Test Drive: 2023 Lexus LS 500h | The Daily Drive

2023 Lexus LS 500h AWD

Class: Premium massive Sedan

Coloration: Dusk Mica

Miles pushed: 207

CG Report Card


Room and Consolation	B-
Energy and Efficiency	B
Match and End	A
Gas Economic system	B+
Worth	B

Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus different automobiles in the identical class. Worth grade is for particular trim degree evaluated, and will not mirror Shopper Information’s impressions of the whole mannequin lineup.

Massive & Tall Consolation

Massive Man	B
Tall Man	B

Massive & Tall consolation rankings are for entrance seats solely. “Massive” score primarily based on male tester weighing roughly 350 kilos, “Tall” score primarily based on 6’6″-tall male tester.

Drivetrain
Engine Specs	354-horsepower 3.5-liter
Engine Kind	Turbocharged V6
Transmission	CVT automated
Drive Wheels	AWD

Noticed gas financial system: 23.2 mpg

Driving combine: 65% metropolis, 35% freeway

EPA-estimated gas financial system: 22/29/25 (mpg metropolis/freeway/mixed)

Gas sort: Premium fuel

Snow Efficiency: N/A

Base worth: $112,785 (not together with $1150 vacation spot cost)

Choices on check automobile: 19-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels (changing 20-inch wheels) (-$920), door edge guards ($155), rear-bumper applique ($95), illuminated door sills ($450), sprint digital camera ($375)

Value as examined: $114,090

Fast Hits

The nice: Prime-notch meeting high quality, long-trip consolation, quiet cabin

The nice: first rate gas financial system, ample energy, fashionable design

The not so good: Hybrid solely supplied in more-expensive absolutely loaded trim

Tom Appel:

Ask round. Ask somebody with even an informal information of the auto world which Mercedes-Benz mannequin is the model’s flagship. Odds are the reply you obtain would be the S-Class. The massive, luxurious sedan has for years represented the best in consolation and expertise. That mentioned, the S-Class doesn’t really promote all that nicely. No fault of the automotive, however the market has shifted, and massive European sedans are not in vogue. By means of the primary six months of this yr, Mercedes has offered simply 6000 S-Class sedans, roughly a sixth the amount loved by the model’s GLE midsize crossover.

That is true throughout the board, because the Audi A8 and BMW 7-Collection massive sedans have suffered even higher gross sales retreats as luxurious buyers more and more go for crossovers as an alternative of old-school sedans.

This defection isn’t restricted to German-brand luxurious sedans, both. Genesis, the Korean luxurious model owned by Hyundai, builds a superb massive sedan, and actually can’t give it away. Gross sales of the G90, by means of the primary six months of 2023, got here in at round 700 items, making the fashionable sedan the slowest-selling automobile within the model’s lineup.

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Then there’s Lexus. First seen in 1990, the LS 400 was the model’s inaugural mannequin. Together with a Camry-based sedan dubbed ES 250, the massive, V8-powered LS actually launched the Lexus model, and performed to media reward and sturdy gross sales.

Now deep into its fifth technology, the LS continues to be an incredible automobile, albeit an incredible automobile searching for an viewers. Redesigned for the 2017 mannequin yr, the massive Lexus was considerably freshened for 2021, and was handled to suspension updates that improved each dealing with and journey high quality.

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For 2023 the LS is obtainable in 500, 500 F Sport, and 500h trim ranges. The Entry 500 begins at about $80,000 and is powered by a turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 mated to a 10-speed automated transmission. Subsequent up is the five hundred F Sport ($84,000), which incorporates distinctive trim, bolstered entrance seats, and distinctive instrumentation. The F Sport options the identical drive prepare as the bottom 500.

The highest-of-the-line 500h (the “h” is for hybrid) begins round $114,000, and encompasses a 3.5-liter V6 mated to a pair of electrical motors and a CVT automated transmission. The five hundred and 500 F Sport can be found with normal rear-wheel drive or optionally available AWD. The 500h is obtainable solely with AWD.

