The twilight years aren’t quiet for the Lexus LS.
At least not in Australia. While the US already said goodbye to the full-size limousine—announcing its 2025 end date—local buyers get one last look at the classic silhouette. The axe isn’t falling here.
“The Lexus LS will receive a minor technicalupdate… towards the end of the year,” a Lexus Australia spokesperson confirmed.
The current fifth-generation model keeps limping along until 2027. By then it will be ten years old. Old enough to know better.
Japanese reports from Creative Trend suggest September is launch month for the updated spec. What changes? A reinforced floor tunnel. Vibration-absorbing material in the rear crossmember. Lexus claims these tweaks improve ride comfort and steering precision. Subtle upgrades. For a car that screams “presence,” that makes sense.
A new option might catch your eye too: a panoramic glass roof.
It sits alongside the dated single-pane sun currently in production. Nobody knows if the panoramic unit opens or stays fixed. If it’s dual-pane and opening, it breaks no new ground Lexus hasn’t already trod on with smaller cars. But hey. Glass is good.
Then comes the disappointment.
The updated LS misses Lexus Safety System+ 4.0. The smaller, newer ES sedan already has it. That system promises more human-like interventions. The LS? Left behind. Sticking to older tech while its little brother steps into the future.
The infotainment story is worse. The existing 12.3-inch screen remains. No jump to the larger 14-inch display. No Arene software platform. Just the current generation holding the line. Why bother updating a ship that’s already sailing away?
Here is the biggest shock.
Goodbye V6.
The twin-turbo 3.4-liter petrol engine in the LS500 is gone. Completely. The updated lineup leaves just the LS500h. The hybrid. The 3.5-liter petrol-electric unit. No more raw combustion V6 roar. Just hybrid quietude.
What shape does the future hold?
Since 1989 every LS has been a sedan. The debut model set that mold. But look at Tokyo. Last year Lexus showed us two concepts sharing the LS badge.
One looked like a coupe-SUV hybrid.
The other was a bizarre six-wheeled people mover.
Neither resembles the car sitting on the showroom floor today. The successor isn’t just a facelift. It’s a departure.
Add to that Toyota spinning Century into its own brand. It sits above Lexus. Above everything.
So why keep the LS?
Why update the interior while gutting the engine?
Maybe because people still buy big cars.
Maybe because legacy matters more than innovation sometimes.
Or maybe Lexus is just running out of time.
