XF50 LS500

Lexus ditched the V8 and brought the new twin-turbo V6 LS500 and V6 hybrid LS500h into price alignment when it introduced the all-new fourth-generation LS limousine in Australia.

This flagship of Toyota’s luxury brand shares the same Global Architecture Luxury platform as the Lexus LC sports coupe, as well as a lot of the advanced technology and running gear such as a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Again, the new LS took Lexus to the head of the pack among Japanese luxury car manufacturers, offering high levels of standard equipment, impeccable safety credentials and unbeatable build quality.

Longer and wider than before, the new LS was introduced in one length with a wheelbase of 3125mm, dispensing to the short- and long-wheelbase variants of the previous generation.

The LS500 became the performance version at launch. Its blown 310kW 3.5-litre V6 pushes the 2.2-litre behemoth from zero to 100km/h in 5.0 seconds.

The petrol-electric LS500h punched out a combined 264kW – less than the 284kW of the V8 hybrid LS600hLof the previous generation – but thanks to tricks such as a new multi-stage continuously variable transmission (CVT), the LS500 is almost a second quicker to 1000km/h (5.4s) and considerably less thirsty (6.6 litres per 100km).