I love how hypocritical the British are. They put down the best built cars ( most of which are Japanese) while they have produced the worst cars ever built.
The long sweep of the rear windscreen was specifically sloped to make air rush of the back for superior aerodynamics. When new,it had one of the lowest drag coefficients anywhere.
Currently own a 1998 LS, great interstate/highway car. Only design flaw with these was the Power steering pumps are known to leak, easy swap out. I paid $3500 for mine with 143K on the clock, seeing how it was $54000 new, great deal. Designed to go to 300K with no major work. Most go farther. I happened to love the side view more than the front or back. Got the touch screen Navi, that hasn't been updated since 1998, LOL, so its pretty worthless. Probably upgrade to an 04-06 LS430 or may try a LS460. I will never own another FWD car after owning this. Good luck finding a late 1990's V8 Mercedes or BMW still running, most are in the salvage yard by now, Lexus might not be the fastest or best looking, but nothing can touch their reliability.
I have owned a second generation LS400 for almost 17 years. In my opinion, it is vastly superior to any of the M-Bs we've had and better than any of the many other makes that have darkened the corners of our garage. Even at this age, the frequency of repair rate has been negligible. Comfort, performance, etc. are all superb. I do much of my own service, try never to go to the dealer for anything ( I found them untrustworthy) use an excellent independent garage for replacement of wear items that I can't handle myself. Certainly one of the best cars that has ever been built. I hope never to be parted from it.
+Ike N Sorry, you're correct. I have a 1998, a second generation with the then newly-introduced VVT, 5 speed transmission, smog sensor, etc. Thanks for the correction. I have edited my comment.
1:27- Although the small subwoofer (which takes up nearly no space at all) is placed on the rear deck, the 22.5 gallon fuel tank is what occupies the space between the trunk and rear seats.
I think he doesn't appreciate the low end,the bottom,the jungle boogie,the cannon shots,the thundering hooves, the Boris the Spiders and all that stuff, enough.
@@jamesgates8480 it's enough to fit a pram, zimmer etc so what else are you really wanting to fit inside it? How big is your executive briefcase for crying out loud? You're not bringing your whole office desk with you surely 🤣🤣 .
When I was a little wealthy back in 1998 I bought a 1991 LS400 with 37000miles genuine. Used to do 120 miles a day. The salesman said the type of journey I was doing the car would return 30mpg UK and it did just that. The car came with Dunlop D8 tyres. After a few years of body roll I was advised to change to Michlin premicy tyres what a fantastic improvement. Bought for 17500uk 1998 sold for 2500uk 2005 what a great car never forget the experience .
Ok, I've been just once in the UK and i can remember that 4:48 is the ASDA at Kingston upon Thames. And this was recorded 19 years ago. What a coincidence
There are thousand of these models on the road in the USA with 300+++ kMiles on their Odo. Starting up and running like a Swiss watch. British cars changed 4-5 times models and go to the junkyard on average after 5 -7 years with 2 families bankrupt behind from repair costs, whilst this Lexus will have its first valve-cover leak at 250 KMiles and every gadget and button working as it was new.
I have a 1997 lexus ls400 and I still drive it every day it looks and drive s like new they should have got some one that know s something about the car shit head Fri 27 January 2017
Most people, even owners and people who sell them, arent aware there are hidden storage compartments under the front seats. This was a great car, 98-00 models esp.
I drive an LS460, but still dig the hell out of the older ones. Some OG Asian cat near my job drives a blue 2 tone on black BBS RG looking rims with the PERFECT fender gap. Look like some 17s
I think trunk is smaller because the gas tank is located behind the rear seats. The subwoofer doesn't really take up all that space. I love this car, I have owned it now for six years and it has been nothing but great!!
They were that advanced. I sold Honda's in the late 90's and both when the then new shape Accord came out in '98 that had a similiar type of satnav on the top spec model.
"It's just the same price and just about the same size as a small house" He's not wrong about the size, but prices have skyrocketed on houses, while new cars still cost about the same in this sector. The new LS costs £76K base, a small one bed HOUSE is at least 200-250k in a 100-mile perimeter around London....
"LIKE THOSE STARWARS LIGHTSABERS" 😂😂😂😂 that part was hilarious. My first car was a 93LS400, It was the smoothest car ever. All the ladies loved ridin in it... And ridin me in it 😏
I rather take smaller trunk if i get more space to backseats. We had Volvo V70 -04 (bad car) and the large cargo space took all the legroom from backseats.
Ugh. Could this presenter not have scrubbed and cut his fingernails and beforehand (2:32)?! Gross. I bet Lexus were really glad to see such a thorough 'review' of their pride and joy by a long-fingernailed presenter with no knowledge of the car. Not. Clearly a presenter and not a car reviewer. Already mentioned, but boot is smaller as it houses the fuel tanks behind the seat. The boot isn't that small either, as it goes back a long way. If you look at modern luxury saloons it's pretty much the same story with trunk space anyway - narrow, but long. The sides are 'slab sided'? The LS400 still beats modern cars in terms of drag coefficient at 0.27. The whole body and undercarriage is designed to be as aerodynamic as possible. The 'mean strip' of chrome is classy. Why does it need to be thicker? Mine is now 18 years old and it's still perfect, as it simply does not bubble, rust or flake. The CD player wasn't in the glovebox, but its own separate section above meaning the actual glovebox is very roomy.
He stated that VSC could not be switched off...I believe he is wrong..I can switch mine off and I can see the button in this video. Not that anyone cares but for fwiw.
Toyota went a bit too far with their cloning of the W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class styling here on the 1998 Toyota Celsior/Lexus LS 400. The Japanese are the best copycats ever. This car is undeniably great any way you look at it however.
Hold on, overhauled 3 Years later? Debuted 1989 as a 1990, then from 92 it had about 50 updates. But hardly an overhaul, heck not even a face-lift. Then late 94 the ucf20 debuted as a 95 model. Which then was really updated updated the 98 model year. Get it right.
I want to like it, but it's only available with an automatic which is a huge dealbreaker for me. I also recommend an e39 or an E46 from around the same era. Less weight, easy to find with a manual (in the US) and looks 1000x better.
AE86 of Mt. Akina Trust me, this car is crazy fast on the kickdown and the autobox isn’t as slow as you’d think! Think it’s about 280 and when you plant it it pulls and sounds amazing. And my daily was a 300zx TT manual at the time!
i have a 2000 e39 528i, bought it with 82k miles 2 years ago in great condition and now it has 110k. since i've had it it's been a maintenance nightmare. vanos, power steering reservoir and hoses, gone through 2 alternators (power steering reservoir placed over the alternator leaking into the alternator shorting it out) every radiator hose, coolant reservoir, fan (exploded on the highway and punched a hole through the radiator) fan clutch, biodegradable plastic pulleys, thermostat, valve cover leaks, the list goes on and on. I love how it drives, and how it rides the line between sport and comfort beautifully, not to mention it looks great. but the maintenance is just too much, especially at such low mileage. i'm looking to trade up to an ls400 of similar vintage for its reliability, simpler mechanics, comparable gas mileage and superior comfort. i'm done with german "engineering".
