Rolling updates might be a bit of a pain for used car buyers to keep track of, but they also keep new models fresh in showrooms. Lexus knows this and has tapped into some of what has historically made German luxury cars satisfying to drive in order to keep things fresh. We aren’t talking about suspension design and tuning, we’re talking structural rigidity.
As Automotive News reports, starting in 2018, Lexus decided to take a really good look at what made popular models from Porsche, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz tick. One big takeaway? These three German brands did a better job of implementing body bracing than Toyota’s luxury brand.
“We didn’t fully understand the four body positions,” [project manager for Lexus’ sensitivity performance development department Toshinori] Ito said. “We learned about it from studying the competition. When we realized it, we wanted to add it to all Lexus models.”
So, what four body positions are we talking about? Well, it’s simple. Lexus is referring to the front end; the forward section of the driveshaft tunnel; the rearward section of the driveshaft tunnel; and the rear end of the vehicle. For context, my own 3 Series features diagonal ties that triangulate each front tower with the firewall and is further stiffened by bolt-on forward and rearward tunnel braces. We’re talking about a vehicle built in 2005 here. German luxury marques have been beefing up these four key areas for ages, and Lexus is climbing aboard. Mind you, not all models are necessarily getting equal treatment right away.
Take the popular NX compact crossover, for example. Automotive News reported that it got front end bracing in March of 2023 and rear end bracing a full year later in March of 2024. However, because the RZ electric crossover was new from the ground up in 2023, it came bursting out of the gate with front end rigidity that meets Lexus’ current standards.
However, Lexus’ pursuit of increased rigidity comes as part of an eyebrow-raising goal. As It told Automotive News, “We are aiming for the same driving taste, no matter what Lexus model you are riding in.” Given how Lexus uses a mix of transverse and longitudinal platforms with front-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, and rear-wheel-drive layouts, having a high level of unity could be difficult.
For instance, a rear-wheel-drive sports sedan like the IS 500 F Sport Performance will transfer weight onto the drive wheels as you squeeze the throttle out of a corner. In contrast, feeding in corner-exit throttle on a front-wheel-drive vehicle like an ES 350 will transfer weight off of the drive wheels, inherently leading to a different feel. Still, increasing body rigidity should aid all models on corner entry, and it should make everything ride better as fewer road surface impacts may be felt through the vehicle’s structure. Improving joint stiffness generally reduces noise, vibration and harshness, and additional bracing could certainly improve the stability of some body joints.
I reckon that Lexus going in on driving dynamics when other premium automakers are leaning more heavily on in-car technology is a promising sign, because software is cheap but chassis hardware is expensive. It’s relatively inexpensive to add a passenger side screen or in-car streaming to a regular compact car, but spending additional money on polishing ride and handling can help justify a premium price tag. Goodness, not gimmicks, is the way forward.
(Photo credits: Lexus)
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Now if you could only explain why some years’ models look better than others. Specifically, why their front-end treatments went to crap in oh, 2015.
BMWs have only gotten progressively uglier since ~2003. Acura messed up with “the beak” in MY 2009. As did Mercedes the same year when they largely ditched their traditional grill and hood ornament and replaced them with a far less tasteful face.
Of the four, only Acura seems to have admitted their mistake and moved on to less obnoxious designs.
I don’t care how wonderful various Lexi have become with additional bracing and other engineering advancements. They are just too ugly for me to ever consider buying one. The disease even spread to Toyota’s sedans with their gaping lower maws.
Sigh. If only the bolt on stiffeners were available through TRD for the ones with the prestige worn off (off lease used cheapskate versions).
Give it a few years and they’ll be available in your local pick and pull. Oh wait Lexus not BMW, a few decades then before they break down…
“We are aiming for the same driving taste, no matter what Lexus model you are riding in.”
Lexus has been saying this for a while. But flatly, why? The expected experience of a luxury vehicle is distinctly different from that of a sports tuned vehicle.
Sure, a stiffer chassis makes for better performance numbers, but it also introduces harshness, noise and vibration to everyday driving.
A better would be to limit the additional bracing, sports tuning to F-Sport models only, and focus on comfy refined experience everywhere else. Otherwise, you just end up with a confused mess that satisfies neither target.
A stiff chassis eliminates NVH when done well. The dash doesn’t flex, the doors don’t rattle and the movable panels like the trunk or hood stay sealed better when the chassis doesn’t flex.
