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Where to start? I’m not 100 per cent certain if potential owners or purchasers of the LS600h would be more interested in the driver’s seat or the right rear passenger seat, the latter of which provides more creature comforts than a first-class ticket on an intercontinental flight. I will start at the front, though, just because that is always where I start. Despite perhaps not being as exciting as the rear, the front is still special and the first obvious sign is the LCD gauge cluster that greats you with the L-finesse silhouette of the LS600h.
Besides having more buttons, though, the front seating and console are not that much different than in less-expensive Lexus models. Leg and hip room are certainly greater, as one would expect, and the 16-way adjustable driver’s seat allows for near infinite control over driving comfort when combined with the power steering column. All the information the driver requires is displayed on the LCD panel, including road and engine speed, fuel consumption, hybrid drive system information, trip computer and navigation information when a destination is set.
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Is the front seat comfortable? You bet, with loads of leg and arm space and soft leather elbow padding and heating and cooling functions, there is no place better to be — except perhaps for that right rear seat.
The rear is where the Lexus LS600h L becomes a car like no other you have seen. Both rear seats are heated and cooled as well as having automatic climate controls for a total of four zones. The right rear seat is special because it adds an integrated ottoman so you can literally put your legs up on while being chauffeured about.
But it doesn’t end there. Open the rear console bin and you reveal controls for a rear entertainment system which includes wireless headsets. You also have control of the main audio system from the rear but “la piece de resistance” is the shiatsu massage control that kneads your back as you motor down the highway.
The left rear passenger gets a vibrating massage too, but unfortunately, not a recliner. They still can sit in luxury, though, with plenty of leg room to stretch their legs behind my driving position.
The rest of the interior is equally impressive, with speakers above the rear seats, vanity mirrors, dampened and soft touch buttons everywhere — this is one car where, when the passenger calls “shot-gun,” they really mean “back-seat!”