Shopper Information just lately spent per week behind the wheel of a 2023 500h in Dusk Mica. The well-equipped 500h contains as normal the Luxurious Bundle optionally available on different LS fashions. The bundle, which fits for $12,460, is liable for a lot of the 500h’s worth bump over different 500 fashions.

The indulgent bundle contains such options as 28-way adjustable massaging entrance seats, a great deal of semi-aniline leather-based trim, Extremely Suede-brand solar visors and headliner, heated rear seats, leather-based center-console trim, and a rear-seat heart armrest touchscreen.

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The Luxurious Bundle’s impression on cabin ambiance is profound. Although there may be all the time a restrained dignity to Lexus interiors, the opulence of the premium leather-based and high-gloss wooden parts is simple. Likewise, the final cabin design is fashionable in a muted method. Not as daring as an Audi or Volvo cabin, the LS inside is each natural and mature, and the parallel dashboard strains, which start on the instrument panel and circulation to the passenger-side door, work to drag the cabin motif collectively.

Entrance seat occupants sit low within the automotive, and moving into and out of the LS is difficult considerably by the drop. That mentioned, there may be loads of long-leg area up entrance as soon as seated, and tall-guy headroom is greater than enough. The identical will be mentioned for the rear-seat lodging, although coming into and exiting is a bit of simpler.

A cabin observe: the white inside on our check automotive was already displaying some indicators of use fatigue, we would go for a unique inside coloration, particularly if youngsters are a part of the image.

Price noting, too, is that whereas all good luxurious automobiles characteristic high-quality trim parts, there may be, and all the time has been, one thing particular about Lexus meeting high quality. The LS particularly feels as if it was carved from a strong ingot of metal, and the tight tolerances contained in the automotive go a great distance in direction of constructing purchaser confidence.

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As for efficiency, you may neglect the phrase “hybrid.” The beefy V6-centric drivetrain launches with sturdy authority, and packs loads of reserve energy for passing and merging. Although the hybrid drivetrain is rated at solely 354 horsepower, in comparison with the five hundred and 500 F Sport’s 416, the additional torque supplied by the electrical motors compensates with loads of further low-end muscle. As an added bonus, we averaged a reported 23.2 mpg throughout our analysis week.

Our sole powertrain criticism is an occasional shudder felt throughout coast-down deceleration. The impact shouldn’t be pronounced, although people finicky about refinement might take discover.

Round city the LS handles nicely. Thought not really sporty, even within the most-aggressive S/S+ drive mode, the massive Lexus holds its personal. Lean is corners is nicely managed, and brake really feel is great.

As a premium massive sedan needs to be, the LS 500h is a freeway star, settling in comfortably on the open highway. At pace the journey high quality is excellent, and cabin noise nicely squelched. Price noting, too, is that the 23-speaker Mark Levinson audio system is top-notch stuff, and preferrred for the mid-century jazz favored by this creator.

Buyers on this class in search of robust worth are prone to eschew the German manufacturers, which leaves the simply the Lexus LS and the Genesis G90. Cadillac and Lincoln ended big-sedan gross sales within the U.S. years in the past.

We’re huge followers of the Genesis, with its contemporary design, refined energy supply, and its cutting-edge graphic shows and digital management interface. Although we named the G90 a 2023 Shopper Information Finest Purchase within the class, we wouldn’t hesitate to suggest the Lexus LS in its stead.

The Lexus LS is a high-value different to the massive German sedans. The LS boasts comparable dynamic qualities, and craftsmanship that might humble the world’s best watchmakers. The automotive is lush, roomy, highly effective, and to some extent predictable—in the very best method. Whereas the 500h will get a bit of expensive, the bottom 500 is an impressive worth within the class. We’re sort of bummed that there aren’t extra LS examples on highway, because the crossover craze has diverted too many would-be-customers away from this wonderful sedan.

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