Typically there are fast cars and luxury cars. Most fast cars are not really that comfortable or luxurious and most luxury cars arent really that fast. Yet, the 2015 Lexus Ls 460 breaks through the mold on both providing a luxurious, comfortable ride that radically changes into a fast, diving into the corners experience at the flick of a switch.
While the exterior isnt really distinctive, the interior has the wow factor.One of the great things about this job is gaining experience. When they first delivered the LS460, I wasnt jumping for joy per se. Taking one look at it and it shares the exterior styling language of the IS, ES and GS. These cars have gotten better looking, yet they are really not that distinctive from one another. Little did I realize, the LS 460 is the Mack Daddy of the Lexus sedan lineup.
This sedan offers features for days and even though our model was considerably loaded up, I didnt have the full rear seat treatments with Climate Concierge and Ottoman Seating Package with Shiatsu massage plus rear-seat entertainment system with Blu-ray DVD player.
Again nothing outstanding about the exterior, yet the F Sport badge speaks volumes.Instead, my test model came loaded with the F Sport package featuring a unique computer program that changes various powertrain settings at the flip of a switch. It quite literally takes the boring sedan mindset and leaves it behind in a trail of dust. And I mean a trail of dust. The LS 4.6L V8 produces 386 horsepower and goes 0-60 in 5.4 seconds (RWD model). BTW, the Tundras V8 engine produces 381 horsepower.
The aforementioned F Sport (aka fun) button is located right below the shifter.Sure the F Sport setting isnt the most fuel efficient or practical in everyday driving the normal and ECO modes handle that job it is the most fun to drive. Driving most of my week in this mode, I had a great time accelerating from dead stops and cruising on the interstates.This is the car that you accidentally end up going well over the speed limit without realizing it.
Whats really nice is this performance doesnt disrupt anything else about the car. The interior is still amazingly quiet in any driving mode and Lexus says the nearly silent acceleration is a big focus. Also, they list noise-reducing wheels as a standard feature. Yeah noise reducing wheels.
The driver seat is comfortable and roomy with great visibility.The quiet interior is accented by the Mark Levinson stereo. While radio sound quality isnt a big seller typically for me, in this car it makes a difference. Lexus crammed in 19 speakers throughout the cabin (Yes 19!). These speakers working with the 450-watt, 15-channel power amplifier deliver a truly amazing 5.1 home theater sound quality experience. Lexus says the frequency range delivers less than .1 percent of THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) a stunning achievement in mobile audio. Frankly, I have no idea what that means, but my ears do. It is amazing!
Now all of this performance, luxury and amazing sound does come with a hefty price tag. Our test model was priced out at $89,870 with a $925 delivery fee. Before I get thats freaking crazy expensive comments, consider this. On Cars.com, we found 30 Ford SuperDuty trucks priced between $75-100k. Sure, I am comparing a truck to a luxury sedan, but overall vehicle pricing has risen to the point where 70, 80, 90k isnt as outrageous as it used
