The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Gorgeous attention to detail
- LS 500’s power
- LS 500h’s fuel economy
- Stealth wealth personality
Dislikes
- Ride might be too springy for some
- Starting to feel as old as it is
- Relatively limited customization
- Limited personality
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2024 Lexus LS offers a serene, refined experience for those willing to seek out this increasingly rare option.
What kind of vehicle is the 2024 Lexus LS? What does it compare to?
The Lexus LS is a big luxury sedan worth shopping against the BMW 7-Series and Audi A8.
Is the 2024 Lexus LS a good car?
While far from a driver’s car, the LS does an admirable job pampering passengers. It’s a 7.0 on the TCC scale. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2024 Lexus LS?
A wireless device charger and a head-up display are newly standard on the LS 500. Otherwise, the range sees few tweaks.
Now in its seventh year in production, the current version of Lexus’ flagship sedan is starting to become a familiar sight. And that’s saying something, considering sales volumes for this big, luxurious sedan are limited. The LS wears styling derivative of the rest of the Lexus lineup, though its cabin is a delight. Don’t look for outlandish design inside. Instead, the cabin is well-organized and features beautiful design touches with materials commensurate with pricing.
The LS 500—that’s the one you’re most likely to encounter—has a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 rated at a reasonable 416 hp. It’s quick, though the standard 10-speed automatic gearbox can stumble through low gears. The LS 500h makes use of a naturally aspirated V-6 teamed with an electric motor fed by a big battery pack. Non-hybrid versions come with rear-wheel drive and offer all-wheel drive. Hybrids send power to all four corners.
The LS has a soft suspension that soaks up big bumps but prevents these big sedans from being fun. They’re plush, pudgy, and predictable, though.
If there’s any car we want to be driven around in, it’s the LS—though preferably with the spectacular Executive Package. All models have comfy front seats, but the Executive swaps out the decent rear bench for a pair of power-adjustable seats with heating and massage. Add in gorgeous glass, foil, or wood details, and you won’t want to climb out.
The LS can motivate itself, too, though you have to spend up for the hybrid version for the Lexus Teammate tech that allows for brief periods of hands-off driving including passing and merging. Other versions check the bases with a good array of crash-avoidance and driver-assistance tech, too.
How much does the 2024 Lexus LS cost?
Lexus now wants a hefty $82,685 for the cheapest LS 500. Most models have at least a few options such as nicer interior trim and upgraded driver-assistance tech that nudge them closer to $95,000. The LS 500h hybrid costs around $116,000.
Where is the 2024 Lexus LS made?
In Japan.
2024 Lexus LS Styling
The 2024 Lexus LS is a charmer inside.
Is the Lexus LS a good-looking car?
If any car is the modern equivalent of “stealth wealth,” it might be the 2024 Lexus LS. This big sedan doesn’t shout about its upscale intentions. It’s a blend-in luxury sedan outside with a decadent cabin. It’s a 7 on the TCC scale, with both points above average coming due to its interior.
Its exterior looks way too much like the smaller (and far less costly) Lexus ES sedan to really stand out. Lexus’ signature spindle grille is finally starting to grow on us up front. From the side, the LS has an exceptionally long profile, particularly with regards to its gigantic rear-seat doors.
LS Sport versions have some styling tweaks, but they do little to alter this basic design.
It’s inside where the LS really thrills, even if many of its switches and buttons look more “Toyota” than “Lexus.” The automaker paid exceptionally close attention to various trim options, which include different types of wood, special inlays, crinkled foil, and even sharply cut real glass. You can’t go wrong with any, even if Lexus doesn’t offer the same level of customization as you might find from a BMW 7-Series.
2024 Lexus LS Performance
The 2024 Lexus LS pairs a graceful ride with good underhood thrust.
This big sedan is tops at providing an isolated, quiet ride, though it’s not particularly fun to pilot. We rate the 2024 Lexus LS at 7 out of 10, with points above average for its composed if somewhat springy ride and its good power.
Is the Lexus LS 4WD?
The LS 500’s 416-hp twin-turbo V-6 delivers impressive power accompanied by a refined snarl. It’s peppy enough for excellent passing at highway speeds. Around town, the 10-speed automatic gearbox can occasionally fumble its way through lower gears, though it behaves well at speed.
How fast is the Lexus LS?
The LS 500h uses a naturally aspirated V-6 bolted to an electric motor and a hefty battery pack for a total output of 354 hp. That doesn’t sound like much for a flagship, but in practice it’s much quicker. Power pours on quickly from a stop in city driving. It’s not especially muscular when it comes to highway passing, though.
