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Road Test: 2013 Lexus LS460 F-Sport
Car Reviews

Road Test: 2013 Lexus LS460 F-Sport

·
June 18,2013
·
7 min read

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With the release of the LF-A, Lexus showed the world that it can do performance cars just as well, if not better, than the rest of the world. Despite the astronomical price-tag, the LF-A sold out and is regarded as one of the best driver’s cars in the world.

Lexus is now visibly trying to capitalize on this success by using the ‘F-Sport’ tag for its more aggressive models. It started with the Lexus IS-F which was a 414bhp M3 competitor and more recently, with the Lexus GS350 F Sport, which is basically the standard GS350 albeit with a more aggressive face and some badges thrown on.

Unfortunately for the LS460 F Sport, Lexus has gone down the same route as with the GS and not done any major changes, sticking to some shiny alloys, a few extra horsepower (which no ordinary person would ever notice) and a few touches to the interiors to make the car feel a little more performance oriented and a little less like a luxo-barge.

 

On the outside

The undeniable fact is that the LS460 F Sport, particularly in our test car’s black exterior makes the car visually stand out a lot better than previous LS models. The dark paint off-sets the chrome spindle grille extremely well and when looked at head-on, the gaping face looks like it could swallow you whole.

The F Sport is only available in the short wheel base (SWB) version which means the car is noticeably shorter than the long wheel base version (LWB) we had previously tested and this makes it easier to manoeuvre. The F Sport sticks to the short wheel base as it is meant to enhance the car’s agility but we’ll come to that shortly.

The car also seems to sit lower on its 19inch alloys lending a hunkered down stance. However, Lexus could definitely benefit from a set of light-weight 20s. Despite being a SWB version, the car is still of substantial size and the alloys do look a little under-sized. Also, another issue (as was the same on the LWB that we tested) is that the alloys seem to be quite recessed in the wheel wells and this reminds me of the Toyota Camry, a car the LS really shouldn’t be trying to emulate.

On the whole though, the F Sport does look fantastic from almost any angle and really does get you excited of what else lies underneath.


On the inside….

Despite the few disappointments on the outside, you cannot forget that this is a Lexus from the second you step in. While Audi is widely lauded as the leader in quality interiors, I reckon the Lexus is just as good, especially in terms of quality and fit and finish. The interiors are visually exquisite with all surfaces covered in either black or white leather and is nicely bisected with an aluminium trim. The white leather will be extremely difficult to maintain in reality easily getting discoloured on a day to day basis (particularly affected by denims) and would require a professional leather polish every few months if you want to maintain its original colour.

The steering wheel, which was finished partly in wood in the standard car, is covered completely in leather for better grip – a nod to its sporting intentions. The F Sport also gets paddle shifters, another addition not available on the standard car, along with aluminium pedals.

The interiors still play host to a tonne of goodies but as compared to the LWB, where the party was in the back seat, all the gadgets are aimed at the driver. The rear seats are still extremely spacious, but instead of airline emulating recliner seats, you just get a bench for 3 at the rear this time around.

Some notable features include the Mark Levinson sound system who’s quality is hard to beat, heated and cooled memory seats for the driver and front passenger, park assist with reverse camera, blind spot indicators, daytime running lights, navigation (though it doesn’t feel as updated as the system used in Infiniti and even the latest Chevrolet models), sunroof (though a relatively small one – Lexus, time to invest in a panoramic sunroof), radar guided cruise control and auto everything.

When I say auto everything, I do not mean just the windows and the brilliant 8 speed gearbox. I meant auto lights, auto wipers, auto climate control, auto parking brake, auto brake hold, auto high beams….the list is endless.


To drive…

So far, so Lexus. Aside from the additional gadgets in the back seat in the LWB car, this review could look exactly like that of the taller brother. So once I pressed the start button, I was expecting Armageddon, or at least something to differentiate itself from the standard car.

The F Sport still runs the same 4.6 V8 as the standard car, albeit with a few extra imperceptible horses and is hoisted on the same air suspension. The car also has the 5 way drive mode select as the LWB we tested with Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport and Sport+ as options.

The F Sport’s V8 puts out about 388bhp and when you pin your foot down, it hesitates for a second and then accelerates with substantial, but never mind-boggling pace. The car rushes into license losing territory quite easily and extremely quietly. This thing is great for highway cruising. The brakes are also fantastic bringing around two tonnes of metal own to a halt in an astonishingly short distance. The brake pedal does feel soft and requires acclimatisation but this thing could definitely out-brake many sports cars today.

The steering feels a smidgen heavier than the standard car, but is still too light and devoid of feel for any confident corner carving.

Drive the car in comfort for a magic carpet ride and normal if you don’t want it to topple over in corners. Switching all the way to Sport+ has the car still riding quite well but body roll, while more controlled, is still significant. This is not a car you can attack corners in. It does not revel in being hustled around. The car is marginally more agile due to the shorter wheelbase, but this does not make it an M5 baiting machine. In fact, Audi’s Quattro GmbH, Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s M divisions can also rest easy as the F Sport is just not a competitor.

And that’s that. Nothing feels any different from the standard car. The extra horses have done nothing to make the car feel any faster than the bog standard version. In fact, it is ever so slightly more vocal at close to idle speeds and not in a good way (this is me nit-picking – the car is truly dead quiet while driving). Lexus claims to pipe in more exhaust noise, but to me, the LWB we tested actually sounded better when revved giving a more natural muted growl than the whining sound coming from the F Sport.

By the time we returned the car, we had averaged around 15L/100kms, which is higher than the 13-14L/100kms we managed with the LWB. That’s probably down to the fact that the F Sport was driven a little bit harder in search of its sporting credentials.


Conclusion


What is the Lexus LS460 F Sport? At AED 395,000, it is 70 grand more than the standard SWB car and the only noticeable extras are the F Sport specific alloys and the Mark Levinson sound system (the base car gets a standard audio system). Also, AED 375,000 puts you in the base spec LWB version which has more interior space and rides a bit better thanks to the longer wheelbase and yet has almost all the options of the F Sport.

At the end of the day, the LS460 F Sport feels like a blatant marketing gimmick, hoping to cash in on the prominence of the LF-A without offering anything special for itself. Maybe if they stick the 414bhp 5 litre V8 from the IS-F, and hone the handling a bit, something could be made of it.

If a Lexus is what you want, buy the standard SWB car and save yourself a pot load of cash. Or invest in the LS460L Platinum that we test drove and indulge in the opulence. However, if you want a performance oriented large saloon, Lexus does not have the answer – not yet at least.

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