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http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.f0feb55?displayRecent
I took the bait after my S500 for 5 years (GREAT car).
The 460 is great looking inside and out. However, the new 8 speed trans takes the fun right out of 380HP. The 'Kick-down' is terribly slow, which makes it dangerous if you need to move quickly in traffic. At 60 MPH, if you stomp on it, it takes a good 2 to 3 seconds to kick down and engage a lower gear. If you stomp when it is in 3rd gear it takes an eternity to kick down, if at all. VERY FRUSTRATING!
What is your experience??
I hope other 460 owners will comment on this problem.
I have not used the ECT switch for anything but the Power setting so wonder if there is any material difference in gas mileage by using the normal setting.
I find the advantages of the 460 to be in the NAV, Bluetooth, extra roomy backseat leg room, and the fantastic ML sound system. The automatic parking brake is great. I'll prabably never use the self-parking feature. What isn't so great is the increased turning diameter, the lack of quietness compared to the 430, the skinny windows and the cheapy summer tires with a 140 tread wear and A A rating. There are more reasonable all-season tires with a 400 AA A rating available for the 19 inch wheels, which I believe Lexus should have given as an option. The road holding and brakes are great.
I will have to admit, however, that the car I will probably drive the most and which carries the greatest "fun factor" is the RAV4 4WD Limited. Highly manuevable, short turning radius, great road holding ability, and the fantastic acceleration matches my spirited driving tendency. It doesn't come with the NAV, but the Garmin Nuvi 660 even has advantages the Lexus NAV does not poccess, e.g.,in map mode it shows the next intersecting street. Not so Lexus NAV, which only shows the road you're on (heck, I already know that). It can also play thousands of songs down loaded on a SD card into thr Nuvi right through the car speakers via direct hook up. No shoving disks in to record to the HD.
Yes, you put up with more wind noise, no seat memory or garage door buttons, but the 4WD takes you through all types of weather and did I mention the fun to drive?
Each car has it's advantages for me. I'm glad that there are choices. Toyota and Lexus-- the best of the best for my money.
My first black car and my wife loves the color. Gotta admit, great color for funerals and weddings.
Those are the bigger brakes in the touring car. How do you find them? A friend of mine has the touring car also and he says his brakes are fabulous, best he's ever had in a car. He complained about the tires also and paid an upcharge for better thread. I'd wear them out for 12-15K miles and then get the tires of your choice.
Agree with you - the 2004 car was a great car. I just turned mine in. Another 60K of perfect reliability. I must be at 300K of perfect miles on my LS cars by now. In fact I've had perfect liability on the LS cars, an LX and 2 GX's to date.
I think we've now bought in tandem around the same time in 2001,2004 and 2007.
Good luck again.
Frankly, I think I would prefer the smoky granite mica over black--great color and not as much upkeep, though I do prefer the lighter interior.
Good luck on your upcoming arrival with it's back seat upgrade.
And second my friend is considering purchasing LS460/460L or s 550 or the 7 series well i already got opinion telling go for the LS what do you guys say??
What's the difference between 460 460L just stretched?
1branch when u say its under performing ur sure if i tell this to my friend he sure will be more confused buying a car.
feverhart ,
my mom is might take a rav4 since u mentioned u got 1 can u tell me how good is this car
And 1 more ques any1 know how good is the cl class 550 no im not the cl550 buying or my friend or mom, just asking because i love the design of this car.
thanks.
I think the real question is whether to order an air suspension car or the base suspension. My preference is the air suspension (std on touring and usually special order on the regular LS460L). I find the air suspesion gives the car that extra special feel.
You are dealing with different cars with different strengths in this market. It's a function of what a lux buyer is looking for. Most are looking for what the S and LS deliver which is supreme luxury and it's why they are the biggest sellers every year. If your friend is looking sport go A 8 or 7 but those miss as luxury cars for me personally. The Jag is the other alternative and fits the classic lux mode. I've just never been a fan of the car.
"touting", read: touring. Along with air suspension it also has larger high friction brakes and 19 inch wheels. It also is available only in the LS490L. The air suspension can be set in 3 different modes.
