Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Lexus GS 350 AWD F-Sport

[johngenx]

And it has Backup Bose at that price!  Whoo!

[SaskSpecV]

FWIW the new IS350 has won multiple comparos against the competition as has the GS. Clearly they're wonderful cars. So again, it's styling and intangibles.

So what do you do if you are Lexus?  I agree that the IS and GS appear to be excellent, well-rounded cars in their segment.  No one seems to doubt that their value and reliability are top-notch - especially compared to the Germans (and possibly Caddy, too).  And Lexus dealer satisfaction scores routinely rank among the best.  Yet sales are significantly behind the Germans (especially the GS, the IS is closer) in both the US and Canada.

If the problem is the styling, does Lexus pull the plug on the spindle grill?  But it's migrated across their entire line!
If it's "intangibles" - what can Lexus do about it?  Charge more to make them seem more "premium"?  Not working so well for Cadillac right now!

[rrocket]

As cool as the V-Sport is, when new it's ~$12K+ more than the GS...without the benefit of AWD.  Prices for it are much better in the USA.

[Snowman]

As cool as the V-Sport is, when new it's ~$12K+ more than the GS...without the benefit of AWD.  Prices for it are much better in the USA.

Agreed on the price but clearly the GS is lacking in many areas. Imagine if Toyota put more effort into  how good it could be. I guess they are catering to the 80 year old retired couples  in Florida who need a car to run out to the craft sales, bingo, and the country club 

[rrocket]

So what do you do if you are Lexus?  I agree that the IS and GS appear to be excellent, well-rounded cars in their segment.  No one seems to doubt that their value and reliability are top-notch - especially compared to the Germans (and possibly Caddy, too).  And Lexus dealer satisfaction scores routinely rank among the best.  Yet sales are significantly behind the Germans (especially the GS, the IS is closer) in both the US and Canada.

If the problem is the styling, does Lexus pull the plug on the spindle grill?  But it's migrated across their entire line!
If it's "intangibles" - what can Lexus do about it?  Charge more to make them seem more "premium"?  Not working so well for Cadillac right now!

The IS (and GS) have really only been around for ~15 years.  The BMW 3 Series is a long established marque unto itself.  I often refer to the 3 Series as the Camry of luxury sport sedans.  People who like BMW will continue to buy BMW even though the 3 Series gets trumped by newer and better cars from the competition.  I remember at various times the IS (or Infiniti) being better than the 3 Series pretty much unanimously in every test...yet it didn't make a dent in the sales.  So 3 Series lovers don't care about dynamics (when other cars are better) and they certainly don't care about reliability.  BMW could release a FWD 3 Series that handled like a turd and the 3 Series would STILL outsell everybody.

I don't see anybody consistently outselling the 3 Series in my lifetime...

[rrocket]

As cool as the V-Sport is, when new it's ~$12K+ more than the GS...without the benefit of AWD.  Prices for it are much better in the USA.

Agreed on the price but clearly the GS is lacking in many areas. Imagine if Toyota put more effort into  how good it could be. I guess they are catering to the 80 year old retired couples  in Florida who need a car to run out to the craft sales, bingo, and the country club 

I read one review where they chose the GS over the Audi.    Clearly it's not lacking in as many areas as you seem to think.  And I have my doubts you've ever driven one...

It's a very, very good car.  I do wish they would have kept the V8 however.

[Snowman]

As cool as the V-Sport is, when new it's ~$12K+ more than the GS...without the benefit of AWD.  Prices for it are much better in the USA.

Agreed on the price but clearly the GS is lacking in many areas. Imagine if Toyota put more effort into  how good it could be. I guess they are catering to the 80 year old retired couples  in Florida who need a car to run out to the craft sales, bingo, and the country club 

I read one review where they chose the GS over the Audi.    Clearly it's not lacking in as many areas as you seem to think.  And I have my doubts you've ever driven one...

It's a very, very good car.  I do wish they would have kept the V8 however.

And probably will never drive one 

[Snowman]

If you bothered to watch the video Snowy he mentioned that in the last comparison test the GS F-sport beat out both the 535 and the A6 supercharged......

Again, I don't think the car is lacking....I'd love more power but now you get it with the GS-F. Again I think some of it has to do with styling but for some people no doubt if they're spending this much on a car they want that "German Badge."

Just keep making good cars is all you can do. I do think they need to figure out their styling, although I don't mind it on most of their applications.

I did and IMO is the best in its class right now from an enthusiast position.

[Snowman]

If you bothered to watch the video Snowy he mentioned that in the last comparison test the GS F-sport beat out both the 535 and the A6 supercharged......

Again, I don't think the car is lacking....I'd love more power but now you get it with the GS-F. Again I think some of it has to do with styling but for some people no doubt if they're spending this much on a car they want that "German Badge."

Just keep making good cars is all you can do. I do think they need to figure out their styling, although I don't mind it on most of their applications.

I did and IMO is the best in its class right now from an enthusiast position.

Why don't you look at something in this class? Totally suits a big old dog (with a young heart) like you.

Old dog still needs an MT6  Maybe when I turn 75 or something 

[CanuckS2K]

If you bothered to watch the video Snowy he mentioned that in the last comparison test the GS F-sport beat out both the 535 and the A6 supercharged......

