The recipe for full-size sedans hasn’t changed much since the era of Bee Gees and bell bottoms, if we’re being honest.
(Courtesy photo)
Make them big, comfortable, coffin-quiet and smoother than a greased up Werther’s Original and you’ve got the right idea. Make anything else, and you’re left steering a land yacht with a broken rudder.
Perhaps that’s how the 2013 Lexus LS460 started. It may very well have been born as an indulgent geezer-class battleship waiting to drive out with all the joie de vivre of Lawrence Welk. That may have been where it started; that’s not where it ended up.
The 2013 Lexus LS460 strays from the 70s formula — and more importantly from its competition — by injecting life into a shrinking segment of auto sales, updating the tired and familiar sedan equation to stay relevant in the face of a large-and-still-growing mid-size sedan market.
But let’s return to the LS460 for a moment. The LS nameplate dates back to the late 1980s, back when Lexus first spun off from parent company Toyota. One gets the feeling that when Lexus executives talk about their lineup as being equals in terms of development and progression, the LS is more equal than others. That original car in the 1980s was legendary. It launched the successful luxury marquee; customer service tales remain an equal mix of legend and fable, and that’s just marketing gold.
So it makes sense that there’s a vested interest in keeping the LS brand and tradition alive. Perhaps that’s why engineers changed nearly 3,000 parts between 2012 and 2013. Most noticeably, a new spindle grille up front finally brings the LS into the Lexus design-language fold. Admittedly, said spindle grille looks better on smaller cars — and maybe not all of the SUVs — but thankfully dialed back the pinched beak they’ve grown so fond of over the past few years.
The snout isn’t the only thing that has changed. The updated rear end now includes a pair of LED tail lamps as a standard feature, as well as 18-inch shoes on all four corners and optional LED headlamps up front. Depending on trim level, which dramatically varies from the base LS to F Sport, to the LS600h L extended wheelbase model, the sedan sports luxurious appointments on the outside. Those include bigger standard tires and better lighting schemes than some concert
venues.
Revamping the outside wasn’t nearly as important as was overhauling the inside. The 2013 LS was the beneficiary of much-needed changes to its interior materials. The black plastic is gone, replaced by more wood trim and softer-touch surfaces around the dash, steering wheel and center armrest. In fact, Lexus executives were eager to show off the process behind building an optional wood trim, called Shimamoku wood, an involved affair that lasts more than a month and includes smelting and pressing unicorn hide and Jurassic Park eggs into dash materials. I may have missed some of those details.
Nonetheless, the interior of the LS is where its bones are made, and for the most part, it kills you with comfort. Lexus has always been known for acing the little things, details like user experience features, input controls and even satisfying clicks from radio knobs. The LS is no different. Information such as navigation and radio stations are relayed through the 10-inch screen in the center console, which is controlled with a mouse. The mouse is nice, and despite some critical gripes about it, I appreciate the tactile feedback that vibrates through the knob when you’ve hovered the mouse over a clickable area.
Feeling through the mouse is welcome, considering the rest of the base system is set up for sense deprivation. As per Lexus standard procedure, the LS460 is quieter and more reserved than a Sunday mass. The base, 4.6-liter V8 doesn’t roar unless you press it hard, and even in F Sport trim (the sportier version of the big sedan, as the name would imply) the artificially piped-in sound doesn’t sound particularly menacing. The engine produces 386 horsepower and 367 lb.-ft. of torque — AWD knocks that figure down to 360 hp thanks to exhaust rerouting — 6 more than last year’s model with the same engine. The outgoing generations’s 5.0-liter V8 is only available in the hybrid model, and all models are mated to Lexus’ 8-speed automatic transmission. (F-Sport models throw in a Torsen-style rear differential in case you’re looking to slide your 4,440 lb. sedan around a track. Thumbs up there, on ambition alone.)
We were allowed to test every model, including the F Sport and extended wheelbase models. It’s clear that Lexus is looking hard to push away from the perceived notion that big cars are for old folks. The F Sport’s high-contrast exterior screams younger, while the executive trims are certainly appropriate for board meetings on the way to company jets. The long wheelbase irons out bumps well, even if it tips a little in corners.
Lexus practically invented the recipe for a successful luxury full-size sedan. Now engineers are hoping that by straying from the recipe with a sport model, a bolder style and aggressive ideas, Lexus can stay relevant in a shrinking market. Time will tell, just as it did with disco and bell bottoms.