‘Top Gear’ Pits Lexus GS F Against BMW M5 (Video)
How does the Lexus GS F fare against the more powerful, more advanced, more established German? Rather nicely, it turns out.
On the surface, it might seem a little unfair to directly compare the Lexus GS F and the BMW M5. Both are larger, four-door performance sedans, but that’s where the similarities cease. After all, the M5 is more powerful, heavier, and exponentially more expensive. But that didn’t stop Top Gear‘s Chris Harris from pitting the two against each other in this recent video.
Curiously enough, Harris even opts for the top-of-the-line, 592 horsepower 30th anniversary edition M5. With an equally prodigious 516 lb-ft of torque, it would seem an odd match for the 467 hp, 389 lb-ft GS F, especially when you consider that the M5 does 0-60 nearly three quarters of a second faster than the Lexus. Combine that with the fact that most consider the segment-setting M5 to represent the benchmark in its class, and this really doesn’t seem like a fair fight.
But all that extra size, weight, technology and horsepower comes at a price. Roughly $25,000, to be exact. And the M5 suffers from a problem that faces many other high horsepower vehicles — it has a hard time getting all that power to the ground. Harris notes that even though he’s driving in wintry conditions, the M5 is only capable of truly getting all of those 592 ponies to the pavement in very limited situations.
‘Even without a fancy active damping suspension, Harris declares the GS F the better car — by a long shot. This, in spite of an interior that Harris calls a ‘wonderful mess.’
The Lexus GS F, on the other hand, doesn’t have that problem. Its 467 hp figure, though inferior on paper, also comes from a highly-satisfying, naturally aspirated V8. Throw in a driving position that Harris calls “absolutely spot on,” and you’ll sense a theme coming on here. Even without a fancy active damping suspension, Harris declares the GS F the better car — by a long shot. This, in spite of an interior that Harris calls a “wonderful mess.”
It all boils down to one simple declaration. The Lexus is “more enjoyable to drive, most of the time.” That’s why the M5 became such a legendary car in the first place. And now the GS F has stolen away some of its once impenetrable acclaim.
