My honest opinion on 3rd gen GS430 vs the gs300....
get the gs430 now!!!!!!! seriously for a fully loaded gs300 rwd of around 50k, spend the extra 8k and get the fully loaded gs430!!!!!!! why? coz' i drove both and could tell
so this weekend i drove the gs430 finally...... some of you might have read what i thought about the new gs after driving the gs300. the car just isn't fast enough yet (but pretty good already), and the braking is just weak..... not close to my sc430 even.
so this time i got in the gs430 and drove... damn, the initial response was already making a statement -- it's fast!!! very responsive, and easy to control... and i LOVE the exhaust note. the exhaust note is a bit louder than the previous generation, and quite a bit louder than the gs300 i test drove last time. but it's a damn nice sound, i love it. i think it's like the car got a very mild aftermarket exhaust or something, very nice...
and i have to say, the braking is ridiculous!!!!!!!! it's very very very very very very very good!!!!!!!!!! very trouchy indeed just like mentioned before.... seriously, for normal people i think they will have a very hard time adjusting their drinving to these brakes. i have aftermarket ap racing brakes on my gs400 (with not as aggressive pads), and i think the stopping power and feel of the new gs430 brakes are pretty much the same, if not even better, than the ap racing. it's that good. i only have to touch the brakes and it's stopping big time already. low speed or high speed, both. the performance of these brakes is just amazing.
last of all, the accel of the "same" engine with 6 speed is just nice..... to be frank, i think it can use more juice (cough 4.6) but this is very nice. by the end of teh freeway on ramp i was doing 95 already, compared to about 80 to 85 with the gs300.
seriously, the gs430 fixes the performance issues i have with the gs300. the suspension is still a bit on the soft side (i put it on sport already), but i don't expect it to be anything impressive anyway. but the engine and the brakes, those get 2 thumbs up from me for sure!
and with the vdim, adaptive suspension, 18s (not that i care, haha) on top of the v8 and the huge brakes, seriously i thikn the extra 8k is well worth it......
but then, our (me and my wife) biggest problem is the exterior of the car -- just missing something.....
oh, and did i say we just sold our is300 this past weekend?
__________________
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I think the GS430 is the car to get as well. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to test drive either GS3 or GS4, but at the local car show this past weekend I finially got to spend a lot of quality time in all the potential cars in this segment. The 18" rims on the GS430 definately makes the car. Compared to the GS300, it was a totally different look. As of now the wife and I pretty much dismissed the GS300 and the Infiniti M. The GS430 has the edge over our other choice the RL. Both of us would choose the RL over the GS300, but the GS430 is a better over all package. I do have to say thought that the interior feel in the RL is extremely good. I made a specific effort to touch and try and get a good feel of both interiors and the RL leather IMHO feels much more plush. The GS430 felt good, but a little harder. I rubbed all the plastic parts and both felt to the touch about the same. I can see why Car and Driver thought the RL interior was as good or better than the GS430 because it really does feel good. Anway, I'm still thinking the IS350 might be the right car for me especially since it will be much cheaper by $15K maybe. Otherwise the GS430 has become our top choice. The exterior short comings can be fixed with some good aftermarket parts I believe so it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it did. I'm still not blown away, but the GS430 is definately a car I want to own now.
chris you are right about the wheels. i really LOVE the fact that lexus is finally hiring someone good to get wheels for their cars. the new gs is a good example with so many variety of wheels, and they all look pretty good for stock wheels imho. good move by lexus imho. (as long as they dont' put those pie plates on the sc430 anymore...)
and for the interior, i know what you mean by hard. if we have to be very picky, me and my wife we have that commplain as well. the dash seems to be really hard plastic (read, SEEMS), and doesn't have the comfortable soft feeling that the 2gs has. plus the 3gs interiors has more sharp lines and angles (all the vents, etc....) my wife and i are more "curve" people (dunno how to put it), so those lines and angles caught us a bit.
__________________
Do it once and do it right. Do your homework to get it right.
If you can't afford it, drive the car stock.
Putting on knock-offs is shameful on a car enthusiast site, not to mention companies who make/sell knock-offs.
and for the interior, i know what you mean by hard. if we have to be very picky, me and my wife we have that commplain as well. the dash seems to be really hard plastic (read, SEEMS), and doesn't have the comfortable soft feeling that the 2gs has. plus the 3gs interiors has more sharp lines and angles (all the vents, etc....) my wife and i are more "curve" people (dunno how to put it), so those lines and angles caught us a bit.
Exactly, I can live with the GS interior as it is nice, but not exactly my style. That is another reason why I think the IS350 might be my car. The interior is much smoother which I prefer. Just like you and your wife, my wife and I too like the smoother lines vs the sharp lines in the GS. It is not a deal breaker, but if two equal cars were out we would probably choose the one with the smoother lines. I do have to say the hard lines in person doesn't come out as much as it does in the pictures. In pictures it looks very sharp. In person is looks edgy, but somewhat okay. I have to say, if the GS had the IS350 interior and 315HP like the supposed IS350 will have, it would be a clear winner. Right now it still seems like a compromise or a gap filler car. Quite a good gap filler though Anyway, who knows what types of cars will be out in the next two years when I buy myself a car. I have to pay off my wifes RX330 first.
get the gs430 now!!!!!!! seriously for a fully loaded gs300 rwd of around 50k, spend the extra 8k and get the fully loaded gs430!!!!!!! why? coz' i drove both and could tell
so this weekend i drove the gs430 finally...... some of you might have read what i thought about the new gs after driving the gs300. the car just isn't fast enough yet (but pretty good already), and the braking is just weak..... not close to my sc430 even.
