1998 Lexus GS400: Lexus? Yes, Lexus
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1998 Lexus GS400: Lexus? Yes, Lexus
VEHICLE REVIEWS
1998 Lexus GS400: Lexus? Yes, Lexus
Toyota's conservative luxury division busts loose with a performace sedan
MARK VAUGHN
Published Date: 9/8/97
Only three days before, the Winston Cup drivers had been trading paint on these very same high banks of the California Speedway. They were averaging speeds in the 170-mph range during their race. As we glanced at the speedometer near the end of the front-straight, we could see our car was pushing close to 140. Yikes. We eased off the gas, eased onto the brakes, pushed the wheel-mounted shifter buttons to go from fifth to fourth to third gear and at the same time gradually cranked the wheel over and glided down into Turn One. The car barely registered a roll, and each ripple of pavement (of which there were precious few on this brand-new track) identified itself in perfect clarity through the leather-wrapped steering wheel. It was so smooth and stable we could have gone through the banked turns much faster, maybe in fourth or even fifth.
The minute you drive the new GS 400 you know this is like no Lexus you've ever driven. It feels more like a taut BMW 5 Series or a stiffer Mercedes E-Class.
It's responsive, immediate and very tight, which seems almost out of character. A Lexus is supposed to offer vault-like silence and solidity, unparalleled isolation from the rigors of the road and an interior plastered with luxury features. The GS 400 has the luxury features but drives like a sports sedan. A truly sporty sports sedan. Even the SC 400, heretofore fulfilling the sports car role in the Lexus lineup, doesn't have the responsiveness and feel for the road that this car offers. What's going on?
It's like this: The GS 300 has been in the Lexus lineup for years but has never really had an identity. Sales peaked in 1993 at 17,000 units and have been falling ever since. The new GS is supposed to create a logical step up from the near-luxury ES, and attract buyers younger than those currently getting into LS 400s.
``Compared to other Lexus vehicles, this one is something wicked,'' said Hiroshi Kawakami, vice president of Lexus division. ``You know the movie, Beauty and the Beast? This one is both.''
The beauty part will be left to the eye of the beholder. Though it shares no sheetmetal with the previous model, the new GS 300/400 shares the same proportions and profile.
The beast is under the hood, right on top of the cylinder block. Bolted onto both the 3.0-liter straight six and the all-new 4.0-liter V8 are new heads with dual overhead camshafts controlled by Lexus' brand-new variable valve timing with intelligence. VVTi infinitely adjusts valve overlap on the intake cams via a helical spline inside the intake camshaft pulley. The system allows up to 60 degrees of variation of crank angle to provide 300 horsepower in the V8 and 225 in the six, both figures achieved near the top of a remarkably flat power curve.
A five- or six-speed manual transmission would have been just about perfect, but Lexus found that there wouldn't be enough buyers to justify offering a manual. The very fast five-speed automatic, however, just about makes you forget any manual. Called E-shift, Lexus' automanual has a console-mounted shifter with Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive. Then there is a second gate with M (for manual), 3, 2 and 1. You can manipulate the stick manually or, by leaving it in the M position, change gears with buttons on the steering wheel. Push the button on the face of the wheel and you get a downshift, depress the button on the rear of the spoke and it upshifts.
Along with the performance benefits of rear-wheel drive, you get one of the most potent powertrain combinations available in the segment. Lexus says to expect a 0-to-60-mph time in the GS 400 of 6.0 seconds, which, after our drive, sounds entirely reasonable; top speed is listed at 149 mph. The GS 300 should get to 60 in 7.6 seconds and top out at 144 mph.
Sling all that onto a suspension so tight it twangs like a guitar string over expansion joints and makes the most out of a newly stiffened body (32 percent stiffer in torsional rigidity and 25 percent in bending resistance), and you have one of the best performance sedans on the market.
All this coursed reassuringly through our mind as we eased back onto the gas exiting California Speedway's decreasing-radius Turn Two. We'd left the standard traction control on during our track time, and whatever the traction control or standard ABS didn't catch, the GS 400's new vehicle skid control probably would have.
VSC uses yaw rate, lateral g and steering-angle sensors to determine when the vehicle is approaching a spin. It then applies braking first to the rear wheels, then to the outside-front wheel and then to all four wheels to keep the car pointed in the proper direction. We'd had a chance to try it out in the speedway's huge south parking lot and found that it worked splendidly. No need to prove that again here at triple-digit speeds.
Powering onto the long backstretch we punched the upshift buttons twice and were soon back up to the high 130s, and ready to lift for Turn Three. With 80 percent of its torque available from 1800 rpm, the V8 had relaunched us back up toward terminal velocity so quickly that the turn came up before we knew it. We eased back onto the four-wheel power discs, though not hard enough to engage the four-sensor, four-channel ABS. The car remained unperturbed throughout the turn and, indeed, throughout the day. The GS 400 was as at home on a racetrack as it later proved to be on a twisting, two-lane mountain highway, especially with its optional 235/45ZR-17 tires. Those tires transmitted loud pings over tar strips, but weren't overly harsh. The standard tires on the GS 400 are 225/55VR-16s and are considerably quieter and softer than the 17s, but not as responsive to steering input. The GS 300 comes standard with 215/60VR-16s.
While the front double-wishbone suspension geometry in the new GS is largely carryover, the rear setup is entirely new, with aluminum upper wishbones and five links instead of four. To create more space in the trunk, the links are considerably shorter than the previous rear suspension arms, but stability feels like it goes way up. The shocks are relatively hard and the springs are dead linear in their response to compression and rebound. Nonetheless, the car doesn't ride like a buckboard; it's comfortable enough for everyday driving. The 540i and E-Class have softer rides, thanks to their progressive-rate springs that stiffen up under heavy cornering.
Comparisons with the 5 Series and E-Class are inevitable, and this is the first Lexus that can truly compete in terms of handling and performance. But the GS is also a runner in the luxury category. With an extra inch of wheelbase translated directly to cabin length, it has more interior space than either the BMW or Mercedes. A 0.29 Cd helps give it less wind noise than the 5 Series, and thicker glass with UV and infrared coatings helps keep the interior pleasant.
A satellite navigation system is avail-able, with detailed maps of 35 U.S. cities (24 more should be available in 1998). The system comes with Lexus' first touch-screen display, which also manages the climate control and audio systems.
But one of the most impressive ways in which the GS 300/400 stacks up against the 5 Series and E-Class is price. When it enters showrooms in October, the GS 400 will sticker at $44,800, $900 less than the current GS 300. And the new GS 300 will start at $36,800, far enough below the LS 400 sedan to make it a sensible step up from the ES 300. There are only a few options: a power moonroof is $1,000; a CD player, another $1,000; the navigation system is $2,300. One other option represents the best bargain on the list-the 17-inch wheels and tires are a mere $200 more than the stock set, and well worth it.
http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=1186
1998 Lexus GS400: Lexus? Yes, Lexus
Toyota's conservative luxury division busts loose with a performace sedan
MARK VAUGHN
Published Date: 9/8/97
Only three days before, the Winston Cup drivers had been trading paint on these very same high banks of the California Speedway. They were averaging speeds in the 170-mph range during their race. As we glanced at the speedometer near the end of the front-straight, we could see our car was pushing close to 140. Yikes. We eased off the gas, eased onto the brakes, pushed the wheel-mounted shifter buttons to go from fifth to fourth to third gear and at the same time gradually cranked the wheel over and glided down into Turn One. The car barely registered a roll, and each ripple of pavement (of which there were precious few on this brand-new track) identified itself in perfect clarity through the leather-wrapped steering wheel. It was so smooth and stable we could have gone through the banked turns much faster, maybe in fourth or even fifth.
The minute you drive the new GS 400 you know this is like no Lexus you've ever driven. It feels more like a taut BMW 5 Series or a stiffer Mercedes E-Class.
It's responsive, immediate and very tight, which seems almost out of character. A Lexus is supposed to offer vault-like silence and solidity, unparalleled isolation from the rigors of the road and an interior plastered with luxury features. The GS 400 has the luxury features but drives like a sports sedan. A truly sporty sports sedan. Even the SC 400, heretofore fulfilling the sports car role in the Lexus lineup, doesn't have the responsiveness and feel for the road that this car offers. What's going on?
It's like this: The GS 300 has been in the Lexus lineup for years but has never really had an identity. Sales peaked in 1993 at 17,000 units and have been falling ever since. The new GS is supposed to create a logical step up from the near-luxury ES, and attract buyers younger than those currently getting into LS 400s.
``Compared to other Lexus vehicles, this one is something wicked,'' said Hiroshi Kawakami, vice president of Lexus division. ``You know the movie, Beauty and the Beast? This one is both.''
The beauty part will be left to the eye of the beholder. Though it shares no sheetmetal with the previous model, the new GS 300/400 shares the same proportions and profile.
The beast is under the hood, right on top of the cylinder block. Bolted onto both the 3.0-liter straight six and the all-new 4.0-liter V8 are new heads with dual overhead camshafts controlled by Lexus' brand-new variable valve timing with intelligence. VVTi infinitely adjusts valve overlap on the intake cams via a helical spline inside the intake camshaft pulley. The system allows up to 60 degrees of variation of crank angle to provide 300 horsepower in the V8 and 225 in the six, both figures achieved near the top of a remarkably flat power curve.
A five- or six-speed manual transmission would have been just about perfect, but Lexus found that there wouldn't be enough buyers to justify offering a manual. The very fast five-speed automatic, however, just about makes you forget any manual. Called E-shift, Lexus' automanual has a console-mounted shifter with Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive. Then there is a second gate with M (for manual), 3, 2 and 1. You can manipulate the stick manually or, by leaving it in the M position, change gears with buttons on the steering wheel. Push the button on the face of the wheel and you get a downshift, depress the button on the rear of the spoke and it upshifts.
Along with the performance benefits of rear-wheel drive, you get one of the most potent powertrain combinations available in the segment. Lexus says to expect a 0-to-60-mph time in the GS 400 of 6.0 seconds, which, after our drive, sounds entirely reasonable; top speed is listed at 149 mph. The GS 300 should get to 60 in 7.6 seconds and top out at 144 mph.
Sling all that onto a suspension so tight it twangs like a guitar string over expansion joints and makes the most out of a newly stiffened body (32 percent stiffer in torsional rigidity and 25 percent in bending resistance), and you have one of the best performance sedans on the market.
All this coursed reassuringly through our mind as we eased back onto the gas exiting California Speedway's decreasing-radius Turn Two. We'd left the standard traction control on during our track time, and whatever the traction control or standard ABS didn't catch, the GS 400's new vehicle skid control probably would have.
VSC uses yaw rate, lateral g and steering-angle sensors to determine when the vehicle is approaching a spin. It then applies braking first to the rear wheels, then to the outside-front wheel and then to all four wheels to keep the car pointed in the proper direction. We'd had a chance to try it out in the speedway's huge south parking lot and found that it worked splendidly. No need to prove that again here at triple-digit speeds.
Powering onto the long backstretch we punched the upshift buttons twice and were soon back up to the high 130s, and ready to lift for Turn Three. With 80 percent of its torque available from 1800 rpm, the V8 had relaunched us back up toward terminal velocity so quickly that the turn came up before we knew it. We eased back onto the four-wheel power discs, though not hard enough to engage the four-sensor, four-channel ABS. The car remained unperturbed throughout the turn and, indeed, throughout the day. The GS 400 was as at home on a racetrack as it later proved to be on a twisting, two-lane mountain highway, especially with its optional 235/45ZR-17 tires. Those tires transmitted loud pings over tar strips, but weren't overly harsh. The standard tires on the GS 400 are 225/55VR-16s and are considerably quieter and softer than the 17s, but not as responsive to steering input. The GS 300 comes standard with 215/60VR-16s.
While the front double-wishbone suspension geometry in the new GS is largely carryover, the rear setup is entirely new, with aluminum upper wishbones and five links instead of four. To create more space in the trunk, the links are considerably shorter than the previous rear suspension arms, but stability feels like it goes way up. The shocks are relatively hard and the springs are dead linear in their response to compression and rebound. Nonetheless, the car doesn't ride like a buckboard; it's comfortable enough for everyday driving. The 540i and E-Class have softer rides, thanks to their progressive-rate springs that stiffen up under heavy cornering.
Comparisons with the 5 Series and E-Class are inevitable, and this is the first Lexus that can truly compete in terms of handling and performance. But the GS is also a runner in the luxury category. With an extra inch of wheelbase translated directly to cabin length, it has more interior space than either the BMW or Mercedes. A 0.29 Cd helps give it less wind noise than the 5 Series, and thicker glass with UV and infrared coatings helps keep the interior pleasant.
A satellite navigation system is avail-able, with detailed maps of 35 U.S. cities (24 more should be available in 1998). The system comes with Lexus' first touch-screen display, which also manages the climate control and audio systems.
But one of the most impressive ways in which the GS 300/400 stacks up against the 5 Series and E-Class is price. When it enters showrooms in October, the GS 400 will sticker at $44,800, $900 less than the current GS 300. And the new GS 300 will start at $36,800, far enough below the LS 400 sedan to make it a sensible step up from the ES 300. There are only a few options: a power moonroof is $1,000; a CD player, another $1,000; the navigation system is $2,300. One other option represents the best bargain on the list-the 17-inch wheels and tires are a mere $200 more than the stock set, and well worth it.
http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=1186
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