Lexus dazzles with pace and grace

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Like all Grand Saloons the Lexus flagship is expensive at R959,500, but not outrageously so when compared to opponents such as the Mercedes-Benz S Class (R880,000 - R1,1-million), Audi A8 (R785,000 - R1,1-million), BMW 7 Series (R901,000 - R1,2-million) and Jaguar XK (R914,700 - R1,2-million).

And it's easy to understand why Lexus is the top-selling brand in America, because it is quite a phenomenal car in terms of technology, looks, comfort, ride quality and performance.

To do it justice I would have to write a book about it, so I will skim through its full-house of features without going into too much detail, starting with its looks.

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Well, even dressed in Plain Jane white, like our test car, it has a striking presence. It's low and broad with classic sculpted lines, enhanced by chrome door handles and front grille and exceptionally elegant alloy rims.

Outside features include adaptive front lighting, which means the headlights pivot right or left in unison with the car's speed and steering angle along curved roads.

The windscreen wipers are clever enough to sense moisture and to move into action automatically and the blades are even graphite coated to reduce friction and noise.

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The exterior mirrors are capable of detecting excessive light and respond automatically by dimming the levels of reflectivity to reduce the glare. And not only are they heated to dissipate condensation, they also tilt down when reverse gear is engaged to provide better rear views when parking.

See, I told you this is sophisticated high tech… and we haven't even entered the living quarters or started the engine yet, let alone driven the car!

Some of the many other features you will find in the cabin: automatic aircon with dual control for the driver and all passengers; electronic multi-vision display with voice command, blue tooth with voice command, satnav with voice command, electric windows, mirrors (and “privacy” shades in the back), moon roof with touch and slide, heating built into all four seats, electrically adjustable front seats, rear passenger audio controls, Park Distance Control (PDC)- front and rear, keyless entry, full leather interior with real wood and a symphony concert-class Mark Levinson digital surround audio system with 19 speakers, 6 CD front loader and DVD player.

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Stay with me, we are halfway through, so let's look at the safety features next: anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake force distribution (EBD), brake assist system (BA) vehicle stability control (VSC), traction control (TRC), more airbags than you will find at a political meeting, headlamp levelling system, headlamps washing system, fog lights front and back, ISO-FIX rear child seat anchors and anti-theft system with tilt, intrusion sensor and siren.

Right, that's the end of the techno blabber. By now you must be itching to know what it's like to drive and the easy answer is MIND-BLOWING.

Shoe-horned into the engine space is a 4.6-litre 32-valve DOHC engine that blasts out 280kW and an almighty 493Nm. Linked to all this power and thrust is the world's first eight-speed automatic gearbox in a standard production car.

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You can racetrack drive the auto box by tap-tapping it to shift up or down, but even left to its own devices it is split-second fast when it comes to swopping cogs.

Would you believe that this big, beautiful beast that weighs 2.5 tons streaks from zero to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds? That's fast enough to spin dust into the faces of sports cars, hot hatches and quite few of the flashy sporty saloons out there.

The other equally amazing thing is the way this refined saloon clings to the road, almost to the stage where it encourages you to behave like a hooligan.

All the on-board electronic aids and nurse-maids jump into action long before things go wrong so that even the conservative suit-and-tie Chairman on his way to a board meeting might feel inclined the stamp down on the naughty pedal if there is a nice clear stretch of road between Llandudno and the city.

And that's the big Lexus in a nutshell: spacious, smooth, quiet, extremely comfortable, filled to the brim with technology and luxury, yet quite capable of making your palms sweat if the mood takes you.

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Of course the L460 comes with a three-year/100,000km warranty and four-year/100,000km maintenance plan, but included in the price is also an excellent 24 hour roadside assistance programme which even covers out-of-fuel assistance, changing a flat tyre, a key lock-out service, jump-start service, accident towing, storage, and towing of the vehicle to the nearest dealer or component repairer in the event of a mechanical or electrical breakdown, plus it also offers a message relay service, emergency medical assistance and help with car hire and hotel accommodation.

All of which adds up to the sort of service one would expect when you purchase a five-star superior saloon such as the Lexus L460.