No Looking Back After A Lexus GS460

We’ve all seen those cars on the road – the ones that just make your jaw drop because you know they are the height of luxury. There are the usual suspects but there also some understated vehicles that you simply would have no idea about unless you drove one. Trouble is, once you have, you just won’t want to go back to an ordinary car again!

This was the problem I found when I tested out the Lexus GS460 – obviously a luxury sedan but absolutely in a class of its own. Of course, there are the aspects that you would expect from such a marque like the 4.6 litre V8 engine that puts out 342 horsepower with low emissions and excellent fuel economy – these things have come to be expected from makers such as Lexus.

But there are numerous other aspects to driving this car that mean you just know you are in the lap of luxury. When it comes to handling no other vehicle comes close. A combination of Adaptive Variable Suspension (which continually works to adjust the shock absorbers) and the Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management System (which co-ordinates power steering, stability control and electronic brake systems) all mean that you have the most comfortable drive of your life.

The ride is quite and smooth and the car responds to any sudden changes in action with swiftness and agility but without any jerky movements. Sink into the sumptuous leather seats, take note of the stainless steel scuff plates on the interior doors and enjoy the golden bird’s eye maple wood trim which is on the dash, gear shift and steering wheel. Where we are all used to heated front seats the Lexus even has ventilation for the summer months in the front seats adding to the immediate feeling that you have stepped up a notch in class.

The Dynamic Radar Cruise Control can be set to automatically ensure the car stays a pre-determined distance from the one in front, slowing the car if necessary – a very useful safety feature and the Electronic Chromatic Device (ECD) means the rear window sensor will tell the Lexus how much light is entering the car and adjust the illumination of the dials accordingly to avoid glare.

Driving home at the end of a long day has never been such a pleasure. The HID headlamps are an innovation that ease eye strain due to their being brighter and whiter and more like daylight than any before.

With the simple press of a single button on the rear view mirror you can send messages home via the Homelink Remote Control that can co-ordinate three compatible remote devices. Open the gates, open the garage doors and switch on the house lights before you roll into your parking space using your Intuitive Parking Assist and rear view camera.

Driving the Lexus GS460 is an experience of a lifetime – imagine having that experience every day!