2013 Lexus LS460 / LS460 F Sport / LS600hL Hybrid

A spindle grille for you and you. Oh, and there's an F Sport.

August 2012

Lexus’s LS, long successful on the sales charts, has never been known to excite—whether visually or from behind the wheel. The 2013 model looks to change that rep, however, as it mixes in some aesthetic and mechanical spice to the brand’s traditional porridge of cosseting luxury and soporific refinement.

Got That Hourglass Shape . . .

The 2013 LS isn’t all new from the ground up, but casual observers might get that impression from the front end. Every LS, from the LS460 to the LS600hL hybrid, now wears the brand’s unmistakable spindle-shaped grille and a fresh headlight design. The new maw effectively channels the sporty 2013 GS sedan and emphasizes how boring the outgoing LS’s droopy mug was. Out back, the taillights are resculpted and the trunklid is scalloped between the units.

Lexus may have only tweaked portions of 2013 LS’s styling, but nearly everything was altered inside. The old model’s functionally styled dashboard has been binned in favor of a new design that incorporates a giant, 12.3-inch display screen that displays the infotainment functions controlled by Lexus’s Remote Touch nub. (This is a control system of which we’ve never been fond; we prefer the rotary knobs of Audi and Mercedes products to the mouse-like Lexus setup.) On the safety front, the 2013 LS can be fitted with a rear cross-path alert system and a blind-spot monitor. Lexus reprogrammed its optional pre-collision technology so that it can bring the car to a complete stop from speeds up to 24 mph if it deems an accident is imminent.

Many of the aforementioned items recently debuted in the latest GS sedan, so their appearance in the LS makes sense. Also new and optional to the LS is something Lexus calls “Climate Concierge,” which utilizes a series of sensors to keep track of cabin temperatures and adjust the heating or cooling of the seats and heated steering wheel to maintain set parameters.

Same Body, More Toned

Beyond the car’s additional baubles and kicky new looks, Lexus also added an aggressive LS460 F Sport to the carry-over LS460 and LS600hL hybrid models. The new F Sport will aim to enliven the LS driving experience—we predict success, as any sportiness whatsoever will do the trick—with an air suspension lowered by 0.4 inch, a Torsen limited-slip rear differential, Brembo brakes, and 19-inch forged aluminum wheels with available summer tires. Sportier front seats and real aluminum trim on the dashboard and doors are part of the package. If the LS460 F Sport is as well sorted as the GS350 F Sport, it could make for a relatively entertaining steer. And if any LS has a chance to post good results against the current champion Audi A8 in a luxobarge comparison test, this is the one.

The 2013 LS line also has a stiffer body, new dampers, and steering said to be tweaked for better accuracy and response, but beyond the new F Sport and these alterations, the rest of the dirty bits carry over. That means the LS460 models have a 4.6-liter V-8 paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission driving either the rear or all four wheels; the LS460 also is available in two lengths. The long-wheelbase-only LS600hL hybrid again features a V-8/electric motor combo driving all four wheels through a continuously variable transmission. The LS600hL packs the same 438 combined total system horsepower as before, but its conventionally powered sibling does get a smidge more power. In rear-wheel-drive LS460 models, horsepower increases by 6 to 386 but torque remains at 367 lb-ft; all-wheel-drive cars see modest bumps of 3 hp and 3 lb-ft to 360 and 347, respectively.

The new 2013 LS460 goes on sale in October, the F Sport in November, and the LS600hL follows in December. We expect pricing to stay near current levels, which means base prices close to the 2012 LS460’s $68,525 and the 2012 LS600hL’s $113,645. The F Sport should cost a few grand more than the LS460.

The photos here are proof enough that the 2013 LS has kicked it up a notch visually. As for the driving experience? We’ll know more in about a week—look for our report soon. View Photo Gallery