I'm happy to say that I am taking delivery of my very first Lexus LS430 tomorrow morining! I'm actually excited about it! I took about two months deciding what to get. I drove everyhting in the price range. Really wanted to get another BMW, the new 5 series for price reason and the 7 for ride and size. Both are good cars, BUT the quality has really declined over the years. The A8 was nice, but was too expensive and did not feel like I was getting the best value. The VW Phaton was actually nice, but can't spend 70k on a VW! Forget about MB, their quality is even worse than BMW!
We currently have a Cayenne S for my wife, an '02 911 cab for the weekend, and a Toyota Seqouia which is being traded in for the LS430. I love the way the 430 feels! Its by far the best car for the money in the price range. So much stuff! I test drove both the euro suspension and the std and decided to go with the std. Also getting Nav and Levinson. Got a great deal: $55.5 and 32k for my trade! The car stickered for 61k. The car will be used mostly for highway and around town. I felt some difference between the two, but not enough to make a clear distinction. These cars do not compare to the BMW/MB drives, but they are close enough and provide more luxery and value than the German cars. I will say that Lexus defnitely made the std suspension and steering better than the 03 which we drove in the summer and thought was too soft. I plan to replace the stock tires with something better, also possibly increasing to 18" wheels which will further improve the hadnling. Any suggesitons from anyone out there on past expereinces?
Anyway, I'll report back on the drive home from the dealer and let you know what I think. I think my wife might want to make it her car which means I get to live with the Cayenne everyday, which would not be a bad thing! I'm very pleased that I decided to save thousands by getting this car and look forward to not living with loaner cars from the dealer!