Lexus LS 2021 Review

The 2021 Lexus LS arrives in Australia priced at $195,953 plus on-road costs for the F Sport variants and $201,078 plus ORCs for the Sports Luxury models.

That’s an increase of $1817 for the F Sport and $1442 for the Sports Luxury.

Both model grades are offered with the choice of two powertrains, the LS 500h (hybrid) and the LS 500. Pricing is the same for both.

As standard, the two trim levels come with ‘Bladescan’ LED headlights, a sliding sunroof, powered bootlid with gesture control, keyless entry/start, soft-close doors, rain-sensing wipers, digital rear-view mirror, 23-speaker audio system, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, digital radio, satellite navigation, a head-up display, leather upholstery, heated/ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, 28-way electrically-adjustable front seats with position memory, and a heated steering wheel.

The F Sport variants exclusively feature a high-performance brake package, rear-wheel steering, active anti-roll bars (not available on the hybrid) and dual-zone climate control.

While the Sports Luxury variants miss out on these items, they do score hollow-chamber 20-inch alloy wheels, four-zone climate control, dual rear seat entertainment systems, electrically-adjustable outboard rear seats with position memory, ‘Ottoman’ function for the left (passenger side) rear seat, massage for outboard rear seats, touch-screen interface for audio, climate and massage controls of the rear seats, rear side sunshades, a rear cooler box (not available on hybrid) and rear seat ventilation.

Clearly, while little separates these two in price, the Sports Luxury variants are designed to transport passengers in the back, while the F Sport is more for owners who prefer to drive themselves.

Is there an optimal number of airbags for a large, long-wheelbase luxury sedan? It’s 12 for the 2021 Lexus LS, according to the manufacturer.

Even the Ottoman-equipped left rear seat has a side-impact airbag protecting the occupant’s thorax – despite reclining almost flat and massaging the passenger’s back in situ.

The safety package doesn’t end with airbags though. There’s a forward collision warning system that will detect both pedestrians and cyclists, for a start. You can count on lane keep assist and autonomous emergency braking/adaptive cruise control too.

Blind spot monitoring is also standard, as is 360-degree camera monitoring. Kudos to Lexus for the standard digital rear-view mirror (essentially a rear-facing camera display in the mirror). This provides a view unobstructed by head restraints and blinds.

Naturally too – since the German opposition offer it – traffic sign recognition is listed among the safety features for the Lexus LS, as is ‘Bladescan’, a Matrix-style LED headlight system.

And the Lexus Connect telematics system automatically delivers collision alerts and tracks the vehicle if it should be stolen. This system, including a bespoke ‘SOS call’ button, is part of a data communications module offered for the first time in the Lexus LS, with this update.

What Lexus labels ‘Front Lateral Side Pre-Collision System’ manifests itself as flashing yellow danger arrows in the head-up display. These light up sequentially at a busy intersection to advise you which way to turn your head before you proceed across the intersection.

We take it for granted that we should turn our heads to look both ways, but that doesn’t always happen. The Lexus system reduces the potential for a tired driver to miss an approaching vehicle and proceed across the intersection when it’s unsafe. And that’s good.

The big powertrain changes for the 2021 Lexus LS revolve around the twin-turbo V6 used in the conventional LS 500 variants.

Newly-engineered components for this powerplant are an electric wastegate, a revised oil control path, new pistons, enlarged crank pins and a lighter aluminium intake manifold replacing the previous cast-iron unit.

Lexus claims that these new components enhance the engine’s throttle response and reduce noise, vibration and harshness.

For the hybrid model, Lexus has fettled the system for electric-only driving up to 129km/h – a marked improvement on the 70km/h ceiling of the pre-update model.

Upshift timing at lower speeds has been altered to lower engine revs for more refined motoring and less of the apparent continuously-variable droning.

How does this play out in the real world?

The engines are very subdued in operation, until you open up the taps. Both will pull hard, with the naturally-aspirated V6 boosted with the output from the electric motor of the LS 500h.

The twin-turbo engine feels just that much sportier though, partly due to the lack of continuously-variable mechanicals in the 10-speed automatic transmission.

What you get is simply a stepped automatic transmission, and that fits the character of the twin-turbo engine.

Both engines burble at lower revs and on a light throttle, but they also snarl a bit once they’re operating in Sport+ mode, and that’s a welcome trait if you still enjoy the sound of a proper internal combustion engine.

Hounded along country roads, the Lexus LS 500h F Sport returned a fuel economy figure of 10.0L/100km. In the same sort of scenario, the LS 500 Sports Luxury fared worse at 12.2L/100km, but on a more sedate leg revealed it could be frugal, at 9.4L/100km.

Without boring readers concerning the technical fiddles to the adaptive variable suspension of the 2021 Lexus LS, the engineering program for the updated model has set out to improve in-cabin refinement and shift the handling closer to neutral.

In contrast with the local launch held for the fifth-generation Lexus LS in Tasmania three years ago, the updated model tested in Victoria this week could be driven harder to assess its dynamics.

That showed up in the neat handling – especially with the rear-wheel steer of the F Sport versions – and decent turn-in, particularly with the chassis set to Sport+ mode. Even when left in Normal or Sport mode, the handling through the bends is more than just acceptable.

The steering is light in every mode barring Sport+, but does deliver reasonable feel. Brake pedal feel is demonstrably better in the twin-turbocharged LS 500 than the hybrid LS 500h, but both cars stop well.

The LS feels more like a Lexus GS when it’s being punted along fast, winding bends. It’s agile and safe, and even a little rewarding to drive.

But that dynamic improvement doesn’t come at the cost of ride comfort. Even in the most extreme Sport+ mode, the LS is very settled over typical country-road bumps, and our experience does vindicate Lexus engineers’ claim that there’s less ‘head toss’ with this revised model.

Certainly, the damping is spot on for such a large car, whichever mode you happen to have selected at the time.

Lexus interiors are certainly on the improve. They did look fussy in the past, and weren’t eminently practical from an ergonomic standpoint, but the 2021 Lexus LS makes amends.

As with its prestige rivals, the LS infotainment system can be operated by a variety of different means, the redundancy no doubt suiting people who prefer touch-screens over haptic touch pads, or voice control over the other two.

Comfort is practically unsurpassed by anything else in the market if you occupy the left rear seat, with its Ottoman function, which allows you to stretch out – provided the seat in front of you is unoccupied.

There are massage and seat heating/cooling functions, and adjustable vents in the B-pillars as well as the rear of the centre console will pump hot or cold air at you from both directions.

So there’s little to criticise in the updated LS.

The hybrid’s transmission occasionally betrays its continuously-variable nature, which won’t necessarily bother many buyers – especially as the LS range is one of the few remaining in the Lexus stable with more sales of the conventional variants than the hybrids.

Lexus has addressed the previous lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so rule a line through that one. The hybrid’s boot is compromised severely, and that’s unlikely to change for the foreseeable future, but the updated conventional LS 500 will suit limo drivers needing more boot space.

For buyers who enjoy driving, the ideal choice would be the Lexus LS 500 F Sport.

How much does the 2021 Lexus LS 500 Sports Luxury cost?
Price: $201,078 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.5-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 310kW/600Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 227g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

How much does the 2021 Lexus LS 500h F Sport cost?
Price: $195,953 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol-electric
Output: 220kW/350Nm (264kW combined)
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 6.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 150g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested