Lexus LS 460 wins World Car of The Year award for 2007

It seems only fitting that our first review should be the World Car of The Year for 2007. The Lexus LS 460 was crowned by automotive journalists from all over the world who combine efforts to conduct and judge this award bias-free.

Watch out Germany, here comes Japan

Lexus has successfully planted themselves firmly in the running with the likes of the BMW 7-series, the Mercedes Benz S-class and the Audi A8 to name a few.

The high price tags now will equate to some very nice used LS 460 models available in a year or two when new models attract the eye of big spenders.

Overall results

The Lexus LS 460 has been well accepted by reviewers, which is also indicated by its World Car of the Year title.

While keeping its luxury roots as the smoothest ride in town, the Lexus upped performance and paired it with the first eight-speed automatic transmission in the world.

Standard features include:

Additional options featured on the 460L

Self parking feature

The Lexus LS 460 started its climb to fame with the airing of a snappy ad campaign in which the LS 460 parallel parks all by itself.

This feature was tested by all the big guys, but most amusing was Automobilemag.com’s almost comical recount of testing this technology.

As expected with a first effort, the results are fantastic, but only in clinical situations. If conditions are perfect, it is a great tool. However once real life comes into the equation, the testers found themselves more frustrated in their attempt to use the technology than they would have been simply parking the car in the first place.

Gas mileage

For a vehicle that has been redesigned to compete with our German friends when it comes to performance, the Lexus 460 gets admirable gas mileage.

No doubt its Toyota roots earned it the honor of being the first gas V8 engine to receive the Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle Certification. This is something to be proud of, and truly step forward for a car class that has never before been deemed fuel efficient.

Performance

True to its class, the Lexus has done a fine job of building a performance vehicle. This model proved to be quick and smooth, Lexus redesigned the suspension in the hopes of earning maximum performance without sacrificing too much of their signature smoothness.

All in harmony with their revolutionary automatic transmission, which does its job with a finesse that Lexus has come to stand for.

Updated style

The new look of the Lexus 460 is a major improvement over its rather bland previous generations, giving it a stylish boost over the scores of imported sedans that have a tendency to look similar.

A few reviewers grumbled over the the lack of imagination on the part of Lexus, and 460’s resemblance to some of the German vehicles it is striving to compete with. However, for the most part the redesign was well received.