Lexus has long been known for building premium-quality luxury cars with superb craftsmanship, refined road manners and bulletproof reliability.

Toyota’s premium division offers few truly athletic vehicles, but here’s one – and it’s a doozy.

To my mind this could well be the best all-around sports sedan yet to come out of Japan: It’s the Lexus GS 350.

2014 Lexus GS350 F Sport AWD
VEHICLE TYPE: Four-door, five-passenger, midsize luxury-performance sedan
BASE PRICE: $49,950
PRICE AS TESTED: $58,990 (incl. delivery fees)
DRIVETRAIN: 3.5-liter, DOHC V-6; 306 horsepower; 277 pound-feet torque; six-speed automatic transmission; all-wheel drive
WHEELBASE/LENGTH: 112.2″/190.7″
CURB WEIGHT: 3,970
EPA FUEL RATING: 19 mpg city/26 highway (premium unleaded)
Sizewise, it matches up nicely with such performance paragons as BMW’s 5-series, probably its most-obvious direct competitor, and such diverse sedans as Cadillac’s CTS and even Jaguar’s XJ.

In standard guise, it makes a convincing case for bypassing Bavaria and betting your yen on Japan. But add on the optional F Sport package ($5,695), and the GS deserves a best-buy rating.

To the base model, if “base” is an applicable description for such an already well-endowed vehicle, the F Sport package jacks up the GS’ athleticism with titanium-tone, 19-inch alloys shod with all-season tires (summer tires on non-AWD models); stronger front disc brakes; an adaptive variable suspension with sportier steering tuning; a modest rear-deck spoiler; a sport driver’s seat with 16-way power adjustability; and F-specific styling treatments inside and out, including a black headliner.

Oddly, the unique F Sport front fascia deletes fog lamps.

Other options on our tester included a cold-weather package (heated/ventilated front seats; heated steering wheel; rear power sunshade); blind-spot monitor; and a navigation system. All these added nearly $9,000 to the car’s sticker.



With all-wheel drive, the GS is relegated to a six-speed automatic rather than the new GS eight-speed box on the rear-drive models. Still, it’s smooth and quick and features paddle shifters for added control.

Acceleration is brisk if not searingly fast. The car clings to the road, particularly with Sport mode dialed in, like a leech. Steering is razor-sharp and brakes perfectly weighted and powerful.

The leather-lined cabin smells delicious, involving yet another sense in the appreciation of such a beautifully designed, engineered and executed machine.

Just one nit to pick: The electronics interface requires too much eye time away from the road for even simple commands.

Otherwise, the GS 350 is well-nigh perfect.

The Good A hybrid drivetrain gives the 2014 Lexus GS 450h excellent fuel economy for its class, and its adaptive suspension delivers a comfortable, competent ride. Lexus Enform App Suite adds online destination search, Yelp, Pandora, and OpenTable.

The Bad The Remote Touch cabin tech interface is a bit fiddly when trying to select onscreen buttons. Maps for the navigation system lack a perspective view.

The Bottom Line Although not an engaging car to drive, the 2014 Lexus GS 450h delivers comfort and an easy driving character, while delivering excellent fuel economy.

Buyers considering a BMW 5-series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, or even a Tesla Model S would do well to look at the 2014 Lexus GS 450h. The BMW has its handling, the Mercedes-Benz nearly drives itself, and the Tesla is the best electric car on the market. Against all that, the GS 450h has a no-nonsense character.

The GS 450h is a luxury car for the driver who doesn't want to spend a lot of time thinking about his car.

The unobtrusive exterior design supports this mission. Although Lexus added some unique styling cues in the car's last update, such as its spindle grille and some aggressive air intake, the GS 450h remains a sleeper. The smooth flanks, large greenhouse, and rounded roofline give the car a modern but conservative look.

These design elements, while not exactly sleek, give the GS 450h immense practicality, with easy ingress for both front and rear seats. Enhancing that accessibility, the steering wheel automatically lifted and retracted when I turned off the car, moving back into driving position when I started it back up.

My favorite styling piece in the cabin is the bamboo trim, the sustainability of which highlights the eco-friendly hybrid drivetrain. Personally, I just favor the bamboo's satin finish, which makes it feel much more like a natural material than the multiple layers of glossy varnish which make wood trim in other cars seem like plastic.

Its grille shows some liveliness, but the overall design of the GS 450h remains conservative.

