Hume to regional NSW (just before full border closure with Victoria), the air-suspended F Sport truly wafts over the myriad lumps and bumps of Australia’s busiest highway. It’s S-Class-like with a real sophistication to the damping.

The sound deadening, or Active Noise Control in Lexus-speak, is next level. The LS500 is a veritable cocoon, isolating you from the world outside its cowhide-clad innards. NVH levels are impressively suppressed and there’s little rumble from the Bridgestone Turanza hoops. The twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 is predictably hushed. I’ll speak to the creature comforts, technology, and upmarket feel in another update, but don’t for a minute think the F Sport shirks luxuries despite the badge inferring performance.

The seats offer slightly more bolstering than expected, and don’t get the massaging functionality found in the LS500 Sports Luxury, but prioritise comfort over body-hugging. My grandmother approves. So besotted with the warmth filtering into her bones via the heating elements she proclaimed that the big Lexus was indeed the best car she’d ever ridden in. To be fair, her benchmark for such things isn’t exceedingly high, bless her. But stating that her back and hips hadn’t felt better in weeks is a strong endorsement – trust me.

"The LS500 is a veritable cocoon, isolating you from the world outside its cowhide-clad innards"

Onlookers are also enamoured with the design – some saying the rear three-quarter has Tesla Model S vibes. It causes a fuss wherever I go. In my hometown of Wagga, simply driving down the main street summoned as many side-eye glances as if I’d been playing Mousse T’s Horny at full blast with the sunroof open. The LS500 gets a 23-speaker Mark Levinson stereo as standard, but the LS500’s persona probably deserves a more mature acoustic genre.

After a 1000km round trip, I felt as fresh as I started – which is largely due to the height-adjustable air suspension and plush, 28-way adjustable, front pews. And for those speculating, a podcast is more my style, which rather underutilises the sound system in a way Mousse T probably wouldn’t. There’s always next time, I guess.

At this point I bet you’re thinking it’s all roses, but slight thorns surround the powertrain. Don’t get me wrong, the 310kW/600Nm boosted bent-six isn’t lacking grunt. Especially for highway overtakes. And it reaches 100km/h in an energetic 5.0 seconds. However, it weighs 2240kg and the F Sport never feels as effortless as it should despite the 10-speed automatic offering virtually imperceptible shifts. It’s also quite thirsty, not that someone buying at $200K car would care. Still, I’d sooner have this than the LS500h and its hybrid gubbins.

So, while I won’t be taking the big ol’ Lexus to a race track, as comical as that would be, there is still a lot to uncover living with the LS500 F Sport. I’m already bonding with it in all the right ways. However, I’ve covered far too many kays in Comfort mode with the Shrek-ear driving-mode dials receiving scant attention. It’s time to inject a bit more MOTOR into this relationship and explore Sport S and Sport S+ to see if this limo can really boogie.– TG

Things we love:

1. Relaxed cruiser
2. Luxe cabin
3. Bold design/hue

Things we rue:

1. Is the V6 enough?
2. It's huge
3. Slightly thirsty

Month Two: Cabin Fever

Big Lexus offers luxurious lockdown respite

Growing up I gained an early exposure to how people treat their cars. The good, the bad and the ugly. Up until recently, my father was in the smash repair business, and in my younger years I’d often walk there after school to wait around for a few hours before going home. Occasionally I’d help out, but I was always better at pulling things apart rather than putting them back together. So instead, I turned my hand to detailing.

What I always found interesting is that the cleanliness of a car’s interior didn’t always correlate to its list price. Being in a rural area, it wasn’t uncommon to see an expensive four-wheel drive with hay in the boot, mud stains engrained into carpets and myriad food scraps and stains. I’m assuming that, partly because of this, our family EF Falcon was largely a no-food zone.

It’s something that as an adult I’ve tried, and often failed, to adhere to. However, given I currently have a $195K Lexus limo in my possession, I’ve taken to reinstating the rule. But Covid lockdowns have made it hard given that the LS500’s palatial cabin renders it the perfect alternate takeaway dinner setting when my own four walls become too familiar. For those gasping, napkins, towels and air fresheners abound – I even tour with the windows open to alleviate lingering smells.

Thing is, with shagpile-style carpets, soft leather and top-quality sound deadening (with Active Noise Control), the LS is far more luxurious than my actual living room. Granted, a couch from the Salvos is a low benchmark, however, everything has a solid, over-engineered feel to it.

This is typified by the volume control knob. It’s so overtly tactile you can’t help but want to fondle it. This particular detail, like the rest of the interior, is just exquisite and it’s utterly pleasing to use. When we’ve been allowed passengers, I can’t help but ask them what they think of it. Most aren’t as beguiled by it as I am, and some appear downright puzzled, but the occasional oohs and aahs prove I’m not the only weird soul finding fascination with a volume control...

As a piece of design that doesn’t lose out on function, it’s a winner. The sound system its controlling is also one of very high quality. The 23-speaker Mark Levinson package packs a punch with bass where you want it and clarity everywhere else. It’s also interesting that the LS still offers a provision for CDs when smartphones and services like Spotify are the new norm. Maybe it’s a sign of the clientele who are in the market for a premium Lexus that it is still there; especially given the SC430 was one of the last cars to be sold with an old-school tape deck.

While Lexus is at pains to quash any Toyota links, there are some controls within the cabin that you’ll find in its parent company’s products. Once you see them, you can’t un-see them. The lock/unlock buttons on the door cards and the trip-computer controls are straight from the big T’s part bin. It even says “Toyota Motor Corporation” on the build plate as you open the door. At least there isn’t an infamous Toyota digital clock, instead it’s a beautiful analogue timepiece.

