Here’s Why The Lexus LS 430 Is Still The Best Luxury Car To Own

Buying a used flagship sedan is often a mixture of sublime and scary, but what if you could buy one with all of the excellence and none of the crazy maintenance headaches? The Lexus LS 430 isn’t just a world-beating flagship luxury sedan, it’s one you’d still want to own today and keep until the end of time. It might not have the most striking image, but it’s just so exquisitely engineered that if you were to buy one, you’d have a hard time getting bored of it.

Best of all, unlike nearly all of its competition, it’s reliable. Not just reliable for a luxury car, reliable period. It’s not significantly more taxing on the pocketbook than a Toyota Camry, but it’s not just another midsize sedan, it’s a genuine slice of the good life. How’s that for ownership appeal?

Welcome back to Beige Cars You’re Sleeping On, a weekly series in which we raise the profile of some quiet greats. We’re talking vehicles that are secretly awesome, but go unsung because of either a boring image or the lack of an image altogether.

Launched for the 2001 model year, the Lexus LS 430 was almost entirely new compared to its predecessor, and it showed. We’re talking about benefits like two inches more rear legroom, a drag coefficient of just 0.25, titanium silica-coated water-repellent auto-dimming side mirrors, cooled front seats, laser-guided adaptive cruise control, and passenger-sensing solar-detecting multi-zone automatic climate control with automatically oscillating center dashboard HVAC vents. We’re talking about a car so thoughtful and so advanced, it’s easy to picture German engineers screaming, crying, and throwing up at their desks when this was unveiled on the auto show floor.

Under the hood sat a 4.3-liter quad-cam V8 which made exactly the same 290 horsepower as the old four-liter V8, but made peak torque at 3,400 rpm, a full 600 rpm lower in the rev range. It’s a buttercream-smooth unit, and it meant Lexus claimed a zero-to-60 mph time of 6.3 seconds. Let me tell you, it’ll take you there in absolute serenity, with the sort of unbothered yet relentless acceleration normally reserved for passenger jets. In fact, the loudest thing on the car was the available Mark Levinson sound system.

See, Harman International didn’t acquire Mark Levinson until after the LS 430 was launched, so the nine-speaker sound system was all Mark Levinson, from the drivers to the 24-bit floating point digital sound processor. Even against today’s high-end branded audio systems, this one still holds up, with faithful, detailed recreation of sound. Sure, the imaging isn’t seamless, but as far as factory-installed systems go, this one’s a listener’s delight.

Mind you, it’s not like the Germans didn’t try to beat Lexus. After the automaker put the LS 430 on sale, BMW launched a new 7 Series, Audi gave the world a new A8, Jaguar put its big XJ sedan on a new aluminum platform, Mercedes-Benz made improvements to the S-Class, and Volkswagen gave the world the Phaeton. It still wasn’t enough, because even nearly at the end of its product cycle, the LS 430 vanquished the lot in a Car And Driver comparison test. It isn’t a sporty car in the slightest, but the magazine summed up the appeal of the big Lexus well:

If you just walked up and asked, we’d say this is not a Car and Driver sort of car. But like gravity, the Lexus kept pulling on us. It’s so confident. It does so many things beautifully. It’s like the salesman who never quits, and finally, you find yourself agreeing with him.

From seats that are the perfect blend of comfortable and supportive for every body type under the sun, to the impressively deep paint, to the wondrous array of thoughtful amenities, Lexus just nailed everything on this car. It’s cushy without being too isolating, tracks dead-ahead like a bloodhound on a mission, gets impressive real-world highway fuel economy, and has all the space you could realistically ask for.

Oh, and because it’s a Golden Era Lexus, it’ll never actually break on you. Sure, a side marker might go out, or the subwoofer foam might deteriorate, but that’s about it. So long as you change the timing belt according to the recommended interval, change the oil periodically, and keep up on rust protection, the LS 430 will provide mile after mile of sublime comfort until the sun collapses in on itself.

Best of all, the LS 430 kept getting better throughout its life. A 2004 facelift gave it a more assertive face, radar-guided cruise control, knee airbags, and a six-speed automatic transmission that’s smoother than most modern eight-speeds and surprisingly quick. By the end of its life, it was still one of the finest luxury sedans ever made, to the point where it felt like even Lexus couldn’t do it again.

So, what about the LS 460 that came after? Didn’t it use the chain-driven 1UR-FSE V8? Why yes it did, but it also ushered in new complexity and pain points for the LS nameplate. On the minor end, front upper control arm bushings are short-lived. On the more major end, air suspension and therefore air suspension problems became far more common, and then there’s that little issue with an excessively complex braking system. See, the LS 460 featured an early non-hybrid implementation of electronically assisted brakes, and Toyota didn’t quite get the brake actuator right on the first go. A new brake actuator costs $1,223.49 from Lexus, and can only be sourced through the automaker. Not ideal for long-term ownership. Plus, the LS 460 just wasn’t as nice to drive as the LS 430. The odd brake arrangement led to an unnatural pedal feel, and the air suspension calibration was on the queasy side, a shock considering the magic carpet ride of the LS 430’s standard coil-sprung suspension.

These days, you can buy a nice LS 430 for the price of a used Honda Civic. This 2005 model year example with just 74,500 miles on the clock recently hammered on Cars & Bids for $16,250. Not only has it spent its entire life registered outside the rust belt, it’s specced in a gorgeous combination of Black Cherry Pearl over airy beige leather.

Want a higher spec? No problem. This 2004 model with 140,600 miles on the clock recently sold on Cars & Bids for $11,200, and it has the coveted Ultra Luxury package. Sure, this does add air suspension which adds a bit of complexity, but it also adds massaging, climate-controlled, power-reclining rear seats, a UV-based deodorizer, soft-close doors, and the ultimate feature, a fridge. It’s also a California car since new, so its underbody is spotless.

Now, is the price of a gently used Honda Civic somewhat expensive for a 20-year-old sedan? Sure, but the Lexus LS 430 is also one of the best luxury cars of the 21st century, with the right combination of engineering excellence, cosseting toys, and incredible reliability that so long as you defend it from road salt, it could be the last car you ever need. Can you really put a price on forever?

(Photo credits: Lexus, Cars & Bids)

Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.

• The Lincoln MKT Ecoboost Is The 365-Horsepower Family Hauler You Forgot About

• Here’s Why The Original Volvo XC90 Is Still The Best Crossover Of All Time

• The Cadillac XTS V-Sport Is The 410-Horsepower Twin-Turbocharged Grandpa Sedan You Forgot About

• Lincoln Once Built A Full-Fledged Sports Sedan, Then Everyone Forgot About It

• The Insane Kia K900 Flagship Luxury Sedan Might Just Be The Best Bargain In Cars Right Now

Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.