I've owned 5 Lexus vehicles - including my current 2012 LS460L and 2013 RX350. I'm not a hater. I'm not a "fanboy" of another brand (or any brand for that matter). I just don't see anything interesting on the horizon coming from this brand. I'll be looking for two new vehicles next year. Is there anything to look forward to? Am I missing something/uninformed? Help me out here...

 

You may not be thinking about the IS-F and the LFA? Even at the lower end, the F-sport on the IS is pretty nice

 

I feel the same way. Not a single Lexus model currently out really excites me, except of course for the LFA, which is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of my league.

 

The LFA is gone, right? They're not making it anymore. The IS-F is an interesting car. Are there any details on it? I'm 150 years old so I'm looking for something in the range of GS and LS. "Sport" doesn't mean much to me unless we're talking about the Cadillac CTS V-Sport with twin turbos and well over 400 horsepower. THAT is exciting...

The F-Sports look nice but appearances aren't everything to me - which is probably why I own two Lexus vehicles. They're not the most exciting vehicles on the market. I purchased them for comfort.

 

I think the IS and upcoming sports coupe will be good for Lexus. Is Lexus as exciting as some of its fellow luxury marques? No.

 

IS-F is around the affordable price range for you.

its a v8 pushing out +400hp.

 

The sports coupe will surely be nice - but probably too small for me. Is there no GS-F coming? Is there any type of high performance LS coming? Lexus is going to start losing customers to Cadillac. For the first time in a LONG time, I'm starting to like Cadillac again. Lexus needs to stop being so boring. They've got a good handle on exteriors now - but they're being really weak with drivetrains.

 

Brand new IS, year old GS, GX refresh in the next few weeks, RC coming up soon, F Sport everything, CT refresh, LF-LC/SC down the line, new engines coming, new RX next year, NX crossover...

...yes, very boring indeed.

 

"new engines coming"... That's the only really interesting thing I see out of all that text. Do we know anything about the new engines?

 

You drive two of their cushiest/least performance oriented vehicles. Do you REALLY want something more exciting?

As MPLexus laid out, there are lots of new developments on the way. Downturn in the vehicle markets, recalls, tsunami & earthquakes, and a strong yen pushed Toyota's conservative mindset to take control of the company for a while. Hopefully they're back on the attack and grow mode.

 

The only thing we really know about is a turbo 4 cylinder replacing the 2.5L V6 in the IS. That engine will probably also end up in the NX, and perhaps some others depending on output. Also, a new 2.5L 4 cylinder hybrid powertrain good for around 215hp and ~40MPG.

Aside from that, Lexus has no choice but to update their V8 for a next gen LS and F products. Similarly, the 3.5L V6 is now almost a decade old and will need updating. I have heard rumors of a new 3.0L TT V6, but that is not as definite as the turbo 4cyl above.

If engines are what constitutes to excitement, then I suppose you might be a little disappointed with Lexus right now.

 

I normally go back and forth from an exciting vehicle to a comfortable vehicle. I don't typically like driving the same type of vehicle for TOO long.

The turbo V6 sounds interesting... The drivetrain of a vehicle is very important to me. The new "look" of Lexus is something I do enjoy. However, I'm disappointed that the vehicles now LOOK much better than they perform.

I don't 'get' making such dramatic changes to the appearance but leaving the drivetrains as lackluster as they are - without even a rumor of something coming down the pike...

 

Sheet metal, headlights, wheels, LED lights, leather stitched dash, 12.3" screens, suspensions, etc. all cost a lot of money to develop. So do turbos, new engines and transmissions. Toyota usually spreads the cost out over the lifetime of the model, introducing new engines and new sheet metal at different points.

Do I like this approach? No. Give me everything new at the same time, and give it to the media too. However, this is how Toyota and Lexus tend to do things.

I think the GS will get the new 6 cyl engine at a refresh in about a year, and the IS will get new engines around the same time. It's my personal thought that they are probably saving a new V8 for the debut of the entirely new LS in a year or so.

 

I would love to see a 400hp turbo V6 GS. That would impress me. I hope this "new" LS is available in a year when I'm ready to trade mine in.

 

I don't know that we will see a 400hp V6, but the GS F was rumored to have 461hp, so that might be more up your alley.