What I liked less was Lexus' Remote Touch cabin tech controller, a joystick-like rectangular piece on the console that moves a cursor on the massive 12.3 inch LCD at the top of the center stack. The concept is sound, but the execution is lacking. I found myself consistently missing the onscreen buttons I wanted to hit due to the fiddly controller. Using the onscreen keyboard for alpha-numeric input was particularly annoying.

As with other automakers, there are indications that Lexus will be dumping the Remote Touch controller for a touchpad. The upcoming Lexus RC model appears to have a touchpad controller, which will likely rely more on gesture control.

The 12.3-inch screen is, however, very nice. Although it seems counterintuitive, I find a large screen less distracting than a small one, as it takes less time to for me to perceive the information I need on a big display. Lexus devotes two-thirds of the LCD to a primary screen, and the remaining one-third limited to trip, audio, phone, or climate information.

The GS 450h's navigation system is an option, but should really be standard in a $60,000 car. And while the maps look good and routing takes traffic into account, Lexus really needs to bump up the quality and features. Unlike competitors, the system's maps don't have a perspective view. Despite different graphics, the system is not appreciably different than that found in Toyota vehicles, which somewhat demeans Lexus luxury.

Lexus' navigation system is perfectly functional, but lacks the refinement of the luxury competition.

In app integration, Lexus is also a step behind luxury competitors. Where Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz build a data connection into the car, the GS 450h uses the Lexus Enform App Suite, which relies on the driver's smartphone.

Although not built-in, I liked how the Enform apps worked. With the Enform app running on my iPhone and connected to the car via Bluetooth, I could access Bing search, Yelp reviews, OpenTable restaurant reservations, Pandora, and iHeartMusic Internet radio. The location-capable apps were integrated with navigation, so I could easily find a business with a Bing search, then set its address as my destination.

The biggest problem with Lexus' approach is that the apps are all segregated in their own bucket, two clicks down from the main menu. Internet search should really be next to the other destination entry options and, in a car of the GS 450h's caliber, should also be built-in, working irrespective of a driver's phone.

The main audio menu in the GS 450h separated radio and media audio sources, a legacy distinction, but I found that these main menu buttons took me to the same screen, listing all the audio sources (except apps) in tabs across the top. The GS 450h had HD and satellite radio, although the screens for these were crowded. I could plug in a USB drive or iPhone to the car's USB port and get a nice music library interface. Bluetooth streaming worked for a larger selection of smartphones, but there was no capability to select music using the car's interface. I had to select my music using the phone.

With a USB drive or iPhone plugged into the car's USB port, I could also request music through voice command by artist or album name. And while I could also make calls over a Bluetooth-connected phone by contact name over voice command, address entry was less refined, forcing me to say each part of the address separately. And highlighting the imperfect integration of apps with the car, I had to hit a separate, onscreen icon to use voice command with Bing search.

For a premium sound option, this GS 450h had a Mark Levinson audio system, Lexus' brand of choice for many years now. The partnership is a good one, as I've always enjoyed the Mark Levinson audio quality. In the GS 450h, it didn't let me down, producing nicely detailed and well-balanced sound. Turning a bass-heavy track up really loud, I heard a minor bit of panel rattle from the car. Where this system excelled was in vocal reproduction.

The system uses 17 GreenEdge speakers, a brand from Mark Levinson parent company Harman. GreenEdge speakers are supposed to use less power but still produce robust sound. Lexus didn't skimp on the power, though, fitting the GS 450h with a 835-watt amp. With the GreenEdge speakers, I imagine that amp isn't called on to hit its peak output.

Another clever little eco touch in the GS 450h, and something I have not seen in other cars, is an automatic setting for the heated and cooled seats. Set on automatic, the heating or cooling activated in conjunction with the temperature I had set in climate control. The idea is that the seat heating and cooling is a more energy efficient means of keeping you comfortable, so the general climate control system does not have to work as hard.

Win-win drivetrain

Of course, the main eco feature of the GS 450h is the gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain, a step up in power and fuel efficiency from the GS 350. The rear-wheel-drive GS 450h gets a 3.5-liter V-6 engine with valve timing on the Atkinson cycle for fuel economy and a combination of port and direct injection. The engine relies on its less noisy port injection at low speeds, then switches to the more efficient direct injection at higher speeds. By itself, the engine makes 286 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque.

