Change my mind, please!
#16
Well said. What it lacks in performance, it makes it up in character.
#17
I was also in your position when looking for my GSF. My options were Supra, C63, XE-S and Model 3. All the other cars were faster and had more tech but I found a smoking deal on an Ultrasonic Blue and drove to Jersey to pick her up. I thought I acted too quick and bought a car I would end up selling in 3 months. (Especially after driving a tuned supra a month later on vacation).
My thoughts quickly changed after taking my car to the Dragon. For being a big car, I was surprised how well it held itself in the corners and kept pace with vehicles with an extra 100-200hp. I had a gentleman flag me down and ask what the hell I have under the hood after his tuned M240i couldn't get away. And that's the other cool factor that a lot of others have mentioned on here... Very few people know about this car. You're driving a wolf in sheep's clothing and I love it.
My thoughts quickly changed after taking my car to the Dragon. For being a big car, I was surprised how well it held itself in the corners and kept pace with vehicles with an extra 100-200hp. I had a gentleman flag me down and ask what the hell I have under the hood after his tuned M240i couldn't get away. And that's the other cool factor that a lot of others have mentioned on here... Very few people know about this car. You're driving a wolf in sheep's clothing and I love it.
The following 4 users liked this post by V8Camry:
#18
The GS-F really does everything well and it has Lexus reliability and refinement on top of that. For pure driving experience, I am not sure those cars beat it. I'd see if you can test drive one.
STeve
STeve
#19
Intermediate
iTrader: (1)
It's about the overall experience. It can make the bad day at work so easily forgotten from the press of the starter button. Some will disagree, but the sound it makes is great (often drive around with music off, or turn it off mid ride to hear the car better). It's not crazy fast, but fast enough for the street (or even track). Reliability, cost of ownership--no comparison. You know how many times I come home from a drive in it and say to my wife "I'm glad I purchased that car!". I'm almost 4yrs in on this one that I picked up with 2,500 miles.---Usually I'm thinking of what my next car will be at this point, yet now I'm always thinking if I could still have this in 10-15yrs when all they make are electric cars? The car is very Jeykll/Hyde depending on your drive mode. You can push it and get 10mpg or cruise comfortably on the highway and get 30mpg. In my opinion the trans can be a bit quirky at times when driven calmly. I think it's at is best when driven hard. Try and test drive to get a feel for it. Oh and the sleeper part is great too!--Depending on your color, you can blend in with traffic.
#20
From the performance and mods you mention, it sounds like you are primarily focused on power/straight line? If that's the case, then this car won't be for you.
There are other sedans, wagons that smash your brain against your skull every time you punch the gas, but the GS-F isn't one of them. The GS-F is the car you drive when the long, winding road is always your first choice. It's not a highway or stoplight runner, it's a driver's car in the sense that it connects you to the road and driving experience, even with it's hefty 4100lbs and missing 3rd pedal.
I needed a flexible car that allowed me to move the family on city drives (wife, kid), but was also enjoyable regardless if going 25mph or 125mph. A car I drive to work Friday, dinner out Saturday, trackday on Sunday and back to work on Monday.
For reference I cross shopped the GS-F against the Audi S7 primarily. I didn't want to go down the BMW road again, Merc AMG is a lease and quit car, and a Panamera with decent HP was out of my budget. The Audi had a fantastic interior and DCT, but it drove like a highway missile, not the fun I was looking for. Add turbo rebuilds/risk and overall maintenance, the F was an easy win.
Figure out the driving that fulfills you. My best days are at the mountains or road course, for others it's the dragstrip or the stoplight. To each their own but don't try to make one vehicle fit a different purpose because you'll always be left chasing a feeling you can't get.
There are other sedans, wagons that smash your brain against your skull every time you punch the gas, but the GS-F isn't one of them. The GS-F is the car you drive when the long, winding road is always your first choice. It's not a highway or stoplight runner, it's a driver's car in the sense that it connects you to the road and driving experience, even with it's hefty 4100lbs and missing 3rd pedal.
I needed a flexible car that allowed me to move the family on city drives (wife, kid), but was also enjoyable regardless if going 25mph or 125mph. A car I drive to work Friday, dinner out Saturday, trackday on Sunday and back to work on Monday.
