My BMW lease is up in less than two months and I've been shopping for my next ride (will be used; not another lease). I've been eyeballing several models - Jaguar XF, Audi A6, Infiniti M56, but recently I spotted a gorgeous GS F Sport and decided to throw it into the mix.

Very familiar with the Lexus brand, as my wife is on her second RX. I love the reliability reputation, especially when compared to some of the other cars I'm considering.

I was hoping to get a few questions answered:

-I typically shy away from first model year of a new generation. Is there anything with the 2013's that I should be aware of that may have been corrected with the 2014s?

-I love the look of the F Sport, but not sure it's worth the additional cost for cosmetic items. Is there more to the F Sport than just larger wheels, more aggressive styling, and some badges? Don't get me wrong, I'm all about performance, but I'm also trying to be reasonable with my money.

-In some of the dealer photos I've viewed, it appears that the dashboard is stitched leather. One of the reasons I'm so drawn to the Jaguar XF is because of the leather dash on the Portfolio models. Do the GS's come with leather dash or is it "pleather"? Standard or option?

Any other advice on things to look for, etc would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Our 13 AWD Luxury is great. No issue's

* In 14 they added folding mirrors, auto trunk and if you go with RWD added 8 speed transmission.
* F sport stagger tires .... expensive, just be aware.
* Dash is standard across all models, though some stitching colors change with interiors. The dash is not real leather but looks great and high quality.

Hope this helps.

 

I have a 2013 F Sport and from my experience, there's no random issues to be aware of.

Here's a couple things to note:

* The FSport has more aggressive *suspension computer* settings than the luxury for the active dampers. It's something they made a big deal of at their press release but otherwise haven't mentioned in their litterature... search my previous posts for a link to the youtube video. This isn't something which is retrofitable as far as I know; it's likely a software option which I haven't seen in any techstream menu.

* The 2013 2WD FSports have a 6-speed tranny instead of an 8. At first most thought this was a bummer, but those who switched from the 2013 to the 2015 at the end of their lease reported not being happy with the responsiveness of the new transmission. Fuel economy numbers between the two seem to be identical as well.

* As the previous poster said, tires for the FSport are more expensive because they're an odd size... however if you switch to a more common size 245/40R19 / 275/35R19 they're inline with just about every other high performance car. Their sidewall height is extremely close to stock (no issues with speedo misreporting ) and the increased width fit just fine on the stock rims and doesn't have any issues under full compression or full lock turning.


That's all the important bits, other things of note:

2013 -> No power folding mirrors, no power trunk closer.

And the last thing, when you pick it up, have the dealer alter the heated seat settings so that it **DOES NOT** automatically ramp down ( and turn off! ) over a 15 minute time period. The 2014 has an option where you can select the auto ramp down or not, but the 2013 from the factory has this always enabled and non-defeatable. When I first picked up the car it was september so that damn seat heater button was the most frequently pressed button in my car until I found the techstream setting to disable that "feature". If the dealer can't find it, I believe it's under the climate control techstream menu, but it's been awhile. One of my previous posts will have the exact location for you.

Overall it's an excellent car, I've had mine since 2012 and still am amazed at how Lexus really blended the luxury and sport aspects of this vehicle. I've driven the new IS, RC, and NXs, the 335 and then E350 since then and am not jealous =)

But whatever you do, grab a model with the adaptive suspension, in the fsport it really does things right.

 

I just came out of a BMW also, looked at all the brands you mentioned and ended up with a '13 Luxury. I test drove both an F-Sport and the Luxury back to back and the only notable difference for me was the interior. The F model only comes with aluminum interior trim while the Luxury comes with wood so it looks like a more typical luxury car inside to me. I thought I would miss the BMW ride/power coming from a 550 but the GS is pretty close in fun factor and the suspension almost as tight when you put it in S+ mode.

Good luck with your choice.

 

In addition to the adaptive dampers in the F-sport models, the EPS (electronic power steering) also gets a Sport+ mode where the steering ratio changes based on the drive mode.

Also, on the Fsport's there is an additional resonator that is routed into the cabin to pump more engine noise into the cabin when in Sport+ mode.

 

I traded my '13 GS F Sport at just over 20k miles and had no mechanical issues with it. The only issues were dented aluminum trim, which Lexus replaced. It was a great car!

 

Have you ever thought about leasing a CPO Lexus? I have had many cars over the years including a 3 series BMW. Although I loved a lot of the cars I had, I have to give it hands down to the Lexus's that I owed and the best so far my 2013 4GS.