As to the LS vs BMW and MB, they each have their advantages. For my purposes, the superior NAV, intuitive controls, reliablity, shorter turning diameter, MPG makes it a no-brainer in my preference for the LS.
"my mom is might take a rav4 since u mentioned u got 1 can u tell me how good is this car" In my opinion, this is a great car, especially the V6, 4WD, Limited edition. Consumers Guide rates it as top in its class. I love it.
I have air suspension, lux pckge, pre collision and the ML package. MSRP is $82,800. Smokey granite mica with light gray interior. I got $1K off MSRP.
This is awesome news. 96 days does not seem too long for a special order. I can't wait to see your photos and also hear about your driving experience. I will be placing a special order for mine as soon as the specs are in (late July or early August) for the 2008 model. I wonder if there will be any significant changes.
I have finally put the LS600HL out of my mind. If it comes equipped with Lithium-Ion battery 2 or 3 years from now, I will likely order it then.
feverhart, please give us some additional details about the above. I despise noise when I am driving. So, the LS460L is noisier than the LS430? Or does this little more noise only apply to the Touring model? I have heard of a rather major wind noise problem on the SWB LS460 that Lexus was attempting to correct, but had not yet come up with a good solution. And why is the turning radius greater than that of the LS430? Is it because the LS460 is about 5 inches longer? I have been loving the small turning radius on my 2004 LS430. Concerning the tires, I thought that they come equipped with all season tires.
Any more insight on all these issues by you, ljflx, or by anyone else would be appreciated.
increased turning diameter I, too, love the shorter turning diameter. But the 460L has a greater turning diameter than the LS460 and the Touring model has an even greater turning diameter than the 460L without touring. Probably has to do with the 19 inch wheels. Still, the turning circle is shorter than its competitors--Audi, BMW, and MB.
Unfortunately, the Touring comes equiped only with the summer tires (140 tread wear rating). When they are gone at 10K, I'll know what to get.
Don't get me wrong, I like the car overall with so many advanced features. The engine starts quicker than the LS430--a little thing, but noticable.
From the imformation that I have recieved, the Touring model will look the same as the LS600H, and even have the same brakes and tires. But...the Touring has the advantage with the available 18cf trunk vs less than 12cf.
Good luck
My initial impressions (remember I have air suspension) is the car is well above the LS430 in ride and overall quality, handles very well (particularly in sport mode with little if any loss in ride quality, and sport mode is lower to the ground), it's a very quiet ride (noticablty more quiet than the 430 but they do let you hear the engine howl when you step on it hard), I heard no wind noise at all (and I had the car over 80mph on the way home), it's very fast (much faster than the 430) and the tranny is dead silent as it shifts gears, and in LWB form it's very roomy in front and behind. They had ten (10) Smoky gramite micas that were being deliverred today and tomorrow alone so this color has become a big seller. I have no idea how many LS460's as a whole were set to go but there were a lot in the huge prep building and the only available car for sale they had was in gold (which is a hideous color IMO)
Charlie - LS600HL is now sold out at my dealership well into year 3 production. My dealer and two or three others that are also sold out for 2+ years are urging Lexus to up production as there is a lot of demand for the car and virtually all will be coming in around $111-115K. Apparently the reviews have increased demand and the guy who wrote the Edmunds review has gotten this thing dead wrong. It's a big halo car and it's hot. As well the LFA is already in hot demand. I think the Lexus name has become even bigger than I had it pegged at.
For Doc - they are leaning heavily to building the HPX.
Pix - I'll post one or two now and more in another post. I want to be sure I use the right link. You need to click on the pix to make it larger.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4v4t2jp
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=5zlvij4
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=524k1go
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4qxr9ee
Best regards, and happy driving,
Renny
How they made it quieter than the 430 I'll never know.
Is the increase in HP from the 430 really noticeable?
Here's a few more pix:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=67xj5tl
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=52vhh07
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=6bireox
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=5xhpcpj
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4zlvte9
My kids love this leg room:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=63t5m6p
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
As far as the LS600HL is concerned, obviously that Edmunds guy was full of you know what. However, there is one reason and one reason only that I cancelled my order and you know what that is already. I was expecting much better fuel efficiency for a hybrid. I'm sure this will be markedly improved once it is equipped with the Lithium-Ion battery.
