Vatox

Hi everyone! I'm glad to have found this forum while deliberating my car related ponderings. Would be happy to hear what any of you might think on the below.

Basically, I'm not actively looking for a new (or new to me) car. I am, however, starting to realise that my current car (1995 BMW 5-series manual sedan) is not in fact immortal and will at some point need to be replaced (even if only for my daily driving needs). For background, I bought this car 2 years ago and it has served me well, I love the driving dynamics, but so far I have also had to spend a fair amount of money (nearly 2x my purchase price) in order to maintain it in a somewhat good shape. While my idea for it was to basically be a weekend (or long trip) car, as I didn't have the need for a daily driver at the time of buying, this has changed as changing jobs required me to start doing a pretty substantial mileage in city driving. The last fact has contributed to growing fuel expenses, as well as wear and tear on the car in question. It has also lead me, on several occasions, to feel as if I'm driving something rather outdated since I need to kick the gas pedal to about 4-5k rpms before I feel I'm making any progress after a stoplight. The manual transmission which seems so smooth outside town, feels clunky when riding across town. Not to mention that that car does not have any driving helpers / safety features, except for 2 airbags in the front and ABS.

Due to all the above, I started looking at what are my options for a new (to me) daily driver. My requirements are basically: 1) RWD only. 2) Better gas mileage in the city than my current car. 3) Sufficient room to haul passengers / cargo in the back. 4) Automatic gearbox.

My first idea was the BMW 1 series coupe (before the freshly released FWD garbage model) or the 2 series. However, I figured both of these options would set me back a bit more than I would like, taking into account my own history of repairs with what many purists consider a much more reliable BMW model overall. Thus, a second BMW was pretty much ruled out.

I then started looking at Toyotas, but I cannot force myself to sit in a Prius, plus I hate the driving dynamics of most FWD cars out there. Here enter Lexus.

I've always admired Lexus being the luxury brand of the very reliable car company that is Toyota. However, in the past I have not had much love for Lexus models due to my long-standing preference for a manual transmission. This time, however, it's the other way around - I actually want an auto. Naturally, coming from a 5 series, I am tempted by the Lexus GS lineup, and the GS 450h in particular. I love the idea of a eCVT, I love the idea of a hybrid to save some fuel expenses around town, I also love the Lexus promise of reliability.

I've looked around and have noticed that I am currently in the financial position to buy a 3rd Gen GS 450h around 2009MY with relatively good history. Buying a 4th Gen 450h today would be a bit of a stretch for me, however (plus, almost none are sold near me).

While I really like the 3rd Gen 450h, I am mainly worried about its small boot space. I also prefer the 4th Gen in terms of styling.

I have also recently incurred some pretty significant expenses on fixing and servicing my old 5 series (including new oil pump and some major suspension components) and I plan to keep it running for the foreseeable future (at least as a weekend / long trip car, but until I buy another car - as a daily driver as well).

To sum it up, I currently am pondering the following options:

1) Buy a 2009-2010 3rd Gen GS 450h in the coming months to use as daily driver. Keep old bimmer as a weekend / long trip car mainly until that car becomes too much of a hassle to keep up with (hopefully, at least another 2-3 years down the line) and then start using the GS 450h for my long distance driving as well.

2) Keep using old bimmer as a daily driver for the foreseeable future (2-3 years maybe). In 2-3 years time, try to source a 2013+ 4th GS Gen 450h (which should cost around 25-35% less what it is today and by which time I would hopefully have accumulated more savings).

Basically, should I wait for a 4th Gen to become more affordable (in terms of purchase price) or should I just bite the bullet for a 3rd Gen now and live with the considerably smaller boot space? What about all those rumors that GS may be getting axed for new model years? How would that affect existing GS prices? Would love to hear what you all think!

AJLex19

I think you should hold out for a bit and get a 2013+ GS if you're not really in need of a car at the moment...I drive both the 3GS and 4GS on a regular basis. Here's something I wrote in a different thread:

The 3rd generation GS is more of a cruiser in its stock form.
To me, the seats on the 3rd gen GS are better than the base seats in a premium 4GS (if you step up to a Lux model or F-Sport 4GS, you'll get the better seats and I recommend that highly).
The 3GS trunk is a bit cramped compared to the 4GS which has a wider "mouth."
The 3GS also had the touchscreen interface and the 4GS has the mouse-like controller (i would've preferred a touchscreen on the 4GS).
The 3GS has the same engine and transmission as the 4GS so you won't feel too much difference in power, smoothness or MPG.

Where the 4GS excels is in the drive-ability area--it takes curves and turns and stays planted with less body roll than the 3GS..has paddle shifters for those so inclined and lots of standard equipment making it a real value. Better options like a Lux Pkg, Blind Spot Monitoring, Heads Up Display, Cold Weather Pkg, F-Sport variant with the AVS and rear-steer on RWD models help push the 4GS into the modern era compared to the previous gen. Also, its got a better overall infotainment system with Lexus Enform.

The ML system in the 3GS and the base sound system in the 4GS sound very similar to me.

I don't think much will change in terms of pricing if the GS gets axed. Since you're coming from an older generation car, both the 3GS and 4GS will feel much newer inside/out but the 4GS takes the cake overall IMHO.

Hues10

Keep the BMW running until you are ready to let it go, then get a car you want and can afford. Keeping two cars is more expensive in the long run with insurance costs. Unless you are not going to have collision/comprehensive on any of them since they are older. Now I say that coming from having two cars for the past five years and continuing now when I traded my 2004 Saturn Vue for the 2013 450H. For me, I now have a 2011 Acura RDX for when I need more passenger and cargo room (but crappy gas mileage), and the less room 450H to commute and go on trips if it is only two of us. A GS does not have much room in the back if you are carrying two adults. Forget three people in the back as well. Cargo room is ok for luggage and such, but do not expect to take it to Home Depot and get anything large in there. My two cents.

Vatox

Thank you guys, for sharing your thoughts on my somewhat long and indecisive ramblings. You've helped me with the first part of my question - I'm quite set on keeping the bimmer for at least a year or two more. Reading over your posts it seems I'd really be better off holding out from buying a 3rd Gen 450h at this stage and saving this money in order to be able to buy a somewhat newer car down the line, when I really need one.

Hues, since you referred to a 2013 450h having pretty small cargo capacity (I was under the impression that only the 3rd Gen 450h had that problem), how would you compare it to a modern 5-series or 3-series sedan? Or maybe to another sedan you have experienced recently? I don't always need a large trunk, but I like to have it for the few times of the year when I really do.

ChronoR

13.2 cubic feet for the 2013 GS450h vs 14 for the 2013 535i. Numbers on the web seem to wildly vary, not sure on this anyway.

I know my GS450h's trunk is much larger than my friend's 2009 335d (12 cubic feet) but that's not a fair comparison. It's also much smaller than my old 2006 Jetta TDI's trunk which is 16 cubic feet.


I'd say the biggest pain point is that the trunk is wide rather than deep and long. The backseats also don't fold down and there's not even a tunnel.

Vatox

I see. This was in fact also very helpful. It's also reassuring me that I should be looking at the Gen 4 rather than the Gen 3 GS 450h, as less cargo space would not really suffice for my long-term needs.