Considering GS and have few performance related questions.
02-16-09, 03:11 PM
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Considering GS and have few performance related questions.
Hi, I'm shopping for a new car and am considering the GS, probably GS350. I haven't test-driven one yet. I'm first trying to find out as much as I can about it so that I know what to focus on when test-driving. I'm currently driving 99 Audi A6 Quattro and 2007 Audi Q7. Before that I had 92 Honda Prelude Si. I would say that I'm an enthusiast who enjoys sporty driving, but not racing. I like cars with clean long lasting design and quality feel. I prefer sport to luxury or balance of both. I don't care about top speed, just decent acceleration, good handling and responsive transmission with manual shifting.
I'm looking at GS, because I like the following:
Style - clean, sporty looking, seems to age well
Reliability - or so the CR says
Dealer experience - my local dealership seems to get great reviews from my friends who own Lexus
Price - seems fair considering competitors
Engine - numbers indicate very good acceleration
My questions:
1. Does the car drive as good as it looks. The style says sport-luxury, does the ride have "sport" anywhere in it?
2. How does the ride differ between RW and AWD?
3. Transmission - how satisfying is the manual shifting? Can you hold the gear up to a redline or will the car shift for you? How quick are the shifts?
4. Has anyone switched to the GS from something like 5-series or Audi with sport suspension or Infiniti M? How would you compare the handling and transmission performance?
One more think, I saw the thread about the future availability of F-accessories - can't wait for some reviews on them.
Thank you.
I'm looking at GS, because I like the following:
Style - clean, sporty looking, seems to age well
Reliability - or so the CR says
Dealer experience - my local dealership seems to get great reviews from my friends who own Lexus
Price - seems fair considering competitors
Engine - numbers indicate very good acceleration
My questions:
1. Does the car drive as good as it looks. The style says sport-luxury, does the ride have "sport" anywhere in it?
2. How does the ride differ between RW and AWD?
3. Transmission - how satisfying is the manual shifting? Can you hold the gear up to a redline or will the car shift for you? How quick are the shifts?
4. Has anyone switched to the GS from something like 5-series or Audi with sport suspension or Infiniti M? How would you compare the handling and transmission performance?
One more think, I saw the thread about the future availability of F-accessories - can't wait for some reviews on them.
Thank you.
02-16-09, 06:35 PM
#2
welcome to cl. all these are pretty personal preference questions. i will give my 2 cents
1) the car is ok. a lot more sportier than the previous generation, but i don't think you can compare it to euro like audi, bmw, and mb. the car is still on the "soft" side for a sport sedan. it gives you a lot of comfort, but at the same time steering response is lacking, and suspension is on the soft side. but that doesn't mean the car can't handle. the handle is pretty good for what it is imho
2) i have never driven the awd before, but from what CR said, awd has some quality issues. also, if you want to lower the car, since you mention the f sport, don't get awd. there are no springs for that car
3) shifting on the car is ok, i don't think it's particularly sharp or fast. again that's for the comfort smooth drivnig. the sport shifts allow you to select the highest possible gear. for example if you put it in 3, that means from stop the car will go from 1 to 2 to 3m, and if you don't shift it to 4, you will redline and bounce on the rev limiter. i hardly use the manual shifting, usually when i need i just smash the gas pedal
4) i didn't switch from the gs to 5 or the a6 or the infiniti, but i have driven those cars. i don't like how the inifiniti drives, the suspension is a bit sportier but the ride is unrefined imho, and the shifting is so-so. 5 series is very sporty, the ride is very firm and the handling is very good. but to me i loose too much luxury in that car. audi is a good medium in between imho
drive the car, to me it's very different from german cars, you need to drive it to understand and decide
1) the car is ok. a lot more sportier than the previous generation, but i don't think you can compare it to euro like audi, bmw, and mb. the car is still on the "soft" side for a sport sedan. it gives you a lot of comfort, but at the same time steering response is lacking, and suspension is on the soft side. but that doesn't mean the car can't handle. the handle is pretty good for what it is imho
2) i have never driven the awd before, but from what CR said, awd has some quality issues. also, if you want to lower the car, since you mention the f sport, don't get awd. there are no springs for that car
3) shifting on the car is ok, i don't think it's particularly sharp or fast. again that's for the comfort smooth drivnig. the sport shifts allow you to select the highest possible gear. for example if you put it in 3, that means from stop the car will go from 1 to 2 to 3m, and if you don't shift it to 4, you will redline and bounce on the rev limiter. i hardly use the manual shifting, usually when i need i just smash the gas pedal
4) i didn't switch from the gs to 5 or the a6 or the infiniti, but i have driven those cars. i don't like how the inifiniti drives, the suspension is a bit sportier but the ride is unrefined imho, and the shifting is so-so. 5 series is very sporty, the ride is very firm and the handling is very good. but to me i loose too much luxury in that car. audi is a good medium in between imho
drive the car, to me it's very different from german cars, you need to drive it to understand and decide
02-16-09, 07:49 PM
#3
executive matchup
welcome to CL. yes, lexus is well known to have excellent reliability. there are a few minor quality issues, but overall, reliability should be better that bmw or mercedes in the long term (which is the reason why i went with lexus).
as rominl mentioned, you need to test drive the GS against the competition that you have in mind, and make up your own mind which car is best for you. good luck.
as rominl mentioned, you need to test drive the GS against the competition that you have in mind, and make up your own mind which car is best for you. good luck.
02-16-09, 08:18 PM
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Are you my dad? He had a Prelude and an A6. Weird. He is currently looking to go from a series to a GS350/450h. We really like the GS, but buying the 330 off lease might be too good of a deal to miss.
I haven't drive the 350 yet, but I do like the V6 model of the GS300. Great car.
I haven't drive the 350 yet, but I do like the V6 model of the GS300. Great car.
02-17-09, 06:01 AM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
p6889K, I just traded in my 08 GS350 AWD for an Audi A6, so I can make some pretty accurate comparison. The GS is a highway cruiser, it has great handling on the highway, but in the city, that’s another story.
The manual shifting is useless; it will not put a smile on your face.
I test drive a lot of cars when I was looking around a few months ago. The M series and the 5 series handles great, but the ride is horrible. The GS actually ride pretty rough considering the handling is about as soft as the MB E class, the runflats doesn’t help.
Bottom line is that the GS has a great power train, but it lacks handling. Reliability wise, it’s not up to Lexus standards. Great interior material, but the interior is not put together well. The interior has rattle and creaking problems and you can pretty much touch any panel on the door and it will make some sort of creaking noise. To me, that mean it wasn’t design right.
The manual shifting is useless; it will not put a smile on your face.
I test drive a lot of cars when I was looking around a few months ago. The M series and the 5 series handles great, but the ride is horrible. The GS actually ride pretty rough considering the handling is about as soft as the MB E class, the runflats doesn’t help.
Bottom line is that the GS has a great power train, but it lacks handling. Reliability wise, it’s not up to Lexus standards. Great interior material, but the interior is not put together well. The interior has rattle and creaking problems and you can pretty much touch any panel on the door and it will make some sort of creaking noise. To me, that mean it wasn’t design right.
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