Seasons greetings CL members!

I'm new to the forum but not new to cars. I currently drive a '06 WRX and know that am getting old because I want to gift the stick shift to my younger brother and drive something a little less intense.

I'm looking to purchase either of the cars for when I graduate from my MBA program in 6 months and my first job will likely demand some level of prestige and high levels of reliability. I know both these cars are at least 2 generations old but I believe that Lexus hasn't made more reliable and better looking vehicles since them, so here I am asking for your advice on the comparison, views and suggestions on either vehicle.

I live in Chicago so if anyone knows from the area knows of a clean, clear Carfax, one owner car that hasn't been modified, I'm interested.

 

The GS is undoubtedly the better car. It depends on maintenance and condition.

 

They didn't make a 2004 sport design gs, as someone whoes owned both generations, I like the gs much more, but the es was easier to drive (smaller) easier to park on the street, better on gas, and better in snow. The gs does have one extra gear, and has the potential to have more options (nav, mark levenson, HIDs,)

 

Wikipedia and searching here shows there was a SportDesign GS through 2004. Anyways not posting to pick nits, OP you are going to miss that WRX I do miss mine ;-)

The GS is a much more sophisticated and solid car in general, as you know the ES300 is a Camry based car. That makes it a bit cheaper to maintain and most any mechanic is familiar with it. IMO if you want the GS, get the 400 or 430 for the V8 they cost barely more used and you get the full experience, won't miss the WRX as much.

 

Fueleconomy.gov lists both the GS 300 and 430 as getting nearly identical gas mileage. That doesnt make sense - a V8 typically gets 10-20% lower gas mileage. Any truth to this?

 

I don't have specific experience with those models, but when I had my 03 ES300 my Dad had his 98 LS400 for a year and then got his 04 LS430, both the LS's had similar to better fuel economy than the ES. The ES struggles and was underpowered while the LS's were effortless. So maybe that explains it.

 

This actually makes tons of sense. Same car, similar weight, it takes the same energy to move the car around no matter what the power plant, so it uses about the same amount of gas. Keep in mind that is conservative driving, since the V8 makes a lot more power when you mash the throttle, you have the potential to use way more gas with the V8, but if you keep your foot out of it the MPG are going to be similar.

There are other factors specific to each car, there is no blanket rule here.

 

Similar car, similar weight, but two more pistons to fuel too.

 

In my mind, even at idle, that's 25% more fuel being burnt. So when I hear the number from both the GS300 and GS 430 can be very similar, it makes me think that the V8 must be remarkably efficient.

I've also heard that the ES300 is more efficient than both given its lighter weight and less performance oriented powertrain.

 

The GS300 is a pig on gas for what it is, the IS300 same thing [same motor], any owner will tell you that.

The v8 from toyota is arguably one of the best V8's of that era both for power to fuel consumption... not to mention reliability.

Personally, the only thing that ever holds me back from a 2gs is the fuel consumption, if I'm going to spend money like that on gas it'll be in a much newer 3gs at least!
Especially with what my averages work out to... as seen below on my Fuelly page.

 

On my 2001 es300 I was averaging from 21-23 on 87, in my 2002 gs300 i was averaging 22 but with winter I've recently been getting 19 on 93. I think the winter mix of gas has more ethanol in it? On te highway I hit 30 mpg a few times with the Es but it was rare, best I've gotten on the gs so far is 26, but again also take into consideration I was running regular in the Es and premium in the gs.

 

wow, i've never broken 20, then again it's mostly city driving with some 'higher' speeds on parkways and little highway driving. Just look at my fuelly page, my overall average is 17.5mpg

And I run premium... even more reason to run premium in the winter since the one station I go to does not have any additives in the 91 blend but others do.

 

I drive on average 40 miles a day with in the city to school, then the highway and suburbs with some back country road driving for work so I'm sure that helps with the higher mpg. I've owned both so if you have any specific questions op let me know. I will say this, if you can find one spring for the 430, I'm not a particularly fast driver, but it would have been nice to get a v8. Reasons I didn't were mainly because I couldn't find one I liked and because my insurance would have been ridiculous because I'm 20

 

So I am guessing you are better at Business than Physics ;-) That is not even close to how this whole thing works, there is a throttle plate, not the same volume of air is moved through the motor every revolution, it is varied based on how much power you request with the old right foot. Typically displacement is going to give you an idea of how efficient a motor is, but that is not the only factor, far from it. BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption) is the measurement that tells us how efficiently a motor turns gasoline into power. But no manufacturer quotes BSFC numbers, so we have to guess from engine size, power, EPA ratings, personal and shared experiences etc.

Not saying the EPA numbers actually work out in real life, I've no idea, just pointing out it is entirely possible. The EPA test is very conservative driving, it never dips into that extra power available from the V8, so considering you are moving the same lump of the same shape around, it makes perfect sense in that scenario the MPG would be close or the same. No more or less work is being done. It is very common for heavy cars to have little MPG penalty with the larger/optional motor.

 

Ive dealt with both models, owned 2000 ES and id go with ES, for me it felt smoother and better ride over all. Ive had it for almost 2 years and throughout that time i had no issues with it at all, just regular oil change, breaks, swapped tires and i had to replace fron axel cuz one broke, thats about it. Pretty good car and you can use camry parts unlike with gs.