LexBob2

I owned back to back ES350's a 2007 and a 2010. Zero visits to the dealerships with either car, other than routine service. No warranty or service bulletin work, just the questionable sudden acceleration recall. Impressive.

Currently have a 2013 Audi. Fingers crossed. No issues after 15 months.

84Cressida

Lexus is on a completely different planet. Love itttt.

FrankReynoldsCPA

Glad I went with the V6 in my Fusion.

Mike728

Yeah, this doesn't make sense.

SLegacy99

Haha, really? What is this 1985?

I have 131,000 miles on my 4 cylinder turbo. And though it has problems, they've all been transmission related. Rear main seal failure is not good. Transmissions need fluid!

natnut

Lexus IS ES GS LS

ALL lead their respective segment!

And they don't sacrifice excitement and driving enjoyment since Lexus IS and GS arguably are the best driving in their respective class.

Previously IS and GS were comfortable and reliable but at the expense of class-leading driving enjoyment but this current generation of RWD Lexus sedans are able to be BOTH.

Who said you can't have your cake and eat it as well?

Whatever Akio Toyoda and his leadership team are doing, they're on the right path...

EDIT :

I guess going FI ( Turbo/supercharging) in general is biting the Germans in the the behind at the moment and this study reveals the hidden drawbacks of just jumping blindly on the FI bandwagon.

doge

They aren't jumping on "blindly" as you put they are simply preparing for the new Euro 6 and Cafe standards. These fi engines are enabling a 520hp behemoth like the S8 to get 26mpg highway. Lexus is aware and will be releasing its own fi engines soon enough once the current life cycle is over.

natnut

Yes of course I'm aware that the Germans are embracing FI in order to meet CAFE regulations but there ARE drawbacks that the average consumer aren't going to be aware of.

Like for instance, the reduced reliability and increased maintenance headaches that this JD Powers study seems to suggest.

The behemoth S8 might get EPA 26mpg but seemingly at the expense of spending more time at the repairman. According to this study, Audi which has also fully embraced FI is ranked 20th, well below industry average.

I guess I used the term "blindly" more to refer to the bandwagon consumers who think that FI is all upside and the newest hot/in thing without considering the hidden costs of ownership.

doge

Better to produce reliable N/A cars be and not be able sell it to your target market I guess. Reliability helps sell cars, but it appears the lack of it isn't slowing down audi's growth.

FrankReynoldsCPA

If they build the engine for it, than FI shouldn't be an issue IMO. At that point the only real maintenance issue becomes replacing the turbo, but those should still last at least 150,000+ miles(they go for 2-300 on diesels easily).

LexBob2

According to CR beginning with the 2012 model year the 2.0t used in various Audi's has been very reliable. It sounds like they've fixed the oil consumption and carbon buildup issues on the newer models.

SLegacy99

Yeah, I just think people probably do not maintain them properly. You really have to be diligent about oil changes with a turbo.

yowps3

Anyone who thinks you can get big power with High MPG with a FI setup is a fool.

FI gives power yes, but even those little 2.0L Turbocharged vehicles really do guzzle gas as much as a big V8

SLegacy99

Yeah, no, that's not correct. Spoken from experience.

LexBob2

It's not THAT bad. Decent fuel efficiency can be had with the small displacement turbos being discussed.