Since the 5LS launch, Lexus has consistently made little improvements to the car and while this is being delivered as a refresh, I see it more as methodical continued improvement vs. a more visually apparent model change that we probably expected. I think we're all accustomed to more significant visual changes for a Lexus refresh (especially over the last decade), which this car does not have.
But to spwolf's point, there are a lot of small updates here that show some effort: improvements to NVH, the new safety and autonomous driving tech, suspension revisions, infotainment upgrades and they seem to have recalibrated the powertrain to provide more oomph where it counts. Good updates - can't dispute those improvements.
I agree with Ian's point that tucking the new tablet under the dash line would have made it seem more integrated and less tacked on. The new interior metal leaf accent looks like a bad faux finish or winter camo print. Not my cup of tea. I am pleased that it seems like the weird dash graphic on the passenger side of the dash is gone.
I was personally expecting Lexus to reshape the front seat backs and/or the back seats to quell some of the complaints about rear headroom and seating position. Maybe they did that but it didn't make the press release...? I was also expecting at least some new wheel designs to mix things up and stronger visual updates to the front and rear to make the car look newer. As it stands now, you would have to be an enthusiast to tell the difference between 2018-2020 and 2021+ and that doesn't bode well when the car has already been selling poorly.
The new calibration for the powertrains might help to reduce complaints about power, but I know some here were hoping for a V8 or 600h option that did not happen. I thought a 600h could be in the cards, but not a V8, so I am not as let down.
TL;DR it seems like the focus of this refresh was technology and refinement, and less about visual change or new powertrains. Whether you like or dislike what Lexus did is up to you.
Some here have said that the 5LS seems like a stopgap solution between the extended lifetime of the 4LS and whatever comes next. I was not inclined to believe that after so much investment going into GA-L and the resulting poor sales because usually ToMoCo needs a plan or projection of recooping their investment before launching a new model. However, I'm beginning to think this theory could be right and this generation of LS might have been a testing ground for new platforms and tech to prepare for a 6LS that could be sooner than we think.
