Car Test
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R0332 | |
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May 2003 |
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| Lexus LS430 | ||
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Churning out small cars by the million is all very well, but for maximum prestige and profit, the top end of the large executive car market is the place to be.
Traditionally, companies like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar have dominated this area, but Toyota decided that it, too, wanted a slice of the lucrative action. Twelve years ago it introduced the Lexus LS400 as its rival for top honours. If the establishment were hiding sardonic smiles, these soon faded as the newcomer quickly proved that it could, indeed, equal and even exceed all they had to offer in terms of overall quality and refinement. Today, Lexus continues to rival Europe’s finest with this evolutionary LS430 – its current contender for excellence. The Lexus experience begins as you slide into the car past the keyless, silently self-closing doors. Press one of the three memory buttons and the wheel, seat and mirrors automatically adjust to your pre-selected settings. It’s certainly a big car, but the combination of good vision (with the ability to see at least some of the bonnet and boot lid), a remarkably tight turning circle, and front and rear parking sensors, mean that it doesn’t feel unduly cumbersome. Mastering the controls is another matter, though – you’ll be no stranger to the handbook. The familiar stalks and wheel-mounted buttons are all easily manageable, of course, but operating the superb stereo system, climate control and the DVD satnav via a central 7in touch screen takes a lot of familiarisation. More worryingly, it’s likely to take your eyes off the road for too long. But it’s perhaps the engine and transmission that make the LS430 such a joy to drive. The big V8 is whisper-quiet on light throttle and remarkably rapid when you floor the accelerator, yet it always revs with uncanny smoothness and no other automatic 'box we know can match this one for the silkiness of its shifts. It’s a pity that it lacks a full sequential manual override control, though; but then we guess that many would never bother to use it – why buy a guard dog etc? You ride on air in the LS430 – literally, with the result that progress, even on broken B-roads, is superbly composed and cosseting. There’s a little more lean and final understeer through the bends than with the car’s German rivals, which offer cornering roll control and sharper steering. In terms of ultimate handling, therefore, they prove a little more entertaining as drivers’ cars. That said, there are two facia rocker switches on the Lexus to make the suspension firmer and the gearshifts feistier, but since the car performs so well in standard mode, why bother? Five metres of motor translates into a lot of room inside. Rear passengers enjoy their fair share of this from the comfort of sumptuous individual seats that not only slide and recline (electrically, of course), but also heat and vibro-massage you when required. They’re divided by a centre armrest/console containing controls that work the audio system, air-con and electric sunblind. It really is the height of wood, carpet and leather luxury back there. |
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