For reference I cross shopped the GS-F against the Audi S7 primarily. I didn't want to go down the BMW road again, Merc AMG is a lease and quit car, and a Panamera with decent HP was out of my budget. The Audi had a fantastic interior and DCT, but it drove like a highway missile, not the fun I was looking for. Add turbo rebuilds/risk and overall maintenance, the F was an easy win.
Figure out the driving that fulfills you. My best days are at the mountains or road course, for others it's the dragstrip or the stoplight. To each their own but don't try to make one vehicle fit a different purpose because you'll always be left chasing a feeling you can't get.
The following 4 users liked this post by Dre01SS:
#21
It's about the overall experience. It can make the bad day at work so easily forgotten from the press of the starter button. Some will disagree, but the sound it makes is great (often drive around with music off, or turn it off mid ride to hear the car better). It's not crazy fast, but fast enough for the street (or even track). Reliability, cost of ownership--no comparison. You know how many times I come home from a drive in it and say to my wife "I'm glad I purchased that car!". I'm almost 4yrs in on this one that I picked up with 2,500 miles.---Usually I'm thinking of what my next car will be at this point, yet now I'm always thinking if I could still have this in 10-15yrs when all they make are electric cars? The car is very Jeykll/Hyde depending on your drive mode. You can push it and get 10mpg or cruise comfortably on the highway and get 30mpg. In my opinion the trans can be a bit quirky at times when driven calmly. I think it's at is best when driven hard. Try and test drive to get a feel for it. Oh and the sleeper part is great too!--Depending on your color, you can blend in with traffic.
#22
GS-F is a good all rounder, but if you are looking to add lots of power down the road then I recommend you look else where. My buddy has a F80, its fast out of the box, faster than the GS-F actually and he drove it for 3 years got bored, then stage 2. Its like a totally new car with 500+ to the wheels and he only spent like 2k on mods (intake, downpipe and tune). These naturally aspirated motors will at most gain 40-50whp with intake, exhaust, header and these things cost anywhere between 5k to 15k (novel)
#23
GS-F is a good all rounder, but if you are looking to add lots of power down the road then I recommend you look else where. My buddy has a F80, its fast out of the box, faster than the GS-F actually and he drove it for 3 years got bored, then stage 2. Its like a totally new car with 500+ to the wheels and he only spent like 2k on mods (intake, downpipe and tune). These naturally aspirated motors will at most gain 40-50whp with intake, exhaust, header and these things cost anywhere between 5k to 15k (novel)
#24
Instructor
iTrader: (10)
My input. On my 2nd GSF and I also crossed shopped so many cars. All were more hp and tq. But I just couldn't jump ship. The GSF is not a straight line car. I drove to NJ from San Diego and back and the GSF did not miss a beat. I hit up the Tail of the Dragon on the way back and the F performed amazingly. I am retired now and hit up the canyons by my house almost daily and that's were the GSF shines. I get so many compliments and respect from other car owners out in the canyons. Yes of course driver mod plays a lot in the canyons but honestly I would not trade my F for anything out there.
#26
#27
The day that I bought my GSF - as I was signing the paperwork at the dealer - there were three people wanting to know it's availability in two nearby states. The guy before me said he wanted it after the test drive and he drove 6 hours for the test drive but flaked out when it came to closing the deal. Left it open for me and the dealer gave me the opportunity.
The inventory for these cars is so low that 2 hours is pretty reasonable I would say.
The inventory for these cars is so low that 2 hours is pretty reasonable I would say.
#28
I am in the same situation. Mid 30s with 2 kids.
love the car, performance, tracked it, abused it, and most importantly you can fit kids in the back. Trunk is huge too. Great weekend car with family.
That being said I bought a 2021 Sienna for longer road trips as a 3rd car.
love the car, performance, tracked it, abused it, and most importantly you can fit kids in the back. Trunk is huge too. Great weekend car with family.
That being said I bought a 2021 Sienna for longer road trips as a 3rd car.
#29
I've read a bunch of cross shopping threads and looked at the quarter mile sticky and I'm disappointed. This car looks amazing but even after headers and exhaust it still seems kind of slow. Sounds great, looks great, handles pretty good but slow.
