5th Generation (2018+) Lexus LS 500 & LS 500h Megathread

[mikeavelli]

Hello Sir, that's a high volume either way. it didn't hit their mark sir but still lots of LS's being pushed out the door. very good being we are heading into the 3rd quarter of the year! Soon I will have mine and it will boost sales even further. In my eyes it has been a total success so far and only going to get better.

R,

Markus

While it is one month that is pretty low performing, off nearly 25%. I am going to assume a best case scenario (and what Honda fanboys use lol) that it is an inventory issue hahaha.

 

[Berto3818]

The hate and the disdain for the new 5LS is real..

 

[ssun30]

The hate and the disdain for the new 5LS is real..

I don't think that is a fair comment. People are stating the facts.

 

[Berto3818]

Not at all sir when this new ls is way better than the one it replaces. I 100% disagree with you. I’m solely comparing it to what it replaces and it’s better!!!

R,

Markus

 

[ssun30]

It's new and it's better than an old product. Is there any surprise here?

What is also true is that 789 is 21.1% lower than 1,000. So people are stating the fact when they say Lexus missed the sales target.

You said the 5LS sells like hotcakes. That is an opinion. And by what metric do you consider 789 sales a month 'like hotcakes'? What do you back your opinion with?

 

[Gecko]

I’m solely comparing it to what it replaces and it’s better!!!

Unfortunately, I fear this is also how Lexus has started to think about and engineer their own cars. The brand does not exist in a vacuum.

The hate and the disdain for the new 5LS is real..

As @ssun30 states, it is not hate but fact. However, there are still people who like and are buying this car, like yourself.

The sales volume is not your problem, and it's not a bad car. If you like it, buy it. There is a lot to love about the new LS!

I bought a 4Runner in 2016 - a car with a 5 speed transmission that gets 15mpg with no modern technology. If I listened to everyone else's opinions, I'd have bought a Camry hybrid.

Buy what you love and don't let other people's opinions influence that.

However, the facts stand independent of what you want or we think: the car is off to a rough start and is performing below Lexus' expectations. As a business case for a brand new vehicle, this is bad news.

 

[Berto3818]

@ssun30 @Gecko.. I'm not trying to start anything in here. I'm new.. I will be getting the LS in December when I put my order in. Why did the post state when the numbers came out that LS sales are strong then? I do believe this car is way better and I hope it does begin to sell well. The way you frame your response makes perfect sense and I stand down.

R,

Markus

 

[Gecko]

This is just a friendly conversation - no need to stand down or start anything, my amigo!

I also hope the car starts to sell better. I am worried that if it doesn't, Lexus will simply let it die on the vine instead of make some tactical updates to improve it. This is the LS, after all - if things continue at this rate, Lexus will need to make some adjustments to support it - they can't neglect it like they have with some other models. I assume 2019 will bring CarPlay and Amazon Alexa, so maybe that will help.

Lexus is also gathering back end data we don't have access to, and they might make some other adjustments based on what they're seeing from shoppers/owners. For example, they might do something like reshape the front seatbacks to create more rear seat leg room, change the pricing, restructure the options and standard features, introduce an "L" version with an extra 5" of wheelbase, or they could drop in the 5.0L V8 as an option. Anything is possible, but we don't know what data Lexus is seeing from owners and shoppers.

 

[Berto3818]

@Gecko awesome sir!! Yeah I hope they don’t do that as well and that’s why I’m waiting for the 19s to see what is going to be new. Let’s see what they do. I’m monitoring it very closely!! next time I’ll have to research before I make half baked comments! My fault!

R,

Markus

 

[Levi]

The LS worries me, in the way, that the new Land Cruiser might get the same results. I hope the TMC will not do the same thing with the Land Cruiser. It is the Land Cruiser that in fact made me appreciate the qualities of other TMC products.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

The LS is IMO a better car in person than it is on paper. I've said it before, I'll say it again: you don't start to understand it until you're on a nice twisty road with the massage seats on and your favorite tunes cranked on the Mark Levinson. Unfortunately a lot of people will never get the chance to do that and they'll just buy some badge.

 

[peterharvey]

The LS is IMO a better car in person than it is on paper. I've said it before, I'll say it again: you don't start to understand it until you're on a nice twisty road with the massage seats on and your favorite tunes cranked on the Mark Levinson. Unfortunately a lot of people will never get the chance to do that and they'll just buy some badge.

I think 5LS is a great car.
One just has to live with the styling.

It's amazing how Lexus can come up with such an attractive RX which is currently America's biggest selling luxury motor vehicle for the past few years.
Lexus has also come up with a very stylish 7th generation ES, with potentially huge sales.
Why couldn't 5LS look as stylish as its LF FC concept - that would have kept up the tremendous sales success of previous generations of LS's relative to arch rival S Class.

