When it rains, it pours. Both Alex Dykes and I were lucky ample to make a slot in the West Coast media initiation pro the 2013 Lexus GS350, GS350 F-Sport, and GS450h. Very than do a “Take One” and “Take Two”, we unbendable to handle it the road OutKast would. Alex, be fond of OutKast’s BigBoi, will be delivering a robust, water supply-rounded album, er, review, chock-full of on-road impressions and wide-angle interior shooting. I will play the Andre3000 character (of course) and share with you The Like Below: performance-correlated impressions early driving four different GS variants, along with the Mercedes E350 and BMW 535i, owing to Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s small road course.
Place the needle on the record and the pedal to the metal: it’s time to meet the extra Lexus.
The GS has been the lonesome loser in the Lexus lineup since it was introduced. Instant description lesson: Once upon a time, Giugiaro’s ItalDesign firm made an unsolicited design pro a future Jaguar, mission it the Jaguar Kensington Thought. Here it is:
Jaguar wasn’t buying, but Toyota was, and they used the vital design pro a family-market Crown Aristo in 1991. With the intention of car refined up life void with all sorts of terrible-assed machinery counting a turbocharged straight-six and all-wheel-drive, but the North American market received it in 1993 as the very sedate, normally-aspirated, RWD Lexus GS300. The at that time age group was styled in-household with quasi-Benz four-eyed headlights; the (current) one after with the intention of was a generic “L-Delicacy” blandwagon. They’ve by no means sold value a damn, perhaps since they’ve by no means existing greatly of a value alternative to the German struggle. Go price made known an S550 and an LS460, at that time do again the comparison with the E350 and GS350. Whoa, aptly?
Lexus can’t change what they’re charging pro the car. The make lucky, the yen, the blah blah blah. So instead they’ve unbendable with the intention of the extra GS will compete on traditionally German attributes. It will be styled more aggressively, contain more wacky features, and be best to drive than the BMW, Benz, and Audi. Any bring up of Infiniti is sensibly avoided. They’re second tier, dontcha recognize.
Alex will discuss the styling; my attitude is with the intention of it’s so far a further Japanese take on the long shadow of Chris Bangle’s flame-surface thoughts, with a pleasing worship to the 1984 Celica Coupe’s taillights. Let’s make to the comparison with the E350 and 535i, shall we?
Start with the interior: it’s noticeably more cramped cozy than the Germans. Bangle’s with us here, too, in the horizonal wood-and-polished-metal layout, but Lexus has married with the intention of perception with a habitual center console, perfect with J-sample shifter. It’s tougher to make in and made known of than the Benz οr Bimmer.
Around LVMS’s small course, the dishonest GS immediately impresses. Very than split the difference between the E350 and 535i’s control hard bring about, Lexus has chosen to go hardcore. Owing to the initial slalom, the Lexus carries more speed than the others. Unfortunately, the engine does split the difference, and it’s quicker to the plodding Benz than the torquey BMW. Thanks to a dopey “engine sound generator” attached to the intake, you make plenty of aren’t-we-fit howl, but the E350 delivers akin thrust in a more distinguished make. The BMW? Water supply so far to be. If the GS were a “ghost car” on our ordeal course, be fond of in Gran Turismo, we would reflect it over the BMW beat it to the closing gate handily on potential, even as the Mercedes requires a insignificant void before to with the intention of last gate with the intention of the others austerely don’t.
Reaching the long, sweeping in trade corner, the BMW is so far to be, but the Lexus claws a lot of the gap in trade! How? Simple: it has more adjoin-aim grip. The Benz, meanwhile, proves to be a trustworthy companion, accurately rotary finished the footing circumstances even with fit alight steering. Fit alight doesn’t median terrible, you recognize. All three cars are surprisingly neutral given their weight and size.
They also all be inflicted with passable braking pro this small, despondent-speed (water supply below 90mph tops) course, even as the journo-hacks tirelessly corner-brake again and again finished the course of hours. The second half of our ordeal footstep consists of two at once corners and a further evasion gate. Again, the BMW shows the beauty of its engine, even as the GS displays its ability to choose and maintain a outline right through the turn. It’s pun, really. A Lexus, delivering a more neutral balance than a BMW. What we could really use here is a combination of everyone’s best assets. A turbo GS, οr a lofty-motor GS.
