PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Yes, I love Lexus as my daily driver.

But if money were no object, I'd prefer to have other rides in the stable...

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

After driving a G35 for a year, I can honestly say I prefer it over a Lexus. That's because I like performance coupes. I don't need 500+ hp but I like enough to get the job done. Mainly, I prefer sport handling cars. To feel the car and be one with the road. To see my impulses and thoughts transferred immediately to the steering. To stop quickly and accelerate more quickly. See, it's not about big power, it's about getting up to high speed quickly.

I also like luxury cars. I like comfort and smoothness. The SC300 would have been perfect with more power to go along with my suspension mods. The GS350 I drive now has power but it's not nearly as quick as I want. Handling has a touch of sport but it is a boat. It's nice for cruizing, styling and profiling.....but I like to drive.

I used to take the G35 out for Sunday morning drives down the turnpike. Get it up to 130mph bursts when I could and have some fun. I haven't done it yet with the GS350.

AzNMpower

Lexus makes a very good car, no questions asked. And up until the latest LS460 redesign, I even told people that if I was 70 years old and just wanted a large luxury sedan, I would consider a LS430 (with sport suspension ) and not the 7-series because the pre-facelift 7 was just ugly and the iDrive in that model doesn't work right.

However, that's about it for Lexus in terms of #1 picks. In the midsize luxury sedan market, I'd consider the BMW 5 or the Audi A6. For the compact lux, the 3-series benchmark, duh. None of the Lexus SUVs do it for me either. I just prefer a more involved and more engaging driving experience.

flipside909

Yeah I really prefer Hyundai, but I settled and ended up going for my 2nd Lexus just recently.

LOL.

EZZ

I completely understand how you feel. I too have a G35 coupe and it handles better and is more fun than any Lexus I have every driven (and i've driven most of the different Lexus's). However, I love what the RX300 is...supremely reliable, luxurious, and practical. Its not a surprise that its the best luxury brand in America.

marshmallo

I would love to get an MB CLS or a Porsche Carrera 4S but those cost
WAY more than a GS. It would be really close between a CLS and
a fully loaded LS460 SWB for me...

1993ES300x

i also owned two legend, 2door and sedan. before. comparing that with a older ES i used to own is just totally different. the pick up, the straight you feel from the engine is much stronger than the ES. The things i don't like about the Legend was that it wasn't as sexy nor does the interior of the ES.

STIG

Horses. Totally OG.

mmarshall

No reason to LOL. Hyundai is now making some great products for the money. The days of them building junk are long gone......trust me.

BigVIPness

I love lexus and have owned 3 of them but they only satisify part of what i'm looking for in a car. I'm partial to Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. Lexus builds an amazing car, but Mercedes-Benz builds a complete car. I've had 3 Lexus's (IS/GS/LS) and each one of them I felt did not completely compare with their MB counterpart. Lexus's reliabiltiy is incredible but thats not the only quality that makes a great car.

mmarshall

I have great respect for a number of things that Lexus does...particularly their ability to build in noise isolation, the quality of the Mark Levinson stereo, their consistantly better-than-average reliability which has been at or near the top rankings for years, good customer service, and their smooth drivetrains (though some ES and IS automatics are clunky when cold and have some quirky shift characteristics)......and, of course, CL.......this Lexus forum........which is THE best of the best. That's why I stayed with CL even after I sold my IS300.

But to be honest, some of the newer Lexus products, particularly the IS and ES, IMO, have been disappointing. The IS gained more power in the 350 version and got AWD with the base engine........things it SHOULD have had in the last version and didn't........but the new interior, though flashier and better-finished in the new version, has more plasticky and lower-quality materials throughout. The new ES interior is even more of a letdown...in many ways. It also has poorer-quality materials than the former ES330, more interior squeaks and rattles, a loss of much of the former wood paneling, and a ride that has unnecessarily been firmed up with stiffer suspension and lower-profile tires.


Considering what the average Lexus costs today, there are manufacturers that are offering just as much or more for the money, when you consider the value of each auto dollar spent and what you get for it. Subaru, Hyundai, and Ford, in some cases, have less-expensive vehicles but are better values.
I myself think the Outback is hard to beat as a daily driver, particularly in bad weather. It has near-Lexus quality, great versatility, reliability, and winter traction at a substantially lower price.

flipside909

I don't blame you. They've come a long way from the Rodney King Hyundai Excel.

LexFather

Nope, Lexus for me. If I feel my Lexus doesn't handle as well as something else, that is what mods are for. At this point, I cannot consider any other brands outside BMW/Benz/Audi, which are either equal or higher in stature (think M/AMG, etc).

For sports cars, Porsche has my heart and Lexus simply cannot begin to compete.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, my LS430 is getting some work done and I'm driving the wife's 911 around all weekend. I can get used to this, although I have to drive with shoes off... pedals are too close together for me and I keep fat footing them which is exciting at times but a little to dangerous for my taste as I hurtle into cars stopped at a light in front of me.

nthach

I have a sweet spot for some Ford(Taurus/Crown Victoria/F-Series), Mercedes(W126/W140/R129), and VW(Golf/Jetta) products - but Lexus can't be beat in the reliability and refinement department IMO...