My First Long Motorway Journey In The Ls460

TeesLS460 · November 4, 2007

This weekend, I made the 500 mile round trip to my parent's place in London. I switched the suspension to comfort once on the dual carriageway (too bouncy for normal use in my opinion), and the car was great.

The radar guided cruise control together with the Lane Keep Assist were the stars of the journey though. By day or night, they kept up with traffic, braked as necessary when traffic bunched up, and helped to steer the car. This made a huge difference to stress levels, and the 3.5 hour journey each way felt like it had taken only half as long. Even in lane 3 on the M1 where vehicles can go from 'quite fast', to braking heavily to 60mph or less, the radar cruise handled it perfectly, although it took a little while to trust the system (if you brake, then the cruise turns off and you have to finish braking yourself).

Now the next bit is carefully worded... Hypothetically, if I had been tailgated at 90mph by someone in a red car, then putting the throttle to the floor for a few seconds would have left them back a good 600 yards and would have felt very good :-)

And the LS460 managed 29mpg fully loaded with family and their luggage while maintaining a decent rate of progress.

graham8370 · November 4, 2007

Mr Roy, you have had this car for nearly 2 months now and you are telling us that this is the first time you have visited your Mother in 8 weeks!!!!!!!. It really is unforgiveable that you would keep her waiting that long to view a LS460.

Shame, Shame, Shame.

But seriously, you are one lucky fella.

Chris Skelton · November 5, 2007

This weekend, I made the 500 mile round trip to my parent's place in London. I switched the suspension to comfort once on the dual carriageway (too bouncy for normal use in my opinion), and the car was great.
The radar guided cruise control together with the Lane Keep Assist were the stars of the journey though. By day or night, they kept up with traffic, braked as necessary when traffic bunched up, and helped to steer the car. This made a huge difference to stress levels, and the 3.5 hour journey each way felt like it had taken only half as long. Even in lane 3 on the M1 where vehicles can go from 'quite fast', to braking heavily to 60mph or less, the radar cruise handled it perfectly, although it took a little while to trust the system (if you brake, then the cruise turns off and you have to finish braking yourself).

Now the next bit is carefully worded... Hypothetically, if I had been tailgated at 90mph by someone in a red car, then putting the throttle to the floor for a few seconds would have left them back a good 600 yards and would have felt very good :-)

And the LS460 managed 29mpg fully loaded with family and their luggage while maintaining a decent rate of progress.

Yes, I can do this hypothetically as well........

Anuj · November 6, 2007

what car did u upgrade from mate? 460 is a beast never mind the se-l

TeesLS460 · November 7, 2007

what car did u upgrade from mate? 460 is a beast never mind the se-l

I upgraded from a Renault Megane Coupé Cabriolet turbodiesel. That had seemed pretty nippy, but it was no match for the LS460. I've had two MK III Toyota Supras before as well, but they were also slow in comparison.

Graham, I see you managed to identify me from the clues on my Youtube page. My parents had been up to visit us so they saw the car quite early. It was not easy trying to explain why I blew so much money on a car (when you want something, you just want it).

My little brother (also seen on my YouTube page) is off to the USA at the end of the month as manager for the London Mint team (part of the Championship Gaming Series) playing in the world finals. This will be shown on Sky One around Christmas week (daily from Christmas eve to New Years day I think) and I wanted to show off the car to him before he left

dmince · August 31, 2008

i bought a ls600h it has the radar cruise control but no lane keep assist. i was peed off that it didn't have it and was wondering why its not available on the ls600h, ive asked lexus but they havent replied. everything else is perfect on the car smoothest and quietest ride ever!!

Parthiban · August 31, 2008

i bought a ls600h it has the radar cruise control but no lane keep assist. i was peed off that it didn't have it and was wondering why its not available on the ls600h, ive asked lexus but they havent replied. everything else is perfect on the car smoothest and quietest ride ever!!

That is bizarre, wonder why they took it off? Could it be something to do with the four wheel drive?

How is the LS600h? Is the fuel economy decent?

dmince · September 1, 2008

yea maybe its because of the AWD. fuel economy is decent. on long motorway journeys it averages 30mpg got it to 31mpg once. city between 22-24 mpg. the engine turns on and off quite a lot so most of the time it is freakily quiet. but if you give it the beans the MPG does drops quite a bit.

TeesLS460 · September 3, 2008

Frankly, I'm also shocked that the LS600h doesn't have LKA - it's one of the stars of the car IMHO. Is your LS600h a UK version, or an import? I understand that American cars for example don't have the LKA system.

