XeroK00L

Oops sorry this IS a repost . Can a mod please delete this thread? (the delete function doesn't seem to be available in the new forum.)

Saw this posted by Tu Papa at http://forums.thecarfanatics.com/ind...d=16962&st=60&

Don't see it here. Hopefully not a repost.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3119672a30,00.html

Big block for Lexus GS
06 December 2004

It's not officially available anywhere in the world yet, but Dave Moore has driven Lexus' remarkable GS sedan.

For the first time in New Zealand, Lexus is to offer a 4.3-litre GS430 alongside a pair of 3.0-litre Quad Cam V6 GS300s with the introduction of the third-generation model next year. The V6s in the GS range will have state-of-the-art petrol direct injection for optimised performance, fuel economy and reduced emissions: fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber, thereby improving combustion efficiency and reducing pumping losses.

The VVT-i equipped all-alloy direct- injection V6s offer greater performance than the 3.0-litre straight six they supersede.

The car has already won the German magazine Auto Zeitung's Car of the Year title despite not being available in that country or, for that matter, anywhere else.

A pre-production example of the Japanese luxury sports sedan has been brought into New Zealand to test the waters and Drive was invited to drive it.

Gary McIver, the manager of Lexus New Zealand, says the new GS will be "the start of a new, cohesive corporate look" for Lexus. Previously, each Lexus model was a stand-alone prospect in terms of its styling. From the GS onwards, the whole range will become visually connected as new models come through.

While full local specification is yet to be confirmed, the new generation GS line will incorporate a sophisticated array of advanced safety, comfort and convenience features, including flow-down technological features from the current LS430 flagship.

Lexus unveiled its third-generation GS at Detroit's North American International Auto Show in January where it was introduced as the first in a wave of Lexus products to reflect a new direction in styling first seen in the Lexus concept vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show in October last year.

The new direct-injected 3.0-litre V6s that replace the current inline six will produce 181kW, and join a 4.3-litre 222kW V8 available in the North American market GS II and the company's SC and LS 430 models.

Both engines are teamed with a new close-ratio six-speed automatic transmission, with a sequential manual-shifting mode.

For New Zealand, there will be two trim levels of the GS300 model, and a single, loaded version of the GS430.

The new GS will use the latest version of what Lexus calls its Vehicle Dynamic Management (VDM) system. Less obtrusive and more effective than conventional Vehicle Stability Control, (VSC), VDM anticipates and corrects the onset of a vehicle skid or slide with a combination of braking and throttle control.

For New Zealand, the GS's specification also includes keyless entry, adaptive headlights, Lexus rear- view camera, advanced tyre pressure warning system and front-passenger and driver-knee airbags.

The GS will also offer an optional Pre-Collision System (PCS) to help reduce collision injury and damage. The system uses a wave radar sensor to detect obstacles in front of the car while a pre-collision system computer works to determine in advance whether a collision is unavoidable.

If a collision is anticipated, the system pre-emptively retracts the front seat belts and prepares Brake Assist for increased braking force to help reduce collision speed.

While the GS430 in its third-generation form is instantly recognisable as a Lexus GS, the car's lines are more fluid than before and create a car which has terrific presence in a class dominated by BMW's 5-series, the Benz E-Class and Audi's A6 – no shrinking violets themselves.

Lexus has tried hard with the GS's styling. The complex curves that make up the front lamp-and-guard area must have been a metal-former's nightmare, and the low profiled alloys of our test car were well chosen.

From the outset, it is obvious that this is a Lexus to drive, rather than to be driven in. The car's new variable- assisted power steering gives great feel around the straight ahead and immediately off it – a boon at turn-in – and, even with the great velvet fist of Lexus V8 power under the bonnet, the chassis offered masses of grip on off-camber bends and changes of surface.

Unlike previous GSs, the GS430 seems to ride well, too, with little road shock getting through to the cabin and no need for the driver or other occupants to wince when approaching manhole covers or expansion gaps.

From first impressions, the GS feels much closer to its German competitors than its predecessor did, with a much more mature look and feel about the whole car and a chassis that encourages enthusiastic drivers and cruisers in equal portions.

With two levels of V6 trim and the range-topping V8, the new GS will probably have a spread of prices when it reaches here at the end of the first quarter of 2005. I'd expect the stickers to run from $105,000 to $145,000.