2004 Lexus LS 430 Ultra Luxury In-Depth Review & Buyer's Guide
We found the best example of a third generation Lexus LS we could find, a 2004 Lexus LS 430 Ultra Luxury, one of two sold in Canada.
Our full tour and review of this 2004 Lexus LS 430 Ultra Luxury goes in-depth on one of the most reliable luxury daily drivers money can buy today. This 15 year old example is incredibly well maintained and comes as fully loaded as it gets for a third gen Lexus LS. We go over everything you need to know about this vehicle if you're in the market to buy one.
On our exterior walkaround of the 2004 LS 430 we go over the adaptive bi-Xenon headlights, front and rear parking sensors, soft-close doors and trunk, automatic power-folding mirrors, Lexus SmartAccess keyless entry system, and the automatic up/down windows, radar-based adaptive cruise control, and the first Lexus Pre-Collision system. This is one of only two black on black LS 430s sold in Canada in 2004, making this one prime example to feature on TestDrive.
Inside we go over all the tech found on this vehicle. Features like full leather seating with heat and ventilation for the front, along with heat, ventilation, and massage in the back. Other features like dual-zone automatic climate control with air purifier, Mark Levinson premium audio system, Lexus on-board navigation, backup camera, power tilt steering wheel with memory, oscillating air vents, alcantara headliner, power sunroof, rear sun shades, power reclining rear seats, and much more.
We spend some time in the rear seats also and talk about features found on the Ultra Luxury trim, including the rear cooling fridge and centre console armrest controls.
We then take the 2004 Lexus LS430 on a comprehensive road test to talk about how this vehicle performs and drives compared to modern vehicles, and how it stacks up against the competition from Mercedes-Benz and BMW back in the early 2000s. We do a quick 0-60 km test, and talk about the overall handling and steering response, along with the performance out of the 290 horsepower V8 engine.
We also get driven around in the back seat area of the Lexus LS 430 to see how an executive from the 2000s would have felt back in the day.
We wrap up our full tour and review of the 2004 Lexus LS430 Ultra Luxury with a buyer's guide, including the common problems with this generation of full-size luxury sedan from the Japanese automaker, including some of the small issues with the specific vehicle we're featuring.