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I was at the stoplight the other day when I realized something. I was in a two-seater Toyota with an engine behind me. Obscuring all my front view was a Toyota apartment, also known as the Alphard Executive Lounge. Next to the luxury minivan was a Toyota Hilux. I turned left and saw a Camry, the nice new one in pearl white.
We all know it, but that stoplight moment reminded me that Toyota makes a lot of things, from the most desirable hot hatch in town to minibuses in Hong Kong, and everything in between. For every premium German model, there is a Japanese equivalent of Lexus. If you were Japanese, you would have known all along that Toyota makes luxury sedans, but this was a foreign concept to the rest of the world in the 1990s.
Toyota was known for its dependable family sedans, with millions opting for safe, well-made saloons like the Corolla and Camry. Cheap and reliable to the end, they have become household names. But if you’ve done it right and want to climb the car ladder, you’re heading to a German showroom. Even if you wanted to stick with Toyota, they would have nothing to offer you more than a big old Avalon.
Like Seiko in the 1960s, Toyota wasn’t content to build tons of cheap cars, it wanted to play with the best in the business and beat them at their game. For the Japanese watchmaker, it was the Swiss brands in chronometer competitions; for Toyota it was the premium German stalwarts. You know who they are.
Fueled by Japan’s economic bubble in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the country’s auto giants set out to conquer the world. In terms of performance, this era created some of the modern classics that are legends today (Honda NSX was born in 1990, Mazda RX-7 FD in 1991, A80 Toyota Supra in 1993, R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R in 1989), and on the luxury side, brands like Acura, Infiniti and Lexus were born. The money was there, the confidence was high.
Toyota didn’t dive into premium waters with Lexus, it jumped straight into the deep end. By that we mean the flagship limousine class with the LS 400 in 1989. Like its compatriots, Toyota’s premium brand made its way to the American market and it didn’t take long for Lexus to top the overall premium charts there, just a decade.
Today, Lexus is mixing it with Mercedes-Benz and BMW in North America. Its 2019 U.S. sales of 298,114 units are just behind those of the Tri-Pointed Star (316,094 units, excluding commercial trucks) and the Propeller Badge (324,826 units), and it is well ahead of Acura (158,934). and Infiniti (117,708).
With the American mission accomplished, the next step was to go global, and the big change came in 2005, when Lexus became a separate entity from its giant parent (it was a division from day one), and was finally launched in Japan, That’s right, before 2005, Lexus cars weren’t sold in the country where they were made. It was from here that Lexus really went its own way in terms of products and design. The brand officially arrived in Malaysia in 2006.
Being a right-hand drive market with a penchant for JDM cars, we are familiar with the first Lexus cars that were sold in Japan as Toyotas. The Toyota Harrier (Lexus RX) is the most famous of all, while car fanatics will know the Altezza (Lexus IS), Aristo (Lexus GS) and Celsior (Lexus LS) sedans. This association with Toyota models is the reason why some described L-badged cars as “just an expensive Toyota” (or something like that).
While JDM Toyotas is highly appreciated by the market, that perception is not a positive thing for a premium brand seeking its own identity. That point of view is no longer so prevalent today, simply because Lexus and Toyota haven’t shared models for some time. In addition, it is quite obvious that the design of Lexus differs significantly from that of Toyota: the premium brand has also created one of the most recognizable features on the market, centered on the axle rack.
Speaking of the Toyota Harrier / Lexus RX, both brands parted ways after the second-generation XU30; Today’s Lexus RX is the second standalone RX after the third-generation AL10, and is unrelated to the Toyota Harrier, which entered a new generation. this year (called Venza in the US). Likewise, there hasn’t been a Toyota equivalent of the Lexus IS since the second-gen XE20. Lexus’ latest and smallest SUV, the UX, is equally unique to the brand.
The Lexus design differs not only from Toyota’s, but lately from its premium peers in Germany. Compared to Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi equivalents, Lexus models are typically sharper and / or more sculpted, in contrast to the safer approach taken by Europeans.
The bold approach also extends to the design of the cabin and the choice of materials. Examples of the latter range from the UX 200’s Japanese washi-inspired top surface of the board to the edge of LS’s Kiriko cut glass door and the hand-folded origami folds on the door cards. It feels almost wrong to just knock on the last few letters on the door. The perceived quality and attention to detail of Lexus interiors versus other premium brands is easier to see and feel than to explain.
In terms of design, Lexus has gone its own very Japanese path; Sure, doing so means it won’t please everyone, but distinctive identity and boldness should be celebrated. Have you ever wondered why BMW is doing what it’s been doing with those kidney grilles?
The differences go beyond the top hat. Lexus has its own versions of shared platforms with Toyota, with specific hardware and tuning to suit premium applications. This is where naysayers might insist, but platform sharing has been a part of the auto industry for some time now and it is here to stay. Economies of scale are desirable, and the Volkswagen Group, which has Audi and Porsche as a whole, are masters at the sharing game.
The same principles apply to powertrains. It’s not cheap to invent something new, so when you do, maximize its use, that’s the idea behind it. We have no problem with that as long as the final product is suitable for the course the car is racing on.
One such example is the Lexus ES – while the FWD is also found on the XV70 Camry, the Lexus is bigger, more luxurious, and looks like a junior LS. Nice as is the Camry, the Lexus feel more special.
Most Lexus models are designed to be true premium cars from the ground up, but there is a (rather large) elephant in the room, and it’s the Lexus LM. Now open for reservations in Malaysia, the LM is obviously based on the Toyota Alphard and is aimed at China and other Asian markets. The luxury minivan is on our side of the pond and not elsewhere, so the LM is not a global product.
The LM may be based on a Toyota, but beating the Alphard Royal Lounge (a four-seater, a step above the already luxurious Executive Lounge) is quite a feat. Lexus saw a gap in the market and went for it; time will tell if the bet is successful. We’re not quite sure what to make of it, but the LM is an anomaly, a regional curiosity of a model.
The premium car experience is more than just the car itself, and among premium brands, it is perhaps Lexus who understands this best. From the look and feel of the showrooms to the attention of staff, Lexus is known to provide an unsurpassed wellness factor in the premium segment. Ask your customers, especially those who have also owned a pair of Continentals.
In terms of product and brand, it’s obvious why Lexus wants to distance itself from its mass-market parent, but if you ask me, there’s one element of Toyota that they should wear with pride: reliability. In my humble opinion, that is a strong and unique selling point for the brand, in its segment, compared to its main rivals.
Malaysia is a single market where our tax structure favors locally assembled cars, and both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have used CKD + EEV + hybrid incentives to their advantage. With a full range from CBU Japan, Lexus often competes at a price disadvantage (except for that tax-free hybrid window in 2011-2013 where they sold loads of CT 200h hatchbacks), but as discussed above, Lexus brings something good and unique to the premium table.
So what do you think of Lexus as a premium brand alongside the Germans? It’s a good thing for me, but do you see its Japanese / Toyota roots as a positive point or a detraction?
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