The GS used to be the only hybrid game in town, but times have changed and nearly everyone has joined the party. BMW has their turbocharged ActiveHybrid 5, Mercedes just launched the E400 Hybrid, Infiniti has re-badged their M Hybrid the Q70 Hybrid, Acura is finally selling the all-wheel-drive RLX Hybrid and Audi has announced the A6 hybrid will come to America "soon." This means that the S80 T6 and Genesis are no longer on my list because we have head-to-head competition now.

Lexus used to be known for restrained styling but the current generation GS marked a change for the Japanese luxury brand. In addition to taking on more aggressive front end styling, the GS was the first Lexus to wear the new "spindle" grille. The schnozz that seemed so controversial three years ago seems downright demure today, especially since this form has been adapted to the enormous (and some say questionable) LX 470. Perhaps because the GS was the first to wear the corporate grille, the styling seems slightly awkward from the front 3/4 shot (seen at the top) but looks better in person. Unlike the IS, which gets some sheetmetal swooshes on the side, the GS's profile and rump are luxury car restrained. Overall I think the Infiniti Q70 hybrid, despite being a little long in the tooth, still wins the beauty contest. The Lexus and BMW are a bit too sedate for my tastes, and the RLX and A6 suffer from decidedly front-wheel-drive proportions when compared to the rest and the Mercedes lands smack in the middle.

While the GS 350 recently got an update in the form of a new Aisin 8-speed automatic, the GS 450h continues with just a minor software update. This means under the hood you will find the same direct-injection 3.5L Atkinson-cycle V6 engine and RWD hybrid transmission that launched in 2011. Combined with a 1.9 kWh NiMH battery pack in the trunk the system is good for 338 combined horsepower, 286 of which come from the gasoline engine. This is essentially the same engine found in the Highlander and RX hybrids, but the transmission is more similar to what Lexus uses in the LS 600hL. The unit combines the two motor/generator units with a 2-speed planetary gearset to improve efficiency at high speeds (as in on the Autobahn) but without the AWD system standard in the LS 600hL. The 2014 software update improves "sportiness" in sport mode and now imitates an 8-speed automatic instead of a 6-speed. While 338 horsepower compares well with the 6-cylinder competition, the GS 450h has the unenviable task of trying to be both the most efficient GS and the performance version as well. For reasons nobody knows, the more efficient GS 300h which uses a 2.5L four-cylinder engine is not sold in America.

By design, the Lexus hybrid system is very different from the competition. The two motor/generator units and the electrical circuitry combine with a single planetary gearsest to "act" as a continuously variable transmission. This setup allows the drivetrain to act as a serial hybrid (kind of), parallel hybrid, electric generator, or a pure EV at low speeds. In contrast Mercedes, BMW and Infiniti combine a traditional transmission with a single electric motor that replaces the torque converter. Transitions between electric and gasoline drive modes in these systems aren't as smooth as the Lexus system because of the clutch packs involved in reconnecting the engine. Meanwhile Acura combines a dual-clutch robotic manual transmission with a twin-motor pack in the rear for the only AWD hybrid luxury sedan in this category.

Of course the primary reason for buying a hybrid is to save on gas. Right? Maybe. With a 29 MPG City, 34 MPG Highway and 31 MPG combined rating there's no doubt that the GS 450h is a fuel sipping 338 horsepower luxury sedan. However at more than $10,000 more expensive than a similarly equipped GS 350 it would take you more than 20 years to "save money." We did average an excellent 31.5 MPG over 800 miles with the GS hybrid, a notable improvement over the Infiniti hybrid and the short time I spent in the RLX hybrid. Although we haven't extensively tested the BMW and Mercedes hybrids yet, brief spins in both indicate they will slot in under the GS. There's one more problem for the GS: Mercedes' new E250 diesel. No, it's not a speed daemon, but at 34 mpg combined it not only makes up for the higher cost of diesel with the higher fuel economy, it starts around $9,000 less than a GS 450h as well.

Bluetooth streaming worked for a larger selection of smartphones, but there was no capability to select music using the car's interface. I had to select my music using the phone.

And while I could also make calls over a Bluetooth-connected phone by contact name over voice command, address entry was less refined, forcing me to say each part of the address separately. And highlighting the imperfect integration of apps with the car, I had to hit a separate, onscreen icon to use voice command with Bing search.

The engine relies on its less noisy port injection at low speeds, then switches to the more efficient direct injection at higher speeds. By itself, the engine makes 286 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque.