The 2009 Lexus LS 460 is a full-size luxury sedan with a mid-size luxury sedan price tag.
The full-size luxury sedan market is full of players but attention seems to focus on two main stars: the
Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the
BMW 7-Series. Both are filled to the brim with leading-edge technology and both are luxuriously appointed inside. Both have large and potent engines and both are leaders in an exclusive category. There are other choices in this category that don’t seem to get the same level of respect, but the
2009 Lexus LS 460 is one car that offers similar levels of comfort and luxury at a price as (relatively) subdued as its exterior styling.
My favorite type of car is anything with a go-fast motor and back-breakingly stiff suspension. I love driving cars of all shapes, sizes, price ranges, and horsepower ratings but I
prefer cars that give the driver a little excitement behind the wheel. There are times however, when I would prefer to be driving something more refined and more comfortable. The type of car that my
fancy-loafer wearing Garage
co-worker seems to prefer. I want something that is pleasing to my passengers as well as pleasing to me. The Lexus LS 460 provides me with the comfort I am looking for and the pleasurable ride-along experience I want to provide for my passengers. At the same time, it also has power on reserve if my right foot gets bored and I want to push the go-fast pedal a little harder.
Inside the Lexus, the interior is top notch with heated and cooled front leather seats with memory settings. This is an underrated feature but something that comes in handy when a husband is 6’3” and a wife is 5’1” - rather than having to fiddle with the numerous adjustments, one press of a button is all that is required and I am back to a comfortable position instead of having a Lexus tattoo embedded in my chest. For the rear seat passengers there is a power-sliding rear sunshade and the rear seats are heated as well. If it is really cold out, the steering wheel is also heated.
My one knock regarding the interior is related to the faux-granite trim. The plastic pieces do not match the otherwise elegant compartment. I feel a nice and simple wood trim would look great and match the rest of the classically simple and understated appeal found throughout the cabin. Moving past my thoughts on the trim, the interior is exceptionally comfortable and the audio system is taken to another level when the LS is equipped with the optional Navigation/Mark Levinson package. It is comprised of 19 surround-sound speakers, DVD audio and video playback on the touch-screen panel, and adds a voice-activated navigation system. Regardless of how loud or quiet the music you are listening to is played at, the system sounds fantastic. I mostly listened to music on the louder side and the speakers were crisp, clear and made me want to turn it up even louder.
The 2009 Lexus LS 460 is comfortable and has a nice sound system, but as I said before I want a car that will not make me sleepy behind the wheel. The 4.6L 32-valve 380 hp V8 under the hood makes sure this does not happen. The engine is connected to a silky smooth eight-speed transmission but if I feel like changing the action I can manually select a higher or lower gear, more likely a lower one than a higher one. It can start to feel like a semi-truck if you constantly drive it in manual mode, but if you use it occasionally it makes the driving experience more pleasurable. The V8 engine is not a rocket booster like the ones found in the aforementioned Mercedes or BMW, but it gets the 4,350 lb car moving from zero up to sixty somewhere in the mid to high five second range. This is pretty impressive and actually quite subtle when I test it out. The car never lurches or screams, it simply settles down for a second and builds speed like an ocean swell.
The German rivals focus on crisp and tight handling which is great in a sports car, however the LS 460 is more concerned with the comfort levels of its occupants than skidpad numbers..It was certainly no slouch in a fast corner yet I never felt the need to push this car too hard. I simply want to cruise down the Pacific Coast Highway with the seat of my pants enjoying cool air and my ears enjoying Mr. Levinson’s wonderful work at far too loud (yet still crisp) a level.
The MSRP of this 2009 Lexus LS 460 is $63,675.00 and the one pictured here comes equipped with a Luxury Package, Lexus Link, and the Navigation/Mark Levinson Package (a $5,645 option but a necessary one) which brings the as-tested total to $72,230.00. This is the opposite of a small-sum of money however it is in stark contrast to the base prices of the Benz and the BMW. The 2009 Mercedes-Benz S-Class starts at $89,350 and the 2009 BMW 7-Series starts at $80,300. These two can quickly reach over the mystical $100K mark whereas you have to try really hard to push the Lexus LS 460 into that territory. The best I could do in the
Build & Price section of NADAguides.com was in the $80K range which is the
starting point for the others. The 2009 Lexus LS 460 offers a comfortable ride, a luxurious and well-equipped interior experience for driver and passengers, has a nearly 400 hp V8 which still gets over 20 mpg on the highway (EPA estimated 16/24), and costs less than its competitors. If you
really want a luxury sports sedan, buy this Lexus and use the money you have saved to put a track car next to it in your driveway (or if you are my cohort on this site… you can buy a few more pairs of fancy loafers).