I was going to start off by saying that the one thing Lexus still can't do is make its cars look as elegant as they should be. In fact I actually did say something to roughly this effect when I gave two friends a lift in the LS 430; during an interval in their cooing and sighing about what a wondrous machine it was, they made a point of protesting that I was quite wrong, and that the exterior design was just splendid.Far be it from me to allow democracy to rear its ugly head in a road test report, but . . . oh, all right, then. I still reckon that the LS430's styling is its worst feature, but I hereby acknowledge that others disagree. And when it comes to the cooing and sighing, I am minded to join in.For example, could this car possibly be any quieter? There's a 4.3-litre V8 under the bonnet. That's a lot of engine. Most of the time you wouldn't know it's there. Around town, or in gentle country driving, it's as near inaudible as makes no difference.Better still, when you do hear it, it sounds fantastic. Floor the throttle, and there's a sort of burbling whoosh as the power output heads towards its maximum of 278bhp - enough to turn a standstill into 62mph in just over six seconds. While this sort of thing is happening, the six-speed automatic transmission will certainly switch from one ratio to another, but even on full throttle you literally could not tell without paying attention to the change in the engine note.Normally I don't much like automatics, partly because I can usually change gear more smoothly than they can, but this is something else entirely. The transmission and the engine management system talk to each other, so there's a brief reduction in torque while ratios are being shuffled, and the effect is like brushing your hand against velvet.Oddly, the change isn't quite as good when you're going very slowly with hardly any throttle at all, but I imagine the torque reduction business is more difficult to achieve in those conditions.The LS 430's electronically-controlled nine-programme air suspension is about as complex as any in the business. The really important thing about it is that it is exceptionally effective, giving superb ride quality and - given that this is not exactly a sports saloon - more than adequate handling. The suspension can be affected by two switches on the dashboard; one raises the ride height, which I never needed to do, and the other stiffens up the damping, which I was more keen to investigate.Frankly, I prodded that button with low expectations of what was going to happen next, fearing that the ride would become too harsh. As things turned out, the basic ride quality did not seem to be affected at all. What did happen was that the Lexus leaned a little less in corners and dealt with bumps a little more strictly - almost as if the suspension's reaction to undulations in the road changed from "Please don't do that" to "Now, let's not be silly about this, shall we?" For me, the firmer damping was the last piece in the jigsaw, and I soon left it permanently switched on.Compared with other cars in the same price bracket, there isn't much drama about the interior design, but the ambience is just right (it's amazing how effective dimming courtesy lights can be in this respect), there's an enormous amount of room, the seats are very comfortable and the major controls are without exception a delight to use. The space issue continues in the luggage compartment, which holds 552 litres and has two courtesy lights of its own.And on the subject of lights, Lexus makes quite a deal out of the fact that the LS 430 uses AFS, or Adaptive Front-Lighting System. In plain terms, this means that the dipped headlight beams follow the direction of travel, to improve visibility round corners - all the active and passive safety systems in the world aren't worth tuppence if the driver hasn't noticed that there is a potential problem up ahead.The irony is that the LS 430 gives a phenomenal spread of lights even when AFS is pointing straight ahead, so of all the cars you can buy it is probably the one which least needs swivelling headlamps. But intense, even apparently excessive, attention to detail in all areas is what makes this one of the most appealing cars of its type on the market. Even if it does look a bit dull. Engine 4293cc, 8 cylinders Power 278bhp Transmission 6-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 24.8mpg / 270g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 6.3 seconds Top speed 155mph Price £57,170 Release date 15/05/2010
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