SW17LS

I never had a GS430 but I did have an LS400 and an LS430, both of which were obviously RWD. They were terrible in the snow on all season tires. If you're in a position where you will need to rely in the GS430 to get you around in the snow, and you aren't planning on running winter tires I would absolutely rethink that decision.

My LS460L is RWD, and my 2015 LS460 was AWD, so I've driven the same model in the snow both with RWD and with AWD. Modern traction and skid control have made my LS460L MUCH more drivable in the snow on allseasons than the old cars were, BUT still, the potential is there to get high sided and stuck, you have to really think about where you stop on a hill or in an intersection to make sure you have momentum to get yourself out. In the AWD car, none of that is an issue. Unless the snow is physically so deep that it builds up underneath it will get through anything. Driving the AWD car is much less stressful.

I like the driving dynamics of my RWD car more, and like I said with modern traction and skid control its way more drivable, but all in all I would absolutely prefer an AWD vehicle here in the winter.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

The awd GS’s tend to have a very poor looking jacked up front wheel gap, plus the extra drive shafts or something interfere into the driver foot space on the awd models.

i’d recommend test driving both and looking at pics of both closely.