By Shady N. Janzeir
The Saudi Gazette
It might be odd to do a test drive of a car that’s about to be replaced, but, since Lexus offered us the opportunity anyway, we thought, why not? We set out to see if the Lexus LS430, which is about to be replaced late this year by the promising new 2007 LS460, is worth buying now.
The answer is a resounding “absolutely.”I’ll start off by telling you all about the Toyota/Lexus marketing hype that this test drive – conveniently enough – has proven to be true. Yes, the LS430 is a solid, extremely luxurious, high-performance car. But that’s hardly the whole story. The LS430 is the luxury car to own in this day and age when Mercedes-Benz stopped being Mercedes-Benz and BMWs have grown big butts.
It’s the kind of car than can handle anything that you – or your chauffeur, for that matter – can handle anything you can possibly throw at it, from a long-distance high-speed cruise across the country to some fun on track day, and still look good doing it.But therein is precisely where this car’s weakness lies.
In Lexus’s 18-year quest to be the Mercedes-Benz/BMW of Japan, it has failed to build a character that is all its own – the kind of persona that suppresses the human tendency to subconsciously draw comparisons between it and the top products of the two German marques. If such comparisons may seem appropriate, even called for in this helm of automotive extravagance, they are certainly unfair, for the LS430 is fairly on par with the likes of the Benz S-class and the BMW 7-series, and even manages to trounce the two in a few aspects.
The LS430 received a routine facelift for 2006, which is probably it’s final production run. The headlights are bigger and better (according to Lexus) and the taillights are now more elegantly understated, and look definitely better than the previous ones, which looked like dirt had been permanently imbedded in them.
Of course, turning this review into a pissing contest by pulling up such silly things as horsepower and top speed would be simply preposterous. Any automotive website will tell you that the car can effortlessly take very little of your valuable business time to carry you all the way to 250km. But sheer numbers would miss the point of this car. It’s the whole experience of sheer luxury that counts – the sense of self-importance and self-indulgence that comes with a thinking man’s automotive excess of this caliber.
The moment you open the door, these feelings make themselves felt. The car will ooze with a sensation of quality and luxury, manifested by even the simplest things like the “thunk” the door makes when you slam it shot. (But you don’t even need to slam it shot. Just pull it in, and it’ll latch on all by itself.) Then there’s the quality and quietness of the interior: The plastics of the dashboard, the high-tech, no-nonsense instruments befitting the haughtiness of a big-shot businessman, and the overwhelming feeling of isolation and security inside. Each of the passengers are treated to all luxuries conceivable in 21st-century motorama: Each and all of them has his or her own climate control, seat masseuse, vanity mirror, adjustable seat, and even a Bluetooth connection to the sound system for their mobile phones that cost as much as a Toyota Corolla.
But for those – like myself – who’d rather do their own driving and banish the chauffeur to the family’s minivan, here’s what counts: The LS430 is a torrent of performance, and a castle of roadholding. With a nudge of the accelerator at any speed, the gearbox will promptly and quietly toggle down through its gears (or ranges, as Lexus oddly chooses to call them) to find the ideal ratio for the V8’s enormous torque to marry your three-piece suit to the leather on your seatback. Show the nose the first corner and the front wishbones will steer the car in without so much as a hint of understeer, while the rear multi-link rig follows through without fail.
But wait, that’s only the dark side of this car’s character. If you were feeling playful that day, turn off the traction control and lay down the footprints of the 18-inch tires all over an empty parking lot to your heart’s satisfaction. The LS430 is just like a good butler: It will do everything you ask of it, and won’t answer back.
That said, the LS430 could be everything a Mercedes-Benz should be but isn’t (for now, that is) but is sure is no BMW. The one thing that may concern the image conscious is – again – the car’s lack of character, in the true tradition of Mother Toyota. That soullessness is nowhere more evident than in the steering wheel, which tells you little of what’s going on under the massive 245/45 footprints, and takes orders from the driver at a leisurely pace. Steering action doesn’t have the same sense of urgency as the car’s power train. If it did, the car would’ve been perfect.
Yet again, sheer sportlichkeit is not the point of this car. The LS430 is for those who know a good thing when they see it. Driving it around for two days, the feeling of invincibility and isolation made me amuse – and indulge – myself with the idea that I’m the star of a spy movie whisking my family away to a safe place before I go back and put the villains away. If there was no BMW, I’d bet my money – all 99 riyals of it – that Agent 007 would be driving an LS430.
What’s HOT
Impeccable build quality
If there’s an options list, it’s very short
Sublime performance for reasonable fuel economy
Secure, neutral handling
More space than a Shinto temple
What’s NOT
Lacks that distinctive character of Teutonic motoring oligarchs
Dull, muted steering – what a shame!
Navigation system controls
Styling could use some swagger
Source : The Saudi Gazette
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa
