People who hate Remote Touch should be sentenced to using the floating joy-mouse thing that preceded it (and which I still deal with daily). The trackpad's a million times better than that.
In my opinion, it is a bit more complicated.
I wonder, quite honestly.. why did the designers decide to move from the mouse remote touch to the touchpad? Is it to be more modern, like swapping the trackball designer computer mouse for a touchpad on your laptop?
The weird thing is: the mouse system was heavily criticized by car media, but now they've put an even more criticizable system in it. So commercially perhaps not the best decision. It surely is more modern to look at and it does work more or less like the mousepad of your portable PC if you're not actually driving the car. But as soon as you're in first gear, just try to put in a destination address for the first time... even as a passenger. Not easy. It could even be dangerous for the driver if he's not used to the system. So if you use it for the first time as a driver, perhaps it sucks.
But I suppose that not many of these will end up in a short term rental for people who never drive a Lexus...
The other side of the story then...: this is one hell of a nice peace of engineered work! The surface of the touchpad is seriously nice to touch, the haptic feedback (which - by the way - can be adapted to everyone's taste) is very well done, the idea of having the manipulation of the system horizontally and the visual experience right where it belongs is perfect...
(And I always read some bizarre comments concerning so called dated graphics on the screen... it's merely just a question of taste).
If you've learned how to use it, it's really not bad at all. On the contrary, I like it, a lot.
But let's be honest, it can still be improved.
As a Lexus insider, I am used to 3 systems,: the rotary/push dial button, the mouse RTI and the touchpad and I can assure you: they all work very well, but it's like with every Lexus model I've known so far: it has to grow on you
Unfortunately, most car journalists don't drive the car long enough to appreciate it to the full. So to make a positive comment on the system, they need a car where every command button is like a mainstream Mercedes' or BMW's system.
And, in the case of the new LS, they really have to look very closely to find a negative point to write about.
If the one single negative aspect in their opinion is the touchpad, then I am a happy man
