jentlemaan

Hey guys,
So I had the bug (again) to check out whats in store for the 2008 lineup and definitly wanted to see what the new a5 was about. So given that ive only had my gs350 for about 5 months, i knew my financial advisor would kill me especially cause purchasing my gs was quite a novalty. So anyway, All I can say is our gs is still ahead in terms of speed, comfort, overall craftsmanship, and most def technology. The a5 looks amazing, especially with the standard front led running lights. However, The torque and acceleration cant even compare with the gs350. Handling is definitly a plus if equipped with the quatro system but again, considering that the gs is much heavier, the difference is quite minimal. The a5 also has the most ignorant moon roof that doesnt slide but only tilts. Navi system is just like the i-drive from bmw but actually worse. The story goes on and on.The gs is hands down the most well balanced car having everything that the other competitors either failed to think of or didnt think it would be important. And I know that the m3 and s5 will most likely share the spotlight for this years lineup but the GS shall continue to shine!!!

ahearn

Thanks for the confirmation of our smart decisions in buying GS's. Good report.

INHOCJP

The A5/S5 is more of a competitor to the 3/M3, C/C63 and IS/IS-F.

The GS should be compared to the A6/S6. And IMHO, the interior of the A6 is extremely nice.

Modeler

Once I've been driving Japanese luxury or near-luxury cars for a number of years, switching to Audi is nearly impossible. I've tried a number of times and was always extremely disappointed with the ergonomics and technological features of Audi. They are gorgeous looking cars, but I will probably never own one due to all of their shortcomings.

Aristo300

The S5 will blow your doors off though. Next time compare cars that are competitors.

All Lexus cars are slightly behind in performance compared to the competition. The IS-F may be the only exception to date, but the M3 and future RS5 will have something to say about that.

spwolf

S5 compares to GS350?

I dont see how any of Lexus's with 3.5L GR engine is behind anyone really.

btw OP - what A5 did you test? It makes world difference. And how much was it?

gengar

Um, IS350?

EZZ

vs. the 335 I am assuming. The 335 is a little faster and handles better.

Aristo300

Not directly. We will have to wait until the new A6 is released for true competition. It should be faster though. Then the RS6 will def blow away the V8 model GS. Everyone's "new model" is released on staggered years to help in sales. I'm not saying they are better overall cars, but the topic is performance from what I can tell.


Um, BMW 335, C63 AMG, & Audi S5. All faster, check. All handle better, check.

ren495

I'm pretty sure the S5 will have a V8 engine, so you gotto compare it to the IS-F not the IS 350.

No naturally aspirated V6 can hang with the IS 350. The 335i with it's twin turbo can, but that's about it. IS 350 is king of the road IMO

Aristo300

Car models aren't competitive based solely on number of cylinders. Every car companies breakdown of the model ladder is different. Let me illustrate:

A5 vs IS250
S5 vs IS350
RS5 vs IS-F

328 vs IS250
335 vs IS350
M3 vs IS-F

C300 vs IS250
C350 vs IS350
C63 vs IS-F

Your IS350 is king of the road in your own dreams. God forbid you pull up next to one of the competition.

The only competitor the IS350 is faster than MAY BE the C350, but I don't have any numbers on it.

gengar

The IS350 preceded all of those, which I thought was the point of your statement. After all, we know the IS-F is already outclassed performance-wise by the M3.

Aristo300

I don't quite understand. The point of my statement is that everything Lexus releases is slightly behind in performance/handling compared to it's DIRECT COMPETITOR.

gengar

Exactly; as you said, releases. My point is that the IS350 preceded all the direct competitors that you mentioned. It was released before the 335i, C63, or S5. I can't speak for the handling (i.e., skid pad, slalom, other "objective" measurements, etc.) but certainly in terms of performance it was a class leader and touted as such in reviews.

Aristo300

Yes, this is true. I also made another point that not every brand is going to release the "competition" on the same year. The same way the IS350 was the first of it's class to be re-released, a different sized car by say BMW may have come before the Lexus model. This does not exclude a car from the competition, or warrant comparisons to the older body style as this would be unfair & is not how it's done in the review/test industry. If that's how they were tested and compared, the IS350 would have been up against the BMW 328 I presume since the 335 was released in 07'. The 328 would be a direct competitor of the IS250. The IS350 handles well, but falls short of the BMW in almost every aspect of ACTUAL driving. I prefer the interior of the IS, but I think the S5 will blow both out of the water, but with a model coming two years later than the 335, and three years later than the IS. It will probably cost more, and break more!

But damn those germans make a sexy looking car.