Lexus LS Celebrates Its 35th Birthday With A Price Increase

Unfortunately, 35 years after its launch, the LS no longer competes with German brands in sales and Lexus appears to have stopped pushing it forward. The Japanese luxury brand has announced the 2025 model, but with no updates and a starting price of $81,685 – exactly $1,000 more than the 2024 model. That’s not to say that the Lexus LS is no longer worth considering, but when German rivals are dominating this segment of the market, a lack of updates could be an oversight.

A Quick History Lesson

For some context, it’s worth remembering that the Lexus LS is the Japanese premium brand’s most significant car. It’s also one of the most impactful cars on the automotive industry from the tail end of the 20th century. Until the LS 400 arrived 35 years ago, if you wanted a truly premium car, then your choice was limited to the German brands Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. However, Toyota saw an opportunity to compete by applying its ability to build reliable cars to a luxury car brand and invested a huge amount of money and engineering know-how into Lexus’s first vehicle.

The first LS model arrived with a bulletproof V8 engine, serene ride quality, and a slew of luxury features as standard that require ticking expensive boxes on German cars. It undercut the German brand’s models in price, and by 1991 it was outselling the German brands here in the US.

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What This Means

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t mean much. Lexus is still incredibly successful and building great cars. For the LS, though, it’s a sign that Lexus doesn’t see it as an important vehicle anymore, and that’s also reflected in its sales. They’ve declined dramatically, and last year, only 2,237 units were sold. It’s no longer a competitor for BMW and Mercedes models – that’s now the job of Lexus’s SUV’s.

What You Get For 2025

If you’re not into SUVs, then picking up a 2024 model doesn’t seem like a terrible idea. The LS 500 can still be had for $80,685, comes with a 416 horsepower twin-turbo V6, plenty of current technology, and the design, build quality, and materials used add up to something timeless. It’s also built to be as comfortable and reliable as ever.As it has always been, though, a BMW 7 Series ($96,400) is more entertaining to drive and a Mercedes S-Class ($117,750) has a better ride and cutting edge technology. The LS brings legendary reliability and value for money over its competition.

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We would check out the 500h (hybrid) model ($115,560), but not for its fuel economy – it’s the most feature laden and luxurious version and the trim that makes the S-Class look overpriced. The LS 500 F Sport ($84,825) doesn’t bring any real added performance to the table, despite firmer suspension, but looks sharp. In a nutshell, it’s a good car with all you could ever need, but it’s time for Lexus to think about an all-new model or a discontinuation.