Discussion
So, I just went and bought a very late (December) 2006 Lexus LS460 and thought I'd give it a bit of a write up and comparison to my old E65 745i. It has a full dealer history until 2013/2014 and then a pretty extensive history since then with an independent garage. After selling the E65 745i a few years ago to help me to save for a house I went and got a Toyota Corolla, which was great for the purpose. Just over 3 years, it never broke down and cost peanuts to run. But now I wanted to get back into a barge.
It's a big old thing, that's for sure. I think it has a lot more presence than photos would otherwise suggest, but it's not an especially exciting car to look at, but it's not exactly ugly by any means. The interior, however, it a lovely place to be. The seats are magnificently comfortable, and very adjustable. They are heated and cooled, both front and rear seats. The car is not a fully loaded example but still has plenty of toys such as keyless entry, cruise control, heated and electrically adjustable steering wheel, side and rear sun blinds/privacy blind, sat nav, 4 zone air conditioning (there is a panel in the rear arm rest for passengers to adjust the AC), electric seats, park sensors with reverse camera, TV in the back, electrically powered opening/closing boot, a fridge in the back, adjustable air dampers and plenty of other stuff.
There are certain bits which feel and look a little cheap, such as the indicator stalks and the dials to adjust the heated/air conditioned seats, but overall it feels very well put together and of high quality. The leather feels great (definitely a step up from the standard leather in the old 7 series). The damping on things like the cover for the cup holders is wonderfully heavy and assuring. There are some lovely little features such as when you open the door to get in, if it's dark outside the seat belt retainers light up, or if it's dark and you put the car into park, the interior door handles light up.
Once you're set up and put it in D you're struck firstly by how smooth it is, the 4.6 litre NA V8 (which is rated at 375bhp) is pretty effortless and the 8 speed gearbox changes gears very smoothly. It is quiet. Really quiet. The steering is light, something I will need to get used to. I gather it has been set up this way for comfort and ease of use (such as parking etc), the brake pedal requires a fair bit of travel to slow you down....again, most likely designed that way to make braking a smoother affair. When you slam the brakes on though, they really do slow you down. Luckily, this has no shimmying, vibrations or swerving under braking which can often effect big cars with tired suspension, but this recently had about £650 worth of suspension work.
The engine is strong and makes a nice noise. The car feels most comfortable just cruising along effortlessly, rather than pushing on, but it will get a shift on when required. At 70mph the engine is doing around 1700rpm....this thing would sit at well north of 100mph all day and not kick up a fuss. It is an incredibly relaxing place to be.
In summary....for a car that is designed to be relaxing, or to cover long distances with ease then this is a truly brilliant car. For a barge, it is a better car than the 7 series, of that I am sure. You can tell the 7 was more set up for spirited driving when you wanted....the steering felt much more firm, the brake pedal had more initial bite and better feel and the suspension was a bit firmer, but I think the fact Lexus haven't gone down that route makes it a better barge for it.
Issues so far? A few. Within a week of purchasing I noticed the driver's side headlight would turn itself off after a few minutes. If you switched the lights off and then back on again it would work, but again only for a few minutes. There was a faint knocking noise at slow speed turning (suspected ball joint) and also a pretty quiet drone at motorway speeds (suspected wheel bearing). I contacted the dealer and he said to take it to their garage, they'd sort the light and look into the noises which I did. The light was just the bulb and not the ballast.
The drone noise was found to be a problem with the driver's side front tyre, I replaced both front tyres (1 of which was paid for by the dealer I bought it from) and this has been rectified. The knocking noise has just been found to be a part of the end of the steering rack. A new part has been ordered (£115 + VAT) and it is hopefully getting fitted Saturday, providing it arrives on time. Again, this is being paid for by the dealer I bought it from.
I have only taken a couple of photos, the weather has been rotten so I haven't cleaned it or got round to taking any half decent photos yet, will do so at a later date.
First picture on collection
First fill up!
Plenty of room in the back!
Plethora of buttons for the sun blinds, heated/cooled seats, rear air con, radio, dvd player etc
View from inside
And this is especially for someone who likes certain digital clocks...
