2008 Lexus LS 460

It always happens to me when reviewing a Lexus, there is a good side and a bad side to it. The good side is the product quality and the level of luxury; you cannot help but feel pampered and privileged enveloped in the leather interior and the astounding selection of high-tech gadgetry. The bad side is knowing that you will have to give it back at some point.

That parting is always such sweet sorrow.

The Lexus LS460 is the automaker's flagship sedan and the tester was the long-wheelbase version LS460L. The "L" stands for long, which it is - as in very long. The LS 460L model has nearly 5 inches of additional space. Lexus does its very best to accommodate where that length may be an issue. Inside the cabin you will find ample spaces, lots of leather and bolstering and fine materials in every corner. Believe me, that extra length is not an issue. But when it comes to parking, and maneuvering in tighter spaces, Lexus lends a hand with some appreciated technology.

For suburbanites who only know ample spaces, parallel parking is the scourge of the big city. Leave it to Lexus to take the pressure out of one of the more tedious tasks in driving, especially with a 203-inch-long sedan. All I had to do pull the car adjacent to an open parking space using the Nav screen and let the Intuitive Park Assist take over. As the car backs up, a rearview appears on the screen and Park Assist handles the rest. You have seen the commercials, and if you have ever seen it happen first-hand, it is amazing.

Exterior styling is lean and streamlined. I really loved the way the A-pillar flowed down and inward across the hood to form a visual "V" flowing gently into the Lexus badge in the center of the grille. The 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels are a classy touch to a wonderful, luxury sedan treatment.

The tester impressed as I stepped up to enter the cabin. A SmartAccess keyless entry system allowed the key-fob in my pocket to trigger the unlocking of the doors. When you consider starting the car requires no key, only the presence of the fob, a foot on the brake and depressing a start button on the dash, you never need to struggle to find your keys. Just a touch of a button.

The LS460 has a base price of $61,000 and the LS460 L has a base price of $72,000, plus options. The options brought my tester to $80,524. Worth every penny.

Once inside the cabin you are sheltered from exterior noises. You barely hear any engine or road noise no matter how fast you are traveling. Climate-controlled front seats (rear seats can also be heated) offer power adjustments and ample legroom to where falling asleep would be easy.

Rear seat passengers are pampered with an entertainment system featuring the world's first ceiling-mounted 9-inch screen with 3.0 VGA high-quality display. The screen operates with an electronic open/close function. For better viewing, the rear doors have sunshades.

My tester was equipped with an outstanding Nav system that has a hard disc drive for faster calculations. It's also an extremely accurate system with loads of information. I found it terribly simple to operate.

A 19-speaker Mark Levinson sound system with a DVD/CD changer was an additional $2,530 option. With a system that can store 2,000 digital songs, you would be hard pressed to find use for AM/FM stations or the XM Satellite radio stations. But with Lexus, you can have it all.

The LS460L had a powerful 4.6-liter V-8 engine (380 horsepower) with claims of 0-60 mph in less than six seconds. Trust me, when you feel the power flow to the amazing eight-speed sequential shift automatic transmission, you will have no problem believing those claims. Fuel mileage is predictably mediocre at 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.

Electronically controlled braking, power steering and Vehicle Stability Control make the LS460L an extremely safe vehicle. Driver and front passenger airbags supplement the knee bags for the front seat driver and passenger. It has the latest in front and rear side curtain airbags, plus seat belt pretensioners for front and out-board rear seat passengers.

There's not a lot that's bad deal on with the LS460L. The truth is that the biggest downside is the sheer length and it also happens to be the car's extra special feature. If you've got the coin for this extra special sedan, let the car do the parking, and wrap yourself in that 19-speakier sound system.