2010 Lexus LS460 Sport: Posuer or Powerhouse?

Lexus is a marvel of marketing wizardry. Although having been beat to the punch by more than a few decades, the upscale Japanese brand leveraged Toyota’s reputation for safety, reliability and build quality against a uniquely luxurious design ethos that compromised nothing in its pursuit of motoring bliss.

If only they’d been so lucky with their more sporting aspirations. Having last experience moderate success with the 90’s-borne SC400, Lexus has attempted to bring the same marketing approach to the enthusiast-driven performance market with disastrous results. The current SC430 was a complete flop from nearly day one; pairing an ungodly price tag with disappointing performance and blob-on-a-stick style, and even the vastly more impressive IS-F has struggled to gain recognition in a marketplace dominated by buyers who spent decades worshipping at the altars of M, AMG, and Quattro. Although the latest and greatest offering, the LF-A, has definitely gotten people’s attention, it remains a hugely expensive supercar with, as yet, no impact on the remainder of the product line.

Which leads us to this: the 2010 LS460 Sport. Pairing the ultimate archetypical Lexus sedan with the brand’s newfound thirst for sporting glory, the LS460 Sport is something of an anachronism from a company best known for building cars capable of parking themselves (barely). Having spent a week aboard the LS600hL flagship, I expected the LS460 Sport to validate its relatively steep price tag with a gamut of performance goodies and go-fast bits, but was surprised to find the familiar staid profile of the LS sedan awaiting me at the Toyota press office. Almost devoid of adornment, there is none of the fanfare that accompany the IS-F appearance on the horizon; no flares wheelarches, no stacked quad exhaust, and no rakish slashes across the flanks. Instead, there’s the standard glassy-smooth LS paint finish that is quite possibly the best in the world (Lexus’ painters undergo mandatory finger training in order to recognize the feel of blemishes), the standard upright, elegant greenhouse, and the same stately countenance as one would expect to find upon nearly any other modern LS-series sedan. However, closer inspection will reveal who ponied up the extra dough for a Sport model. First, there are the wheels. Massive 19 inch, split spoke, machined face steamrollers, they are definitely imposing enough, but still small enough to offer up a significant amount of sidewall. Out front, an “aggressive front sport grille” apparently adds heaps of anger and rage, but in reality, does a nice, understated job of borrowing the IS-F’s zig-zag pattern crossbars. And finally, for the truly eagle-eyed spotters, there’s a pair of rocker extensions and a modest front spoiler that still rides at a curbstone-friendly altitude.

But the big news is those wheels; or rather what’s behind them. Although doing away with any boy-racer decals or fancy-shmancy contrasting paint schemes, make no mistake: those are not your standard Lexus LS brakes back there. Bringing the LS460 to braking experts Brembo when it came time to fit the hulking luxo-barge with an anchor, Lexus walked away with a unique and incredibly aggressive brake friction material that, when fitted in the already substantial stock callipers, gives astonishingly quick stopping performance. Although tipping the scales at a hefty 4,350 pounds, there’s no lack of confidence in these binders; they’re simply incredible. Even after plenty of experience, it never ceased to amaze me how quickly and progressively they could retard the LS460’s forward progress.

Of course, it’s relatively hard to exploit a car’s braking system when you have little to no faith in the suspension package. Although apparently possessing of a more performance-oriented suspension system, no amount of flipping the adaptive suspension switch from normal to sport could convince the front end to end its vow of silence. Having been designed from day one to be a luxury car without equal, the LS460 Sport rides on a platform intended to cushion and isolate its passengers from every bump, wiggle, and twitch in the road, and there’s quite simply no way to circumvent that. Subsequently, although there’s prodigious grip and a minimum of body roll (when in Sport mode; Comfort mode still rolls like your favourite motoryacht), a vague and disconnected steering wheel brings the whole house of cards crashing down. Simply put, you have absolutely no idea how much grip remains, and although it’s definitely heavier all over town than the standard LS steering, it doesn’t weight up properly during spirited driving, and feels as if it’s offering the same resistance at 30 kilometres an hour as it is at 130 kilometres per hour.

And that’s not a good thing for a marque desperately trying to rebrand themselves as the champions of the enthusiasts’ cause. Although there is no doubt that a niche exists for sporty, full-size luxury land yachts, the question remains: can Lexus build one. The simple answer? Not yet. Although fitted with a 380 horsepower V8 backed with a paddle-shifted eight speed (another feature unique to the Sport model), and looking quite impressive indeed, it’s simply no match for the big Bavarians. Having honed their craft for decades, the Europeans have mastered the pairing of performance and luxury; BMW’s 7-series is a fantastic driver’s car, and Mercedes’ big AMG-tuned S-classes are likely to wrinkle the Earth’s crust if they produce any more power, and Audi’s S8 provides a legitimate Lamborghini-derived and incredibly vivacious V10 powerplant paired with impeccable manners and imposing good looks. For myself, I have not come across a car that can match the standard LS’ level of refinement, comfort, and luxury, and am somewhat disappointed with Lexus’ decision to pursue the performance market with what is easily their strongest, most definitive product line. By simply tacking a Sport badge on the back, Lexus has shifted the car’s aim from that of providing buyers with the most luxurious vehicle possible to giving buyers the most luxurious, sporting car possible, and in this regard the LS460 Sport does not succeed. Sure, it’s still just as refined and comfortable as a standard LS460, but it doesn’t live up to the expectation a Sport designation imbues. Giving buyers supreme value without sacrificing anything, the LS460 and LS600h are already noteworthy, luxury-oriented products that have proven themselves unique in a marketplace cluttered with sport-luxury sedans.

But then again, if you simply have to have the best-braked Toyota product on the market for whatever reason, look no further.