Silence is golden

[jpjsavage]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before (apologies if it has), but I came across this article via a link on another Lexus forum. It confirms what everyone who has been driven in my LS600h has said, i.e. something along the lines of - wow, this is really quiet!

http://elevatingsound.com/the-price-of-quiet-driving/

For me, the quiet and refined environment inside the LS is one of the best things about the car. Great to see the LS at the top of the list!

[st4]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before (apologies if it has), but I came across this article via a link on another Lexus forum. It confirms what everyone who has been driven in my LS600h has said, i.e. something along the lines of - wow, this is really quiet!
http://elevatingsound.com/the-price-of-quiet-driving/
For me, the quiet and refined environment inside the LS is one of the best things about the car. Great to see the LS at the top of the list!

This confirms something I’ve thought for a long time. The VW golf is an over rated, under engineered piece of crap.

Look at the noisiest cars and it’s there. Personally I’m sick to death of hearing about how “complete” a car a golf is and how it provides “premium car refinement”

I can assure you from driving many models of these over the years they are a totally lousy car with no appeal whatsoever. Cheaply made, noisy (in a way that a cheap car is an an expensive one isn’t) and generally an all round pile of crap.


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[Cotswold Pete]

Most modern cars seem to be built to sound quite (ish) up to about 40mph, and then after that you have to crank up the stereo and forget about having a chat with the passengers.

Done to Stroud to Gatwick run a few times at 70+ and with mother in law in back (deaf old bird), and me (deaf old g*t) we can still have a chat.  Try that in any other car!

My next door neighbour as Hyundai Tucson, at 70mph, there could be a pair of mating elephants in the back🐘🐘, but you would never know for the cabin noise.

[harrylime]

Not sure if it makes any difference, but this survey is from 2013. I'm also not sure I agree with some of the findings. I drove a Golf 1.6 petrol hire car over 300 miles in 2010 to pick up my new Skoda Octavia Scout TSI. The Golf was so much more refined than the Scout, dramatically so. I value quietness in a car and was very impressed with the Golf. I didn't keep the Scout long, too flawed in several areas

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Most modern cars seem to be built to sound quite (ish) up to about 40mph, and then after that you have to crank up the stereo and forget about having a chat with the passengers.

Done to Stroud to Gatwick run a few times at 70+ and with mother in law in back (deaf old bird), and me (deaf old g*t) we can still have a chat.  Try that in any other car!

My next door neighbour as Hyundai Tucson, at 70mph, there could be a pair of mating elephants in the back🐘🐘, but you would never know for the cabin noise.

Have just returned from a 50 mile round trip to Whiston Hospital from Wirral, in complete silence, except for the incessant rain!

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, harrylime said:

Not sure if it makes any difference, but this survey is from 2013. I'm also not sure I agree with some of the findings. I drove a Golf 1.6 petrol hire car over 300 miles in 2010 to pick up my new Skoda Octavia Scout TSI. The Golf was so much more refined than the Scout, dramatically so. I value quietness in a car and was very impressed with the Golf. I didn't keep the Scout long, too flawed in several areas

I too have been impressed by the Golfs refinement and confess to being surprised by ST4 `s comments. 

Anyway, noise lies in the ears/head of the driver/passenger !

[runsgrateasanut]

4 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Have just returned from a 50 mile round trip to Whiston Hospital from Wirral, in complete silence, except for the incessant rain!

The Wife not speaking to you again John?

 

 

[The-Acre]

8 hours ago, jpjsavage said:

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before (apologies if it has), but I came across this article via a link on another Lexus forum. It confirms what everyone who has been driven in my LS600h has said, i.e. something along the lines of - wow, this is really quiet!

http://elevatingsound.com/the-price-of-quiet-driving/

For me, the quiet and refined environment inside the LS is one of the best things about the car. Great to see the LS at the top of the list!

When I'm driving mine with no music on I can hear my watch ticking!

[royoftherovers]

13 minutes ago, runsgrateasanut said:

The Wife not speaking to you again John?

 

 

Nice one Stu!

She was still in bed while I drove to discover that my long standing appointment had been cancelled and no one had informed me.

Could have been worse I suppose, I could have been in England !!

[st4]

I too have been impressed by the Golfs refinement and confess to being surprised by ST4 `s comments. 
Anyway, noise lies in the ears/head of the driver/passenger !

