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We’ve visited country clubs offering fewer amenities than the 2001 Lexus LS430 sedan, the automaker’s top-of-the-line luxury car.

Come to think of it, we’ve visited countries offering fewer amenities than the 2001 LS430.

Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota, set out to remake its flagship LS sedan for 2001. It extended the wheelbase by 3 inches and replaced the 4-liter, 290-horsepower V-8 engine with a 4.3-liter, 290-h.p. V-8 with 20 foot-pounds more torque for quicker movement from the light.

Then, for the piece de resistance, it came up with the Ultra Luxury Selection (ULS) package, which includes no stove, sink or shower but does offer just about anything else you can want in a car.

Consider for a moment a voice-activated navigation system in which you press a POI (point of information) button and exclaim “Hungry” and the global-positioning satellite traveling overhead flashes a map on the dash screen that pinpoints all restaurants within a several block area.

Oh, and did we mention that at every restaurant on the screen, the GPS places a flag denoting the country of origin of the fare offered. Press a box on the screen, and the restaurant is dialed up for a quick reservation.

Or, consider that you are really hungry and, shame on you for doing so, you take off for the closest pizza parlor in excess of the limit. You are traveling at 60 m.p.h. while the couple in the Hyundai in front of you are going only 50 m.p.h. The laws of physics state that based on those speeds, you will meet that couple before you meet the hostess at the pizzeria.

Not with ULS and its dynamic cruise control. Push a button to engage cruise control and activate the radar system, and the message center in the instrument panel shows a schematic of you in hot pursuit of not just a deep-dish cheese and sausage but also that Hyundai traveling at 50 m.p.h.

If you get too close to the Hyundai, your LS430 will automatically cut back the throttle or apply the anti-lock brakes or both to prevent contact. Same applies if you are traveling 60 m.p.h. and that Hyundai pulls out into traffic from a crossroad.

Or consider that another couple is traveling in the back seat. The pizza parlor is several blocks away, and you are mighty thirsty. Ask one of your back-seat passengers to pull down the center armrest and open the cooler box hidden in the seat back to provide you with a cold drink. Thanks to a separate rear-seat air conditioner system that directs cold air into the plastic box, you can cool five cans of pop at a time. The box will actually hold 6 cans, but then the lid won’t close and the cooler won’t work. Go figure.

Or consider that the pizza parlor is a long distance away and those folks in back are a tad tired of serving drinks. They just want to relax. Again, pull down that center armrest and press the button in the now-exposed control console, and the rear seats mass age the occupants. And there are two massage settings, one very energetic, one rather tame. To fully enjoy either, press another button and the rear seat reclines, slowly so as not to spill your soda, of course.

Or consider that you arrive at the pizza parlor and find a vacant parking spot right in front of the door. Tight squeeze, however, between two Hyundais. No sweat, press a button to activate parking assist and the navigation system will not only call up a schematic of your car on the screen, but also flash red warning lines at the spot front or rear on your car where an object is in your path. Too close? The system starts to beep. It also works to warn of garbage cans, bikes, pets or children that may enter into your path when pulling out of that parking spot or into your driveway or garage at home.

Or consider, you’ve now parked and are ready to enter the eatery but the wife passenger door stops short of latching shut. No problem. ULS includes power door closers to shut them tight. Works on the deck lid too.

And the ULS package offers even more, such as an air-suspension system that allows you to press a button on the instrument panel to raise or lower the car by an inch. The system will automatically raise the car by one inch when traveling over rough road and lower the car by one inch for better aerodynamics when you reach 50 m.p.h. on smooth roads.

And then there’s front or rear seat push-button activation to raise or lower the rear window sunscreen while sunscreens for the rear side windows are operated manually; and front seats in which you push a button to heat them in the winter or air condition them in the summer; and power outside mirrors that will fold flat against the window should you need the room to fit in a tight parking space.

The ULS package also offers Lexus Link, the name for the OnStar emergency communication system Lexus is buying from General Motors for use in its cars, starting with the LS430. Among its features, Lexus Link summons help when an air bag deploys and uses the GPS to locate your car.

Other noteworthy standard items in the LS430 include front- and side-impact air bags for front-seat occupants as well as side curtains that drop from the roof in a side impact to protect front- and rear-seat occupants; air vents that swing side to side to direct hot or cold air to that area of the cabin needing it most; and power front-seat cushions that move independently of the seat backs to give taller drivers extra thigh support.

There’s also two glove boxes with door springs that prevent them from falling open on your knees, and grab handles above each door with springs to slowly return flat into position along the roof without pinching your fingers when you let go.

The LS430 also offers traction control to prevent wheel slippage when starting out on slippery surfaces as well as stability control to ensure that on slippery or irregular surfaces the wheels follow the direction in which you turn the steering wheel.

We could mention the standard power headlamp washers and moisture sensing wipers that activate based on the amount of rain on the glass, or the tool and first-aid kits in the trunk, but in the grand scheme of things those items suddenly sound rather ordinary, don’t you think?

The $54,005 base price for 2001 is the same as in 2000, despite the upgrades. The ULS runs a hefty $12,505, but when you consider the host of items it includes, a Lexus LS430 without it would seem like just another luxury car.

What about gripes?

Welllll. You can chill only five cans of pop at a time in the cool box, so what do you do with that odd can? And the tool kit doesn’t come with a jackhammer.

Obviously Lexus needs to be admonished.