New Car Review of the 2004 Lexus LS 430 Full-Size Luxury Sedan.

Description: Full-Size Luxury Sedan
Base MSRP Range: $55,125
Invoice Price Range: $47,958

The full-size Lexus flagship -- packed with high-tech mechanical hardware, elaborate safety gear and sumptuous appointments in leather and wood -- amounts to a large sedan of supreme quality functioning conventionally as a cushy limousine-like hauler yet also capable of acting up with sporty tricks like an assertive touring car.

It's a dreamboat design, stretched to provide generous space for riders and laced with luxury features, then armed with advanced mechanical systems linked to smart computer processors that can out-think and out-perform other vehicles.

It draws strength from the 4.3-liter aluminum V8 linked to a new six-speed automatic transmission with sequential shift feature. An optional Ultra Luxury Package adds extra equipment like a laser-guided cruise control system, sonar-based parking guide and a navigation system with DVD-based database and dashboard touch screen.

Further luxury touches with the package include an internal blower in front seats to circulate heated or cooled air, and a heat element for the rear bench with back massager and seatback power adjustments. A power-operated sunscreen stands at the rear window, with manual screens in rear doors. Issues for 2004 display a new front-end featuring restyled fenders and face.

Added are the follow-me AFS headlamps plus LED brake lights, a tire pressure monitor, knee air bags for driver and front passenger, and upgraded Mark Levinson stereo. Five more colors add fresh tints to the body like Moonlight Pearl and Flint Mica.