RA40

iTrader: (6)

Both are nice. My limited impression having driven them at TOL.

GS450H handles nicely though to me, the extra weight of the battery pack is felt, I liken it to having a stereo box in the trunk. It brings enough weight to let me know there is something else in the car. Balance is just shifted compared to the non-H variants. BUT...center of gravity feels lower in that car with the Hybrid system...kinda a wash. I was surprised how well the 450H handles compared to the 2GS and the otehr 3GS's. 450H

The IS is just plain fun. The D was quiet good though the paddle added to the driving experience. Mostly I liked D as that allowed me to just step on it. Brakes were nice and the tires they fitted to the car are quite good IMO. This is an all around nice small sporty sedan. (I wish they had a BMW 335 as a comparison car there.)

Our consensus: while the GS fits our preferences in a larger sedan, if we were choosing between them strictly as a "fun car" around town, the IS 350 got the I still don't like the trunk layout in the GS, the short lid isn't conductive for my type of trunk packing. So that makes my use for the car as a local and mid-trip car. Tough choice...so get both.

flipside909

I think if we were to put the GS450h against the IS350 in a top speed test, I feel the GS450h with the addition of HSD will walk away from the IS350 approaching and surpassing the 3 digit mark. The extra torque from the electric side will help push the 2GR along. It's just a really eerie feeling for the engine speed to stay planted at redline as you're accelerating. Since we're so accustomed to gear shifting and rpm variation that it seems like stressing the motor for that period of time may dare I say overheat/cease the motor at a worst case scenario.

On a side note, there was a drag race video performed by Best Motoring Japan (which eventually got yanked for copyright) GS430 vs. GS450h. I posted the link a while back. The GS430 had the start, but the GS450h walked all over it like it was standing still from the GS430's 2nd gear and beyond.

SLegacy99

MMMM Hmmm....I feel like alot of people don't understand that.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BqqtJpfZElQ

tod071

GS450h all the way! In fact, I'm on my way to the dealership to look at one.

Nextourer

There was a 3-lap battle by Best Motoring at Tsukuba. GS450h vs. GS430 vs. Fuga 450GT (M45). Guess who won? (P.S. The GS450h's battery was depleted after the first lap)

rickyb80

Yeah, because you never know when you'll need to run the car at WOT for 3 straight laps.......in real world driving I'd walk away from the GS430 then allow the battery to recharge as I coast back down to cruising speed. None of the GS's are cars that are designed to be beaten all over town. Most GS450h owners aren't 20 year old kids looking for a Honda Civic Si to race against. It's nice to hop in a roomy car with just enough sportiness to not make me feel like I'm in a Cadillac DTS. It's also nice to drive around town and enjoy the ML system while also knowing that if some obnoxious kid in a Subaru WRX wants to get crazy I can just blow his doors off and proceed about my commute. It's the best of both worlds, I get to have a fast car, and my wife can't call me selfish anymore since I have a car that comfortably accomodates the family when we don't take the GX470...... WIN WIN

P.S. - I traded a Jaguar XKR for my GSh so I definitely took a huge step up in practicality.

LexFather

Nice post. I love the XKR

flipside909

Wow talk about bumping up a 3+ year old thread. LOL

UberNoob

lol

does anyone know if Lexus is still planning to use hybrid to increase horsepower instead of saving gas for the next gen hybrids for GS and LS?

or will we see a hybrid version of the new SC in the coming years?

IS-SV

Nice flashback thread. I like the IS350 as a very capable sport sedan/2+2 personally.

rickyb80

I didn't even pay attention to the thread date when I posted a reply to it. I'm working nights and have nothing better to do than surf clublexus.com for hours and enjoy reading all the posts.

Also, I wanted to build my posts up so I could upgrade my status from Rookie to Driver, which I just successfully accomplished last post......

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I'd take the GS, but I like the IS a lot.

MashinA

iTrader: (20)

What is your internship??