MidnightGS

haha, I think you found a lot of faults in your car, but some of the things you mentioned are true. I have a '06 GS300 that I bought last June, and my HID's seem to be white completely. Also, for the seats, my back didn't hurt at all, I actually really enjoyed the seats, they were very adjustable and comfortable.

But for me, personally, I wished I got the IS350, to me, its more of a car I would have wanted to get since I was 17 at the time I'm, 18 right now and it seemed more for a younger person but my parents wanted me to get something with a little more room. My first choice was definetely the IS350, but the room in the back was ridiculous, I was so surprised on how cramped it was. Especially with me sitting in the front seat, I'm 6'2 and I would always have to move my seat all the way back, so that basically changed the car from a 5 seater to a three seater (I don't count the middle seat as a seat, since the hump in the back makes it impossible for tall people). That right there was a big deciding factor in either getting the GS or the IS. I do love my GS though, so much fun to drive.

starstreak

Off topic-
MidnightGS, boy would I love to be 18 and get a $50k car. I think my first car back then was a '88 Honda Civic Si. And before that it was a second hand car a 86 4-door Civic.
I think the IS is too small for you. I sat in it and I'm 5.6, and my head feels like it'll touch the roof.

dmz

That is what rich parents are for

Jace7

My first car was a jeep cherokee, then a camry, then the nice ones.....
after I graduated and started making real $$$.

SmokyGS350

I went to the dealership with every intention of buying an IS350.

If you ever have any intention of carrying a client in the back, or even 4 tall friends with you for any period of time, forget it.

Pros/Cons for the IS350

Amazingly fast
Very good handling
Stock stereo sounds amazing (I think it sounds so powerful because of the small interior)
'Sporty' look to interior/exterior
Very nice gauge cluster

No backseat to speak of
Even the passenger side front is tight, if you're tall and want to stretch out
Headroom
More on a personal note, I think the 18" wheels on the $45K IS look subpar. I like the wheels on the 07 Infinity G35S sedan much better

Pros/Cons for the GS350


Very Fast (not nearly as quick as the IS, but faster than most high-end 6 cylinder sedans on the market)
Interior/Exterior are much more sophisticated than IS
18" Wheels are beautiful on the GS
Good handling for a bigger car..
Plenty of passenger room
Comfortable on long hauls
Smallish trunk, definitely not good for a family of 4 on vacation.
Stock stereo...If you're coming from the IS, you will be disappointed with the GS stock stereo. It just does not compare. I would STRONGLY suggest the Levinson.


Story break: After I decided the IS wasn't the right car, and decided to go with the GS, the dealership gave me a loaner to drive for a couple of weeks while my color/options car came in. I knew the stock stereo didn't compare to the one I listened to in the IS (stock), but figured 'Eh, it will do'. So when the other car came in, and I took the loaner back, I asked the salesman if I could listen to a GS with Lev. I took a CD that had a lot of dynamic range and listened to it in the Lev car. I thought "Yeah, it's got more power, and the staging was much better, and definitely clearer" But was it worth the extra $2K to get it? So I got back in the original car, and set all the settings the same as in the Lev car (bass,mid and treble). At the same volume level (40-42), it sounded like someone had pushed pillows into the speakers of the Non-Lev car..The difference was that amazing. I had to wait another week for a Lev car to come in...

If you can live with a car that gives you about 80% of the performance of the IS350, and most of your driving is done at the 8/10ths level or less (which for most of us city dwellers, it is), then you'll love the GS.

EXP_Cougar

I've got to say, I'm not an audiophile, so I never did a side by side ML comparison. I did listen to the ML system and was unable to discern a $2k difference...

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

It's okay. I'm sure many feel the same way as you. I was never fond of factory "Premium" sound system, even if it's ML. $2k can get me rims instead

audiobot7

Great thread. I'm also in the market for a GS.

Modeler

What's trully bizzare for me is that I would NEVER EVER consider spending this kind of money on a home audio system. Yet, $1,700 on the Mark Levinson didn't seem too out of whack. It must just be due to the fact that it's a $1,700 out of $53,000.

Having said that, I wouldn't probably buy the ML system, if I had a choice. Unfortunately, it's not really a choice with GS 450h, almost all of them come with ML. Certainly all of the ones that the dealer was willing to offer me a great price on.

EXP_Cougar

Actually, I think I spent about that (~$2000) just on my home audio - but I had justification to do so: it needed to support the new plasma I had purchased Wife understood that purchase about as well as my GS

gsintensive

53k? out the door for 58k of a GS450h !? wow where!?

widlfiresd

I suspect the GS 350/450 both will get the same or better gas mileage real world overall than an IS350.

I don't understand how some small cars can get worse mileage than a V8?

Modeler

Actually, the MSRP was $60,200, so I got it under invoice. Bought from Rallye Lexus in Glen Cove, NY (on Long Island).

Modeler

The 450h is a V6 supplemented with an electric motor; GS 350 is a V6. But your second point is still valid: one manufacturer's V8 can get better mileage than another manufacturer's V6. You will not see this within the same manufacturer's lines.

LexDriver18

Actually Modeler I think that MIGHT be untrue!! I remember reading somehwere on this forum that my 2000 GS400 got better gas mileage than the 2000 GS300. When you look it up it's 17/24 for GS400 and 18/24 for GS300 but I think real world driving proved that the 400 got a better MPG. Or maybe I was high lol