I have G37 sedan and am about to pull the trigger on a new(to me) car. I am cross shopping damn near everything, Model 3, M3, M5, C63, E63, S5, S6, S8, Panamera, and the list goes on. I like to mod cars but I am also a late 30's dad so despite all efforts I have gotten more practical. Gross.
My G37 sedan will run mid 13's in a quarter mile. After looking at the quarter sticky most cars seem to be around a 13 flat. Looking around, the key power mods seem to be headers, exhaust and tune. The HP gains look to be healthy considering that this is an NA motor but it doesn't look like it actually gets the car going any faster. Again sounds incredible which is part of the equation but really I want to know that once I get bored with the car, there are things I can do to reinvigorate it and myself. I'd hate to regret this in a couple years and end up getting rid of it. Also I'd hate to spend a lot more money on this car only to have it feel just like my last car. That's no fun.
Tell me I am wrong! Please, I want this to be the car because the rest could be maintenance nightmares but I finally reached a point where that isn't a deal breaker anymore. I can stomach a couple high bills from time to time and while not very fun, its also not going to kill me especially if the trade off is a fantastic ride. Also I am not expecting a 700HP monster although some of the cars above can be that. I like this car because its different and not a depreciating brick (there is the dad in me talking again) but I don't want to sacrifice the speed and fun. If I cared more about that, I would buy a camry or something else blah.
I'm looking forward to modding another car but its not fun if those mods don't actually get me anything but more noise. Also I can't go forced induction because those prices are crazy and my wife would physically harm me despite her being half my size.
I want to be in your club! Just flame me and tell me I didn't dig deep enough in the threads to find out headers and exhaust puts me in the 12's pretty easily.
I have G37 sedan and am about to pull the trigger on a new(to me) car. I am cross shopping damn near everything, Model 3, M3, M5, C63, E63, S5, S6, S8, Panamera, and the list goes on. I like to mod cars but I am also a late 30's dad so despite all efforts I have gotten more practical. Gross.
My G37 sedan will run mid 13's in a quarter mile. After looking at the quarter sticky most cars seem to be around a 13 flat. Looking around, the key power mods seem to be headers, exhaust and tune. The HP gains look to be healthy considering that this is an NA motor but it doesn't look like it actually gets the car going any faster. Again sounds incredible which is part of the equation but really I want to know that once I get bored with the car, there are things I can do to reinvigorate it and myself. I'd hate to regret this in a couple years and end up getting rid of it. Also I'd hate to spend a lot more money on this car only to have it feel just like my last car. That's no fun.
Tell me I am wrong! Please, I want this to be the car because the rest could be maintenance nightmares but I finally reached a point where that isn't a deal breaker anymore. I can stomach a couple high bills from time to time and while not very fun, its also not going to kill me especially if the trade off is a fantastic ride. Also I am not expecting a 700HP monster although some of the cars above can be that. I like this car because its different and not a depreciating brick (there is the dad in me talking again) but I don't want to sacrifice the speed and fun. If I cared more about that, I would buy a camry or something else blah.
I'm looking forward to modding another car but its not fun if those mods don't actually get me anything but more noise. Also I can't go forced induction because those prices are crazy and my wife would physically harm me despite her being half my size.
I want to be in your club! Just flame me and tell me I didn't dig deep enough in the threads to find out headers and exhaust puts me in the 12's pretty easily.
#30
I'm curious how the G37 is since I almost considered it before my GSF purchase.
My only advice would be to drive the cars in person before you make a decision. It's so much money and if you're an enthusiast being behind the wheel makes such a big difference.
When I saw the GSF in person I knew I had to get it. I had never driven anything with so much power and refinement. It's a nice balance of everything and the paint job is unreal.
Anyway, if you're looking for "fast" an electric car probably works better for you. The GSF doesn't have much modding potential but it checks pretty much every other box and is quite exclusive.
My only advice would be to drive the cars in person before you make a decision. It's so much money and if you're an enthusiast being behind the wheel makes such a big difference.
When I saw the GSF in person I knew I had to get it. I had never driven anything with so much power and refinement. It's a nice balance of everything and the paint job is unreal.
Anyway, if you're looking for "fast" an electric car probably works better for you. The GSF doesn't have much modding potential but it checks pretty much every other box and is quite exclusive.