kjhouston

My lease is about up on my current GS430 (01). I was interested if anyone has previously owned a GS430 and then went down to a GS300. Were you ever really satisfied with the drop in raw power? The 300 would be the more affordable choice, but and that is a huge but, I don't think I will ever be happy driving it. So I come to my bretheren to find if there is anyone else who has been in my situation. So do I be the smart guy and do what is economically correct and get the 300, or do I just shut up and quit my bellyachin and get the 430 and throw my funds out the window.

It is definitely a dilema

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I drive many Lexus.. LOve the V8 but the Inline 6 only work good in IS3, I drove my friend's GS3, don;t like it at all.. I even lost in a battle in it to a honda accord!

Never tried the new V6 tho, maybe it is better but will never match the V8 feel.

INHOCJP

Tough choice, I went from a '99 300 to a '06 430 and was amazed in the power difference. When I had my 300, I never found it "underpowered." However, after having the 430 for a couple months, I'm not sure if I could go back to a 300.

Although the '06 300 is a great car, I just think you'd miss the power of the V8, especially since you've been driving a 430 for years now. Good luck.

LexuSteve

how much hp/tq does the 01 gs430 have?

kjhouston

The 01 430 has 300hp like the 06 430. The difference is the 06 is a six speed and 01 is 5.

zoombie99

I went from a 98 GS 400 to a 96 GS 300AWD. I live in NJ and I didn't like driving the GS 400 in snow. It was worth to give up a little power for the safety of AWD in the Northeast.

KevinGS

I have a 2001 GS430, with TC and SRT intake.

I have had a few 2006 GS3 AWD loaners from the Lexus dealership in the last 2 months.

And I was VERY impressed with the new V6 in the new GS3. Quite peppy. And the power button on the '06 actually will hold the gear you are in during aggressive driving, even when you take your foot off the accelerator. I really liked that. Like once you floor it, and start zooming around, once you lift your foot off the accelerator for a turn or something, the trans doesn't automatically upshift. It just stays put, for about 3-4 seconds, allowing you to stay in the sweet spot for the next acceleration. Then if you don't go back to aggressive driving in 3-4 seconds, it will upshift automatically, back to the old docile engine revs.

It was quite nifty.

I never thought I'd say it after driving in my 430, but I could be quite content with the new V6.

hlevin

I went from a '98 GS400 to an '02 GS300 and I spent my time looking at worse gas mileage in the 300 than the 400 because I always had my foot in the floor. Now, that being said, I did drive both the '06 GS300 and 300AWD and found those to be much more peppier and responsive than my '02. Of course, I went with the '06 430 anyway, but if you don't need to have the smile peeled from your face after hard acceleration, you should be fine.