Lexus LS 460

Anyone could do it.

Boy, how things have changed in 20 years.

Today's bread and butter' cars are way better than anything that went before them. They are built to exacting tolerances, loaded with gizmos that were the preserve of sci-fi novels not so long ago, and fitted with efficient engines that can extract the maximum mileage out of every precious drop of fuel.

And that poses a serious problem for designers looking to build a luxury limousine.

It's no longer good enough to load a standard car up with oodles of kit when so much of it is already available to drivers of lesser models.

Today's standards have raised the bar impossibly high. Which is one reason why mass market manufacturers like Ford, Vauxhall and Fiat have abandoned the luxury barge class faster than a swimmer would abandon a shark-infested pool.

It's also why Toyota's engineers have laboured long and hard on the Lexus LS 460.

As the newly-crowned world's largest car manufacturer, Toyota didn't get where it is today by shying away from a challenge.

Aesthetically, the latest Lexus has lost some of the lard that always prevented it winning the executive car park beauty contest. It still looks a bit too much like a last;generation Mercedes S-Class but the nips 'n tucks around the front grille have sharpened up the LS 460's face and some careful sculpting has done the same for the car's profile.

The boot still sticks out a bit too far and therefore upsets the front to back visual balance (odd given the slightly disappointing trunk space) but this Lexus is Japan's best stab yet at upsetting the German hegemony on sporty-looking limousines.

As the 460 represents Toyota's current zenith in saloon car design thinking I was fully prepared for a plethora of interesting gadgets. But the LS 460 goes way beyond what anyone could have expected.

Put it up against against current mass-produced car and the big Lexus always goes one better.

For instance, several large cars these days (especially French ones) have electronic tyre pressure monitors that keep half an eye on the air in their tyres in case of a slow puncture.

The Lexus has one too but it doesn't just monitor the four tyres in contact with the road like every other vehicle. Oh no, it has a computer chip to keep a watching brief on the spare tyre buried beneath the boot as well.

It doesn't have a four-speed automatic gearbox, it has an eight-speed one. And so it goes on.

Technological overkill is everywhere.

When you park you'll discover the LS has more radar emitters than Biggin Hill (front, back and side) plus a colour TV screen to help you judge reversing distances precisely and an LCD display that calculates if a space is big enough to park in. Do you need all this? Probably not, but as I've said, the boot does stick out a fair way and I guess that even a fairly minor prang would be expensive in a car like this. The original LS 400 was notable for its refinement but that car almost seems uncouth compared with this one.

The V8 engine is totally inaudible.

Ditto wind noise and tyre roar. Driving along in the Lexus is like travelling in a sound-proof capsule, almost uncanny.

It's so quiet, in fact, that I had to keep a constant eye on the speedo for fear of breaking the law, so effortless is the performance.

That eight-speeder has come in for some stick for constantly swapping between ratios. To be honest if it was doing that when I had the 460 the changes were so smooth I couldn't tell. As far as I am concerned eight gears may be a lot but the Lexus still feels like a super smooth dodge em - just press and go most of the time.

Kickdown requires a bit of a hoof - this may be a result of the gearbox dropping down through the ratios to find the powerband sweet spot - but when the big Lex gathers up its skirts it sure can move for a two-tonne car.

As you'd expect, the suspension is super sophisticated. The adaptive dampers can be electronically switched from comfort mode for around town through to sport when the dampers tighten up, aiding turn-in and the steering switches to a more direct setup.

All very clever, I'm sure, and the sport setting does make the LS feel wieldier at speed.

Naturally, there is loads of space in the beautifully finished cabin. More than enough even if your chauffuer is of the Lurch persuasion and you top out at more than six-foot.

The boot is large but there's a bit of intrusion into the luggage space. Mind you, at 500-litres it's only giving away 60 litres to a Mercedes S-Class.

Way back, when Lexus was new, the company was famous for offering one model with no extras.

Everything came as standard.

This fourth-generation does have a two-tier equipment line-up but even the standard car is ridiculously well equipped.

The cruise control uses the radar to maintain a respectful distance from the car in front, there's full leather, heated and cooled seats, a DVD satellite navigation system, CD changer and electric everything else.

My son appreciated the DVD screen that drops from the roof so he could while away the hours with Thomas the Tank Engine.

Lexus provides two pairs of infrared earphones so passengers can enjoy a movie while the driver listens to the radio or a CD.

Mind you, it seems that even Japanese ingenuity is defeated by the bizarre British post code lottery. A trip to Thirsk for a wedding completely flummoxed the satellite navigation when I tapped in the post code - it insisted the place I was going to didn't exist! Back to the dog-earred map book then.

The materials used to trim the cabin are the finest Lexus could find. Everything feels nice to touch and reassuringly expensive.

The doors close with a deep thunk'. The instrument layout is more conventional these days (the original LS used a floating 3- D instrument pack that looked great but cost a fortune if it ever went wrong) but it looks classy and is simplicity itself to read.

Safety-wise, the LS 460 is stateof- the-art. One unusual gadget is the rear pre-crash safety system that uses (yet another) radar in the back bumper. If it detects an imminent shunt it activates the front seat head restraints which move forward to cushion the passengers in the event of a smash.

Of course there's a downside to this kind of luxury and that's the running cost. But even here the 25mpg you'll achieve from the V8 is on a par with a two-litre Ford Pinto from the early 1980s, and no one thought they were particularly juicy.

Things have changed since then and some people will undoubtedly feel uncomfortable driving such a relatively profligate mode of transport. For them, Lexus has a special hybrid version of the LS that is partpowered by electricity. Don't expect any awards from Friends of the Earth, though.

The original LS 400 was something of a bargain. It cost tens of thousands less than the established European competition of the time.

That gap has narrowed somewhat and the top-of-the-range LS now costs a scary £71,000, but that still makes it considerably less than top-end Mercs and BMWs.

Now we hear Toyota is working on a super' Lexus that will sit above even this one.

What must the Europeans be thinking?

SPECIFICATION

Engine: 4.6-litre V8
Max power: 375bhp
Max speed: 155mph (limited)
0-62mph: 5.7 seconds
Av fuel consumption: 25.4mpg
CO2 emissions: 261g/km
Standard equipment: everyuthing you could possibly want, and then some.