With a move to offer all-wheel drive on its LS 460 and flagship LS 460 L for 2009,
luxury cars that provide four-wheel traction.
Only Audi, with its A8 series of sedans, and Mercedes-Benz, with its S-Class, can compete with the new LS for all-wheel drivetrains, other than Chrysler's 300C AWD and Lincoln's new MKS, at the lower end of the full-size luxury segment, and Bentley's Continental Flying Spur in the upper reaches.
The new all-wheel drive LS shows a trend at Lexus, with its IS 250, GS 350 and LS 600h L also offering power from each corner, which only makes sense being that Lexus has always put safety first, and all-wheel drive has proven to enhance all-weather stability. The brand sells a crossover and SUVs that have always been sold with all- or four-wheel drive, so Lexus is no stranger to the latest drivetrain technologies.
Making use of the same setup used in the brand's LS 600h L hybrid flagship, Lexus incorporates a compact Torsen limited-slop differential for distributing torque between the front and rear axles. Its default setting is 40:60, front to rear, but it will immediate shift the torque from 30:70 to 50:50, depending on demand.
The rest of the all-wheel drive LS models' drivetrain remains the same, which is good news. Its 357-horsepower 4.6-liter V8 is no slouch, with 344 lb-ft of torque on tap, and its eight-speed automatic transmission is one of the best in the industry, optimizing the engine's output and providing good fuel economy for the class.
Lexus' air suspension will be standard, as will the brand's Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) that “continuously adjusts shock-absorber damping rates” to optimize road conditions and driving style, says Lexus. The Japanese brand's Variable Gear-Ratio Steering (VGRS), which selects the optimal ratio to enhance “responsiveness and driver control”, will also be part of the standard package. Additionally, VGRS works in unison with the Lexus' Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system, also standard.
All-wheel drive LS models will get standard 18-inch alloy wheels mated to all-season tires on the outside, while a heated wood and leather-trimmed steering wheel plus a power rear sunshade up the ante inside.
Look for the new 2009 LS AWD in Canadian Lexus dealerships next month.
參考譯文：
伴隨著推出LS 460 的全驅(qū)2009款和LS 460 L的旗艦2009版的行動(dòng)，雷克薩斯車系已經(jīng)加入數(shù)量極少的全尺寸高檔四輪驅(qū)動(dòng)的車型的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)行列當(dāng)中。
比較起來(lái)，奧迪的R8轎車系列和梅賽德斯奔馳的S級(jí)車型可以在全驅(qū)技術(shù)方面與新款的LS大致相當(dāng)，而諸如克萊斯勒的 300C AWD 和林肯新款的MKS要稍遜一籌,賓利的陸地飛馳（ Continental Flying Spur ）則要稍微優(yōu)越一些。
新款的全驅(qū)車型LS展現(xiàn)了雷克塞斯的發(fā)展趨勢(shì)，它的 IS 250, GS 350 andLS 600h L等車型仍然是由汽車的四個(gè)方向各自提供傳動(dòng)，而能夠給出合理解釋的原因只能是雷克薩斯總是把行駛安全放在第一位以及已經(jīng)被證明了的車型全驅(qū)在全氣候下的性能更為優(yōu)越.事實(shí)上，一些全驅(qū)或四驅(qū)的雷克薩斯的cross車型和SUV車型已經(jīng)在銷售，因此對(duì)于最新的汽車驅(qū)動(dòng)技術(shù)雷克薩斯已經(jīng)不再陌生。
為了利用LS混合動(dòng)力旗艦版車型上的相同結(jié)構(gòu)，萊克薩斯的LS旗艦版設(shè)定調(diào)緊了汽車前后曲軸的力矩分配的極限數(shù)值.現(xiàn)在前后的曲軸設(shè)置為40：60，而根據(jù)需要會(huì)很快從30：70調(diào)整到50：50。
而一個(gè)好消息是剩下的LS全驅(qū)款車型仍然保持不變.4.8L的V8車型擁有的357的馬力，344鎊的平臺(tái)轉(zhuǎn)矩以及8級(jí)自動(dòng)變速技術(shù)都使得它成為現(xiàn)有車型最好的一款，同時(shí)在發(fā)動(dòng)引擎優(yōu)化和燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)上它也有相當(dāng)好的變現(xiàn)。
同時(shí)雷克薩斯還透露一些消息，隨著該品牌車型為更好的適應(yīng)路況和形式作調(diào)整，將會(huì)對(duì)其 通過(guò)不斷調(diào)整減振器阻尼率的不同空氣懸置情況進(jìn)行標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和規(guī)范.而且該車型的用于優(yōu)化比率以改善駕駛控制的變加速技術(shù)也隨之得到規(guī)范，同樣得到規(guī)范的還有雷克薩斯的車輛動(dòng)態(tài)集成管理系統(tǒng)。
LS的全驅(qū)款將會(huì)配備18英尺的合金輪胎和適應(yīng)戶外各種氣候的輪胎，同時(shí)汽車還會(huì)有一個(gè)由加熱后的木片和修剪的皮質(zhì)組成的方向盤加上車后的一項(xiàng)動(dòng)力屬件用以在車內(nèi)遮陽(yáng)。
期待下個(gè)月在加拿大由經(jīng)銷商展出的LS AWD200款吧。
（轉(zhuǎn)載）
