1993 Lexus Sc300 Coupe Manual Trans 3.0l on 2040-cars

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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.

2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport

Is A New Kind Of Lexus Hiding Under That Radical Skin?
When the now-outgoing Lexus IS generation was launched back in 2006, the company would not have been wise to bring the compact luxury sedan to be driven by journalists to a track like Driveway Austin Motorsports. Taking along a BMW 335i for comparison loops would have proved an ill choice as well.
Our own Jonathon Ramsey found the current-generation Lexus IS250 to be fairly nimble over a tightly wound autocross course, when he drove it back-to-back with the prototype version of this 2014 IS a few months ago. Our track for testing the fully realized version of the IS350 F-Sport meanwhile - again with the 2013 version along for competitive driving - was on a circuit designed to string together recreations of some of the best tracks in the world. Laguna Seca, bits of the Nürburgring and sections inspired by Imola and Ferrari's Fiorano test track all make for a far more enticing road course than you'd expect to find plunked down in a nondescript area a few miles east of downtown Austin. Critically, this environment highlighted what strides Lexus has made in the sport sedan race with its new IS.

Ranger in the USA, Alfa in Italy, and Volvo goes RWD | Autoblog Podcast # 780

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. They start off with this week's big news, including the official unveiling of the U.S.-market Ford Ranger and Ranger Raptor, some new RWD options from Volvo, and the potential production status of the Hyundai N Vision 74 concept. They also cover the discontinuation of the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the introduction of the latest RS model in Porsche's lineup, based on the 718 Spyder. From there, Byron talks about driving the new Alfa Romeo Tonale, and Greg digs into the new Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance. After that, Byron talks about his Wankel-based discovery during his tour of Alfa Romeo's factory museum outside Milan.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast # 780 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News 2024 Ford Ranger and 405-horsepower Ranger Raptor revealed 2024 Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge First Drive Review: Back to the RWD future Pony up, Hyundai. Build the N Vision 74 concept Porsche unveils 2024 718 Spyder RS — outrun the sun What we're driving2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale 2023 Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts Alfa Romeo Ford Hyundai Lexus Porsche Volvo Convertible Crossover Electric Sedan