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Lexus makes the LS more comfortable, smarter and even quieter for 2021

Lexus introduced an updated version of the LS, its flagship sedan, earlier in 2020, but it left out details about the American-spec model. As expected, it announced our version of the car will get several improvements for 2021. Now in its fifth generation, the LS receives an array of small but significant changes that come together to make the ride quieter and more comfortable. Engineers explained they revised the spring and damper rates, increased the diameter of the anti-roll bars, and added larger liquid-filled front and rear bushings for an even cushier rider.  Visual modifications are subtle, which is to say the LS remains not-so-subtle. Stylists tweaked the front bumper, made the spindle grille a little bit darker, and redesigned the headlights by getting rid of the Z-shaped look. Black trim replaces the chrome in the rear lights, and the color palette grows with a new shade called Iridium. Back for 2021, the F Sport package adds a sportier-looking front end with a specific grille, a body kit, and 20-inch alloy wheels. It also brings bigger brakes, and buyers can pay extra for a Dynamic Handling Package which bundles Variable Gear Ratio Steering, Active Rear Steering, and an Active Stabilizer Suspension. Inside, sedans equipped with the F Sport package get front seats that adjust pneumatically and electrically in 28 ways. Speaking of the interior, Lexus also added extra padding on the armrests, the seat cushions, and other touch points, plus revised springs and thicker cushioning for the front seats. Buyers who prefer being driven can order heated and massaging rear seats, plus a passenger-side seat that reclines at up to 48 degrees. Lexus made no major mechanical modifications to the LS 500, meaning power comes from a twin-turbocharged, 3.5-liter V6 which produces 416 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive is offered at an extra cost. Reaching 60 mph from a stop takes 4.6 seconds, which is impressive for a big, heavy sedan developed with a major focus on comfort. Motorists who want to keep their fuel budget in check can select the LS 500h, which offers a 354-horsepower hybrid powertrain that teams a naturally-aspirated 3.5-liter V6 set up to run on the Atkinson cycle with two electric motors connected to a lithium-ion battery.

2016 Lexus GS 200t First Drive

Last year, Lexus rolled out an ad for its GS that featured several luxury rivals swinging on pendulums, with a hypnotic voiceover that derides the BMW 5 Series' standard four-cylinder engine. The ad then asks viewers to, "Open your eyes to the six-cylinder, eight-speed Lexus GS." Oh, how times have changed. Consider the facelifted Lexus GS 200t and its four-cylinder turbocharged engine an admission that maybe the Germans are on to something. It's good to see Lexus getting with the times, but after a drive in Southern California, we find the first turbocharged GS comes up short in a lot of ways. This is the same engine Lexus uses in the NX, IS, and RC with 200t designations. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder uses a twin-scroll turbo, direct injection, and Toyota's most advanced continuously variable valve timing to produce 241 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. That's 70 horsepower short of the GS 350's 3.5-liter V6. But torque is down only 22 fewer lb-ft, and the 200t's broad peak torque, from 1,650 to 4,400 rpm, promises ample usable power. The 200t offers little reward for the slower acceleration. As for that previously-mocked BMW 5 series, the Lexus has nearly identical output. But a 7.0-second 0-60 time is nearly a full second slower than the BMW's claim for the 528i, a car that weighs practically the same as the Lexus. Fuel economy is another head-scratcher. Lexus estimates the GS 200t F Sport returns just 20 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway, three and four mpg less than the 5er. This brand-new 2.0-liter turbo is hardly more efficient than the three-year-old GS 350. The V6 model nets 19 mpg city and 28 mpg on the highway, and is 1.3 seconds quicker to 60 mph. A smaller engine almost always means sacrificing performance for economy, but based on the figures the 200t offers little reward for the slower acceleration. At least the 200t is better from behind the wheel than on paper. We weren't that impressed by the low-end grunt of Lexus' 2.0-liter turbo when we drove it in the NX, but different gearing in the GS means snappier off-the-line behavior. Once the turbo catches up you're well into the heart of the torque curve, and the GS feels quicker than a seven-second jog to 60 mph. Mid-range punch is the engine's most endearing quality. Passing moves are easy and entertaining, even when you're already traveling at or above freeway speeds. Unfortunately, the engine gasps above 4,400 rpm.

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Lexus LS 400

Imagine you're an American Mercedes-Benz salesman during the winter of 1989-1990, looking over your inventory of majestic W126-chassis 560 SELs… and then you glance across the street at that brand-new Lexus dealership and flinch at the sight of your rivals gloating over a lot full of futuristic-looking big luxury sedans priced at less than half the cost of your top-of-the-pyramid S-Class. This was how it looked when mighty Toyota, riding high just before the popping of the Japanese asset price bubble, instantly muscled its way into the American high-end luxury-car market, and the result of that six-year, 145-billion-yen development process was the original Lexus LS. Here's one of those first-year LS 400s, used up at age 32 and residing in a Denver self-service car graveyard. Toyota had been selling reasonably luxurious rear-wheel-drive Cressidas in North America since the 1978 model year (in fact, Cressida sales would continue here through 1992), and before that we got the plush Crown. Those well-built cars were very comfortable and may have swiped a few sales from Oldsmobile or even BMW, but car shoppers here had come to associate the Toyota brand with sensible small cars and Warlord Grade trucks. Honda did very well selling luxed-up Accords and Civics with Acura badges, starting in 1986, and Toyota followed up with the Lexus brand for the LS 400 (as well as the Camry-based ES 250). In Japan, where the Toyota badge went on everything from sewing machines to the Emperor's personal Century (actually, Emperor Akihito's everyday driver was a Honda Integra sedan), there was no need for a separate luxury marque and the LS 400 was sold as the Toyota Celsior. Once the Lexus brand took off globally, however, Toyota eventually began using it for home-market vehicles. You can even buy a new Lexus bicycle in Japan today! The Cressida had a big straight-six engine, but the LS had to have a proper twin-cam V8 to do battle with the S-Class, BMW 7-Series, and Audi V8 (yes, the 7-Series didn't get a V8 until later, but the 750i had a V12). Toyota had been building aluminum-block hemi-head V8s for the Crown Eight and the Century since the middle 1960s, but that was an old-fashioned pushrod design and clearly too outdated for the LS. The LS got a 4.0-liter DOHC V8, designed from scratch just for the occasion; it had six-bolt main bearing caps and made 256 horses in the 1990 version.