I can assure you that they’re corse and unrefined. The figures prove it. My experiences are that a golf is no better made, no better to drive, no more refined or comfortable than any other car in that segment. They’re lousy cheap cars with a hefty price tag.

Strangely the 5 series F10 is a very quiet car, road noise wise. Engine is coarse but rolling refinement is deeply impressive - which the findings show. Not tried an LS.


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[Tulpen]

Stephen, you really should try an LS.

I'm going to be in Alexandria, on the banks of Loch Lomond, over Christmas and New Year. I'm more than happy to let you have a go. Just remember, mine is LHD!

 

 

[royoftherovers]

5 hours ago, Tulpen said:

Stephen, you really should try an LS.

I'm going to be in Alexandria, on the banks of Loch Lomond, over Christmas and New Year. I'm more than happy to let you have a go. Just remember, mine is LHD!

 

 

Now there is a photo op for the Forum, if ever there was one !!

[i-s]

I'm not totally convinced by this piece...

I (currently - it's making way for the GS) own a V70 and while reasonably refined and pretty good for wind noise and road noise (at least it is now, on Michelin Crossclimates), the engine is an ever-felt presence, even on the motorway. It didn't bother me for a long time, but once I got the Leaf and got acclimatised to that, the continual diesel growl in the V70 really began to grate. However, if the test was performed with a 6-cyl petrol V70 (either T6 or particularly a 3.2) then I can see that it would be quiet. 

Another experience I had was when visiting colleagues in Germany. During a visit in February I was given a lift from the office to the hotel in one of my colleague's BMW 425d Grancoupe. I was favourably impressed with how it rode and the engine refinement. Fast forward to September, and I was picked up from the station by another colleague in his 420d Grancoupe. I was shocked at the clattery coarseness of the engine! I struggled slightly with reconciling those two experiences. The next day I was driven to my meeting in the 420d, and then my first colleague with the 425d gave me a lift to the station after our meeting - the 425d was WAY quieter. I said this to him, and he replied (with very germanic matter-of-factness) "He bought the wrong one".  

The point being that the engine and trim level make quite a difference to this measure - for example, VW Bluemotion cars have (or at least used to) thinner glass and less noise absorbing material in order to save weight - but both at the cost of refinement and higher noise levels. I don't think it's as simple as "the Golf is noisy" - I'm sure that SOME golfs are, and that some are better than others. 

But I have no doubt that the LS600h is extremely quiet. 

[mrdoofa]

I don’t mind a bit of engine noise, of course this depends what kind of engine it is!!! The V6 in my Mondeo makes an absolutely lovely sound, I sometimes turn down the radio as I’d rather listen to the engine!!! The GS450h is one of the more vocal lexus’ when you put your foot down, again it’s a nice V6 growl. The Rover SD1 3.5 V8 isn’t a motor, it’s a musical instrument!!!

[mr2lad]

I have the luxury of having a  whisper quiet V8 LS600hL 

and the roar of a  3rd cat deleted custom stainless steel exhaust on my V8 SC430

neighbours never hear me coming or going in the LS 

but wake the whole village up in the SC 😂 

[The-Acre]

8 hours ago, i-s said:

I'm not totally convinced by this piece...

I (currently - it's making way for the GS) own a V70 and while reasonably refined and pretty good for wind noise and road noise (at least it is now, on Michelin Crossclimates), the engine is an ever-felt presence, even on the motorway. It didn't bother me for a long time, but once I got the Leaf and got acclimatised to that, the continual diesel growl in the V70 really began to grate. However, if the test was performed with a 6-cyl petrol V70 (either T6 or particularly a 3.2) then I can see that it would be quiet. 

Another experience I had was when visiting colleagues in Germany. During a visit in February I was given a lift from the office to the hotel in one of my colleague's BMW 425d Grancoupe. I was favourably impressed with how it rode and the engine refinement. Fast forward to September, and I was picked up from the station by another colleague in his 420d Grancoupe. I was shocked at the clattery coarseness of the engine! I struggled slightly with reconciling those two experiences. The next day I was driven to my meeting in the 420d, and then my first colleague with the 425d gave me a lift to the station after our meeting - the 425d was WAY quieter. I said this to him, and he replied (with very germanic matter-of-factness) "He bought the wrong one".  

