Skip to main content
Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Test Drive: The 2019 Lexus LS500 is still a mouth-watering luxury sedan that puts crossovers to shame

The 2019 Lexus LS500 F Sport is a modern work of art.
The 2019 Lexus LS500 F Sport is a modern work of art. The 2019 Lexus LS500 F Sport is a modern work of art.
photo The racy red interior of the 2019 Lexus LS500 is a conversation starter.

If smooth jazz were an automobile, it would be the Lexus LS500.

The big luxury sedan is the epitome of cool elegance. It can stand toe-to-toe against such top-shelf luxury sedans as the BMW 7-series in the Mercedes-Benz S-class.

In fact, if I were going to drop close to 100-grand on a passenger car – which I emphatically am not – this would be the model I’d pick.

Why?

Well, it’s the little things that turn out to be big things. Let’s start with the doors. Not only do they shut with bank-vault authority, but the interior door panels would look at home at a museum of modern art. The blend of colors – red, black and beige – and the sculpted armrests that float in space contribute to an interior that is almost too beautiful for words. The back seat, with its extended leg room and big padded center armrest, makes you feel like you are a movie-star riding in a limo.