VIDEO ROAD TEST: Lexus Answers The Germans With The LS460 F-Sport But Does It Make The Cut?

And the answer is "no".

Without FI Lexus can't compete power wise to the big boys. However I think this could be a nice ‘introductory to the next level’ LS giving you everything minus the huge HP while showing you can have fun and feel what that might be like. Like the guy said Lexus is building from the ground up, building the foundation first before throwing a ton of HP at it recklessly; it won’t be long until we see FI from Lexus and when it happens then all bets are off...

Well you have to give them credit, but it is going to take a ground up rebuild to get to the same level of performance. They aren't going to get there from here.

Wow, what a sad and immature comment. LEXUS is targetting people like me, in the mid 40s, educated with disposable income. At the same time they want to change their image from "bland" to "sporty". Lexus wants to increase the options and shy away from our grandfathers which tend to lean towards the brand. And yes, I would buy one of those "German krautmobile". Just look at the demographics of these consumers buying the "German krautmobile" you will be amazed by the number of 1 percenters and not 16 y/os.

Yeah, @scores.

That was immensely stupid.

009, I agree and I disagree.

I definitely agree because I think Lexus has an image problem. After decades of being the soft, luxury brand, they are now trying to market themselves as a hard-nosed sport/luxury brand. And they are also trying to do the latter by not offering the top-level performance cars that would reinforce this image. IMO, they made two grave strategic errors in the past years. First, with the IS-F. They offered this car that was supposedly an M3 killer, but it was like a sore thumb in the lineup. One car cannot change an entire marque's reputation. Second, they did follow that up, many years later with the LF-A. But their mistake here was pricing it in the stratosphere, untouchable by 99.999% of the buying public (Paris Hilton notwithstanding). The LF-A has zero impact on changing the perception of Lexus because virtually no one saw it on the road. Many still considered it a concept car. In some ways, what they did with the LF-A was similar to what Mercedes did with the SLR. But Mercedes had already had numerous AMG cars on the road prior to that, in addition to the relatively sporty SL and SLK.

Where I disagree is that they need to think about their current strategy. I do think there current strategy of essentially an all-out assault on advertising to demonstrate their sporty mission. With the GS, LS, and RX, they focused on the sport. What they didn't offer with F-Sport was high-displacement engines. When people want sport, they want power. The easy fix: offer more powerful engines with the F-Sport. I do think the IS-F created excitement and Lexus' image shifted a bit during that time but due to inappropriate follow up products, it had no staying power. Basically, I disagree in that I don't necessarily feel they need to do a full, ground-up rebuild of the brand. Tests on the F-Sport models prove they have the chassis know-how. So, now they need to incorporate the right engines to match the improved driving dynamics. Especially for those customers they want to convert: potential AMG, M or RS buyers. All of these potential buyers probably perked up when they heard "F-Sport", but went, "oh, well" when there were no power increases. The advantage Lexus can have is AMG/M/RS-level performance with bullet-proof reliability. Can you say Winner Winner Chicken Dinner??

oops, didn't finish that second sentence. Meant to say that I do think their current strategy….is a good one.

It's an LF F Sport? Not an LS F Sport? They're creating a whole new full size sedan model the same size as the LS but calling it something else?

It seems like a good daily driver. A very well rounded car. Luxurious, well powered, yet not to excess in either department, so it can be priced lower. If they want a true halo car, they should drop the LFA V10 in it.

WHAT WAS THE QUESTION ???

The only question Lexus answers with this car is:

Yes, we(Lexus) will always be cheaper than our German rivals in terms of purchase cost to the customer.

I found it quite annoying that the presenter kept referring to his 1992 LS as if any of us gave a damn. Production quality for the video was nice.

...Lexus is transforming the LS460 and preparing to release a wicked LS-F. Watch what I tell you!!!