Originally Posted by 07grIS350

I think you are spot on. The GSh has plenty of performance as it is, and the biggest problems were trunk space and driving dynamics (at least to some). Lexus seems to have fixed that. So this should be a perfectly desirable car for those who wanted good mileage from a powerful package. In DD usage, this car would provide plenty of usable performance while capable of returning the fuel economy of a compact car.
Count me in as one who would much rather have this 4GSh than anything in this class with V8. If they can add AWD as an option to this 4GSh, I think it would be a total winner.
The M37h has very nice specs on paper, but its small trunk(?) could pose a major problem together with its unproven technology aspect.

Originally Posted by RXSF

the RXh also dropped a different wheel design this time around for the stock 18" and then special rims for the 19"

Originally Posted by Mr. Burns

The GS-F sport will replace the GSh as the performance option. It makes no sense to have that model and the hybrid both trying to be performance cars. A Hybrid appeals to people who want better fuel economy and are environmentally conscious. It's still faster and gets better fuel economy than the standard GS350, so it's become an option for those who want that.

There was no "F-sport" version with the previous GS.

Originally Posted by Narmer9

Any reason why Lexus isn't giving EPA numbers? What's the holdup?

Originally Posted by ydooby

Because Frankfurt is in Europe?

Originally Posted by Narmer9

Not sure why that would make a difference. The car is debuting there but it's largest market is in America. Even if they did not have EPA numbers, I'm sure Europeans have something similar and we could do a simple conversion. But it strikes me as odd that the most important specification of a hybrid is omitted.

Originally Posted by Narmer9

Not sure why that would make a difference. The car is debuting there but it's largest market is in America. Even if they did not have EPA numbers, I'm sure Europeans have something similar and we could do a simple conversion. But it strikes me as odd that the most important specification of a hybrid is omitted.

Originally Posted by Narmer9

Not sure why that would make a difference. The car is debuting there but it's largest market is in America. Even if they did not have EPA numbers, I'm sure Europeans have something similar and we could do a simple conversion. But it strikes me as odd that the most important specification of a hybrid is omitted.

Originally Posted by Mr. Burns

Where did they get that picture?!!

Originally Posted by MPLexus301

That lack of innovation is what is making the GS an "also-ran" among the 5 Series and E Class.

Lexus probably looked at the competition and said, "Well, they all carried over and nobody really made huge improvements, so let's save money and do the same." On one hand, I see that sentiment...on the other hand, I also say that such thinking will prevent you from ever getting ahead in a segment where you're already sorely lagging.

Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX

So question, what HP rating and MPG rating would you all have liked to see?

400hp and 40 MPG? Serious question.....

Originally Posted by spwolf

so class leading is "acceptable"? lol.

sick, i think people would have complained at 400hp and 40 MPG.

Originally Posted by MPLexus301

As for the question about what is "acceptable", if Infiniti is doing 360hp and 29MPG combined, Lexus needed to be at 370+hp and 31-32MPG combined. Lexus claims to be the leader in hybrid tech and they have always marketed the GSh as the sporty, performance oriented hybrid. Well, it looks to me like Infiniti just upped you by 20HP and will offer pretty similar MPG. Who is the performance hybrid sport sedan now?

Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX

Next up is the "F-Sport" which debuts at SEMA which LET US PRAY has some sort of supercharger and a power bump and not just be suspension pieces.


What worries me if they can build a M5 or E63 etc b/c the bottom line is they sell hundreds of thousands of E class taxicabs and base 520 models. Lexus does not sell hundreds of thousands of GS models so how will they share the costs around?

Originally Posted by rominl

if we look at the v6 segment, honestly at this point i still think carrying over the 350 drivetrain is ok with me. yeah there is no improvement, but at the same time it's pretty darn good to start with, and still very competitive with other companies. it's good to be first, but it's not bad being head to head in the pack

but going up a step and i find lexus hanging themselves in the middle of nowhere. competitors all boosted up their v8 cars quite a bit. lexus already started out with a weak 3gs460. coming to the 4gs, not only do they NOT make a v8 at all (like by simply porting over the 380hp v8 from ls460, which would have been right there), but on the gsh, instead of going with more performance, they stay the same and better gas mileage. huge hole there. i can't understand that part at all

first, like andrew said, imho, if they put up a 400hp v8, or dare i say just the 380hp 460 engine, we probably wouldn't be having the kind of talk we have here now at all.

i don't mind if lexus wants to go greener and make the gsh with gas mileage in mind and no performance boost. that's fine, like i said there are two ways to go with hybrid.

but make another variant where the hybrid system is used like a turbo or supercharger to help boost the power. boost things up to close to 400hp again and make it competitive. i am more than sure it will still have favorable gas mileage over competitors. i am sure it won't be 40mpg, but for those who can actually afford a car in that price range and care about performance, most of them won't cry over not having 40mpg.

to me it's as simple as the philosophy (well, supposedly) of having es and gs. one is for economy, one is for sport. same here. they can make two hybrid, one for economy and one for performance. and if anything, when talking about the gs, it probably makes more sense to focus on performance than economy. those who wants to make sense of things, there is the es

Originally Posted by ydooby

To me it should at least beat the M35h in both performance (not necessarily HP) and MPG. That means 0-60mph in less than 5.2secs and an EPA fuel economy rating of more than 29mpg combined. Don't tell me the M35h's "real world" fuel economy is different because everyone's real world is different. The Prius couldn't even get 40mpg in a recent "real world" test.

The new GS450h does seem to deliver in the fuel economy department (not 100% sure until official figures are released) but still there should be no excuse not to beat the M35h in performance let alone the old GS450h.

Originally Posted by Narmer9

why are people talking about performance in a hybrid thread? Unlike the 3GS, the 4GS has the GSf specifically for performance. They hybrid's focus is on gas mileage (not performance anymore) while the regular GS is their base car. Each car caters to a different consumer.