Motor
Expert
- Messages
- 2,316
- Reactions
- 3,334
Tested: 2004 Big-Money Luxury Sedan Comparison
First Place: Lexus LS 430
HIGHS: Gorgeous interior details, whipped-cream ride, silky shifts, rear-seat accouterments to dazzle the most demanding potentate.LOWS: Tires eager to squeal, brakes eager to make big whoa instead of deft modulations, never very involving on the back roads.
THE VERDICT: The next step up from silk underwear.
290-hp V-8, 6-speed automatic, 4271 lb
Base/as-tested price: $55,750/$70,380
Interior volume, F/R/trunk: 57/48/18 ft3
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.3 sec
100 mph: 16.4 sec
1/4 mile: 14.9 sec @ 95 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 179 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.73 g
C/D observed fuel economy: 21 mpg
Those were the days. Bring back The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection.