Lexus LS test drive since 2009 sedan
If tomorrow is on Mars
It seems that if Lexus engineers are instructed to design a spacecraft, they will build it better than anyone before them. In any case, the new LS may that the most eminent of its competitors of the luxury class did not dream.Passenger number one
Shhhh, quietly worked the door closer, tightly covering it behind me. Zh-Zh, barely audibly, he drunk the electric drive of the chair, making the pillow longer and slightly tilted his back. The creators of LS clearly took care of the most important in the sedan of the representative class about the rear seat passenger. The rear seats here are noticeably softer than the front. Of course, they are equipped with heating and ventilation, so it is supposed to all large luxury. But there is something completely unique in Lexus. As many as 120 liters of a semi -cube trunk eats a kilowatt compressor. Thanks to him, the effectiveness of cooling is such that, if desired, it seems that on a soft perforated skin to keep the ice for whiskey. And as Lexus now guessed that I was hot, the minds are incomprehensible. But I feel, he himself gave a portion of chilled air. It turns out that smart climate control measures the temperature of my body and feels, a devil, the slightest deviation from passport 36 and 6!
Of course, the legs for the legs are here with a large margin. And according to the tradition of large sedans, it can be increased: using the buttons in the end of the back of the front chair, move it away from the master apartments. If necessary, the sofa can be equipped with a multi -stage massage system. True, in order to get it, you will have to pay $ 18,000 for a long -drawn version.
Checked by a stethoscope
While I am in Nirvana in the back seat, my personal driver (this is a colleague who has not guessed the eagle and now twists the steering wheel) tells about the world's first 8-banding automation. This unprecedented unit promises uniform power distribution and amazing economy. And I turn on the entertainment center Mark Levinson and suddenly catch myself on seditious thought: what, in fact, the difference is how many steps are in the box! There is no need to know to my own concerned VIP-Tel to know that for the greater strength of the gear of the machine gun, a laser was processed, and to reduce weight in them, aluminum is full of aluminum. Why score the brains with information that, in order not to break the flow of power, the Japanese came up with a system of multi -disc courses, so that one of the two participating in the switch remains constantly closed? I only out of the corner of my eye I notice how the driver turned the lever into the position of the drive, and I feel powerful and smooth, with the complete absence of any noticeable switching, an acceleration wave.
True, I can’t completely disconnect. According to my passenger sensations, acceleration does not matter with 60 or 160 km/h of LS really outstanding. First of all, due to the generous multi -stage machine gun. And everything happens in complete silence, because, struggling for aerodynamics and decreasing noise, the Japanese made, for example, the most streamlined bottom. I appreciated the economy in the evening at the gas station. As it turned out, even in the city of 2-ton Makhina ate only 1516 liters.
And here is another unique feature. While we are in traffic, the automatic transmission switched to neutral. The selector, note, no one thought to translate from the position of drives. No car can do that. For what? The load on the engine is removed, there is no hint of overheating, the resource is increased.
Generally speaking, a 380-horsepower V-shaped eight in itself a work of art. It is equipped with a unique electric drive of the VVTi-E-EE inlet valves adjustment mechanism. The system can operate at the speed of rotation of the crankshaft below 1000 rpm and on an unheated motor. Each cylinder serves two nozzles in the combustion chamber and manifold. As a result, a unique combination of direct and distributed injection provides the best combustion.
And after assembling the motor, a special person with a stethoscope checks whether all this farm goes through in terms of noise. Thanks to him my chronograph on his hand ticks louder! And no, that is, absolutely no vibration. Involuntarily recalls the legends of 12-cylinder Rolls-Roisy, on the radiator of which, with the established motor, it was possible to put a coin on the rib.
He is allowed to be himself
However, for passenger number one I am somewhat sorting out with iron. Meanwhile, the representative appearance for such machines is no less important.
Well, I won’t say that I am shocked, admired, struck in place of the appearance of a new Lexus. Nevertheless, five points. There is the main thing in it: the impressiveness and solidity of smooth lines and rounded outlines are combined with the hidden power of the ready -to -jump for a rapid predatory beast. Take a closer look: the arrow -shaped headlight shape, a wide grille of the radiator, polygons of exhaust pipes, stylishly integrated into the general forms of the body.
And what is still very important: the appearance of the Big Lexus from now on is not at all tracing paper from prestigious German premiums. If in the past, accustoming the world to the fact that the luxury can be Japanese, its designers, without hesitation, copied the Stuttgart S-class, then in the fourth generation of LS it is allowed to be like themselves in the past and their younger brothers of the IS series and GS. Unless in the profile of the stern you can find echoes of the design of the BMW of the 7th series. But the satiety of the Mercedes-Benz, the undisguised aggression of Audi contrasted its own expressiveness.