Whatever it lacks in space from its 440 L trunk, as opposed to a Maserati Quattroporte's trunk at 530 L, or a Camry's trunk at 520 L - the 5LS makes up for with excellent dynamics.

 

[JJohn341]

I had a chance to see another LS on the road yesterday. One of the Best looking Large Luxury Sedan IMO. I don't understand some of the negativity.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Why couldn't 5LS look as stylish as its LF FC concept - that would have kept up the tremendous sales success of previous generations of LS's relative to arch rival S Class.

Because it's the other way around: the LS500 design was finalized before the LF-FC prototype was made. LF-FC represents the direction of the *next* LS refresh. But honestly, aside from the rear it's 99% identical to the LS500 as shipped.

 

[peterharvey]

I had a chance to see another LS on the road yesterday. One of the Best looking Large Luxury Sedan IMO. I don't understand some of the negativity.

I've been following the LS line of full size luxury sedans since its original inception in 1989 - nearly 30 years ago.
I am shocked.
This is the very first time I've ever seen an all new LS range fall behind S Class sedan sales on debut.

 

[mikeavelli]

The LS is IMO a better car in person than it is on paper. I've said it before, I'll say it again: you don't start to understand it until you're on a nice twisty road with the massage seats on and your favorite tunes cranked on the Mark Levinson. Unfortunately a lot of people will never get the chance to do that and they'll just buy some badge.

Great post....the LS is the drivers car here with the Porsche... funny people are stuck on peak HP figures and not how it drives. In the past the internet blasted the LS for not being a great handling car.

lulz

 

[zeusus]

Are people still bent up over the LS' design?

Anyone that has seen it in person and has any sense of general taste can see that its an impressive design, especially if you see it with others around and observing their reactions. I saw the LS showcased at a baseball game and the crowd surrounding it was stunned, lots of cameras and selfies for a car that supposedly has a reputation for being "beige", mission accomplished, Lexus.

The only people I see going out of their way to hate on the LS' design on a consistent basis are Lexus owners who are older or have an older model Lexus (be it LS or other models).

Its time to get out of the past and join the future, design is changing so fast its leaving many consumers behind. Lexus has been on a general trend of styling ahead of the times, well at least the 90s, early 00s and after 2013 but the late 00s and early 2010 was pretty bland I have to admit. The 1SC and 2SC were great and I sometimes see 98 SCs rolling around, compare that to a Mercedes SL of the same year and its a major disappointment, no wonder literally nobody drives that car anymore.

As for LS sales, trends change. The switch from sedan to SUVs are leaving a lot of car makers having to make big decisions on how they will keep up with the surge in popularity, its possible the LF1 limitless is meant to make up for the sales in the flagship space that the LS could be losing. Lexus made a commitment to reinvent themselves and there will be plenty of hits and misses. Whats important is that Lexus is constantly changing, in fact every brand should be changing and adapting and shareholders probably expect as much.

LS and LC are great examples of excellence in car making. Don't forget the LS+ coming out for the Tokyo Olympics and a very likely LS-F due for a potential arrival as wel. I really don't understand the constant complaining due to lack of 2 extra cylinders and a little more power when the v8TT could more or less be a reality, unless we should all just complain about the v8 until the day that its released?

 

[Levi]

What I like less about the production LS compared to the concept, is that it has a more Panamera-ish trunk, compared to the more classical three box style. Also the third side window clutters up the profile and the taillights are not as special.

 

[Rydo]

Thanks to @Brooks2IS
- To the point above, it was raining pretty good - not POURING, but raining hard - and the automatic wipers could not work fast enough. I overrode them and tried to use the manual setting, and that did not work either. This is a serious problem, IMO. The wipers were on their fastest setting and leaving plenty of water on the windshield that was making it difficult to see the road ahead.

Strange you should mention that as the exact same thing has been said about the LC, so whatever wiper motor is going into these Lexuses is obviously not good enough.

Some of the points in your review are going into my YouTube which will drop in a couple of days explaining my disappointment with this gen LS.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Are people still bent up over the LS' design?

I agree, it's a great-looking car in person, and it definitely draws a crowd. I think the problem is that they showed the somewhat more conventional LF-FC concept before the production LS500 without making it clear that the the concept actually represents design thinking for after the production LS500. So a lot of people fell in love with that concept, and assumed based on the LC that the LS500 would look just like it.

It's totally understandable, even if I remember the "everything Lexus makes is bland" period well enough to think the concept of a Lexus looking "too much like a Maserati" is hilarious.