Our Thoughts Exactly: 2025 Lexus LS 500 F Sport

We rarely get a chance to say “good-bye” at the end of a model’s run. 

These types of articles are difficult to do. You’re caught getting completely emotional for a vehicle that had a significant impact on the automotive industry. Yet, your objectivity will you to take this subject on its face value, give it a send off, and move on. 

Doing the latter would be seen as a disservice to the legacy the Lexus LS will leave behind. 

If you know the story, allow me to recount it for you. 

The 1980s was a boom time for young professionals scaling the ranks of American business as they upwardly move through tax brackets and social channels to achieve personal victory. This era was reflected by the automobiles they drove. 

If you were a luxury brand at that time, you were delivering your finest offerings out the door and off the lots. And, business was booming!

This was not just a game that was played well by American and European marques. The Japanese wanted in on the action. They offered vehicles that came close, but not enough to entice a well-heeled customer away from their (West) German counterparts. 

However, executives at key Japanese automakers – especially at Toyota – saw opportunity.  They wanted to produce a luxury car that would compete with the best in the world. A V-12-powered Century might do the trick, but it needed to be on par – if not better – than the flagships that sailed from the executive parking stalls. 

It took Toyota six years, thousands of product planners, engineers, and designers to come up with such a vehicle. The massive investment added an unexpected component that would help the cause of this new flagship sedan – a separate dealership channel. In the USA, it could not be sold as a Toyota. It needed a special name and an environment that fostered excellence that embodied the effort made to produce such a vehicle. 

In the fall of 1989, Lexus was born. As was its flagship – the 1990 LS 400. 

From that point, hundreds of thousands of these flagships were produced, finding homes among the upwardly mobile. Lexus dealers took in trades of Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, Audis, Cadillacs, Lincolns, Jaguars and so forth to deliver a vehicle – and a dealership experience – that was beyond anyone’s expectations. In fact, the LS was the best-selling vehicle in its size and price class during that first model year – starting from $35,000 (in 1990 money)!

Which brings us to today. Thirty-six years later, the once-desirable Lexus LS sedan is about to wrap up production. They will do so with a limited run of the 2026 Heritage Edition. For the lucky 250 owners of one, they get a beautiful black LS 500 all-wheel drive sedan with elegant 20-inch alloy wheels and a luscious red leather interior.

However, we did not get one of those. Understandably, you’d like to sell each and every one of those 250 special final Lexus LS 500s. Instead, we got a 2025 F Sport sedan. If there was one “final” Lexus flagship to work with for this “send off,” we couldn’t of thought of any other model to do so in. 

Since 2013, we – OK, mostly *I* – have worked with four LS models. Two of them were from this current and now final generation. 

I will say that I completely loved the first two – both LS 460 models with the spindle grille from its mid-cycle refresh. They were exactly what I expected a Lexus LS to be – refined, elegant, buttery smooth, and befitting of its position as the brand’s flagship. 

After two of the current generation models, we do admit there is something about this 2025 F Sport model. 

At first, we were hesitant. The F Sport calls for a level of dynamic upgrades that transform any Lexus into a sporty machine. Yes, that mission was accomplished in this 2025 example. Yet, it kept a balance between the dynamic upgrades of the F Sport with the luxury you want out of an LS. 

You do get the mesh grille of an F Sport, along with dark-finished 20-inch alloy wheels. You also get the sleek profile of this current LS that fits well with this specific trim level. The gloss silver paint job looks creamy – neither overly metallic or matte finished. It definitely hits different.

Inside is a two-tone black-and-white leather combination with well-bolstered front seats and spots of either color throughout the cabin. This is unlike any LS I’ve ever encountered in this work, but it fits the moment just right.

Two things that were “new” (to us) was the center screen housing that was moved forward for the Lexus Interface infotainment system. By eliminating the track pad on the center console (it’s been a while since we worked with an LS), the 12.3-inch screen is more accessible from the front seats. They did keep the clock, although with a silver and black face this time around. The instrument cluster was also different, using a dual-dual format with a center information screen and associated gauges at the bottom. 

What not changed is the driveline. The 416-horsepower 3.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 is right for the F Sport. This engine is connected to a ten-speed automatic transmission with all-wheel drive. As much as I love the V8, the twin-turbo V6 does the job smoothly with minimal drama. It is fantastic on the highway and around town. No need for a complete replay here, just vibes.

In our care, we observed a fuel economy average of 18.5 MPG. That’s about right for a non-hybrid LS. 

One thing the F Sport does for the LS is to create that balance we mentioned earlier between the sportiness of the driving dynamics with the comfortable luxury you want in a flagship. No need for an air suspension system, as the dampers can be adjusted through the drive mode switch on the instrument panel. Sport S+ tightens the dampers, but it leaves room for some wafting and smoothness on stretches of highway. 

The steering system is sharper, with precise turns accomplished with ease. You can flip it int Sport S+ with a heavier effort at the wheel, which can encourage you to find a curvy piece of road and attack it. Then again, there is a gentle reminder that you are in a flagship sedan and not a sports car. Just a gentle reminder…

Th LS 500 F Sport has a set of six-piston caliper brakes at all four wheels. They do stop very well with lighter effort from the brake pedal. Yet, it serves as a reminder that Lexus still engineered their flagship towards a vehicle that continues to be desirable on many levels. 

That’s the thing. At $94,990, this 2025 LS 500 F Sport serves as a reminder that it can play with the big boys, compete for the CEO’s parking spot, and brings smiles to everyone on board as a flagship should. 

That is what we’re going to miss about the Lexus LS. That friendly balance of everything you expect in a car of its status and class. 

The impact of the introduction of the Lexus LS in 1989 was tremendous. It changed everything about the luxury car world by demonstrating that if you do it right the first time, it will resonate for the years to come. Which makes this final lap in one a very emotional one. 

Why is the Lexus LS ending production? The luxury car business has changed – not just in the USA, but worldwide. People want SUVs than flagship sedans. They think presence comes with size and stature, as shown with the current crop of flagship SUVs. Gee, wasn’t that the main attraction to a flagship sedan? You arrived in one with the image of someone who is in charge, as you step out of one – not step down.  

We are not sending off just any vehicle at the end of its production run. We’re celebrating a 36-year-long legacy. A game changing flagship sedan that shook up the automotive world order at a time when it absolutely needed it. 

Thank you, Lexus, for the LS. 

DISCLAIMER: Vehicle provided by Toyota Motor North America – our opinions are of our own

All photos by George Torline and Randy Stern