LEXUS Manila last week unveiled the brand’s flagship LS 460L sedan, which joins its equally affluent GS and ES model siblings. The LS 460L, which arrives in both four-seat and five-seat configurations, “hails the future of the Lexus brand as it embarks on its third decade in the premium luxury category,” according to the carmaker.

Retaining many of the qualities that have defined Lexus cars for more than 20 years, the latest LS 460L flaunts the brand’s new styling feature—the spindle grille—as well as enhanced driving dynamics and industry-leading technology.

“With over 730,000 sold during its 23-year, four-generation history, the LS has grown and evolved with the times,” Kiyotaka Ise, president of Lexus International, said in a statement. “Our new flagship model has much greater visual presence; the bold new design reflects how Lexus is evolving.”

Changes, changes
The new LS received more than 3,000 changes, including three world-firsts, and 15 Lexus-first features and technical innovations, the carmaker said.

“The LS has always appealed to customers who demand the best. They appreciate the highly refined and luxurious nature of the Lexus flagship model,” Hideki Watanabe, the LS’s chief engineer, said during the car’s launch at the Lexus Manila showroom last week. “So at the start of the LS development program, I had to consciously broaden my horizons, focusing on the finer things in life, from the worlds of art, design and technology—a first step toward creating the most sophisticated LS yet to satisfy the world’s most discerning customers.”

The exterior of the new LS has been comprehensively redesigned to carry several new Lexus features, chief among which is an all-LED lighting cluster that counts vertical fog lamps (which uses the world’s smallest PES lens) and unique, L-shaped, daytime running lights.

To achieve better driving dynamics, Lexus said the LS received new, laser-screw welding and adhesive body bonding techniques that increased structural rigidity. The result is not only enhanced stability but also a more comfortable ride, all without affecting handling agility. New frequency adaptive damping shock absorbers and a four-wheel interlock control evolution of the LS’s adaptive variable air suspension now better control pitch and bounce, giving an even flatter, road- hugging ride. A revised steering also promises to improve the car’s accuracy and turn-in response, Lexus said.

New to the LS 460L is a drive mode selector with five switchable driving characteristics; Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport S and Sport S+.

As if previous LS models weren’t refined enough, Lexus said the latest car lays claim to being among the quietest, most comfortable in the world, thanks to comprehensive improvements made to its engine, and road and wind noise sound insulation. The new LS can even be fitted with the Lexus-first hollow-chamber noise reduction wheels that lessen sound entering the cabin.

Lexus said it improved the LS 460L’s front seats by fitting them with a world-first climate control system for both front and rear perches, and the steering wheel rim heater may now be automatically incorporated in the operation through the new Lexus Climate Concierge air-conditioning unit that has 13 sensors—which are managed by a central ECU. The climate control system also incorporates a new Nanoe technology system where Nanoe ions have both air-purifying and odor-eliminating traits. And because Nanoe moisture content is approximately 1,000 times that of conventional ions, its water molecules can moisturize skin and hair.

Complementing the LS 460L’s cabin is the world’s first advanced illumination system that features champagne white interior lamps and dynamic LED instrument panel lighting, as well as Lexus’s remote touch interface for the comprehensive infotainment system that integrates a 12.3-inch LCD multi-display screen—the auto industry’s largest—and a 19-speaker Mark Levinson Reference Surround System that’s the finest in-car audio experience available at present.

The four-seat variant—which adds an ottoman, 40 millimeters more of leg room, a hideaway rear table and a seat massager—also upgrades the standard DVD system to a Blu-ray unit.

Lexus Manila prices the LS 460L five-seat variant at P7.388 million and the four-seat one at P8.378 million.

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