Does a luxury sedan need to be sporty?

ifcar · Moderator

Does a luxury sedan need to be sporty?

Fire It Up · Moderator

No, because many rich people will never care about sportiness. Yet there do need to be some.

Kevin · GMPenguin

I totally agree with Sarin.

thewizard16 · V-12

I think it needs some element of sport, but it doesn't need to focus on it. I think the LS430 is a perfect example. It's top of the line in pampering, but it's no slouch either. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and the option of a sport suspension (or a sport mode on the air suspension) that makes it a little less floaty gives it some sport feel. Not like a sports car, of course, but I think it's a good compromise. It is not, however, sportily styled. But that's okay, because in this class of car, most people buy for the pampering and a powerful engine, they don't care whether they have the suspension, or the styling, to go with that powerful engine.

ifcar · Moderator

quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"I think it needs some element of sport, but it doesn't need to focus on it. I think the LS430 is a perfect example. It's top of the line in pampering, but it's no slouch either. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and the option of a sport suspension (or a sport mode on the air suspension) that makes it a little less floaty gives it some sport feel. Not like a sports car, of course, but I think it's a good compromise. It is not, however, sportily styled. But that's okay, because in this class of car, most people buy for the pampering and a powerful engine, they don't care whether they have the suspension, or the styling, to go with that powerful engine."

I'd say that a lot of people who are paying $70,000 for a car would want the styling to go with the pampering. If Lexus could have offered that, they would be selling a lot more.

thewizard16 · V-12

Well, Lexus is busy lately, and I imagine the next LS will be very different from what we're used to.. Maybe they will get the styling to go with the pampering this time.

ifcar · Moderator

quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"Well, Lexus is busy lately, and I imagine the next LS will be very different from what we're used to.. Maybe they will get the styling to go with the pampering this time."

I hope they don't try to make it look "distinctive"; subtle elegance would probably work better for its crowd.

thewizard16 · V-12

It'd probably work better, but it all depends on whether or not that's the look Lexus is aiming for. They seem to want to make themselves really stand out in the market in their upcoming models, so we'll just have to wait and see what they do to the LS.