It's a big old thing, that's for sure. I think it has a lot more presence than photos would otherwise suggest, but it's not an especially exciting car to look at, but it's not exactly ugly by any means. The interior, however, it a lovely place to be. The seats are magnificently comfortable, and very adjustable. They are heated and cooled, both front and rear seats. The car is not a fully loaded example but still has plenty of toys such as keyless entry, cruise control, heated and electrically adjustable steering wheel, side and rear sun blinds/privacy blind, sat nav, 4 zone air conditioning (there is a panel in the rear arm rest for passengers to adjust the AC), electric seats, park sensors with reverse camera, TV in the back, electrically powered opening/closing boot, a fridge in the back, adjustable air dampers and plenty of other stuff.
There are certain bits which feel and look a little cheap, such as the indicator stalks and the dials to adjust the heated/air conditioned seats, but overall it feels very well put together and of high quality. The leather feels great (definitely a step up from the standard leather in the old 7 series). The damping on things like the cover for the cup holders is wonderfully heavy and assuring. There are some lovely little features such as when you open the door to get in, if it's dark outside the seat belt retainers light up, or if it's dark and you put the car into park, the interior door handles light up.
Once you're set up and put it in D you're struck firstly by how smooth it is, the 4.6 litre NA V8 (which is rated at 375bhp) is pretty effortless and the 8 speed gearbox changes gears very smoothly. It is quiet. Really quiet. The steering is light, something I will need to get used to. I gather it has been set up this way for comfort and ease of use (such as parking etc), the brake pedal requires a fair bit of travel to slow you down....again, most likely designed that way to make braking a smoother affair. When you slam the brakes on though, they really do slow you down. Luckily, this has no shimmying, vibrations or swerving under braking which can often effect big cars with tired suspension, but this recently had about £650 worth of suspension work.
The engine is strong and makes a nice noise. The car feels most comfortable just cruising along effortlessly, rather than pushing on, but it will get a shift on when required. At 70mph the engine is doing around 1700rpm....this thing would sit at well north of 100mph all day and not kick up a fuss. It is an incredibly relaxing place to be.
In summary....for a car that is designed to be relaxing, or to cover long distances with ease then this is a truly brilliant car. For a barge, it is a better car than the 7 series, of that I am sure. You can tell the 7 was more set up for spirited driving when you wanted....the steering felt much more firm, the brake pedal had more initial bite and better feel and the suspension was a bit firmer, but I think the fact Lexus haven't gone down that route makes it a better barge for it.
Issues so far? A few. Within a week of purchasing I noticed the driver's side headlight would turn itself off after a few minutes. If you switched the lights off and then back on again it would work, but again only for a few minutes. There was a faint knocking noise at slow speed turning (suspected ball joint) and also a pretty quiet drone at motorway speeds (suspected wheel bearing). I contacted the dealer and he said to take it to their garage, they'd sort the light and look into the noises which I did. The light was just the bulb and not the ballast.
The drone noise was found to be a problem with the driver's side front tyre, I replaced both front tyres (1 of which was paid for by the dealer I bought it from) and this has been rectified. The knocking noise has just been found to be a part of the end of the steering rack. A new part has been ordered (£115 + VAT) and it is hopefully getting fitted Saturday, providing it arrives on time. Again, this is being paid for by the dealer I bought it from.
I have only taken a couple of photos, the weather has been rotten so I haven't cleaned it or got round to taking any half decent photos yet, will do so at a later date.
First picture on collection
First fill up!
Plenty of room in the back!
Plethora of buttons for the sun blinds, heated/cooled seats, rear air con, radio, dvd player etc
View from inside
And this is especially for someone who likes certain digital clocks...
24valve said:
Nice car. Do these have fancy hifi's? - something like a Mark levison sound system or similar.
Ive often wondered whether it would be superb sound quality.
The ML stereo is an optional extra, mine has it, and yes, it sounds good. I have heard better, but they have been very, very expensive systems in expensive cars (Bang & Olufsen in a BMW M6 and I can't remember what make but the upgraded system in a Jag F Type R). But compared to just about every other stereo I've heard in other cars it is indeed a good system.Ive often wondered whether it would be superb sound quality.
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
bolidemichael said:
Did you actually read it all, after all that we have read on the barge thread?
I'm in for the rear legroom shots!
I did put. "nothing new though" I'm the barge thread I'm in for the rear legroom shots!
the write up was more for those that don't peruse that little corner of t'internet. CharlesdeGaulle said:
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
bolidemichael said:
Did you actually read it all, after all that we have read on the barge thread?