And, of course, technology. I examine the smooth sides of the car with special addiction, in vain trying to look at another unique feature promised by the Japanese. Indeed, for LS they came up with an unusually resistant coating. It is no secret that a layer of paint on modern, even very expensive machines is becoming thinner. Four to five full-fledged abrasive pollets, and the current suite will show a primer. Robots apply as many as six layers of paint to the body of the new LS. Then, manually, the surfaces are polished twice and only then covered with layers of varnish. Do you think that for VIP hosts, the durability of the staff is not so important? You are mistaken, they are sold in a year only if the car was frankly not liked. In all other cases, they drive on the suite for much longer, including because a catastrophic drop in value makes frequent changes in models very false even for very rich people.
That is why, choosing finishing materials, designers paid so much attention and durability. The suede on the ceiling is very pleasant both in appearance and to the touch, expensive dressing. Five to seven years ago, this was very missing the Lexus. But most importantly, the skin here was not pressed for half an hour or an hour, as they usually do, but twice as long as to top it less. So the torpedo coating, as promised, will not burn out, even if the car is fried under the scorching sun for hours.
I say: let's go!
However, enough, I can no longer play the role of an oligarch! I want to drive this car, since it is all so wonderful. Moreover, in our amazing market, every fifth owner of LS does not consider it shameful to drive a representative sedan. LS service functions are hardly less than in seven or S-class. However, from the first seconds inside I do not feel like a stupid student who has not prepared for the exam. Once and for all to deal with the square of the buttons, it is a matter of several minutes. And the attitude to the buttons themselves is special. For example, the handles of adjusting the ventilation and heating system of the seats made, unlike Lexus-RX, larger and with corruption around the circumference.
A click-click is about the obstacle of the stern warned parking sensors. I turned on the back, and the mirrors sank to show the zones at the rear wheels. Surprisingly, the huge Lexus turned out to be no less maneuverable than ordinary medium -sized cars: it turns out much more abrupt than on XJ or A8. The diameter of the turn is really small in 10.8 m. In the German trio with approximately the same three -meter wheelbase, it is 11.812.5 m. Miracles, and nothing more! And now rather to the scope to check how fast it is to be less than six seconds to a hundred.
Well, then I will immediately say the speaker in the driver’s armchair it hides noticeably stronger than in the back seat. In the blink of an eye and absolutely imperceptibly, the speedometer shooter flew up for 120 km/h. Incidentally, out of 8-cylinder competitors, only much more expensive S500 is faster, and only 0.3 s.
And I immediately felt how the steering wheel changed. In the parking lot, the gear ratio is only 11.7: 1 and 2.5 turns from the stop to the stop. But when you fly under two hundred, the car does not seem to be nervous: the Reiki gearbox dismissed reins to 16.7: 1. He complained that LS did not know how to slowly slow down with transmissions in manual automatic transmission. Childhood! The brakes are such that this is completely smoothed out: powerful, accurate four -piston mechanisms stop Lexus precisely where you suppose. I can only learn professional dexterity until my boss did not like such training in the astronauts.
For a long time I was looking for minuses from this impeccable car. And I found it! The Japanese clearly did not take into account our dirty roads. After a few tens of kilometers, the side mirrors were covered with an opaque cocktail of reagents from the road. But that's all. LS460 is in no way inferior to recognized authorities in the luxury class. And largely surpasses them. It is a pity, it cannot yet compare with them by the force of influence on the minds. However, spending a lot of effort and means on unique technologies, the Japanese can win here over time. So, you look, and to the title of the best in the universe nearby.
Oh, these packages
Unlike dealers of prestigious German brands, LS460 sellers are not trying to force the buyer to pay extra for metallic, parking sensors or electric drives with memory. All this, as well as the skin laid in the class, the abundance of electronics and other benefits from the list for more than five dozen positions are already in the base. True, Lexus can only be with one power unit and in fixed equipment. If you need, say, heating the steering wheel or contactless access, you will have to buy a hatch, a DVD chain and entertainment center Mark Levinson. In total, according to this scheme, 4 sets for LS460 for $ 112 700130 700 and 8 sets for the elongated LS460L for $ 120 300150 100 are offered.
Text: Alexey Sergeev
Photo: Andrey Koltun and Lexus
A source: Magazine buy a car [06/2007]
