Picked up my car new car this morning - leaving my 2008 GS 350 RWD with 193K miles that I have owned for 10 years.
Details : L / Certified, new front and rear brakes, new Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires, 1 owner, 67K miles, no accidents, mint condition
I spent the last 3 months on my search - found this jewel just 4 days ago and jumped on it quickly at the Columbus OH Lexus dealership - Was originally concerned with the higher mileage (was looking for 30K miles or less) but the L / Certified with 2 year unlimited warranty mileage and 4 free scheduled services felt solid. On my 3.5 hr drive back to Louisville my initial thoughts and questions:
1) A beast of a car - rock solid with lots of technology I need to learn - power is impressive
2) Nice ride but not quite as smooth as my previous car stated above - is this because of the larger 19” vs 18” tires?
3) Surprised on gas mileage - only got 24.5 MPG and drove 70 to 75 on hwy (recently got 29 MPG on my 2008) - is this normal?
4) Overall super excited about my new 4th Gen and the F Sport

Want to thank many of you who have answered my questions over these past few months.

Ironman50

 

Nice purchase! I found the ride on the f sport models to be firmer than non f sport models, primarily due to the suspension setup + 19" rims. Their also a pretty thirsty car, but then again, its a large heavy vehicle...

 

Nice looking car, I particularly like the interior color. Congrats!!

 

Congrats! Nice ride, it will serve you well. First things first... tint!
I get typically average 21-22 mpg in suburbia driving and 24 on high speed highway runs averaging 80-90.
Check the tire pressure, over-inflation will feel quite rough.

 

Congrats! You do have to move fast on these when they come up. I lost 3 or 4 and almost missed the one I ended up buying. Took me about 3 months as well.

1) Yes.. there's a lot of manual to read....over 1100 pages all together. More pages than Atlas Shrugged. Half the battle is trying to figure out what page of the manual something is on. The "favorite found feature" stickie at the top of the group has some great leads.
2) Did you have the car in Normal or Sport or Sport+ mode? I can't compare to an '08 but you can feel the difference of being in the sport modes in my opinion. I definitely think the 40 (19 in) vs the 45s (18 in) makes a difference with the ride. From what I could find, assuming your '08 had stock wheels/tires, it looks like those were 50s. That extra sidewall makes a difference. I can't image what 35s and 30s feel like..
3) Gas milage is not great. I have AWD so you's will differ and probably be better, but I'm usually around 17 in my normal driving which is almost exclusively city streets. That's with having a bit of fun a few times a week. I haven't done a lot of long distance hwy driving but on the one trip I was up in the low 20s. Note that there are two places that the car calculates MPG - one on the gauge cluster and one in the Infotainment screen. The one on the gauge cluster is cumulative since it's last reset so if you didn't reset it before your drive it's using some of the previous owners driving data in what you're seeing.

 

Beautiful color combo!

1) A beast of a car - rock solid with lots of technology I need to learn - power is impressive

• The power is similar to your old GS350 but the shift points, transmission, FKS engine and sport+ mode create a more responsive experience.

2) Nice ride but not quite as smooth as my previous car stated above - is this because of the larger 19” vs 18” tires?

• Similar to your older GS, my dad has an '11 GS350 and it's suspension is tuned very differently. Its more disconnected from the road, has smaller 18" tires and is softer and more of a plush-like ride compared to the 2013+ GS. The tires do matter though - getting touring tires like Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus vs the stock bridgestones/dunlops will make a difference in the way it rides.

3) Surprised on gas mileage - only got 24.5 MPG and drove 70 to 75 on hwy (recently got 29 MPG on my 2008) - is this normal?

• The best I got was 24mpg with my AWD...i'd say thats pretty good. Lots of threads on varying MPG...

4) Overall super excited about my new 4th Gen and the F Sport

• Congrats you'll enjoy it for many years to come!

 

Drive in Eco mode for the smoothest/floatiest ride, though overall, 4GS is a much sportier and stiffer car than 3GS. Don't expect it to be quite as much of a plush-mobile. It was designed to be more performance oriented from the ground up. Congrats on the new car, love that interior choice.

 

Congrats! Enjoy the new ride!

 

1 more picture of my flaxen interior - previous owner had pride in ownership - for 67K miles

 

2) Nice ride but not quite as smooth as my previous car stated above - is this because of the larger 19” vs 18” tires? (I believe the 08' GS350 had higher sidewall. now you're on low profile tires. less sidewall = more road noise/feel)
3) Surprised on gas mileage - only got 24.5 MPG and drove 70 to 75 on hwy (recently got 29 MPG on my 2008) - is this normal? (sounds about right although I've been able to play around with it in eco mode and got 28mpg. Lots of teeth gritting and patience involved)

 

Fisrt - congratulations on the purchase! It definitely looks pristine

MPG is subjective based on driver habits so just "use your nose" so to speak if you are happy with it.

Ride quality suffers with the smaller sidewall. This is a basic rule of thumb

From a care POV I would recommend taking a mild detergent, like a 10:1 water/Woolite mix, to all interior surfaces (including leather) and get it back to less of a sheen and then treat afterwards, unless that semi-gloss what you want. From the pictures it appears there is a build up of body oils and dressings that may have accumulated over time of perhaps that is what the dealer dressed it with for delivery. The steering wheel, for reference, should be flat in surface appearance and not have a sheen to it.

 

DiscoJango - is F Sport heavier in weight than non F Sport sedan?

LexusGSboy - I ran in NORMAL mode - my new car is AWD - the 2008 I replaced was RWD - with 245/40/18 tire size - the new F Sport tire size (I assume same as everyone else) is 235/40/19

AJLex19 - how do you like the Pirelli Cinturato P7 Tire? - I wanted those on my 2008 but were unavailable

TAURUSSLVR - I put in Eco mode On highway drive today for 60 miles - cruise at 73 mph - got 28 MPG!

 

Congrats. Beautiful ride

 

I'm actually running Dunlop Signature HP All Season Tires on my 4GS and really like the balance between comfort and performance compared to my old OEM Dunlops which were way too stiff. My dad has the Pirelli's on his 3GS and the car rides beautifully - it floats over the road and has that almost LS-like quality compared to the OEM run-flats he had previously (but the 3GS suspension is quite different than the 4GS so that also plays a part).