2007 Lexus LS 460

Asian Invasion

The new, top-of-the-line Lexus sedan brings added sophistication and technology to its heady class, but is it enough to dethrone Mercedes-Benz's S-Class?

Lexus openly claims that its newest top sedan, the LS 460, is better than competing German models, such as the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which have long dominated this segment. While it’s not world-beating, the new LS 460 does offer a level of luxury, style and sophistication that will give the European makes pause, particularly because it comes at a lower price. The new Lexus is also more spacious inside and more powerful than some of its competitors.

Both the LS 460 and the longer LS 460 L have identical powertrains: an all-new, 380-hp 4.6-liter V8 engine and the world’s first eight-speed automatic transmission. They also have, for the most part, the same bodies and options. The big difference is that the L version has a nearly four-inch-longer wheelbase, which translates into roughly that much more legroom for a pair of very fancy rear seats.

The LS 460 L will ideally be chauffeur-driven, its owners swanning in the back in something approaching business-class airliner comfort (including a nine-inch DVD screen for the optional wireless-headsets entertainment system). The L is Lexus’ first long-wheelbase version of the LS and its foray into a niche that was, until now, reserved for the Brits (Jaguar XJ8 L) and the Germans (Audi A8 L and BMW 760Li).

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Lexus claims to build LS 460s with inordinate attention to detail, including two sessions of hand-sanding of the body paint and six hours of buffing of the steering wheel leather for perfect smoothness. The interior of each engine is so finely finished and polished that Lexus specifies the use of super-thin 0W-20 engine oil. This low-viscosity fluid, which produces less internal drag than normal syrupy oils, is one reason for the car’s excellent 27 mpg highway fuel economy. (It gets an estimated 19 mpg in the city, which is good for a car this size.) Other factors contributing to the great fuel economy include outstanding body aerodynamics and the efficient eight-speed transmission.

Not all of the new technology on the LS 460 has such palpable advantages. Lexus demonstrated the car’s self-parking feature, which uses cameras and sensors to parallel-park itself, using an unrealistically large parking space and wouldn’t let us try the system in a normal-size spot.