However, I don’t see that connection as being a gripe. What does let the LS down is its age and lack of modern tech like wireless smartphone mirroring (although there is wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) or wireless phone charging. It’s also frustrating that carrying out simple tasks, like turning off/on the seat/steering-wheel heating, requires multiple button presses or screen swipes.

At least the maligned trackpad can now be averted given that the gargantuan 12.3-inch screen has become touch-enabled. It makes a big difference to how you use the infotainment and HVAC. I’m keeping count and so far I’ve only had to use the trackpad twice. The 8.0-inch digital instrument clusters also uses an LFA-style moving central tacho – which is cool.

Yes, it might be missing some of the up-to-date gizmos, but it has soothing comfort and endearing charm in reserve. Everything is either felt or leather-clad (even the door bins) and the ‘Takumi craftmanship’ shines through - it’s a visual feast with a full-flavoured design.

However, opting for the $200K Sports Luxury does afford more show-stopping kit like massaging front seats and reclining rear pews. And given that being soothed rather than excited is the LS’s modus operandi, I can’t help but think it might just be the better choice.

Still, spending so much time within the cow-hide clad innards of the LS500 F Sport hasn’t made it any less special on each occasion. – TG

Things we love:

1. Feel-good factor
2. The details delight
3. Quality materials

Things we rue:

1. Missing tech
2. Few toys in back
3. Lockdown blues

Month Three: Corner Exit

It’s time for the flagship Lexus LS500 to take the scenic route home

“You’re taking an LS500 on that road. Why are you doing that?”

Given the person offering this candid guidance was an esteemed colleague, I probably should have heeded the advice. Also, considering the years of road testing experience I’ve also gained in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, listening to my gut feeling would have been a good idea. But I didn’t. And I ended up on a narrow and twisty road.

However, it wasn’t quite akin to hustling the MS Symphony of the Seas down the Yarra River. In fact, it was good fun. Which is heartening given dynamic prowess is the reason you’d choose the F Sport over the $5k more expensive Sports Luxury.

While the former doesn’t gain the latter’s interior gadgets, it does add rear-wheel steering, active anti-roll bars and variable-gear-ratio steering up front. The theory is that this isn’t the LS to be driven in, rather it’s the one you drive.

Okay, at 5235mm long, 1900mm wide and with a wheelbase of 3125mm it’s never going to be a twinkle-toed ballerina. However, the LS500 F Sport does display an impressive amount of agility. Roll is largely kept in check and on fast, flowing sections of tarmac it really finds its feet. While the rear-steer helps, its long wheelbase hampers rotation and on corner exit a lack of a limited-slip differential can see the inside rear spin – or it sends the traction control into a frenzy.

While the F Sport well and truly lives up to the cosseting cross-country cruiser, the adaptive air suspension doesn’t deal with CBD imperfections quite as well. There are some potholes and sharp hits that can’t be ironed out – blame the rather large 20-inch wheels and low-profile Bridgestones for that. It’s far, far from uncomfortable. But when relaxation is the name of the game, you kind of expect to be guarded from all deficiencies in road surface.

I might have jumped the gun in the oomph department. I still think the twin-turbo V6 is adequate for the 2240kg heft rather than effortless and ample. However, the V35A-FTS unit is smooth and linear (with revised pistons to reduce noise) and pairs well with the 10-speed automatic. It doesn’t blip on downshifts like the harder-edged LC500, but it’s intuitive and has the 3.5-litre bent six lazing in lower revs at cruising speeds.

Not that fuel economy is a key concern for a $195k limo, but the non-hybrid drivetrain is thirsty, averaging 11.11L/100km in my possession. That’s slightly more than the 10L/100km claim. The bump in fuel economy over last month is due to a short stint of lockdown respite and spirited driving, where Sport and Sport+ were engaged. And then promptly returned to Comfort.

It’s refreshing to discover that the F Sport isn’t just to be driven in. However, buying into this realm also now affords other luxuries thanks to Lexus on Demand’s Encore Platinum membership. The program allows customers to experience either an RC F, LX, LC or LS for a booking of up to eight days at a time. Four of these opportunities are available over the three years and selecting a car can be done via the handy app. Then you head to a Lexus dealer (or Qantas valet in certain cities) and swap out your car for something new – which I tested out.

Sliding into an LC500 seems very feasible for an LS owner to shake things up. Both are head-turning cars, just in different ways. And given this is MOTOR, I thought it only right to experience the 5.0-litre, Yamaha co-developed V8 one more time. It’d be wrong not to. Surprisingly, it offered a reprieve from the nail-biting experience of parking the L.O.N.G LS500 in my garage every night. A first-world problem, I know.

Ultimately, the experience you glean from living with the big LS is a direct result of the type of road you take it down. And the way in which you drive. Despite the 2.2-tonne heft, it’s a dynamically surprising experience. And that’s a theme of the ownership, too.

As I stated from the outset, this isn’t a traditional MOTOR car. Yet, there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had. It’s an automotive experience that makes you feel special, as though you’re permanently in first class. For crushing highway miles in premium comfort, little else is as satisfying as the flagship Lexus.

If you have the means, Japan’s answer to the German limos offers class and character in spades. I already miss it. – TG

Things we love:

1. Highway comfort
2. Plush interior
3. Build quality

Things we rue:

1. Low-speed ride
2. Fiddly trackpad
3. Giving it back