At its core, the LS is a cruiser, not a corner carver. Its softly sprung suspension pairs with big wheels wrapped in low-profile tires for a ride that can wallow more than German rivals. It’s never as planted as a BMW 7-Series or a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, though small bumps disappear with a quickness. Similarly, the LS’ steering lacks the on-center accuracy and feedback we expect from a sportier option. It’s not wandery, but it’s really not much fun, either. And F Sport guise is more about looks than it is performance. It includes few notable tweaks to improve handling.
2024 Lexus LS Comfort & Quality
The 2024 Lexus LS pairs old-world pampering with high-tech interior trim.
It may not be the freshest design in the Lexus lineup, but the 2024 Lexus LS is certainly this high-end brand’s most lavish. It’s an easy 10 thanks to great space, decadent materials, breathtaking attention to detail, and even a big trunk for a sedan.
All models have supple front seats with 28 ways of adjustment. Heating is standard, while massage and cooling are widely available. Rear-seat riders have great stretch-out space. The costly Executive Package, meanwhile, adds two individual rear seats with 22 ways of power adjustment, heating, and massage. Few new cars short of a limousine are as comfortable to ride in as the Lexus LS—and that’s exactly how this sedan is commonly used outside the U.S. It’s a popular high-end chauffeur choice in some places.
Even a base LS has a nice cabin, though most are likely to have optional soft semi-aniline leather upholstery and nicer wood trim. The available glass or crinkled foil trims are spectacular, if mega-expensive.
The 17 cubic-foot trunk can handle a couple of golf bags with ease.
2024 Lexus LS Safety
Lexus offers impressive driver-assistance tech on the top version of its LS.
How safe is the Lexus LS?
It hasn’t been crash-tested by either the NHTSA or the IIHS, so we can’t assign the 2024 Lexus LS a score for safety. Given its ultra-low sales volume, it’s not likely to be smacked into a wall any time soon.
It will, however, do its best to avoid a crash. All versions come with a good array of features including an advanced automatic emergency braking system, blind-spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control. The widely available Lexus Safety System + A package offers the ability to swerve to avoid pedestrians and it can do automatic lane changes.
Only the LS 500h comes with Lexus Teammate, the company’s system that allows for limited stints of hands-off driving on select roads. It can also overtake slow cars automatically.
2024 Lexus LS Features
The 2024 Lexus LS lineup comes beautifully equipped.
By big sedan standards, the Lexus LS range offers a reasonably compelling value even though a big price hike this year—about $4,500—means the lineup now runs $82,685 in its cheapest form.
The base LS 500 is hardly basic, though. It comes with leather seats that are heated up front, LED headlights, a head-up display, a wireless charging pad, and a 12.3-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s a 9 on our scale thanks to good standard features, lavish options, a decent infotainment screen with a big display, and a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty with three years of free maintenance.
Which Lexus LS should I buy?
The LS 500 offers more customization than the LS 500h hybrid, so it’s the one drivers are more likely to cross-shop. Figure another $3,100 for all-wheel drive, plus we’d add the $4,940 Interior Upgrade package with its nicer trim such as softer leather, more power seat adjustment, and heated rear seats, and then we’d toss in the adaptive variable air suspension for its better ride.
The F Sport version is mostly about styling tweaks. It’s $4,000 more to start than a base LS 500 and of dubious value unless you’re smitten with its trims and colors. It’s outfitted like a mid-level LS 500, though it also includes the automaker’s Teammate driver-assistance tech.
How much is a fully loaded Lexus LS?
To the base LS, you can spend north of $26,000 on the Executive package that includes first-class-style rear seats with 22-way adjustment, real glass interior trim, and a host of other largely cosmetic—but decidedly lavish—upgrades.
Another course of action is to step up to the $116,060 LS 500h.
2024 Lexus LS Fuel Economy
The Lexus LS offers decent fuel economy for a big sedan.
Is the Lexus LS good on gas?
In hybrid form, the big Lexus offers up to 22 mpg city, 29 highway, 25 mpg combined. That’s a 3 on the TCC scale, but its relatively limited lineup means we base our score here on the standard gas-only model. The LS 500 is estimated at 18/29/22 mpg with rear-wheel drive and with all-wheel drive it checks in at just 17/27/21 mpg. Still, for upward of 400 hp, those figures aren’t too bad.
