Good points: Easy to use GPS, engine, room, features, quality build
Needs improvement: Feels disconnected from road, trunk opening,
Okay, the base car sells for about $55,000, but ours had $12,000 in options. Naturally, we had to see if they were really worth it. They were. This is a car fast enough to make a fool out of most sports cars and still gets gas mileage that borders on 22 mpg in mixed driving. The backseat offers the most comfort of any car we have ever tested. To that we had an easy to use navigation system, front seats that both heat and cool you, sunroof, a Mark Levinson sound system that can knock your socks off, Dynamic Laser Cruise Control, power rear sunshade and side shades, power door and trunk closers, rear-obstacle-detection system, leather seats, Lexus Link to get help when you need it, rear air conditioning, rear radio controls, rear-seat power adjusters, rear-seat cooler box, self-adjusting air suspension, 17 inch chrome rims, a 290 horsepower engine with 320 pounds of torque, five speed transmission, driver's computer, antiskid/traction-control system, antilock 4-wheel disc brakes, head-protecting curtain side airbags, selectable Euro-Tuned suspension and more. You get the idea. The Lexus LS 430 is loaded.
But even the base model has dual-zone climate control, a 14-way power driver seat with memory, cruise control, a power tilt-and-telescope steering wheel, auto-dimming mirrors, an in-dash CD changer and a power trunk closer.
Mom's view: The LS is very large and feels like it. There is nothing cheap or flimsy about it. You know what you paid for and it makes you happy every day you drive it. The future is now as the LS offers laser-guided cruise control, sonar-based rear parking assist, a navigation system that uses satellites and a DVD database, and air suspension. This car borders on the unreal. Just gently push the trunk lid down and it closes itself, as do the doors. Of course, I would like it if they trunk opened more when you hit the release so you could get your fingers under the lid without getting dirty. The trunk space is quite adequate at 20.2 cubic feet trunk. Perhaps the most unusual feature on this Lexus, or any car anywhere, it the fact that the LS has two glove compartments to go with its excellent front storage pockets and center console cell phone holder and deep cargo area. Most impressive.