I'm in for the rear legroom shots!
I did put. "nothing new though" I'm the barge thread I'm in for the rear legroom shots!
the write up was more for those that don't peruse that little corner of t'internet. It's a seriously modern and capable car for great money. I'm disappointed that the ML stereo isn't as good as it gets.
bolidemichael said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
bolidemichael said:
Did you actually read it all, after all that we have read on the barge thread?
I'm in for the rear legroom shots!
I did put. "nothing new though" I'm the barge thread I'm in for the rear legroom shots!
the write up was more for those that don't peruse that little corner of t'internet. It's a seriously modern and capable car for great money. I'm disappointed that the ML stereo isn't as good as it gets.
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
In fairness, the. Bang and Olufsen stereo in my dad's (now departed) M6 didn't cost a great deal less as an option than what I paid for this whole car. I'll have to find out the system in the F Type R but that's also pretty special, I think it's Bowers & Wilkins. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good sound system, it's the best I've heard in any car probably, bar the two just mentioned.
I *think* bowers and Wilkins were superseded by Meridian as Jag’s go to hifi folk by the time the F type came out- I had a B&W system in my 2011 XFR and it was fantastic but the facelifts had Meridian systems. Which were also quite good. Getting back on topic - that’s a cracking example. Having previously gone halves on an LS400 with my younger brother I do have a soft spot for a big Lexus, and with my lease XF due to go back next month I am mulling over an Ls460 as a replacement- well either that or the Honda legend which is more a GS rival. Does yours have DAB or Bluetooth audio streaming?
The car was collected by someone before 6:30 this morning (I really wanted a lie in but alas, it wasn't to be!) and it's now getting the new steering part fitted. I really hope it sorts the knocking noise. The place it's going to are generally suspension geometry and alignment specialists and they said there's nothing else apparent that would be causing the problem, so fingers crossed it sorts it.
ali_XF said:
Does yours have DAB or Bluetooth audio streaming?
Unfortunately not. I am actually going to a car audio specialist next week to see what options I have as bluetooth audio streaming would be good. It does have bluetooth and connects to my phone, so I can dial or receive calls on my mobile and it comes through the car speakers, but it doesn't appear to allow me to connect to my phone's audio. I do have an FM transmitter plugged into a 12V socket in the back of the car which I run under the passenger seat and the cable then runs into the central arm rest, and I plug my phone into that, but I'd prefer it to be wireless. We shall see what they say when it gets to the audio chaps next Friday.Unfortunately the part they were sent from Toyota isn't correct, apparently a thread diameter isn't quite right so they've had to order another one, so I'm without the car until at least Tuesday night 
They did offer to reassemble the car and bring it back but I'm not desperate for the car so said just leave it in bits to save them a job.
Argh frustrating.
They did offer to reassemble the car and bring it back but I'm not desperate for the car so said just leave it in bits to save them a job.
Argh frustrating.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mpow-Bluetooth-Receiver-H...
I had this in my is250 and it did the job.
went into aux in and usb port to power up and was perfect.
I had this in my is250 and it did the job.
went into aux in and usb port to power up and was perfect.
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
Unfortunately not. I am actually going to a car audio specialist next week to see what options I have as bluetooth audio streaming would be good. It does have bluetooth and connects to my phone, so I can dial or receive calls on my mobile and it comes through the car speakers, but it doesn't appear to allow me to connect to my phone's audio. I do have an FM transmitter plugged into a 12V socket in the back of the car which I run under the passenger seat and the cable then runs into the central arm rest, and I plug my phone into that, but I'd prefer it to be wireless. We shall see what they say when it gets to the audio chaps next Friday.
Check out the solutions by Grom - rated well on the lexus forums - I just put one in my IS300 Shed and it's greathttps://gromaudio.co.uk/
grudas said:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mpow-Bluetooth-Receiver-H...
I had this in my is250 and it did the job.
went into aux in and usb port to power up and was perfect.
I'm not sure if this would work because my car can't play bluetooth from my phone? How does it know if it's a phone call or audio? Not sure....??? I don't think my phone has a headphone jack in the front....Cheers!I had this in my is250 and it did the job.
went into aux in and usb port to power up and was perfect.
Edited by TyrannosauRoss Lex on Tuesday 17th December 13:28
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