Bushwack

The RL was more a drivers car then the GS. The car gives more feedback as you're taking curves and just driving down the highway. Personally, one of the reasons I switched from the RL was I wanted the 'projection' and 'floatiness' of the GS (the GS reminds me of a 1969 Cadillac Sedan de Ville ride w/o the noisy tires).

timeToy

iTrader: (11)

How is that a compliment ?

socalJD

Ah not a fair comparison then, should've compared the awd GS since the RL has sh-awd and would have a decided handling advantage. I found the RL to be uninspiring, more like an accord on 'roids and not a huge step up from a TL, in fact a TL-S was more engaging to me. The RL was slightly underpowered, heavy and the exterior styling seemed too vague - no 'wow' factor for me. The 4k off invoice was very tempting, as Acura could not give RLs away at invoice, much less sticker. The 1RL was rock solid and bullet proof, but the 2RL missed the mark. Hopefully Acura launches a redesigned 3RL soon, one worthy of being the brand's flagship.

2thfixr

My point exactly.

2thfixr

The blanket statement was made comparing Lexus to German cars. Definitely agree about car class but the E and 5 also have better build quality IMO. Not bashing Lexus as I have been posting about how much I like my GS from day 1.

It's too bad about your GL450, I have put 23k miles on mine now and have not had a single problem outside of a couple of things that I would not consider problems. At the 1st oil change they reflashed the transmission due to a rough 3-2 downshift and I had the 20" Michelin Diamaris tires replaced at 15k miles due to excessive noise. I have heard of others having trouble with the GL also so I guess I have been lucky (knocking on wood). Mine is a Premier Edition which is also called a launch edition and probably one of the 1st few off the assembly line. Maybe they had tighter QC on the initial builds.

The G Man

Well, thats exactly what is it, a blanket statement. There will always be owner who own good Lexus or bad ones, just like there will always be owners who have good european car as well as bad ones. It is the over all percentage of the problem free car vs the problematic cars that put Lexus on top.

2thfixr

There is a big difference between "problematic" and "build quality". If you are referring to problems only, then I agree with you that in general Lexus would blow away the European marques. If you are referring to "build quality" as in quality of materials and engineering, I Lexus has a long ways to go.

The G Man

I think in this price range, Lexus has pretty good built material. If you compare dollar to dollar, say the GS350 to a BMW 335XI. Before you say that’s not a good comparison, the BMW actually invoice out at $1500 more with the same options. As far as built material, I think the GS has better material than the 335XI and it is put together better too I think. If you mean engineering as in performance, than yes the German cars are better than Lexus but there are other Japanese cars that handles almost as good as BMW at a much cheaper price. If you mean engineering as in smoother ride, quieter cabin, parts design for reliability and low maintenance, then Lexus wins in that engineering department.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Very nice. I am very excited to see what this car can do when it comes out.

socalJD

^ Uh, the GS460 has been out since October . . .

INHOCJP

In terms of interiors, I'd rank the E > GS >> 5 series.

Very close between the E and GS, I just feel there is too much plastic on the dash (especially on the passenger side). And maybe I'm an isolated case, but my GS rattles like crazy. I've all but given up on trying to fix them. FWIW, my wife's old '06 E350 was rattle free (as is my E63). But the Nav system on the GS is so much better than the COMAND system in the E. And the interior LED lighting on the GS is a classy touch.

encore888

Exactly. Wow, I was a bit surprised to see the 'Exec Editor' have such a biased opinion of Lexus vehicles by making a blanket statement about them all in general, not to mention inaccurately claiming 'gussied up Toyotas' and 'Lexi.' I can understand one's evaluation of a vehicle on the merits, but when a review begins with a negative evaluation on the brand to begin with, it gives me pause. Say what one will about a car, good or bad, but a focus on the car itself would be more helpful.

The G Man

I think this is the classic good cop, bad cop scenario to make the article more interesting. The 1st editor probably doesn’t hate Lexus as much as he says he does and the 2nd was just drooling over Lexus a little too much.

whlkev

having owned many bmw/MB in our family, I can say with 100% certainty that "German" cars having a better build quality is a gross overstatement.

when it comes to driving experience, german car hands down, but overall built quality? come on.

own a bmw or mb for 7-10 years, and come back and tell me the same thing.

The G Man

I had a BMW 3 series about 10 years ago, my GS is hands down better than my old BMW as far as built material and quality. I know, I know, the BMW is 10 years old. and not fair to compare the 2.
German cars are great if all you are looking for is the best performance and nothing else matters. If you are looking for a car with pretty good performance and have other priority as well as performance such as bang for the buck, good built material and quailty, good reliebility and low maintenance cost, in other words, the over all package, then Lexus wins hands down. BTW, its a sad day that American car manufacturers has not been mentioned once on this thread