Certain habits can form quickly. Why aren’t I stopping? Oh, it’s not an EV! Hit the brakes! I was reminded of this when I first arrived at the bottom of our hill in the Lexus LS500. Oops. It takes only a minute or two to get used to one-pedal driving—push to go, lift to slow—which every electric vehicle offers, and then it seems so intuitive and sensible that we wonder why we need brakes at all.

LS probably stands for Luxury Sedan, and for 24 years the LS has been proudly leading the Lexus fleet. However, this fifth-generation LS has been with us now since 2017, nearly a geologic age in the car business. It is still Lexus’s biggest, boldest, plushest and most formal four-door car, but today it’s a step or three behind the tech curve—which, come to think of it, may be a plus for some drivers, especially in this LS demographic niche.

The humming heart of the LS500 is a 3.4-litre twin-turbo V-6. The engine’s 416 horsepower and 445 lb-ft of torque are tasked with propelling a two-and-a-half-ton vehicle by way of a velvet-smooth 10-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Under a heavy foot, the LS will rocket off the line with startling alacrity for its size. Our car has the F Sport AWD handling package, which adds welcome features such as an adaptive variable sport-tuned suspension, sport driving modes and oversize brakes, but as speed builds in the twisties the car’s nose-heaviness and lifeless steering begin to show.  

Of course the LS isn’t meant to be a hare-and-hounds machine but a highly polished interstate cruiser that also makes a quiet but unmistakable statement at the yacht club. All this it does well, and the rest of the F Sport add-ons, including 28-ways-adjustable electric/pneumatic massaging front seats and a concert-hall sound system, are a boon at any speed.

The entry-level LS500 lists for $80,685. Our F Sport AWD with $2,940 worth of options—the Mark Levinson Premium audio system and a large, powered sun/moon roof—stickers at $90,215. And for $25,345 on top of that, we can have an extra-posh LS500h gas-electric hybrid. This sounds promising—after all, who knows more about hybrid technology than the company that’s been building the Prius since 1997?  On paper though, even this version of the LS disappoints ever so slightly: With an un-turbocharged V-6 and two electric motors, one driving the wheels and the other acting as a generator for the batteries, it makes do with just 354 horsepower, yet still delivers only about 31 miles per gallon.

When the LS400, as it was then called, appeared in 1990 it shocked the market. It was something revolutionary from Japan, Inc.—a large, powerful, smooth and wonderfully well-thought-out deluxe sedan that sparkled with presence and quality. Its $35,000 price was equally startling. That was a lot for a Japanese car then, but still about 20 grand less than a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. I took an LS in two-tone Sandstone & Taupe to a wedding that summer and the bride and groom were so impressed with it that they asked me to drive them to the reception.

Just a few years ago, the Lexus LS was still a world-beater. Today, especially stacked up against electric flagships like the BMW i7 and the Mercedes-Benz EQS, it’s a reminder of the accelerating pace of change as well as the uncomfortable-to-some notion that the motor-vehicle industry is at an inflection point.

The most up-to-date features of the 2024 LS500 are the wireless phone charger, the head-up display in the windshield and the touchscreen reminder to check the back seats when we leave the vehicle. Really? I have no doubt that Lexus is preparing a sixth-gen LS that will take our breath away—or else about to scrap the LS altogether, since sedans are considered passé.

Next week: Volvo XC60 Recharge