Reclining in the supple leather of the back seats as we cruised down the unrestricted autobahn, the only irritation to our otherwise opulent travel in the new Lexus LS were the gripes from our colleague behind the wheel to "turn that bloody stereo down".
One of the luxury touches to the LS is a 19-speaker Mark Levinson system which works in tandem with the optional rear DVD screen that descends from the roof for rear seat passengers. You need to opt for the Presidential pack for this, but in the back seat, we were feeling pretty much on a par with any world leader.
Lexus has announced pricing for its new LS460 flagship model due on sale from next month. Starting at €127,500, Lexus Ireland will have 90 units on sale next year, though orders are being taken from December 8th. The sales limit means that LS is unlikely to topple either Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7-Series from the top of the luxury market segment.
Yet, while it might not top the sales league next year, as our two-day test drive in the new car during the summer proved (Motors, August 16th), in terms of luxury and performance, the new LS has shot up from also-ran to serious rival for the leading German luxury brands.
Behind the wheel, performance is very impressive, in particular the car's handling over twisting Austrian roads. Despite its ample body, it dealt with the sharper corners in much the same way the smaller IS would. Where the car disappointed was on long straights with unrestricted speeds. While pace is never an issue, steering often felt too light and uninformative.
Luxury features abound. Sitting in the back seat of a test car complete with every feature on offer, we reclined the soft leather seats and enjoyed cinematic quality sounds from the DVD screen that descends from the roof.
Other top features of the new model, include a world first eight-speed automatic gearbox, an intelligent parking system that can control steering and automatically guide the car into a targeted parking spot, and twin-chamber airbags. A new pre-crash safety system is also a feature. This uses radar to detect a potential collision, then issues driver warnings before starting early braking.
Lexus has opted not to fit its new Advanced Pre-Crash system that includes lane keeping assistance and rear pre-crash protection on Irish cars.
In terms of power, the new model has a 4.6-litre 380bhp V8 with 0-100km/h times of 5.7 seconds and a top speed limited to 250km/h. Fuel consumption is 11.1 L/100km (25.4 mpg) combined.
However, during 2007 Lexus will add the world's first luxury hybrid to the range, featuring a 5-litre petrol engine combined with electric motors and giving an output of 450bhp. Lexus is claiming combined fuel consumption for the vehicle of 30mpg. No prices are available for this version as yet.