so this time i got in the gs430 and drove... damn, the initial response was already making a statement -- it's fast!!! very responsive, and easy to control... and i LOVE the exhaust note. the exhaust note is a bit louder than the previous generation, and quite a bit louder than the gs300 i test drove last time. but it's a damn nice sound, i love it. i think it's like the car got a very mild aftermarket exhaust or something, very nice...
and i have to say, the braking is ridiculous!!!!!!!! it's very very very very very very very good!!!!!!!!!! very trouchy indeed just like mentioned before.... seriously, for normal people i think they will have a very hard time adjusting their drinving to these brakes. i have aftermarket ap racing brakes on my gs400 (with not as aggressive pads), and i think the stopping power and feel of the new gs430 brakes are pretty much the same, if not even better, than the ap racing. it's that good. i only have to touch the brakes and it's stopping big time already. low speed or high speed, both. the performance of these brakes is just amazing.
last of all, the accel of the "same" engine with 6 speed is just nice..... to be frank, i think it can use more juice (cough 4.6) but this is very nice. by the end of teh freeway on ramp i was doing 95 already, compared to about 80 to 85 with the gs300.
seriously, the gs430 fixes the performance issues i have with the gs300. the suspension is still a bit on the soft side (i put it on sport already), but i don't expect it to be anything impressive anyway. but the engine and the brakes, those get 2 thumbs up from me for sure!
and with the vdim, adaptive suspension, 18s (not that i care, haha) on top of the v8 and the huge brakes, seriously i thikn the extra 8k is well worth it......
but then, our (me and my wife) biggest problem is the exterior of the car -- just missing something.....
oh, and did i say we just sold our is300 this past weekend?
Everyone's life and priorities are different rom. 8k may not seem like much to you but it is to many. Adding 8k may be worth it to you but it is not to others. Not everyone looks at costs through the point of view of monthly payments. A much higher percent of the people on CL would probably agree with you but CL is representative of the whole GS market.
With that said, I would agree with you about the worth. My first choice was not the GS300. You know my backstory there.
hahhaha man, don't get me the wrong way. i put it that way as a joke..... you guys should cool down man..... no way i would ditch people who got gs300. first of all that's not my cars, and second, it's still a lot of money for sure (50k isn't cheap)
don't take it offensively, i was just comparing the two cars and say what i think about the cars value wise
__________________
Do it once and do it right. Do your homework to get it right.
If you can't afford it, drive the car stock.
Putting on knock-offs is shameful on a car enthusiast site, not to mention companies who make/sell knock-offs.
Exactly, I can live with the GS interior as it is nice, but not exactly my style. That is another reason why I think the IS350 might be my car. The interior is much smoother which I prefer. Just like you and your wife, my wife and I too like the smoother lines vs the sharp lines in the GS. It is not a deal breaker, but if two equal cars were out we would probably choose the one with the smoother lines. I do have to say the hard lines in person doesn't come out as much as it does in the pictures. In pictures it looks very sharp. In person is looks edgy, but somewhat okay. I have to say, if the GS had the IS350 interior and 315HP like the supposed IS350 will have, it would be a clear winner. Right now it still seems like a compromise or a gap filler car. Quite a good gap filler though Anyway, who knows what types of cars will be out in the next two years when I buy myself a car. I have to pay off my wifes RX330 first.
i know what you are talking about. for me i would wait til li can see the is350 myself before i make any calls. when i first saw the new gs i really didn't feel much about it, but now i feel different (good and bad). the is350 sounds very promising from the spec and the pics, but i would hold my judgement really well this time until i see the car
__________________
Do it once and do it right. Do your homework to get it right.
If you can't afford it, drive the car stock.
Putting on knock-offs is shameful on a car enthusiast site, not to mention companies who make/sell knock-offs.
I'm with Henry overall, the GS300 is underpowered for our tastes and the new GS exterior is just a bit bland. But having just moved out of a crowded city like Atlanta, it's clear that having a 300HP GS430 there is basically a waste of money except for showing 'hey I can afford this'. If I still lived in Atlanta, I expect my next car would have gone 'comfy' and not necessarily fast (hey maybe a GS300, or maybe an Avalon ), because it's the only way to cope with the stress caused by insane traffic.
But now I live in the country with empty roads, hehe, I can think 'fast' and sporty again! For now I'm re-exploring my 2nd gen GS!
okok, just to clarify myself.... i am not directing this against any gs300 members... i was purely comparing the two cars and said what i think is more worth the money, just from that point of view. 50k is a lot of money, no matter how you put it, so that part is for sure. you guys should take it easy
on the 2nd gen forum, everyone knows that i tell everyone to get 400/430 over 300 whenever possible, espceially if money isn't an issue.
and btw, i forgot to mention one thing. i was looking at the 300 and the 430.... now, i would assume that both cars use the same brackets... if so, i guess people can just bolt the 430 brakes on the 300? if that's true, wouldn't that be a superb mod?
__________________
Do it once and do it right. Do your homework to get it right.
If you can't afford it, drive the car stock.
Putting on knock-offs is shameful on a car enthusiast site, not to mention companies who make/sell knock-offs.
My honest opinion on 3rd gen GS430 vs the gs300....
Anyway, who knows what types of cars will be out in the next two years when I buy myself a car. I have to pay off my wifes RX330 first.
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