LS430 one of the great cars

EVERY time I drive one of these super luxury cars I wonder where it is all going to end.

Be it a Lexus, Beemer, Merc or Jaguar, the depth and detail of technology and equipment profoundly shocks me.

I have to admit there have been times when I have wondered if it is all necessary.

But the one thing I've learned is that when you get used to electrically adjustable, heated seats you miss them.

And when you get used to having a certain ambient temperature, you miss it.

When you get used to having a choice of CD tracks, plenty of room, lumbar supports, elegantly laid out dashboards and cabins you miss them.

Then, after a little while, you take them for granted.

And so, if the car you are thinking of buying doesn't have at least the spread of luxury and equipment to which you have become accustomed, you will look elsewhere.

To keep you from doing that, the big-car makers continually push back the frontiers to ladle more and more goodies into your next shiny new purchase so you feel happy and contended.

The Lexus LS430 is a fine example of where the luxury car segment is going. It has to compete with the best Mercedes, with its new groundbreaking S-Class; BMW, with its imminent and much vaunted new 7-series, and Jaguar with their classically stylish cars, have to offer.

And it has to be said that at £79,000 ex-works the LS430 tastefully indulges this apparently insatiable need for more.

Yet that is just one side of the coin, I feel.

The other involves less immediate creature comforts and calls on the hidden expertise and advancements in engineering to give these great cars the sense and verve of real driving machines.

Again the impetus comes from the fusion of customers' heightening expectations and carmakers' anticipation of them. The new S-Class for example is a million years away in dynamic terms from its predecessor.

Similarly, the LS430 now needs to be judged not just on the extensive nature of its equipment list but on the driving performance it extracts from that large engine and chassis.

So I gave it a heavy test along some terrible roads, sharp uphill runouts and a real dash on smooth tarmac.

In effect this was a response to a sort of challenge from Lexus themselves to do something different with the car. Don't treat it as another goodies-laden model from the luxury arm of Toyota; treat it as a car that has progressed in other areas too, they urged.

Challenge accepted.

Of course it swept silently along the motorways; of course people asked about it when we stopped for coffee at one or two of the better known hostelries and of course friends and acquaintances sat it and still their wonder grew at how one car could have so much.

We'd expect that.

But away from the public glare we gave that eight cylinder 283bhp 4.3-litre engine (4293cc) little chance to rest.

We gave it plenty of scope to respond over the sort of roads that, frankly, should not really be allowed. We were careful, of course, because this is a big car and some of the roads were so narrow we had to pull in tight to the ditch to allow oncomers to pass safely.

Great fun really. That engine flies to 62.5mph in 6.7 seconds (that means it shifts the 1.8 tonnes in about the same time as it takes to read this and the previous unwieldy sentence).

Few will go to the trouble of trying engine and chassis to such extremes but it's good to know the wherewithal is at your disposal.

The most impressive element was how the chassis behaved. I drove it harshly on one road hardly wide enough to accommodate all four of its 225/55R17 tyres and I began to realise there was a vast pool of potential not tapped in this motor.

I've said this before: the Lexus can turn in the sort of ride and handling a sporty BMW would have been happy with.
And stemming directly from that arose what I think is the only real area of limitation. I would dearly have loved a 'dual' gearbox - like the BMW's Steptronic - where it is possible to go fully automatic or manually change up and down without having to use a clutch.

It would have given me a lot more flexibility and permitted adaptation of my driving style and preferences to the car's dynamics.

But my overriding impression is that Lexus have taken their large flagship into new territory.
And they have helped banish accusations of being bland looking with what are much sharper looks.

Put that alongside the largest cabin I've come across for a long time, its new driving edge and extensive equipment and you have the case for the prosecution claiming this to be the best car in the world.

Oh! go on then. I'll give you a sample of that luxury equipment.

The Lexus LS430 has what are claimed to be the world's first air-conditioned seats; the leather upholstery is perforated with tiny holes to let the air flow.

There is a ' swing register' on the climate control system. This automatically redirects the airflow to accommodate both the side of the car the sun is shining on and where passengers are sitting.

Then there's a six CD autochanger, wood/leather steering wheels, electric rear windscreen sunshade, water repellent side glass, rain sensing wipers, front seat cushions that can be pushed electrically forward or backwards, multi-information display (there are controls for this mounted on the steering wheel), cruise control, separate temperature controls for passenger and front seat driver, twin, side and curtain airbags and a foot operated parking brake that sets a whole new standard for ease of operation.

On the more strictly technological side there is vehicle stability control, traction control, electronic brake force distribution, anti-lock brakes, Brake Assist, automatic brightness adjustment on the dials and panel display, automatic sound levelling to suit ambient noise, rear view mirrors that are electrically controlled; they are also heated and fold when you take out the ignition key - and there's a three-year warranty.

Expect 20mpg-plus or 360-400 miles on the 18.5 gallon tank.

And expect to start asking yourself how they can improve on this.

It is that good; and it will keep many a one happy for a long time.

But they have again raised the bar on expectations and set themselves - and others - a whole new challenge for the future.

For now, though, I think I've met theirs - to test the car on different terms - this time around.
And on that basis I can say this LS430 is a different sort of Lexus.

It is now one of the great cars on the road.