I don't know what they can really add. I'd imagine they will make the passenger seats with memory and offer a lane departure system as part of the pre-collision. I was paying very close attention to the wind noise and even shut off the ML (that's not easy to do as I forgot to note the stereo in this car is incredible and put in a DVD audio disc as I did and you are totally blown away) and I didn't hear any wind noise. Maybe it was an early glitch that has been corrected.
I asked about the LS600HL. Within 2 years they supposedly have a very powerful battery coming. MPG likely going way up. This years car is the equivalent of a 1985 PC vs what will be here in a few years time from what I got wind of today. That'll be my 2010 car. I imagine the LX570 is going to be awesome if you like/want a lux SUV.
Houdini - thanks. The car is phenomenal.
OK, I'm with you. With a new powerful battery by 2010, I will also join you and order the LS600HL at that time. I don't think I am going to lease the 2008 LS460L. Thus, it will be no problem doing what I want to do down the road. $85K seems real cheap compared with $122K (with tax) for the LS600HL.
The lease for my wife's RX400H expires next April. The dealer told me that there is a chance for a new generation battery for the 2009 RX. If so, we will extend the lease through next summer and then lease the new 2009 RX. All this adds up to fun times ahead for luxury car lovers .
Bottom line - if you valet park you may want to make sure you have a second set of keys with you as insurance. I'm going to see if they can get me an extra (3rd) key set.
BTW - the DVD player plays video DVD's on the nav screen but the car must be in park and the emergency brake has to be on for it to do so. But there is no emergency brake on this car. It's electronic. There's a hold button on the steering wheel ythat may be the key to this. I don't know yet as I'm figuring this stuff out yet.
I tested the brakes and find them to be better than the 430. Anyone that is worrying about stopping distances after that C&D review put it out of your mind. The brakes on this car are excellent.
Finally if anyone lives in Monmouth County NJ and has Verizon Wireless (as I do) Shore cellular will download your phone book for $50 (your spouses as well) onto any Lexus with bluetooth. This is only a Verizon Wireless issue.
Good to hear your brakes are excellent. Do you have the standard wheels, tires and brakes?
I agree that the Keyless Emitter (which is on my wifes car) has negatives. No "hide-a-key" and losing/misplacing a key will be a major hassle. When I drive her car and she jumps out to shop with the emitter I'm stuck once I stop the car. Guess that means I should shop with her. Ugh.
Great pictures, and glad to hear all your inputs.
Yes - 18" wheels with Bridgestone Turanza tires. I wanted those or Michelins on the car over the Dunlops.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
ljflx, you are truly a rich man: rich as realistically defined to be someone who is satisfied with what he has. And that smokey granite must be a great color, though I have yet to see one.
Thanks for sharing all of your comments.
Thanks Feverhart.
alright mr. salesman, i'll play...
they had several of the smokey with black interiors but i didn't like the dark interior... then he showed me a verdigris with tan 'touring' package... a little bit more car than what i need just being my wife and i but it sure did look good with the 19" rims!
their first offer was $4K off sticker + tax/tag but i really felt like i was paying for more stuff than i needed or wanted... i offered them what i thought was a ridiculous price assuming that we would go back and reevaluate getting me just a regular 460 but after a few minutes the salesman came back and shook my hand... right time, right place?.?.?
i love my new ls460L... it definitely has more options than i had intended but it sure does look good with the 19" rims!... hopefully i'll never have to use the lexus link but a nice feature anyway... parking feature?.?.? the salesman told me it was more of a show-off feature... look what my car can do!....
anyhow, i wanted to thank you all for your posts... this has a great ride... is quiet... looks great... has an awesome stereo... and i am very happy with the options (even though i didn't pay for all of them... he he he )
Can give give us a few more comments about your driving experience with your brand new LS460L now that you have owned it since last Friday? Did you drive it a lot over the weekend?
Gotta ask....
What was the ridiculous price you offered that they accepted? I noticed you didn't volunteer the info on your post but my nosiness has gotten the best of me!!!
Here in South Florida they've probably got a similar 460 inventory glut.. I get the feeling good deals are forthcoming if one is willing to take the car form current dealer inventory.