The 2025 LS will arrive in dealerships later this year with a base price of $81,685.

35 years ago, a new luxury brand was launched to challenge BMW and Mercedes. It was Lexus and they had high hopes for their flagship LS 400.

Despite an uphill battle, Lexus enjoyed resounding success and the brand overtook its German competitors in the United States in 1991. This success continues today as Lexus is a consistent contender for the luxury sales crown.

More: The 2026 Lexus ES reveals a subtle facelift before its official debut

Unfortunately, the LS has seen better days as the 2025 model is postponed without a single update. This is disappointing, but not surprising since the last generation is eight years old and sales are steadily declining.

In 2018, Lexus sold 9,301 flagship sedans in the United States. That number has declined significantly and sales totaled just 2,237 units last year. This means that the Mercedes S-Class outperformed the LS by almost 5:1, while the BMW 7 Series wasn’t far behind.

While sales are down, prices have moved in the opposite direction. For 2025, the LS 500 starts at $81,685 while the 500h Hybrid starts at $116,560. These are increases of $500 each and both prices include a $1,350 destination charge.

2025 Lexus ES

As there is nothing new, we remind you of the LS500 features a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 developing 416 hp (310 kW / 422 hp) and 442 lb-ft (599 Nm) of torque. It is paired with a ten-speed automatic transmission, which can be paired with rear or all-wheel drive. Lexus claims that both versions accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 96 km/h) in 4.6 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 136 mph (219 km/h).

The 500h all-wheel drive features a 3.5-liter V6, two electric motors and a small lithium-ion battery. This provides a combined output of 354 hp (264 kW / 359 hp) along with a fuel economy rating of 23 mpg city, 31 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined. In addition to being a little more efficient, the hybrid is slightly slower since the sprint to 60 mph (96 km/h) takes 5.2 seconds, while the top speed is 126 mph (203 km/h). ).

This brings us to an interesting question: does the world need an all-new LS? The answer is probably no, as our readers have already done. declared the era of the flagship sedan over. However, it would be nice to see Lexus attack the Germans once again.

First generation Lexus LS