1supra

Ive never driven the 460s v8 motor in a gs,but they do feel great in a ls,what tech in in this motor that makes it get better mpg than the 6cylin gs models? Is it all in the better tranny? Is there any ecu tuner upgrades out there for this motor? seems to me that motor would be far more capable than 340hp with a mild tune
Are they worth the extra $ as is over the 450 and 350?

TWong350

iTrader: (8)

Better gas mileage than a 350? I've never heard that before.

It does have an 8-speed tranny, which helps in fuel economy.

LexFather

To me they are all pretty close to one another. The V-8 offers a nice torquey feel to the GS with a nice little hum from the exhaust. It is faster than the 350 but slightly slower than the 450. The 8 speed auto is a gem and helps allow for better efficiency then the old 430 though it has 40 more hp.

450h gets best city MPG, 350 gets best highway MPG.

As for why it makes 340hp instead of 380hp we have speculated about it from tuning to the size of the intake (its a single smaller unit to the dual large LS units).

KevGS460ML

This is only partially true. Since the extra torque from the electric motor only helps during slower speed, the 450 is faster 0-60, but 60-120, the 460 will not only catch up, but will eventually pass it. Not to mention, after a couple of runs, the 450 battery would be drained, and then will be slower 0-60 as well.

ghd8989

iTrader: (6)

What do you mean only helps from a slower speed? It helps anytime you punch the gas.

*Batman*

This is correct.

In addition the GS460 has excellent lateral traction due to its weight advantage over the GS450h. The GS460 has a skidpad rating of 0.89G versus 0.82G on the hybrid with both on stock tires. This is best in class and better cornering traction than the latest 5-series, E-class and A6 models.

KevGS460ML

That's the nature of elec motors - high torque, low HP. Torque is utilized at lower speed, and HP is at higher speed.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i don't think the gs460 has better gas mileage than gs350. ls460 is good, but keep in mind gs460 has quite a bit less hp.

LexFather

I am not about to get into a 450h vs 460 pissing match but unless you are at the track or 1/4 run it won't matter. Most "races" are merging in traffic or driving around town, not getting two or three runs. So while you make a good observation it is a moot point.

When I took my 450h to the drag strip it took a few runs to completely drain the battery. The thing is you can't drive around so the battery never has time to charge back up. That is not an issue driving around town.

The only time I've completely drained my battery around town is driving in at speeds under 25/20mph using the batteries only. Around town it never depletes completely, it might lower to about a 1/4 at its lowest level.


Impressive, link to source? Having driven them at the track the GS 350 F-sport is the only one I would remotely want to drive on a course.

*Batman*

^ You never believe me.

Source is car and driver.

LexFather

I honestly wanted to read the article as I never heard that figure before thats all.

*Batman*

The data I posted are from 2 separate tests.

1) C&D test of the GS460 (which has the handwritten test summary above). This test also includes some commentary comparing the 460 and the 450h
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test

2) C&D 4 car comparo which included GS450h (which has 450h stats for comparison).
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

LexFather

This is the bias that pisses me off. The GS 460 does a .89 and they don't have one sentence about it. That is a remarkable figure for this car. on stock tires.

*Batman*

I agree completely. This makes it the best cornering car in its class. The old 550i matched the GS460, but the new 5 series only manages 0.84g because of the weight it gained!

1supra

some very good info here,I dont know alot about the lexus right now,but im sure i will in short order. looking at the stats on the awd gs 350 its gets 1 more mpg than the 460. This 450 sounds very interesting though,even though it looks like its not offered in awd.how much more do they cost,and is the maintainance way more than the 350? Are they known to be fairly reliable cars?
Id like to use this car for ski trips and even though I dont have issue with driving a rwd car in snow,the appeal of awd is nice,do they do well in real snow conditions,par with the outback awd and and such? It hadly ever snows here in eastern VA so I dont wana buy a car on that one condition alone but it matters a little to me

Wow in those car and driver links the gs450 came in last with the m45 another car im considering finishing first,thats surprising