The horsepower wars have produced wonderful collateral damage.
To name a few: You can buy a sedan with more power than most custom-built racing cars — complete with government approved child-seat harnesses in the backseats — without proof of IQ. Some trucks have more twist than an earthquake, and my personal favorite, there’s a performance version of everything now.
I remember when big cars were slow and Guns ‘N Roses didn’t have arthritis.
These are opportune times for luxury carmaker Lexus. The 2015 Lexus LS460 F-Sport gets serious consideration as the type of car for four adults with bad knees and a need for (appearance of) speed.
To start, the LS460 is a haymaker of a luxury sedan. Big and soft, supple and easy on eardrums, the full-size sedan sails across pavement in normal conditions. Refined handling and a sedate 4.6-liter V8 that makes 386 horsepower and 367 pound-feet of torque produces a tale of the tape that wouldn’t necessarily read as “performance-minded.” But Lexus, reading the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup, knew a few years ago that the market could bear a model that could stray from the typical comfortable cruiser narrative.
The LS460 F-Sport adds stiffened air-controlled suspension, aggressive-looking body panels, 19-inch wheels and rev-matching transmission that would put wind in anyone’s sails — if only briefly. To be sure, the F Sport designation only adds a footnote to the car’s kicker: Big sedan that can smile.
That’s the best addition you could ask for from a car that has more luxury than anything else. In all-wheel drive spec, the LS460 powers from 0-60 mph in more than 6 seconds, which is certainly not supercar territory considering its $80,760 starting price. Smaller, more performance-minded Porsches could be had for less, but rear passengers would have to walk to dinner. The LS460 has entertainment like the Rolling Stones going on tour in their 70s.
Let’s discuss details. The LS460 F-Sport is a big sedan, first and foremost. Its 200-inch length and 73.8-inch width is roughly the size of many full-size SUVs. More than 4,700 pounds in unladed weight makes it one of the heaviest sedans on the planet, but there’s plenty in that package.
From the outside, the LS460 is somewhat of a mixed composition. The car’s sharp hood lines and spindle grille keep it in line with the rest of the Lexus lineup’s skew toward more aggressive features, but its profile and rear are decidedly soft. It’s the direct successor to the first car Lexus ever made, the LS400, and it shows. When that car launched in 1989, a tower of champagne glasses stacked on the hood reminded owners that they were buying something buttery smooth, and it’s hard to believe Lexus would advertise something like that again. The F-Sport is a little too “look at me” for those types of buyers, but I digress — I actually watch action movies too.
Rear legroom measures 35.8 inches, which is 2 inches shorter than the comparable Audi model, but enough for long legs like mine. The trunk can hold 18.0 cubic feet of cargo, enough for custom-made Tumi luggage (available with the LS460 Crafted Line model) tour-size golf bags and not much else.
Inside, the LS460 tries to keep speed with newer sedans such as the A8 and Mercedes S Class by offering creature comforts like a massive 12.3-inch navigation and entertainment screen with remote touch interface. You may say the “inverted mouse” idea is comparatively out-of-date and behind the times, but I’d say it’s easy enough that my dad could have used it — and that’s the point. The standard 10-speaker system bumps just about every format playable, and the optional Mark Levinson sound system is crisp and clear without banging the doors loose.
But the interesting stuff comes with the F-Sport. Including the aforementioned adjustable suspension, the F-Sport also quickens up the steering ratio and drops 19-inch wheels at all four corners, Brembo brakes, a limited-slip differential (in RWD only) and paddle shifters.
All that adds up to a car that’s fun to drive in spurts — barreling down a freeway or punching it from light to light — and better to settle down. The splashy rear end and wafting suspension won’t make Andretti jealous, but for normal folks it’s just fine to blow your hair back. Lexus may have to do more than a giant digital screen to keep pace with Mercedes, whose S-Class is pulling away from the competition, but the F-Sport is entertaining for now.
The overall cost to equip a car that has no business looking fast? $89,870. That may be a mighty sum to all of us, and most of the go-fast gear is just for show, but this is America after all. Cruise liners don’t need to run with cigarette boats, but I’m glad they’re trying.