Lexus LS

It may not have been an all-new model, but Lexus’s heavily revised 2013 LS luxury sedan range ushered in so many updates you could be forgiven thinking it was a new-generation model.

The Japanese luxury car-maker brought the LS into line with its latest styling direction, with the huge spindle grille front and centre, while new panels, updated colour palette and new wheels modernised a design that had been around since 2007.

Kicking off the range was the LS 460 F Sport that featured 19-inch alloy wheels, six-piston Brembo front brakes, revised suspension with 10mm lower ride height, a Torsen limited-slip differential, F-Sport branded sports seats and steering wheel and aluminium pedals.

The LS600h continued to combine a 290kW/520Nm 5.0-litre petrol V8 with two electric motors producing a combined 165kW and 300Nm driving through a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and all-wheel-drive.

A completely new dash design inspired by the smaller GS featured across the range, and housed a 12.3-inch infotainment display, 5.8-inch instrument panel multi-function display and a GPS-synchronised LED analogue clock that automatically updated to time zone changes.

It wasn’t quite the game changer in the way the original LS from 1990 was, but the 2013 iteration still managed to keep the Europeans honest.