DRIVE TIME: LEXUS LS 460L MOTORING BLISS: THIS LUXURY SEDAN PRACTICALLY PARKS ITSELF.Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX Staff Writer This is one reason why you study real hard from grade school through grad school. And why you work real hard after that. The Lexus LS The Lexus LS is a full-size luxury sedan that serves as the flagship of Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota. Since Lexus' 1989 debut, four generations of the V8-powered, rear-wheel drive Lexus LS have been produced. 460L. It's 103.9 square feet (16.9 feet long, 6.15 feet wide) of motoring bliss. By the time you can afford this luxury sedan, the $71,000 base price probably won't seem that expensive. Yes, this is the one, as seen on TV, helping a 30-something dude ease into a tight parallel parking spot. Guess what? It also helps you back into a parking space. No, the car doesn't park itself, though it handles most of the work. Lexus calls this gizmo Slang for any hardware device. See gadget. the Advanced Parking Guidance System Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS) is an automatic parking system first developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 2004 for its latest Lexus models and also the Japanese market hybrid Prius models. In Europe, the APGS is marketed as the Intelligent Park Assist system. . And at $700 (that's right), it's the second least expensive option on the model we tested. The company has also offered the option on Prius models sold in Japan and Europe. "It's the first U.S. application on a luxury car," said Lexus spokeswoman Nancy Hubble. The system uses a rear-view camera and a set of ultrasonic sensors Ultrasonic sensors (AKA: transducers) work on a principle similar to radar or sonar which evaluate attributes of a target by interpreting the echoes from radio or sound waves respectively. to pinpoint objects and vehicles. The camera image is displayed every time you shift into reverse. "What's that?" my wife wondered the first time she encountered this feature. "Holy cow, it's our driveway." The hi-tech features don't end there, though. It seems that everywhere you look in the cockpit there are buttons to push. For example, features on this model include: The Mark Levinson/DVD changer Changer The name given to a clearing member that is willing to assume the opposite position of a futures contract within a larger alternative exchange, of which it also is a clearing member. with a hard disk drive, reference surround audio system with 19 speakers, DVD/CD changer with DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. audio and video playback. The hard disk enables faster calculations and the system also features Bluetooth so you can tell the car to dial your phone while driving. The system will also store up to 2,000 songs and has a jack for iPod or MP3/WMA players. This option costs $2,530. An adaptive variable suspension that provides comfort and sport modes. An eight-speed transmission that shifts automatically or manually up and down in a straight line. A dashboard display that includes not only how far you've gone, but also how far you can go on the remaining fuel. An adaptive front lighting system that swivels the headlights in the direction of a turn. Keyless, push button engine start and stop. And the 460 has an instrument display that's the easiest to read in bright sun of any car I've ever driven. While the 460 is big and packed with creature comforts (lumbar supports in the seats, for instance), it's also sassy sas·sy 1 adj. sas·si·er, sas·si·est 1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent. 2. Lively and spirited; jaunty. 3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat. . The 380 horse power 32-valve V8 packs plenty of power. But it is equally well-suited to the twisting canyon roads of Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley The Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the San Rafael Mountains. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. as it is to Highway 101. The only drawback, one former Lexus owner noted, is that the trunk is a tad small for luxury a sedan. But he was still impressed with the total package. The 460 series first appeared in 1989 and is now on its fourth makeover. "Road & Track" magazine also likes what Lexus has done. "Fourth time's a charmer charm·er n. 1. One that charms, especially a disarmingly attractive person. 2. One who casts spells; an enchanter or magician. Noun 1. ," said the headline on the December 2006 assessment. "As interiors go, the look of the LS 460's cabin is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. But that's a good thing, because that means Lexus has taken an already-pleasing design and made it better," the magazine said. greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3743 Lexus LS 460L TOP SPEED: 160 mph ENGINE: 4.8 Liter, 380 HP, four cam, 32-valve V8 TRANSMISSION: 8-speed sequential automatic SUSPENSION: 4-wheel independent multi-link BRAKES: Ventilated ven·ti·late tr.v. ven·ti·lat·ed, ven·ti·lat·ing, ven·ti·lates 1. To admit fresh air into (a mine, for example) to replace stale or noxious air. 2. disc with aluminum calipers FUEL ECONOMY: 18 mpg city, 27 mpg highway PRICE: $71,000 base, $82,870 as tested TRIVIA: The 'L' denotes long wheel base. Lexus LS owners include Microsoft's Bill Gates, a 1990 LS 400 in burgundy, later donated to the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School in Portland; New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. Mayor Michael Bloomberg. THE MANUAL SAYS: Starting: With the electronic key on your person, the engine can be started by simply pressing the engine switch while depressing the brake pedal. THE WIFE SAYS: "After dinner, you want to go parking?" referring to the car's automatic parking assist feature. SOURCE: Daily News research; Wikipeda COMING NEXT WEEK: Lincoln Navigator CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Lexus LS 460L performs well both on the twisting canyon roads of Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley, as seen here, and on freeway straightaways Straightaways is the second release of the band Son Volt. Release Date: April 22 1997 Track listing
Gregory J. Wilcox (2 -- color) Rear-view camera video screen display (3 -- color) A look under the hood under the hood - [hot-rodder talk] 1. The underlying implementation of a product (hardware, software, or idea). Implies that the implementation is not intuitively obvious from the appearance, but the speaker is about to enable the listener to grok it. of the Lexus LS 460L. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer Box: Lexus LS 460L (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion