LS430 is utter luxury and safety

YOU could well lose yourself - even a rather large fellow like me - inside the new Lexus LS430. Not just swallowed up whole by its big and sumptuous cabin, but enwrapped in the kind of total luxury that grips you like a magnet.

In the league of big execs, this is right up there with the cream.

Eleven years on and Lexus, America’s best-selling marque, continues to send powerful shock waves through Europe.

The LS400, the LS430’s predecessor, took on the German might when it led the Lexus charge back in 1990. Now, a decade later, the all-new model sends out a new challenge as it takes comfort, convenience, silence and luxury to a new and higher level.

This is the safety-packed limousine with everything... supreme comfort and hushed refinement. In fact it is the quietest machine you’ll never hear.

Despite its size, the LS430, which was developed in the famous Japanese Bullet train wind tunnels, is one of the most aerodynamic passenger cars (0.25cd). A combination of low drag and tight panel fit vitually eliminate wind noise in the car. And with its superior spec, offers far more technologially advanced standard equipment than any Euro rival.

Pity then that the Lexus LS430 still wears a suit that lacks their elegance. The LS400’s looks were ungainly and bland and even though Lexus have attempted to inject a crisper look, particularly at the front, the styling is still awkward and plain and echoes back to the old Nissan and Toyota execs of yesteryear.

The old LS400 was a big car inside; the LS430 is even bigger. Overall length is unchanged but the wheelbase has been stretched by 76mm and it is 61mm taller.This allows for a bigger boot and a more spacious cabin with extra head room front and rear.

The serenely quiet superbly crafted cabin now boasts much more wood and soft leather. And so well insulated that even siren-blaring ambulances were seen but barely heard. Open the laminated window, however, and the difference is deafening. A pity that the interior is marred by switches and controls that are in clusters all over the place.

But it is in its equipment that the LS430 brings utter luxury and safety. Like being the first to have standard air conditioned front seats with perforated leather and a first ever swing register that allows air flow to be automatically redirected to take account of the sun in relation to the car, or of where passengers are sitting in the car.

There’s also an electric sunshade on the rear window, rear climate control, centre-of-dash mounted CD player, rear seats adjustable back and forth, eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat with memory settings that also ‘remember’ headrest and seatbelt mounting positions, steering wheel and exterior mirrors.

And the list goes one... Automatic on/off lights and speed sensing wipers, automatic door closing, and water repellent glass front and side windows.

And safety features include front, side and curtain airbags, antilock braking, electronic brake distribution and traction control.

Phew! And we haven’t even got to the beating heart of the LS430 - an all-new all aluminium 4.3 litre 32 valve superbly refined V8 that uses variable valve timing. It features the first torque-activated powertrain control, further improving the already smooth five-speed auto Lexus gearshifts making them almost totally imperceptible. Power remains at 280bhp, but torque is up from 300lb ft to 320lb ft, delivering six per cent more torque with peak power 600rpm lower. This gives it a 0 to 62mph in 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. I averaged 21.2mpg. The LS430, despite weighing two tonnes, is a strong performing and terrific handling car.

And suspensions, now mostly aluminium to reduce weight, have been reworked for an even smoother, quieter ride with reduced roll on corners.

Fast, super luxurious, an absolute palace on wheels - and I want one!