A floppy chassis is bad for fit and finish and therefore NVH in the form of squeaks and rattles, but some amount of chassis compliance can benefit the smoothness of ride and handling. For example, my super twisty F150 is definitely roly poly, floaty, and smooth. None of which are necessarily bad things for a luxury car to be.
Given that it’s a Lexus(and a unibody car), I can’t imagine that the chassis twistiness was enough to cause any real issues with interior fitment and rattling.
Chassis flex doesn’t necessarily make the ride stiffer. If anything, it can actually lead to an improved ride because it makes it easier to properly tune the suspension.
No matter what happens, I want that LC500 Convertible.
Pretty soon car shopping will be as exhausting as buying a television.
Not sure I get this. Do you mean: going on to the Best Buy (or pick your favorite) website, buying a car with no markup, and sometimes on sale, and then it is shipped right to my home (or I could pick it up at the local Best Buy)?
Or do you buy TVs differently from me (and, I think, the rest of the world)?
I’m sure I’ll never see you mocking owners of shitty cars in the comments because after all, they sell it at the car store, and it has 4 wheels and a steering wheel and goes vroom.
I read reviews to find the TV that has all the features I am looking for. Problem is the TV model numbering system is so convoluted that each retailer gets their own specific model numbers for what is essentially the same TV making reviews pretty useless. For example, Costco TVs usually have a C in the model number because they require manufacturers to provide a 2-year warranty so presumably they are made with better parts. Mix in the fact that manufacturers make shit up (QHD, UHD, FHD, HD) it’s pretty easy to get choice paralysis and not be confident you are getting everything you wanted.
You mean like when I went to Costco 6 years ago, bought the cheapest one, and haven’t stopped using it ever since?
I’m sure I’ll never see you mocking owners of shitty cars in the comments because after all, they sell it at the car store, and it has 4 wheels and a steering wheel and goes vroom.
I read reviews to find the TV that has all the features I am looking for. Problem is the TV model numbering system is so convoluted that each retailer gets their own specific model numbers for what is essentially the same TV making reviews pretty useless. For example, Costco TVs usually have a C in the model number because they require manufacturers to provide a 2-year warranty so presumably they are made with better parts. Mix in the fact that manufacturers make shit up (QHD, UHD, FHD, HD) it’s pretty easy to get choice paralysis and not be confident you are getting everything you wanted.
I guess, but buying a car has always been far more difficult with far higher stakes. Most people (like me) aren’t fussy and are ok with ending up with the Dodge Journey of TVs. It works, it’s been reliable, and it was cheap.
So you do? I sure don’t.
Rolling updates do make it hard to shop for the “right” used car. I’m interested in an XC90 PHEV – and per C&D they updated the motor and battery for MY2022, but was it MY 2023? And it was a PHEV, then a Recharge, then a PHEV again for MY2025…
Focusing on driving dynamics is a good thing overall, but trying to bring homogeneity to an entire lineup is a fools errand. Think of Audi, which is basically a “pick level of sporty and size” generator. There’s little passion left in its lineup outside of the RS3, RS6 Avant, and really just other RS models. I understand its desirable to keep models of varying classes/sizes/platforms as similar as possible to make it easy for a customer to move up/down in size as life changes.
At the same time, nobody who buys an ES350 Hybrid wants it to drive anything like an IS500 or LC500, and vice versa. They’re completely different models that serve different purposes. The same goes for 2-series coupe and 7-series buyers, they are not interested in the same experience. There can be some brand DNA in there sure, but I’d be awfully upset if an X1 on a Mini platform drives like an M4.
All that said, reinforcement, chassis advancement, and a focus on where their lineup falls short of competitors will only serve Lexus well in the long term, but they need to understand where certain choices are warranted or not to avoid losing the character across the lineup.
“but I’d be awfully upset if an X1 on a Mini platform drives like an M4.”
I’d be impressed if BMW could make an X1 drive like an M4. But I would be upset if they made the M4 drive like an X1 on a MINI platform!
I agree but starting with a stiff chassis allows the suspension engineers to do their thing even better- whether it’s a coddling ride of an ES or the sporty ride of an IS-F. A chassis that flexes means that the suspension will not always perform the same if the chassis it’s bolted and hung from is always co-signing because of flex. In a stiff suspension like an IS-F, it means the suspension gives bit then transfers that energy into chassis flex too. Not good at all.