I'm a bit dissapointed in the fuel economy figures you quote though. My LS460 can get over 30mpg on a long run as well. I find that the economy is better if you leave the cruise control on rather than using your right foot.

But the LS is a great car. Enjoy!

dmince · September 8, 2008

its a uk version. it is a shame that the car doesnt have LKA but there are plenty of other features to keep me occupied :) . i was wondering does your cruise control come with full speed following function where the car will come to a complete stop by itself. i saw your youtube video and was just wondering because you had to take back control when the car was slowing down at the end.

thanks im enjoying it very much!!

TeesLS460 · September 9, 2008

My cruise control automatically cancels out when the car in front slows down to around 24mph or less. I have to take control at that point. I would like it to work automatically to a standstill, and have been through the hidden service menus to see if it's switchable, but so far no luck.

Does your LS600h have full cruise control down to standstill? If it does, I might ask my dealer about this - the LS460 brochure mentions it but it doesn't seem to work that way on my car at least.

Westwood · September 10, 2008

i bought a ls600h it has the radar cruise control but no lane keep assist. i was peed off that it didn't have it and was wondering why its not available on the ls600h, ive asked lexus but they havent replied. everything else is perfect on the car smoothest and quietest ride ever!!

I own the North American version of the LS600hL, and as has been mentioned above, LKA is not available here. Evidently, there is a conflict between LKA and the 600's LED headlights. I don't know if this has to do with output frequencies, and the radar cruise control, but apparently those two are not available in tandem. I'll say one thing about the LED lights however, the output is lower and not as crisp as it was on my previous 460, so perhaps LKA needs more light (at night?) than the 600 can put out.

MAT_8N · September 14, 2008

when you gonna take me out for blast!

M.IQBAL · September 14, 2008

mat at the moment us mk 3 owners can only read and it dream about owning one in few years time!lol

dmince · September 21, 2008

My cruise control automatically cancels out when the car in front slows down to around 24mph or less. I have to take control at that point. I would like it to work automatically to a standstill, and have been through the hidden service menus to see if it's switchable, but so far no luck.
Does your LS600h have full cruise control down to standstill? If it does, I might ask my dealer about this - the LS460 brochure mentions it but it doesn't seem to work that way on my car at least.

sorry for the late reply, been busy. yes my car does come to a full stop and to get it going again i just push the cruise control stick up (RESUME). i use it in traffic, come in real handy especially in slow moving traffic. yea you should ask about it, it might be available on your car. i finally got an email back saying that the reason the ls600h doesnt have LKA is due to a conflict with the LED headlights apparently it doesnt have infrared headlamps but i looked in the manual and it clearly shows that the car has them, oh well. hope this helps.

Dmince

TeesLS460 · September 29, 2008

Went to London again last Friday evening, with the wife following in the RX400h. I was already very tired after a full day's work, and didn't fancy travelling, but we had to be there that evening for family commitments.

That's when LKA is at it's most useful. Even on the main A roads, and motorway sections with no street lighting, the LS460 instinctively follows the lanes, and many times, it steered for me before I could react... I should rename my car from "Elle" to "KITT".

Oh yes, despite both cars travelling together at a decent pace, I got 25.7 mpg from the LS460, and my wife got 23.1 mpg from the RX400h

Haylands · September 29, 2008

I'm sorry but I can't keep quiet about this.

It is very irresponsible and criminal to drive a car whilst you are tired, there have been numerous accidents caused, that have killed and injured many, that are as a direct result of being tired or falling asleep at the wheel... No journey is so important as to justify an accident.

Now we have a car that will let you nod off at the wheel and drive for you until you totally fall asleep with the cruise set and the LKA in place and take you for miles down the motorway with no input from the driver, then a contra flow starts and they take away the white lines and what happens...

Yet more lives ruined and families decimated by grief.

I personally cannot see a reason for LKA other than allowing the driver to read/text/sleep etc, is it so hard to steer between two sets of lines?

Pete

MAT_8N · September 30, 2008

Went to London again last Friday evening, with the wife following in the RX400h. I was already very tired after a full day's work, and didn't fancy travelling, but we had to be there that evening for family commitments.
That's when LKA is at it's most useful. Even on the main A roads, and motorway sections with no street lighting, the LS460 instinctively follows the lanes, and many times, it steered for me before I could react... I should rename my car from "Elle" to "KITT".

