sirwinston

Happy Thanksgiving!! I have finally had it with my disintegrating 2007 LS' interior and I just have to change. After going to the dealer for the fifth time to complain about the lack of replacement parts, I am now interested in the great lease offers for a 2015 GS350 AWD. For those who know, what am in looking at in the switch? I know the LS is a wonderfully smooth sled, but I am not sure what I will be compromising/gaining if I switch over to the GS.

Thanks for reading.

Al

I8ABMR

I owned an 07 LS460 and I get to drive the GS350 F Sport all the time as a lonaer car and will tell tell you you will only lose the wood steering wheel. The 4 GS is HUGE inside. Much bigger than my 3GS ( 07GS350). Trunk is enormous and you will have plenty of room in the back seat. ML stereo will be on par too

Toys4RJill

I personally would not do a new LS if you do not like the current one. The 16 LS is essentially the same as the 07.

mmarshall

Hope you had a nice Holiday today.

Stepping down from an LS to a GS, you may lose a little refinement in the area of road and wind noise, and perhaps a small amount of ride comfort, but the difference won't be that huge. (I think you'll be able to live with it). The GS350 has less power than the LS460, but is also somewhat lighter, so that aids it in the performance and handling department.

I personally think that Lexus should have kept the former GS460's drivetrain in the latest version, but, unfortunately, they dropped it. There is no more gas-only V8.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Not exactly true GS-F

mmarshall

Yeah, that's right, Dave, but I was considering the F's a separate line. The OP didn't seem that interested in an F.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

the 16 drivetrain is essentially the same as 07, but interior is quite a bit step away from the 07. not saying it's totally different but it's still very different.

the 4gs is a lot bigger but it's not ls big, and i still think the ls is more comfortable with better ml system.

the gs is a lot more fun to drive though

Stroock639

nah don't do it, LS for life those new GS cars look pretty sharp though. i'd wait for the new generation LS to come out before making a definite choice.

SW17LS

I did the opposite, went from the 4GS (2013) to the 2015 LS.

The 4GS is really a wonderful car. Take one for an extended test drive. The GS isn't as refined, the powertrain is a good bit louder and coarser, much of which is by design. Its faster than the LS, but the power doesn't feel as smooth and effortless.

The GS is a lot more fun to drive, and cars with AVS (mine was a luxury model) have a great duality, it can be a very comfortable touring car, not as comfortable as the LS, but on a nice stretch of highway closer than you'd think, but then also it has a great sharp handling dynamic when the roads get twisty in Sport + that is very rewarding. The LS doesn't have that duality, its overwhelmingly a one track minded car. Thats wafting down the highway as quietly as possible.

The luxury and to a slightly lesser extent the F Sport have GREAT seats, far better than the seats in an older LS, and even my new LS. 18 way power adjustable, great leather, etc.

I love my LS, I'm out of town and the road trip up here is where the car really shines. For everyday though there are times that I miss the GS.

The LS is significantly bigger and has a much better back seat. Front seat room is quite similar, the LS feels wider and the GS feels more intimate after being used to the LS (my business partner has a 2015 GS F Sport that I ride in all the time). The GS is much smaller than the LS overall and feels smaller. The GS feels smaller than it is when driving it and the LS feels big.

So in short, I say if you've done the LS and are ready for something different, get the GS. There are quite a few GS guys who came from the LS.

mmarshall

If I was in his shoes, so would I. After a hard day's work when one is tired, few other cars relax you on the drive home like an LS. Having said that, though, like I remarked earlier, the step-down from an LS to a GS in road/wind/engine noise and ride-comfort, though significant, is not really that large. The GS, even with its sport-orientation, does a fairly decent job of coddling.

SW17LS

Here's the thing about waiting for the next LS, can he spend at least $90,000? It's going to cost that at least, to stay in line with the rest of the segment. We're also at least a year away, if not more.

Not a lot of people look at $55,000 cars and also $90,000 cars.

mmarshall

Yes, that is a lot of money. He did not list a budget-range, though, so I was assuming that, like when you bought your new LS and Sedona, it was not that big an issue. I still think, though, that Stroock639 had a good idea in at least waiting and looking at the new LS. And, of course, when the next-generation LS models come out, the old ones fitting on the lot will probably have big incentives to be cleared out....that will be an option, and save some money.

That's basically what I'm going to do. Since my own (usual) car-replacement schedule is around 5 years or so, I'll probably be in the the market myself sometime later next year when the 2017s come out. And there are several new vehicles I'm waiting to look at, myself....(besides the new Verano) but I won't get into those in the thread.

SW17LS

There's always going to be something new on the horizon to wait to see...if you keep waiting you'll never buy anything.

mmarshall

Yep......I look forward to the D.C. show each year.

I'm the type of guy, though, that, when I have found the right vehicle for me (or at least the closest thing available to it)........my checkbook's ready.

I have to confess, though.....when the Verano was first announced, and we had the first thread on it here in Car Chat, at the time, I thought........."Oh, Great. That's just what we need....another crap-ola GM compact, mass-produced out of junk materials, that turns out to be garbage". Needless to say, I was wrong......quite wrong.

But anyhow, back to the new LS. I don't see anything wrong with waiting and at least taking a look at it, unless the OP is time-constrained and just in a hurry.

sirwinston

Thank you to everyone who responded. As a follow up, I think I am going to stay with my LS. As I drove the GS the evening, I realized that these two models are VERY different cars. Those who mentioned the room in the front (no one rides in my back seats now), you were spot on. I am a big man and I felt very comfortable in the front seat. The multiple controls and buttons would take some getting used to, but I loved the paddle shifters and the joystick-type control pad that allowed me to move from feature to feature on the large screen.

However, here are the differences: the ride is stiffer, but the sensation in the steering was the biggest contrast when compared to the LS. It is a lot louder, but not in an annoying or cheap manner (my wife drives a Honda and I hate it); instead it is much more like the 5 series BMW. While I had a great test drive and had a bit of fun startling the salesperson, it just does't feel like my LS. Very snappy pickup, but not the same incognito power that feel in my LS.

I have to honest, if they had one with the Luxury Package (ML system) available I may have pulled the trigger, but I can't see giving up what I have in the LS for a very sporty sedan.

For those who discussed me buying a new LS, yeah that would be nice, but I can't afford that price tag. Thanks to all again.