Drive it and you will understand the car’s inherent worth.

As for what the market’s worth, look for ridiculous depreciation. When it hits $65k, I’m buying.

it can be instructive to look at the classified ads in newspapers, to see how few Lexi are offered for sale, vs. the german trio.

and most of what you see, are dealer ads. very few OWNERS of Lexus cars seem desirous of ‘unloading’ them.

The LS600 may not have a “soul” which matches the S600 or 7-series. It may not have the tradition of either Mercedes or BMW and for some lack the elegance of the A8. It may be that the LS600 is not everyone’s cup of tea. Yet Jonny’s point is well taken. It is a technological tour-de-force and, given Toyota’s reputation should be an extremely reliable machine.

The mediocre resale values on S-class, 7-series and A8’s are all indicative of the market recognition that the flagship models from Mercedes, BMW and Audi are very costly to maintain as they re-enter the market as “pre-owned” vehicles. Surely there is some merit in the higher resale which appears built in to most Lexus models.

One can argue that the current Rolls is “the ultimate BMW”, or that the current Bentley is “the ultimate VW” (it does share the Phaeton chassis), but both cars have attracted followings who will pay for the privelege of owning a far more reliable and technologically proficient Rolls or Bentley. The fact that both are also products of German manufacturers whose product line includes some very pedestrian offerings appears to be no deterrent to laying down several hundred large (in the case of the Roller) for what is arguably a classed-up 7-series, or to laying down two hundred large for a car which almost directly uses the Phaeton (all Volkswagen) chassis.

Lexus is in general a little soft and plush for my tastes. Yet I harbor no illusions that the BMW I drive will offer Toyota reliability once it is out of warranty.

Do you realize that the A8 is still the ultimate VW junk?

I see more soul in the ultimate Toyota, than I see in the ultimate VW.

We have around -25 Celsius during winters, Hybris work fine. Zero problems due to the cold weather, everything works properly.

Benz S600 is rwd, which is crazy for a heavy car with 600+hp and around 1000Nm. In the real world when flooring it from zero, you got ASR light flicking constantly up to 150kmh, AWD A8 V12 and LS600h will be long gone. At autobahn spees form the rolling start Benz ofcourse is faster.

Critics of the LS600h haven’t usually never driven it, with awd, cvt and endless/seamless electric torque, the car is so quiet, fast and stable, it feels like a nuclear powered stealth curise ship. The future of luxury automobiles. The qualities that a potential buyer is looking in a ultra-premium sedan, and the Germans haven’t achieved this level.

Give me a break about the interior Camry refenrences. Every German manufacturer has a sekelton in the closet when you closely examine their cabins – shared buttons with lower class models, cheaper materials in the not so obivous places etc. Those times are in the past, when similary priced german car had better quality interior than japanese.

I’ll have mine in garnet red please.

Wait… that’s redundant. Anyhow, there’s only one gear — and it’s infinitely variable.

And the key is cruise control… keep your foot away from that throttle and the LS600hL just gobbles the miles.

Sajeev’s GS wasn’t geared quite so tall…that may be a big reason why it didn’t pull the fuel economy numbers your LS did.

I wish the V12 Benzes were geared like that for highway cruising. Unfortunately, 80 mph in an S65 corresponds to a little over 2000 rpm….while not bad compared to some of the other Germans (cough, M5), it has the torque to support a much taller top gear.

In my GS-Hybrid, the best I got at a 65mph cruise was 25mpg.

I’ll refrain from commenting on power delivery, but if the LS is anything like the GS, its way too artificial to be a driver’s car and too crude/jarring as a relaxed cruiser.

The Accord V6 Hybrid is capable of the 1/4 mile in the 15.1-15.2 second range, while the Accord V6 Coupe (03-07) and Sedan (06-07) with the 6 speed manual is capable of the feat in 14.3-14.5 seconds. The Hybrid was the fastest automatic transmission equipped Accord.

Landlords who didn’t pay his/her mortgages are dragging their tenant out in the streets.

Lexus made a car to make wealthy people save on gas and to save the environment.

We Americans suppose to be GLAD that a company like Lexus is making an effort to be more luxurious with a twist of being environmentally
friendly.

yes it is expensive but are you going to buy this car? No so let the rich people buy this car and the same time let them save on gas.

Let me us you something Where are BMW,Audi or Mercedez Hybrid cars are they out in the street in America?

NO

For the stuffed versions of each, I got numbers of 120K vs 95K. The 600 gets some extra goodies, like heated steering wheel, real wood trim, and minor stuff like that. So, in essence, you’re paying ~23-24K for an AWD system, a more powerful engine, and a highly efficient, smooth, and reliable transmission.

For comparison, a base 760Li will set you back a nice $30K over a loaded 750Li, giving you a whooping 78 extra horsepower, 4 more cylinders, 3mpg less, 500 extra pounds and… not much else.

As for depreciation, having an expensive car that looses about as much value in dollars (not percent) as a lesser model is rarely heard of in the automotive world. It only happens when the more expensive model has something truly exclusive to offer. Something like a diesel (80’s diesel S-class comes to mind, which has been selling higher than 420SEL for over 15 years now). Or a hybrid drivetrain ;)

Not sure what you mean about pedal travel.

Also, Yakuza roll in white S-classes. Everyone knows that.

http://www.welcometowallyworld.com/frontpage/2006/4/5/yakuza-stylin-in-mercedes-s-class.html

Toyota is also learning important information by have this car available for sale in its dealerships. Every customer and buyer that looks seriously at this car is providing Toyota information they need to design and market the next luxury model.

Now if they could just design these cars so they don’t resemble the Avalons and Camry’s of the Toyota fleet.

221 hp electric motor is so addictive that I was forced to bury the pedal every chance I got. But here’s the thing — after 300 miles the computer let me know that I had averaged 24.8 mph.

MPG, no?

Face it the LS600h makes far more sense than any 4500lb+ AMG S-class. In all honesty an AMG s65 is a true clown car! A car full of worthless potential, sold to daydreamers with limited class! I commend Toyota/ Lexus for actually keeping it real here with a car that is simply designed to be a luxury car. Big, comfortable, powerful, quite, conservative styled, well-built, technically advanced, all the things that a MB S-class used to be before Lexus made them blink and lose focus.

1) I don’t know where you are getting your numbers from, but the LS600hL is significantly faster than the LS460 despite weighing half a ton more. 5.2 seconds to 60 mph for a 5,200 pound car (without twin-turbos) is flabbergasting. Moreover, the real acceleration in this car happens between 30-80 mph. Few cars are this quick. Rocket-like

2) You can call me naive for “believing” the on-board computer (the same computer that tells tales of 8 mpg after heavy acceleration) but I would like you to calculate the car’s mileage for me. Again, I went 80 mph for around 20 miles with the tachometer registering 1,100 rpm. That’s the tach for the gas engine, mind you.