Lexus is the luxury sister company of Toyota, and as a result, Lexus usually makes some very high-quality cars. But, Lexus, like everything else in life, isn’t perfect, and Lexus has made a few mistakes in the past. Here’s a look at the 2020 Lexus LS and how it’s just not a great luxury car.

How bad did Lexus miss?

Luxury cars are a pretty competitive segment, since its customers are willing to spend a lot of money on them. Despite that, Lexus usually gets a leg up on its competitors in multiple categories. For example, a few Lexus cars are extremely fuel-efficient, while other Lexus cars are extremely safe and reliable, just like a Toyota car would be. 

That said, this was not the case for the 2020 LS, according to Consumer Reports. Rather than excelling in those categories, the LS actually scored really poorly in some of them. And instead of making it up by doing better in other categories, Consumer Reports gave the LS mediocre or poor ratings in almost every other category.

As a result, Consumer Reports said that the LS was the worst car in its segment. To be fair, it’s not a big segment, as there are only 10 cars in it and Consumer Reports has only tested six of them so far. Still, with an overall score of 52 out of 100, the LS scored worse than all of its competitors. 

Why the 2020 Lexus LS is bad

Probably the best thing about the LS, according to Consumer Reports, is its engine, which is a 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 that gets about 416-hp. This powerful engine gives it a pretty good performance, as it can accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in about 6 seconds. In terms of its interior, it’s also not bad, as it has a very luxurious design. And of course, it’s a pretty safe car to drive.

That said, the LS pretty much flopped in every other category. Instead of being as reliable as a Toyota, the LS actually got a 1 out of 5 for reliability. The LS has a powerful engine, but it comes at a cost of fuel efficiency, as it only averages about 20 MPG. That powerful engine, however, doesn’t necessarily make it a great car to drive, either. 

In fact, in the LS’ road test, Consumer Reports only gave it a 72 out of 100. This is significantly worse than its competitors, which all got a road test score that was in the 90s.

The main reason for this mediocre road test score had to do with its ride comfort as well as its “distracting controls,” according to Consumer Reports. As a result of these factors, the LS got an owner satisfaction score of just 2 out of 5. 

There are better ways to spend $75k

The worst part about the LS, though, is what it’s offering for its price tag. The LS starts at $75,000, and a few of the other competitors that Consumer Reports tested were at the same price point. For example, the Tesla Model S starts at $75,000 and the Genesis G90 starts at $72,000. Both of these luxury cars had significantly higher scores than the LS did. 

German luxury cars like the BMW 7 Series, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and the Audi A8 are all more expensive than the LS is, but they’re also all far better than the LS is.

For instance, the 7 Series starts at $86,000, and it’s the best car in the segment, according to Consumer Reports. It may cost $11,000 more than the LS does, but many people buying these luxury cars can cough up that difference pretty easily.