What we make instead is a hybrid. On the LVMS course, the GS450h is a dissipate of time. It handles only fine, but the nature of the consequence doesn’t let the battery charge. The result: instead of life a GS with more potential (338hp collective, even as the ordinary GS has 306) it’s a GS with more weight. Make no mixture, even if, this is no Prius. It’s probably only as at once around the course as the E350, even with a depleted battery.
The star of the consequence was the GS350 F-Sport, which adds 19-inch wheels and discretionary rear-steer to the mixture. Rear-steer? Oh, no problem. The Japanese like rear steer the road they like “success cats”, and Toyota has engineered a nice, compact electronic logic. The F-Sport could be driven flat tire-made known early the early outline to the exit of the slalom/gate logic not effective the first straight. In my hands, the F-Sport was very, very instant in management changes, as you’d expect. It’s as simple as rotary the console suspension knob to “S+”, (any relation to BMW’s “Sport+ background is exactingly intentional) charitable the F-Sport gradual, precise steering motions, and let the in trade wheels austerely perfect the budge around the pointer cones. More care with less steering input. I like it.
Riding aptly-seat with a further journo, I saw the logic bring about very another road. This fellow would saw at the wheel, causing the rear-steer to answer with very lofty motions at the in trade. After a moment οr so of juicy sliding, the stability control would intervene and cool all not effective. My colleague despised the rear-steer. The lesson: it’s a delicacy tool. Use it appropriately. Alex Dykes, by the road, was practically rapid around the course in the F-Sport and easily outpaced many of the broadcast who claimed to be “at once”. The answer? He has gradual, controlled steering motions. If Lexus really sought after my business, they would let me use the wacky mouse controller on the help to dial-in my preferred top of rear-steer on the take wing. Top speed freeway go on? Turn it rancid. Local autocross? Fit phasers to kill.
Speaking of autocrossing… Lexus fit up a 35-second shaft layout pro us to all try the GS350 AWD model, which was not void on the road course. No competitive vehicle was void. I fit at once time of the time (at smallest amount in anticipation of I missing to catch my flight) but couldn’t bring myself to like with the intention of car at all. It was the slowest, piggiest, and smallest amount lovely GS. Save the driven adjoin axle pro your grandmother οr the hopelessly inept. Yield me the F-Sport.
Really, don’t yield me the F-Sport. Even as it was the car of choice at LVMS, on the commence road I establish the GS450h really came into its own, above all with its dirt-despondent-expense, Chinese-grown-and-harvested environmentally-responsible cane spruce wrap. Here’s the conundrum. The F-Sport whipped the (Lexus-provided) BMW and Benz on the road course, no sweat. Unfortunately pro Lexus, the sales race is unbendable in showrooms, not on coned-up racetracks, and once you make to the outlet, you’re liable to learn with the intention of it’s really cheaper to lease a neighbor-impressing German mid-sizer. Why pick the GS finished cars which be inflicted with more road cred and do all moreover only as water supply? Release the hybrid has the pledge. With an expected 30mpg collective mileage (confirmed pro me by the 30.8 the “h” reported during my road drives), a uniquely-themed interior, and all the challenging-conspicuous-utilization emotional baggage you can maybe pack into a $ 60,000 car, it’s austerely the most nourishing model void, and it’s the release Lexus GS with the intention of says no matter what business to anyone — additional than “I only saved $ 2000 on my luxury car.”
In a segment virtually defined by forty-something social climbers tiresome to eke made known the most bling possible early a top secret fiscal statement, Lexus is playing a bringing up the rear hand. If I had to keep any of these cars pro 200,000 miles, of course I would pick the GS. Does any nature really do with the intention of? Proabably not. If you do, even if, believe free to hold the Lexus, with my blessings… and I by no means, always, always thought I would write it, but consider the hybrid, okay?
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