2018 Lexus LS 500

Lexus has become the yin to Mercedes-Benz’s yang. Where the Benz is old money, maybe the Lexus is a dot-com.

For 2018, Lexus has given us a new flagship sedan, the LS 500. New doesn’t have to mean more expensive, though. “With a starting manufacturer suggested retail price of $75,000*, the LS 500 arrives with a base price that is $3,820 less than its current long wheelbase predecessor despite offering more power, comfort and safety than ever before,” the press kit states.

The look might go with the rest of the Lexus lineup, but the chassis is all new. It’s also longer and lower than the previous one.

Like most everyone else in this segment, the model designation no longer jibes with the powerplant–and, even perhaps bigger news, the Lexus flagship no longer gets a V8. The new LS 500 is powered by a twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V6 that produces 416 horsepower along with 442 lb.-ft. of torque. All of that is sent through a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Good lord that's ugly.

Saw the pic on the side of the forum, came here to say exactly the same thing.

That's disgusting

I think it's interesting and unique looking.  Would rock.

looks like a particularly ugly infiniti to me.  I don't like it.  

Interesting. Not ugly. I too would rock it. 

I don't think it is ugly, but it isn't good looking either. 

Funny how the LS design has aged over the years. I used to think that the 1st and 2nd generations were boring. I still do, but it was a handsome design, and I'd certainly rock it. The 3rd generation was too boring and Camry like. 4th generation was back to the handsome and boring. I think it will age well. This one, I don't think that it will age well at all. 

Toyota has a 400hp twin turbo V6 and no real sports car? I'm no product development guy, but I see an opportunity.......

The front of that car seriously looks photoshopped. Like a fear n loathing in Las Vegas distortion. They did that on purpose?

There are so many new Lexii around here I'm almost becoming immune to the ugliness of the front grille, but the thing about this car that REALLY strikes me is the 4x4 wheel gap. What's up with the Japanese carmakers never seemingly being able to design a car where the wheels look like the are the right size for the wheel wells (or, vice versa). Audi, BMW, even most of the American manufacturers these days - they are doing it right. Japanese cars always look like their first thing they need are some 1" drop lowering springs......

Besides that, most of the rest of this LS500 is pretty ugly as well.

As usual, I find the "it's ugly" crowd faintly ridiculous. Clearly many very-well-heeled individuals disagree. And anyway, that's got nothing to do with the driving experience.

Kreb said:

 Clearly many very-well-heeled individuals disagree. 

well geez, in that case I totally change my opinion. I'll just go ahead and go back into my single-wide now and change into a tank-top, smack my wife around a bit, drink a Schlitz, and reflect on how I should have taken a different path in life so as to be a well-heeled individual with such an authoritative opinion.

In all seriousness though, I doubt anyone questions that this is an excellent car in terms of everything non-style related. But it's not a stretch to say that Lexus could make an attractive car that is just as good in every functional way. And let's not act as if everyone buys cars based on appearance, well-heeled or not. Hell, I drive a 2009 WRX. It's most certainly ugly. Doesn't mean I can't say it's ugly...

It's just that "Lexus grilles are ugly and look like the Predator" is right up there with "Miatas are for gay hairdressers". It's old and tired and coveys absolutely zero useful information.  

Kreb said:

It's just that "Lexus grilles are ugly and look like the Predator" is right up there with "Miatas are for gay hairdressers". It's old and tired and coveys absolutely zero useful information.  

As for me, I think the general lines of the car, the giant scoops aside the grille, and the wheel gap are ugly, independent of the grille itself.

But really, it's not like anyone here owns this brand new LS500, so I can't think what other useful information anyone could provide on the car other than their opinions of what they *think* of it (or stuff they looked up someplace else on the internet). The fact that "well heeled individuals' apparently think it's beautiful is no more useful information than GRM members saying it isn't. At least those of us posting here are members of this forum...These other unnamed iwell-heeled individuals must be over on some other forum posting about the car's beauty. YMMV.

It's like a committee of Predators got together and designed the car's exterior by group-think.  What's going on with that hump over the front wheels?  Is that supposed to be an homage to the 1972 Javelin?  Why is a Z-shape oozing out of the headlight?  And then the big slice/holes under the headlights, outside of the grill, is that where foglights would go if the right option box was ticked?  Even the mirrors got weirdo housings.  

The styling seems like so much busy nonsense to me.  Hey, maybe I'm wrong.  Did the LS cars always look insane?

To be fair, that is a bad photo of a sub-optimal spec with the air suspension in "comfort access" mode. This white F-sport model looks pretty slick.

Wth does well-heeled mean? 

yupididit said:

Wth does well-heeled mean? 

yupididit said:

Wth does well-heeled mean? 

Nope Nope and Nope. That is about the ugliest car I have ever seen.  Looks like the designers pinched it one day (having fun) in the CAD program and forgot to un do it and it got sent to production. I have always thought that it was probably a fantastic looking car before the pinching accident.  

I am betting it looked a lot like an Audi. Just better. It would be cool if someone could un pinch it and see what it looked like. 

Sorry Lex-sux. Swing and a miss on this one. 

Looks like a bigger GS instead of a car with a different mission. My personal lala-land view of the GS is that it's a luxurious car for people who still want some swagger from it, and the LS is a luxury car for people who seek to be coddled and aren't afraid for the world to know it. I think this new styling blurs that line and associates the LS more with its downscale siblings to the detriment of it being perceived as a 'luxury' car.