Again, I don't think the car is lacking....I'd love more power but now you get it with the GS-F. Again I think some of it has to do with styling but for some people no doubt if they're spending this much on a car they want that "German Badge."

Just keep making good cars is all you can do. I do think they need to figure out their styling, although I don't mind it on most of their applications.

I did and IMO is the best in its class right now from an enthusiast position.

Why don't you look at something in this class? Totally suits a big old dog (with a young heart) like you.

Old dog still needs an MT6  Maybe when I turn 75 or something

Isn't that in a couple of years?   


 

[Snowman]

If you bothered to watch the video Snowy he mentioned that in the last comparison test the GS F-sport beat out both the 535 and the A6 supercharged......

Again, I don't think the car is lacking....I'd love more power but now you get it with the GS-F. Again I think some of it has to do with styling but for some people no doubt if they're spending this much on a car they want that "German Badge."

Just keep making good cars is all you can do. I do think they need to figure out their styling, although I don't mind it on most of their applications.

I did and IMO is the best in its class right now from an enthusiast position.

Why don't you look at something in this class? Totally suits a big old dog (with a young heart) like you.

Old dog still needs an MT6  Maybe when I turn 75 or something

Isn't that in a couple of years?   


 

 

[Benhaze]

GS F-Sport vs CTS V-Sport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9faBE_ceJY

Without watching it I would take the CTS V-Sport.

I would also pick the CTS-V over this GS350 at the F-Sport 2 list price.

[tortoise]

I would lease the CTS and buy the GS.

Though when considering buying used the CTS is hard to ignore.

[redman]

GS F-Sport vs CTS V-Sport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9faBE_ceJY

Without watching it I would take the CTS V-Sport.

I would also pick the CTS-V over this GS350 at the F-Sport 2 list price.

The CTS-V does have that winning look over the F-Sport which leans on the conservative side for a hyped version of a name plate.
Lexus can't seem to find that like between subtle reservation and gaudy that few others seem to be hitting.

[Northernridge]

The GS-F is more comparable to the CTS-V and would be my choice between the two.

[whaddaiknow]

The CTS-V does have that winning look over the F-Sport which leans on the conservative side for a hyped version of a name plate.
Lexus can't seem to find that like between subtle reservation and gaudy that few others seem to be hitting.

Last week at Mont-Tremblant I parked my now almost 5-year-old E350 behind a CTS-VSport. Checked it out from all angles, and I must say it looks MUCH better in the photos than in real life. In flesh, it just looked "meh". Looking down on the headlights wrapping onto the hood from above, I was very disappointed. It's not as big as I thought, and did not stand out visually.
Add CUE to the equation, and it's a no brainer I would go for the GS (in black). 0-60 in under 5s - screw the turbo and all reliability issues related to it.

There's got to be a reason low mileage VSport's are being dumped right now. I saw the same cars being advertised a few months ago at $57k by the same dealers, and everyone thought it was a good deal then. It looks like they have a hard time finding homes even at $47k.

[DriverJeff]

Now we're getting into the meat and potatoes of this discussion.  I enjoy driving a 535i more than the GS 350 F Sport, but if I were buying, I'd go Lexus and give up the Bimmer's forced induction torque and arguably better brand cachet. 

In living with the CTS vs. GS 350 (Luxury, not F Sport) last year, the Caddy was definitely the better looking machine and had a lot of great qualities about it.  I really like it, and obviously the boosted V Sport is even better.  But, living with the cars day in and day out, CUE becomes tiresome very quickly and that Caddy is the only press car I've ever had where a piece of the door handle fell off while driving. 

The Lexus's interior design may appear dated compared to something like the CTS, but it's extremely functional and superbly assembled.  There's a belief that every switch, button and control will operate 10 years from now exactly as it does right off the showroom floor.  The engineering that went into the GS is not lost on me. 

Compared to the Germans, the GS looks like a great value -- and is.  But Lexus has a hard go of competing on price with the likes of the new and improved Genesis.  Lovely, torque and smooth 5L V8 and more contemporary (yet still functional) design inside and out is hard to ignore too.

[rrocket]

 

Compared to the Germans, the GS looks like a great value -- and is.  But Lexus has a hard go of competing on price with the likes of the new and improved Genesis.  Lovely, torque and smooth 5L V8 and more contemporary (yet still functional) design inside and out is hard to ignore too.

I too like the new Genesis.  Quite a lot.  But I have to wonder how it will be after 5-7 years.  I know the Lexus will still operate like the day it drove off the showroom floor.  I also know Lexus V8s run until 500,000kms with just oil changes.

Can Hyundai do the same?  I'm not convinced they're at that level of build quality yet.

[DriverJeff]

 

Compared to the Germans, the GS looks like a great value -- and is.  But Lexus has a hard go of competing on price with the likes of the new and improved Genesis.  Lovely, torque and smooth 5L V8 and more contemporary (yet still functional) design inside and out is hard to ignore too.

I too like the new Genesis.  Quite a lot.  But I have to wonder how it will be after 5-7 years.  I know the Lexus will still operate like the day it drove off the showroom floor.  I also know Lexus V8s run until 500,000kms with just oil changes.

Can Hyundai do the same?  I'm not convinced they're at that level of build quality yet.

Yeah that's certainly the question.  I guess only time will tell.