Lexus buyers won't need to tick an extra box to add active safety equipment to their new ride. The Japanese luxury brand has made its suite of technologies standard for every new model it sells in the U.S.
The brand calls it the Lexus Safety System+ and the recently refreshed 2020 GX 460 marks the final vehicle to feature the equipment as standard gear. The suite of active safety technologies includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane-departure alert, intelligent high beams, and adaptive cruise control. The pre-collision system includes automatic emergency braking, should the vehicle deem it necessary to pump the brakes.
Before automatic emergency braking kicks in, the system provides audible and visual alerts to a vehicle or pedestrian in front of the Lexus. The system is then programmed to begin braking to avoid an impact, and in some cases, it can bring the vehicle to a complete stop. For lane-departure warnings to kick in, drivers must be doing over 32 mph. If the system detects swerving audible and visual warning begin before it activates steering wheel vibrations.
Automatic high-beam headlights forego the need to manually flick between low and high beams. When the road ahead is clear, every Lexus automatically runs high beams for the best illumination ahead. When the system detects other headlights or taillights, the low beams will flick on to keep from blinding other drivers.
Finally, adaptive cruise control is a comfort becoming more common on modern cars—and not just luxury vehicles. Radar and cameras help maintain a set speed to ensure a safe following distance behind a vehicle. Once the road is clear again, the car will accelerate back to its preset speed.
Lexus isn't alone in making this type of technology standard. Ford, Honda, and Toyota also provide a similar set of active safety features, although they haven't made the tech standard on every model yet.