The point being that the engine and trim level make quite a difference to this measure - for example, VW Bluemotion cars have (or at least used to) thinner glass and less noise absorbing material in order to save weight - but both at the cost of refinement and higher noise levels. I don't think it's as simple as "the Golf is noisy" - I'm sure that SOME golfs are, and that some are better than others. 

But I have no doubt that the LS600h is extremely quiet. 

I have to come in on the defence of the V70.  I've had mine for three years now and I think it's brilliant.  Yes the engine can growl when pushed, but at motorway cruising I find it perfect.  Being the SE Sport it also has excellent pulling power, is surprisingly swift, and has many nice features.  On the road it feels solid and safe. However, the turning circle is its major fault in my opinion.  Maybe I've just been spoilt by having a car that has a better turning circle than anything I've ever driven!  The Lexus (or Toyota in my case) turning circle never ceases to amaze me.

[i-s]

I love the V70, don't get me wrong. If ours had a power passenger seat we'd probably still be keeping it. 

However, I suspect we're talking different cars - SE Sport sounds like a P2 car (2001-2008)? Ours is a 2011 P3. P3s can turn a bit tighter than P2s (although ours has a lock limiter because it came from the factory on 8" wide wheels). P2s have a reputation for being out-turned by oil tankers. 

But my point was that Engine, trim level, wheel and tyre spec, tyre make and model all have big impacts, and would drastically affect the placement of any car in the table and that I suspect that is the case for the V70 - a T4 is probably the quietest V70, and they were more plentiful in sweden (where the test took place) than elsewhere where diesel is the defacto V70 powertrain. 

[Tulpen]

On 12/4/2018 at 3:14 PM, royoftherovers said:

Now there is a photo op for the Forum, if ever there was one !!

OK, here we go...……..we spend 2 weeks every Xmas and New Year with family in Scotland. After taking the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle, we divide the time between the Loch Lomond area and Aviemore.

This is Loch Lomond with Ben Lomond in the background:

Loch Morlich (Aviemore) and the Cairngorms:

The Strathspey Railway. The steam locomotive, 46512, is an ex-LMS Ivatt Class 2-6-0. The luxury locomotive in the foreground is my LS - which is a 4-6-0  🙂 

My LS is almost 12 years old (a mere youngster in LS terms) and I do try to keep it in good condition - outside and in:

 

 

[royoftherovers]

38 minutes ago, Tulpen said:

OK, here we go...……..we spend 2 weeks every Xmas and New Year with family in Scotland. After taking the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle, we divide the time between the Loch Lomond area and Aviemore.

This is Loch Lomond with Ben Lomond in the background:

Loch Morlich (Aviemore) and the Cairngorms:

The Strathspey Railway. The steam locomotive, 46512, is an ex-LMS Ivatt Class 2-6-0. The luxury locomotive in the foreground is my LS - which is a 4-6-0  🙂 

My LS is almost 12 years old (a mere youngster in LS terms) and I do try to keep it in good condition - outside and in:

 

 

Great shots Brian.  Did Stephen not turn up then ?

[st4]

Great shots Brian.  Did Stephen not turn up then ?

I was unable to take advantage of the offer alas. Christmas is a tricky time of year to get away and I use it to catch up on the back log of processing work I have.


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[Tulpen]

1 hour ago, st4 said:

 

I was unable to take advantage of the offer alas. Christmas is a tricky time of year to get away and I use it to catch up on the back log of processing work I have.


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No problem, Stephen, Argyll is a big area. If I lived in Campbeltown or Tobermory, I'd think twice about going all the way to Alexandria for a test drive!

[st4]

1 hour ago, Tulpen said:

No problem, Stephen, Argyll is a big area. If I lived in Campbeltown or Tobermory, I'd think twice about going all the way to Alexandria for a test drive!

 

I'm not far from Lochgilphead 😉 I've moved from Arrochar but have family in Helensburgh. 

Your car looks lovely - truth be told I am not that confident driving LHD cars though - the last time was over 12 yrs ago and I would be terrified of damaging the car but would have uptaken a passanger drive - I just take my righthooker overseas. You got pretty good weather by the looks of things. 

 

Truth be told I am going to hold off an LS for 2 years. I have too much expense on at the moment and last year was an exceptionally good year, this year will in all liklihood not be as fruitful.