Oh yes, despite both cars travelling together at a decent pace, I got 25.7 mpg from the LS460, and my wife got 23.1 mpg from the RX400h

you've got what i want!!!

i've got an older LS and the wifes got an older RX!!

us teesside folk do it properly

stevev · October 1, 2008

My cruise control automatically cancels out when the car in front slows down to around 24mph or less. I have to take control at that point. I would like it to work automatically to a standstill, and have been through the hidden service menus to see if it's switchable, but so far no luck.
Does your LS600h have full cruise control down to standstill? If it does, I might ask my dealer about this - the LS460 brochure mentions it but it doesn't seem to work that way on my car at least.

Hi, the cruise on my 460 ('57 plate) takes you all the way down to standstill without any intervention required. Thought they all did this unless yours is an early model that for whatever reason doesn't have it or as you say there is an option to switch it off hidden away somewhere.

Out of interest how do you get in to these hidden service menus that you mention?

Paradroid · October 1, 2008

Very interesting thread. I looked at the latest LS when I went in my local Lexus dealers the other week, and was surprised to find myself in awe. I'm 33, so the S-Class/7-Series type cars are not normally my thing. I admire them but wouldn't want to own one, however with the new LS I could quite easily see myself owning one. The styling makes it a modern big car rather than an ostentatious big car.

I can't believe someone upgrading from a Megane CC to a LS460, that has to be some kind of record in terms of cost, refinement, class. And any move from French to Japanese is a big improvement too

TeesLS460 · October 2, 2008

To get to the hidden service menus:

1. Switch the lights stalk to off

2. Press and hold the INFO button

3. Toggle the lights stalk to "sidelights, off, sidelights, off, sidelights, off"

4. Release the INFO button

Be very careful when looking through the hidden service menus. As other threads on this site attest, it can cause no end of trouble if you make the wrong changes.

Upgrading from the Renault Megane CC to the Lexus LS460 wasn't so hard, via a lease purchase. £5K deposit, then £1379 per month for 35 months, followed by an optional final payment. As I take the cash as a dividend from my company, the gross tax on it is at 20%, making my monthly 'car tax' effectively £280 per month with the company effectively picking up the bill for the car.

Now to Haylands' perfectly valid point about driving while tired. I believe that this is not a black and white issue - there are levels of tiredness at which it is still safe to drive. If I considered that I was too tired to drive safely, I would not have driven at all, just as I don't ever drink and drive, or text/phone while driving.

LKA will not allow the user to drive handsfree, and the driver monitoring system in the LS460 will let you know if it considers you are not paying attention. These systems, together with adaptive cruise control do have their place in modern motoring. I for one am glad that we have them.

dmince · October 2, 2008

maybe your car does bring itself down to standstill and the only reason you needed to intervene was because of rapid deceleration or maybe im wrong. turn it on in stop and go traffic and see if it works.

TeesLS460 · October 2, 2008

No, it definitely cancels out at around 24mph, and won't reactivate till I'm doing at least 30mph. I have tried it several times. I went to my local Lexus dealer today, and they are going to try and find out if there is something that can be switched, or maybe if there's a software update available. The car has already had a new spec ECU fitted as part of the recall.

dmince · October 2, 2008

well hope you can get it :) great feature!

Nugget · April 25, 2015

Frankly, I'm also shocked that the LS600h doesn't have LKA - it's one of the stars of the car IMHO. Is your LS600h a UK version, or an import? I understand that American cars for example don't have the LKA system.

I'm a bit dissapointed in the fuel economy figures you quote though. My LS460 can get over 30mpg on a long run as well. I find that the economy is better if you leave the cruise control on rather than using your right foot.

But the LS is a great car. Enjoy!

I have recently treated myself to an '08 LS600H (not fortunate enough to have it from new/nearly new but I'm still anything but disappointed).

Whichever car I've owned in the last few years I've taken them for road trips to push the economy and have always managed to exceede the manufacturer figures once I learned the car. 60.4mpg from my Audi A6 diesel was probably my best for a 160 mile journey, and so far in my LS I have managed 35.8mpg(combined) for the same 160 mile route. I should be able to get a little more with the warmer weather approaching but I don't expect a huge increase.

I do enjoy the radar cruise control, but it has a big impact on economy with the wasted energy from frequent braking/accelerating. Set the C/C to standard mode at about 60-65mph (I have the patience with the speed with my kids in the back), and when you see the need to slow ahead cancel it and let it coast until you're free to resume C/C speed. The weight means it maintains/increases speed on any noticable gradients without the need for extra power. And in stop/start traffic, keeping light on the accelerator makes sure the power is from the Battery alone. I do find that the V8 kicks in very quickly with quite quite a light press of the pedal.

I do enjoy the V8 far too much to drive like this often though, although always very quiet it is still a lovely growl.