If you’re looking for a justification for the “Sport” name in this car’s nomenclature, forget it. The F Sport package gets you slightly more handsome cosmetic add-ons – the bumper and grille are a different pattern than standard. But the rest of F Sport, it seems, is primarily to add to the comfort and composure of the vehicle. There’s adaptive variable suspension, suede headliner, and there’s perforated leather on the steering wheel and specially bolstered front seats that can, apparently, be adjusted 28 ways.

No question that these features are welcome but they’re not upgrades that put the ‘sport’ into an already rapid full-size sedan. At 206 inches long – that’s a couple of inches more than the long-wheelbase version of previous-gen LS – this isn’t going to be changing direction like a Toyota GR86.

But to doubt this car’s sportiness is not to deny its pace. With 415hp and 442lb-ft of torque to shift just under 5000lbs of mass, the LS 500 is not slow. Expect to see 0-60mph figures just over five seconds, depending on the surface, which is fast enough for most. The problem for those who had the opportunity to drive or be chauffeured in the previous LS, this fifth generation, codenamed XF50 and introduced in 2017, saw the V8 replaced by a twin-turbo V6. However good the new unit’s alacrity (it’s a 35hp jump from its predecessor) and however admirable Lexus’s sound deadening, this powerplant switch has caused a noticeable dip in engine refinement. For gentle driving around town and up to medium inclines with only one person aboard, it’s impressively muted, and the 10-speed automatic gearbox slips between ratios, up or down, without any noticeable disruption. But extend the engine beyond 5000rpm (redline is 6400) and the 3.5-liter V6’s vigor overcomes its civility.

This becomes especially apparent when manually shifting through the 10 speeds on the well-weighted paddle-shifters. On a narrow, sinuous uphill road, it feels natural to select gears for oneself rather than leave the box to constantly change cogs according to corner and incline. Coming downhill, too, it’s nice to restrict one’s speed when necessary via engine braking rather than ride the excellent brakes – six-piston front, four-piston rear. Up or down, the car is willing to do the driver’s bidding – it won’t override your gear choices – but the engine never sounds like it’s enjoying the experience. Were this a small sports sedan, this wouldn’t be an issue but as already established, this is a swift limo, and so the engine’s coarse growl is incongruous, like walking in on your normally calm and placid 90-year-old grandmother playing air guitar to a death metal band.

Engine apart, there are few cars so refined as the Lexus LS – perhaps none at all, this side of $100k. That suspension is wondrous, both in its soaking up the worst of California’s road rash, and also, following larger bumps, the way it tightens down the chassis on the rebound but not too abruptly. If an undulation is encountered mid-bend while cornering hard, even if it is followed by smaller ridges or pockmarks in the asphalt, the outside suspension seems to magically absorb everything thrown its way. This sense of poise instills confidence and is in marked contrast to the many luxury vehicles that fail to control their mass on the exit of a hard-driven corner, as if the cabin is half a beat (or worse) behind the chassis. The LS leans moderately, as you’d expect, but rights itself as the lateral load reduces without side-to-side wobble.

It’s not perfect. The steering doesn’t provide much feel, but is accurate and it is fairly easy to attune oneself to what little feedback comes through. If you try to push it too hard into a turn greater than 90 degrees with the traction control on, the TC and all-wheel-drive system seem to have an argument in which the driver is the loser, suddenly starved of power. It is the one type of occasion when the car seems unwilling to follow directives – perhaps wisely, given that in this instance it is being deliberately provoked – and to the car’s credit, the power feeds in rapidly as you unwind the steering lock.

Turn off the traction control and it’s a different story, and unsurprisingly it’s the front Bridgestones (245/45 R20s all around) that break away first, the all-wheel drive system producing gentle, controllable understeer. Truth be told, in the mixed conditions encountered over the 800 miles that this Lexus was in RACER’s possession, the AWD’s assuredness was far more appreciated than the TC’s nannying ways were cursed.

As for the interior, there is very little to complain about in either aesthetic or practical terms. The swooping slats that divide the top and bottom of the dashboard are a pain to clean, but they are very distinctive, adding art deco elegance, and the doorcards around the doorhandles are almost over-the-top ornate. In the center console behind the gearshift lever, gone is the aged-looking trackpad, as the infotainment is provided by the touch screen that now sits forward on the dash; it’s within easy reach and it responds swiftly.

The area where the trackpad used to be now comprises buttons for heating and cooling the seats, heating the steering wheel and raising and lowering the back window shade. The cabin heating controls also mercifully remain outside of the infotainment system, sitting just beneath the central air vents and can therefore be accessed rapidly. This leaves the screen as your home for Apple Carplay – and the $1940 optional 23-speaker Mark Levinson stereo is very good.

Straight ahead, the speedo and rev counter are clear and adjustable according to taste, while the heads-up display, a $1220 option on this car, is the boon that you’d expect. That said, the compass – which appears whenever navigation isn’t being used – is surely a waste of HUD space for most.

The parking assistance cameras and sensors are helpful, although thanks to excellent visibility this large car is surprisingly easy to place when slotting into gaps in traffic or parking lots. Cars as spacious on the inside as this Lexus are usually large SUVs, that can feel horribly cumbersome in urban settings and parking lots, like competing in dressage while riding a drunk donkey. The LS’s excellent visibility and accurate steering make it easy to wheel around city-scapes.

The LS’s cabin, as well as being a treat for the eyes, is also commodious in the front, and despite this reviewer’s 6’3” frame, the incredibly comfortable driver’s seat didn’t have to be all the way back on its runners. Even had it been so, there would have remained enough legroom for a 5’10” person to be comfortable in the rear seats. Anyone taller than that may struggle for headroom, although the panoramic moonroof ($1000 option) will ease claustrophobia.

If the styling on the inside is inspired, few are going to feel the same about the car’s external shape. The LS looks like a big Camry in basic shape and outlines, albeit sprinkled with premium details, such as the elegant wing mirrors that incorporate silver trimming that echoes the F Sport logo. This cross-Toyota/Lexus family resemblance isn’t a bad thing, in this instance: the Camry has never been better looking than in its current XV70 form. But more concerning is that from the front the LS would easily be mistaken for its smaller brother, the ES (hard to believe there was, until 2020, a GS sitting between these two siblings) since that distinctive Lexus grille is so similar across the range. This model muddle isn’t unique to Lexus – see Audi, see Mercedes-Benz – but that does mean the LS is perhaps too discreet for some. Then again, presumably some misguided folks believe that BMW’s latest 7 Series is aesthetically acceptable.

In isolation, the LS is handsome and classy, and with the caveats of rear headroom and growly engine when pushed, it is a very appealing alternative to the German cars. The fact that it is such a capable performer, handling so well for its size without sacrificing comfort, and the knowledge that it can be had for less than $90k as specced here, should persuade those in the market for a full-size car to put the Lexus high on their shortlist.