This Lexus flagship is the embodiment of the Lexus philosophy ΓÇö top-notch quality and comfort. The styling is distinctly European (shades of Mercedes-Benz) ΓÇö crisp, powerful appearance without the bulge. New features for 1997 are side airbags and an engine immobilizer unit for added security.
Five adults sit in comfort in the luxuriously appointed cabin, whose total legroom rivals that of the Mercedes S-Class and exceeds that of the BMW 7-series. The powerful aluminum 4.0-liter four-cam V8 accelerates the sedan to a top speed of 150 mph. And donΓÇÖt be fooled by the large sedan-ish appearance: in wind tunnel test the aerodynamics of the LS 400 puts most sport cars to shame.
The LS 400 offers optional air suspension which employs semi-active independent 4-channel adaptive damping. This system monitors acceleration, deceleration, cornering, braking and road surface variations and can analyze and adapt itself continuously to patterns such as choppy roads or expansion joints, many times per second.
While the engineers at Lexus have improved everything they could improve in the car, one feature stands out in testimony to the engineersΓÇÖ ingenuity in maximizing interior spaceΓÇö the LS 400 is the first car to be able to accommodate an in-dash six-CD changer.