There's a couple reasons this car sucks in North America - I've totalled one 2000 LS and daily drive another 2000 LS 400.. I love this car to bits but I definitely know why it isn't a tuners top choice. First is emissions, I live in CA and standards here are tight enough trying to mod this car while passing emissions is damn near impossible. That's why aftermarket companies barely made any bolt on tuning mods for this car.. I HAVE HEARD OF STOCK BOTTOM END 1UZFE MOTORS MAKING 600+HP ONCE BOOSTED AND PROPERLY TUNED. Second, while we are talking about aftermarket parts and the lack there of.. That's mostly because when this car came out it was 60k, no tuner could afford this, unless you're Johnny Tran from F&F. It was made for geriatric doctors/dentists and other white collar baby boomer professionals who were just using it to grab groceries or tow their loved ones on holiday trips. That's also why there really wasn't a manual version.. Lexus at the time had no intention of making a spirited hooning machine, not until the F Sport division was birthed. Aftermaket parts are often custom fabricated which isn't cheap and for diy mechanics who aren't trained in proper tuning/engineering on this motor/car they often end up believe it or not, making the performance worse. Because believe it or not Toyota/Lexus designers really knew what they were doing & over engineered the shit out of this car. NOW THAT THESE CARS ARE BEING BOUGHT SECOND HAND LESS THAN 10K, AFTERMARKET COMPANIES ARE STARTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOP PERFORMANCE MODS FOR THE 1UZFE MOTOR. ESPECIALLY IN NZ AND AU. Third, ECU/ECM. It's a locked vault & extremely tempermental. Sure.. there are a couple aftermaket piggybacks.. but overall I hear the oem ECU/ECM will throw a fit and will reject most controllers. Ultimately your car/motor will end up functioning poorly (CEL, BAD MPG, MISFIRES, RUNNING LEAN). The only thing you can do is get a full standalone unit but it would be pointless because any mod on top of that would render your LS400 UN-SMOGGABLE. best mod for this car in my humble opinion is upgrading brakes, tires & stiffen suspension. Any weight reduction is a bonus, the car already puts out 290-310hp/lb. ft. of torque with no type of lag whatsoever. Then maybe down the road a wet nos kit. for now, appreciate this car for what it is a reliable/comfortable boring & heavy rwd jdm small block naturally aspirated v8 sedan, and it's a very good one.
Quote from that haughty idiot, who is masquerading as a presnter right at the beginning:..."presumably nowhere near perfect, because it was given an overhaul only three years later." A) The LS 400 beat its established rivals right at the beginning in just about every respect, except name recognition. Not bad from a new arrival really. B) The slogan doesn't promise perfection per se, only that the makers will pursuit it "relentlessly". Frequently improving on an otherwise outstanding design, is exactly fulfilling that promise, - a refreshing change in a marketing landscape littered with meaningless slogans.
What do you mean w140 Rip off , the q45 infiniti looks similar , the w140 was a piece of shit . They try to over engineer that car and at the end the it falls apart like a time bomb . Don't make me prove to you that the Mercedes was way too stupid to even consider a high class luxury car . Did I tell you that Mercedes actually lost money making that w140 ...its a car that every Mercedes owner thinks that other automaker has copy ,why would they ? It fail completely ...it was not the car they intend to built ..that's why I got rid of mines ..
Bullshit ....you make me laugh . I have own a 98 years ago ...everything on that car was garbage...plastic start to crumble. The ac evaporator goes bad , the power window quit working . The rear shocks leaks . The motor start to tick . It has power steering problems...the list goes on ...tell me how it's a great car . If that is great the LS must he the best luxury sedan that ever step in the market . Let's compare and you'll see that the s class is just complete garbage
Na Yang Well, maybe you had a bad unit or maybe you're right and the car isn't that well built. I know some early W140s that still running strong after all these years. They're not cheap to run, but very nice to drive when everything works. Anyway, I give credits to the LS for its reliability. It's something very important on a car.
+E34Benzin are you sonduk...or what ? I was a forum member of Benz world and guess what it's a common problem that the w140 was made of recycle material ...you really think I drove a s class because I just had nothing to drive.. I know my cars and I can tell you that the w140 was the best Benz made and it wasn't even good ..so don't compare the w140 to the LS ...
Okay, I believe your words. I know the ecologic wirings are a piece of crap, but the overall quality feel of the car is excelent, at least that's what I think. The Lexus LS 400 is a great car, but it doesn't feel as luxurious. Built quality is excelent, but it lacks some details and looks that a luxury car must have.
I love the front end design as well. Much easier on the eyes than the successor generation. This is how Lexus helped Japan win the 90s car years with their cars still being highly sought after which are mostly of the sport genre. Look how futuristic it was meanwhile the German cars looked ten years older for some reason riding on their old design.
I've always loved this particular car. I just bought my first Lexus, a '14 GS , and I seriously considered buying one of these old LS'es instead. It's so weird to me that journalists call it "Boring." Maybe we just get excited about different things.
