PLATFORM
The LS will share more than its position at the top of the company
hierarchy with the LC coupe. Both ride on versions of the same
platform, the LS’s stretched a foot and a half over the coupe’s. Like
its two-door sibling, the LS uses aluminum for much of the suspen-
sion and its mounting points, as well as the bumper beams. The two
cars share a multilink front suspension and a five-link rear assem-
bly, though Lexus made sure the LS’s dampers and bushings would
supply more comfort than the LC’s.
As with the outgoing LS, the new sedan has adaptive stabilizer
bars but now adds rear-wheel steering. Coil springs will be stand-
ard, with air springs optional. Like other manufacturers of air-
sprung crossovers and SU Vs, Lexus has programmed the LS with
an “entry” height. Here, though, as opposed to those relativeINTERIOR
W hen you think Japanese luxury, you should think of plump sofas.
At least, that’s the message LS buyers will get, because the design
team’s goal with the seats was to create the impression of sinking
into a big, comfy couch or easy chair. They paid close attention to
the relationship between the padded center-console lid and the
door-mounted armrests, the latter seeming to float apart from
the door panel with ambient lighting tucked behind to further the
illusion. And if you happen to be sitting opposite the chauffeur in
the right-rear easy chair, Lexus claims best-in-class legroom with
the seat fully reclined and the front-passenger seat leaned up
against the dash.
Seats aren’t the only place where the LS departs from other
Lexus designs. The interior as a whole is warmer, more welcoming,
and more organic in its forms than other
Lexuses. Six thin bands of magnesium span
the dash, beginning at the driver’s door
before bunching up as they bend up and over
the instrument panel, then fanning back out
as they continue their stretch across the
dash to the passenger door. Contrast-
stitched leather is de rigueur in a modern
luxury car, but the LS is the first that we can
recall to have it around the gauge faces.
RAKE’S PROGRESS
Designers kept the
windshield rake
close to that of the
LC to emphasize
sportiness. This also
means a 57.1-inch
height, among the
lowest in its class,
and lower, even,
than the ultraslick
Jaguar XJ.- CAR AND DRIVER. MAR/
001