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Comparable cars in this class: Mercedes Benz E
Class, BMW 5 Series, Infiniti Q45, Cadillac DeVille, Lincoln Town Car.
The first-generation Lexus LS400 (1990-1994) is quite possibly one of
the top five best cars in the world. In speaking to some owners of this car, I heard
comments like "…best car I've ever owned", "…this is a great
car", "…fabulous ride". One owner summed it up by saying "This
may be the last car I ever buy."
In 1989 when Toyota introduced this car to America as a 1990 model, the
automotive press thought it didn't have a chance against the likes of Mercedes and BMW.
Toyota knew how to build great economy cars and small family sedans but this is the big
league. Jokes circulated about this folly, one of which I remember on a TV drama where a
car thief who specialized in stealing expensive cars pulled up with a Lexus. When his
partner saw him and gave him a look, he said "it was dark, I thought it was a
Mercedes." As a matter of fact, the only LS400 that I have ever known to break
down was in the 1991 movie "The Grand Canyon" starring Danny Glover (a movie I
otherwise highly recommend.)
Well, it took less then a year for everyone in the automotive industry
to change their attitude and give this car the respect it deserved. Lexus became the
standard by which other cars are judged. Only the Mercedes S Class and the BMW 7 Series
could rightly claim to be better cars. But they cost $10,000 to $20,000 more than the
Lexus LS400 which had a starting price of under $38,000 in 1990.
Today, we know that the first-generation Lexus LS400s are quite
possibly the most reliable cars on the planet. The ’93 that we used for this report
with 101,000 miles on it is more reliable than most new cars. And this is no fluke. Check
out its reliability rating in any consumer publication that rates used cars and see for
yourself. Better still, talk to an owner. The owner of our test car purchased it over a
year ago from a wholesale lot (which means no warrantee) and has driven it about 16,000
miles. So far, he has changed the oil 3 times and replaced a parking light bulb.
 Of course, whenever you buy any used car, you must make sure that you have
it thoroughly checked out by a competent professional. You are looking for a car that has
been properly maintained and never been in an accident. One good thing about buying a
Lexus is that you can take the V.I.N. number to a Lexus service center and they will give
you a printout of all the work that was ever done to that car by any Lexus dealer in the
country.
The test car for this report is a 1993 Lexus LS400 with 101,000 miles on
the clock. The tires on this car are 225/60 VR16 Goodyear Invicta GA’s. These are the
recommended tires for this car and are the same type as the ones that came on it when it
was new. This car has all the options that were available for this model except for the
built-in cellular phone. The options include full time traction control, heated front
seats, memory seat system, Nakamichi Sound System, trunk mounted 6-disk CD changer, Power
Moonroof and computer controlled air-suspension.
This car exudes quality from its fit and finish to the materials chosen
both inside and out. Look around the interior and you won’t find a single exposed
screw and very few seams in the trim. All the controls, from the radio knobs to the
directional lever feel like they will last forever. The same goes for the glove
compartment door, the cup holders, the ash tray, and everything else you can touch, see or
hear. The steering wheel has a nice feel to it with a thick rim that allows a good sense
of control. The entire center pad of the wheel serves as a horn switch. I found it to be
bit too easy to accidentally blow the horn while twirling the wheel with one finger during
parking maneuvers. The instruments are illuminated both day and night while the
ignition is on. The numbers on the gauges seem to float in space with the needles in front
of them and any warning lights floating about an inch or so behind. When the ignition is
off, the panel goes dark and you can’t see the gauges at all.
The perfect driving
position is achieved with a host of power adjustments, all part of the optional his/hers
memory system. These adjustments include the 8-way power seat, a power tilt and
telescoping steering column, power seatbelt anchor height, power headrest height and power
outside mirrors. Press button number 1 and all these adjustments move to the first
driver’s preferences. Press number 2 and they all move to the other driver’s
settings. Without the memory system, the adjustments are still there, but not all
are power operated.
 The seats are very
comfortable for four people but, because of the deeply sculptured rear seat, a fifth
passenger, sitting on the center hump, will feel like he/she has been relegated to
second-class citizen.
The ride on this car with its air-suspension is as perfect as you can
get. Soft but controlled over any kind of pavement we could throw at it. We took it
through Brooklyn New York where some of the streets have been heaved and tossed by a
century of bus and truck traffic and spot patched whenever absolutely necessary. On the
rare occasion where they would pave a section of street, you may see a Con Edison crew the
following week breaking it up again to make an underground repair.
In some cases, you knew you were going over a particularly bad section
of road because you could see it out of the front windshield. But from inside, all you
could feel was a gentle rocking motion, with little or no sound from a suspension that you
knew had to be working its heart out.
Normally, a car that rides this softly is a bear to control, bounding up
and down after a dip in the road or wallowing like a boat when you tried to take a turn.
Not so this Lexus. I found the steering to be quick and responsive and the cornering to be
flat and steady. The excellent tires gripped the road with a vengeance both in cornering
and stopping while maintaining a very quiet ride. A rare achievement. When
going over a dip in the road that would send other softly sprung cars bounding up and down
and getting their passengers seasick, this car will sense the dip in the road and
instantly tighten up its electronically controlled shocks to stop any bounding before it
had a chance to start. As soon as the energy from the dip is absorbed, the shocks returned
to their soft setting. If the computer senses that you are driving fast, making quick
steering movements or braking hard, the shocks will stiffen up to their sport mode and
stay that way for as long as necessary. At highway speed, the car will lower itself
automatically by about an inch for improved aerodynamics. Another advantage to
having air-suspension is when you have a full load of passengers and/or heavy items in the
trunk, the car will level itself automatically. There are two controls on the console to
allow you to modify the behavior of this system. One switch allows you to manually change
from normal to sport shock settings, the other switch lets you increase the ground
clearance by about an inch or so for when you are driving through snow or on bad roads.
I also had a chance to drive another Lexus with the standard coil spring
suspension without all these bells and whistles. I can tell you that, while the ride was
not quite as good as the air spring car, it still had an excellent ride while providing
good handling and control on winding roads. In both cases, you are dealing with a car that
rides as good as any in the world.
One thing that you should remember is that this is a rear wheel drive
car. Because of this, traction on slippery roads can be a problem and if you don’t
know how to handle a rear wheel drive car in a skid, you could easily spin out. To avoid
this, make sure the car you plan to buy has traction control. This system will sense a
wheel that is starting to spin and apply the brake on that wheel thereby transferring
power to the wheel with the most traction. If applying the brake is insufficient to stop
the spin, the computer will reduce power to the engine until the skid is under control.
This process takes place so quickly and seamlessly, in many cases the only way that you
know that you almost lost traction is by the flashing Trac light that tells you that the
system momentarily took over. Of course, 20 years ago most cars were rear wheel
drive and none had traction control. I guess that we all just drove more carefully back
then and perhaps knew our limits.
 The V8 engine is world-class. With 250 horsepower
this engine will accelerate the car from a standing start to 60 MPH in 7.9 seconds with a
sound that is akin to ripping silk. This car is quieter at full throttle then most cars
are at light cruising speed. The transmission is a perfect match for the engine. At light
throttle acceleration, the only way you will know when the transmission shifts is by
watching the tach needle. It’s that smooth. A 4 liter V8, is not a very large
engine for a luxury car. Lexus kept the size down in order to keep the gas mileage
up and avoid the gas guzzler tax. Other cars in its class like the
Infiniti Q45
couldn't make that claim. The disadvantage to a smaller engine is that it lacks
sharp throttle response. Tap the throttle to move up into the traffic flow with an
Infiniti Q45 with its 4.6 liter engine and it goes right now. With Lexus, you
sometimes have a slight lag while the transmission smoothly shifts down before it takes
off like a silent rocket. But, for conservative driving and an occasional blast
onto the Interstate on-ramp, the Lexus LS400 can't be beat.
Cruising down the highway, this is one of the quietest cars on the road,
right up to its 150 MPH top speed. (No, I didn't test Lexus’ top-speed claim for this
car.) If it can reach that speed, then you know the engine is loafing at all realistic
speeds. On the other side of the coin, this car needs premium fuel and the gas mileage is
on the low end of acceptable at an EPA rating of 18 MPG city and 23 highway.
The trunk is fairly large and usable with a large opening. Since this is
a rear wheel drive car, the trunk doesn't extend up under the package shelf (That’s
where the gas tank is.) Under the trunk floor, there is a full size spare tire which is
mounted face-down. Seated in the center of the spare wheel is a shallow plastic bucket
with a handle. You can use it to store rags or gloves or maybe a set of booster cables out
of sight. In the left wall of the trunk, there is a flip-down compartment that contains a
small set of Lexus monogrammed tools, a Lexus flashlight and a terrycloth rag with a Lexus
emblem embroidered on it. On the right wall of the trunk, there is a compartment for the
first-aid kit and the 6 Disc CD changer.
Parts for this car are not cheap. But I consider this a moot point since
you rarely have to replace any. I asked Lexus if they knew of any problem areas but
they couldn't think of any. They told me that there were some problems with the '95 and
later cars but the "first generation" LS400 was very trouble-free. I also
asked them if they ever had a problem with the timing belt failing. The service
manager said that the only timing belt that he ever saw fail was on a car with over
150,000 miles on it with a belt that has never been changed. They recommend changing
the timing belt at 90,000 miles (a $475.00 job). Most other cars require that the timing
belt be changed at 60,000 miles.
How does the Lexus LS400 fit your driving style?
If you are a conservative driver, this
is your car. Smooth, quiet and comfortable in all driving conditions with effortless,
silent acceleration. Since this is not a front wheel drive car, make sure that you find
one with traction control. This car is near bulletpoof in reliability if you find a
clean one that was properly cared for.
The sporty
driver will like the near-silent silky acceleration that
this car provides but this is a pure luxury car and you may be disappointed with the road
feel and the throttle response. For the same price, you may be happier with a one year
newer Acura Legend LS or the more performance orientated Legend GS. They are just as
reliable and have more of a sports sedan feel. If you still want the Lexus, get a ‘93
or’94. They have larger brakes and wider tires better suited for sporty driving.
The fast
driver can get into trouble with this car because the only
thrill this car will provide is through its silent speed and thrust. Since there is no
visceral feedback you will often find yourself going faster than you thought. As with the
sporty driver, stay away from models before ’93. Tire grip with the larger tires
found on the '93 and '94 is exceptional right to the limit. These are definitely
performance tires. It is amazing how smooth and quiet they are during normal driving.
Braking is strong and powerful as well.
Click
here for more pictures of the 93 Lexus LS400
Model year differences
- 1990
The first Lexus LS400
- 1991
There is a slight refinement in the front brakes to provide better pedal feel.
- 1992
No changes
- 1993
Larger tires and brakes, Passenger side air bag added, CFC free air conditioning with a
pollen filter, Automatic headlamps, styling touch-ups and several interior refinements. (
'93 also rates as the most reliable of this reliable group. This is the year to look
for.)
- 1994
No changes, Same as '93
Specifications
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