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2021 Lexus LS 500 F Sport First Drive | The Midas Touch

There was one glaring problem with the Lexus LS 500 prior to this year’s refresh: the Remote Touch infotainment system. To put it simply, it was a nightmare to use and a potential deal breaker. As it does in other Lexus products, Remote Touch featured a large display controlled by a laptop-like touchpad that was difficult and distracting to use. Lexus has surely tired of hearing the complaints from reviewers and customers alike, and for 2021, there's a touchscreen. Hurrah! That's clearly the biggest update for the 2021 Lexus LS 500, but the four-door flagship is treated to a number of other improvements for its mid-cycle freshening as well. Considering the totally new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is bearing down in the LexusÂ’ rearview mirror, itÂ’s smart timing. Lexus allowed us to live with both the 2020 and 2021 LS 500s for a couple days to ensure weÂ’d notice every last difference between them. It takes a sharp eye to see what designers have massaged on the exterior. Look closely, and youÂ’ll notice the snazzy Z-shaped headlight fixtures have lost the Z. ItÂ’s a cleaner design, but does subtract from their flashiness. The big spindle grille is present and accounted for — Lexus applies a darker finish to it this year. ItÂ’s still as shouty and in-your-face as it gets for a car in this class, which isnÂ’t easy considering the 7 SeriesÂ’ new snout. Lexus had to redesign the dash for the touchscreen to be reachable. The large 12.3-inch widescreen that was shoved way back and nestled under a hood in the previous two-tiered dash design has been pulled way out to stand on its own in tablet-like fashion for 2021. The illuminated graphic panel that was adjacent to the infotainment screen is gone. The look is ultimately less integrated and harmonious, but at least itÂ’s usable now.  2021 Lexus LS 500 F Sport View 27 Photos Improving how the LS 500 drives was also on LexusÂ’ to-do list with this update. ItÂ’s still powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, but Lexus is using a new piston design that makes the engine quieter when cold. The wastegate control was updated to improve both performance and efficiency, and the 10-speed automaticÂ’s shift logic was re-calibrated to be smarter when the driver asks for power. Even with the changes, output is unchanged at 416 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. ThatÂ’s enough to get our rear-drive LS 500 F Sport from 0-60 mph in just 4.6 seconds, all while leaving a long patch of rubber in our wake.

Lexus GS 300 disappears from 2020 lineup

The seven-strong Lexus GS lineup will enter 2020 with only five models in the lineup. Cars Direct found out the entry-level GS 300 will not ring in the new year, the discovery explained by a Lexus spokesperson with, "the GS 300 represented a small percentage of GS sales in 2018." That will leave the standard GS 350 and the GS 350 F Sport, both offered in either rear- or all-wheel drive. With the $47,885 GS 300 out of the game, the price of entry for the range goes up to $52,420 for the GS 350 RWD. That price represents a $150 increase over 2019, and an MSRP of $51,395 plus a $1,025 charge for destination and handling. Perhaps it's a sign of how much Lexus believes in the sport sedan credentials of the GS 350 that the rear-wheel-drive version currently on sale costs $330 more than the all-wheel-drive model. This is reversed for the F Sport trims, with the GS 350 F Sport AWD needing $1,745 more than version with a driven rear axle only. If pricing differentials hold across the range into 2020, that would make the GS 350 AWD $52,090, the GS 350 F Sport RWD would cost $53,785, and the GS 350 F Sport AWD $55,530. The GS F, charging along with a 5.0-liter V8 producing 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque sent to the rear wheels only, will run $86,035. That's a $560 bump over the 2019 model year. Since the GS F 10th Anniversary Edition celebrated the tenth anniversary of F performance this year, we don't expect the $89,350 sedan to continue into next year. The GS has been in the spotlight at Lexus HQ since last summer, when the brand's general manager told Automotive News "we're certainly evaluating both vehicles," speaking of the GS and IS. For next year, the 241-horsepower GS 300 slips off the scene, but one wonders how long even the 311-hp GS 350 can stick around when the entire lineup sold just 6,604 units in the U.S. last year. Sales are down more than 50 percent this year, down from a 2015 high of 23,117. The new ES is just nine horses down on the GS, $7,000 less expensive, and sold 50 percent more units in the U.S. in January than the GS has so far this year. With no news of an updated GS on the way and the ES rumored to add an all-wheel-drive trim for 2020, the GS could have a hard time standing up to business-case scrutiny.

2018 Lexus LS First Drive | Luxury, performance and the puzzling parts

When one imagines the enormous executive sedan that might be driven by a wealthy lawyer or banker (or their chauffeur), the mind naturally goes to the Mercedes S-Class or the BMW 7-Series. Venerable, enormous and expensive. But for those wanting to keep their driveway a little more understated, we also have the Lexus LS. Sure, it's not as ostentatious as the big saloons from Munich and Stuttgart, but it has a dignified elegance all its own. For nearly three decades, the LS has been a discrete and dependable Japanese luxury sedan. The new 2018 LS, perhaps thankfully, is a bit less discrete. We saw the new-look LS when it was introduced earlier this year in Detroit. Now we know how it drives. We put the 2018 LS through its paces on the traffic-clogged streets of San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge to the twisty B-roads around Marin County and the legendary Skywalker Ranch, where we stopped for lunch. Unfortunately, all in attendance were sworn to secrecy about the details of Skywalker Ranch, but we're free to tell you all about the LS. Here's our one-sentence summary, which can be used to describe many cars to bear the Lexus badge: It's excellent in many respects, odd in a few, and incredibly, massively frustrating in one very important area. Lexus has a brand new 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission, a first for a premium passenger car. It produces 416 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, up from 386 hp and 367 lb-ft from the outgoing naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V8. Lexus engineers are extremely proud of the fuel efficiency of the new engine, which required some clever technical innovations (a longer bore stroke and increased valve angle) as well as tech borrowed from Formula One, including a "laser clad valve seat" that allows for a more direct flow of air into the combustion chamber and a high "tumble ratio." In other words, Lexus figured out how to get more bang out of each gasoline-powered buck. Fuel economy numbers are 19 city, 29 highway, and 23 combined for the RWD version and 18/27/21 for AWD, with the highway numbers particularly helped along by the 10-speed gearbox. It's a torque converter unit, but Lexus promises shift times that rival its dual-clutch-wielding competitors. The LS is no slouch, either. In RWD trim, the nearly 5,000-pound car hustles from 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds, according to Lexus' reckoning.