mspearl95

Never passes up a chance to flaunt his GS…

bc6152

Well I'll add my two cents to this post: Since the ES 350 is the nicest car I've ever owned - and hope to own - I can't say enough about how I think that Toyota designed this car for those like me - those who want a semi-luxury car with a limited budget. And in those terms I think that they have succeeded. Thin plastic? cheap doors? I wouldn't know. All I do know is that I really like the car... And I own it...

SW17LS

LOL, whatever you say

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

Had my RX350 in for service this past Saturday. I was given a GS350 for a loaner. This surprised me. I've never had anything but an RX, IS, or ES for loaner in more than 7 years of ownership. I was surprised by two things about the GS. I thought the ride would be very firm and perhaps a bit rough. It was very smooth and incredibly solid and quiet. Not a rattle or noise to be found. The other thing that surprised me was the seats. They were very firm and unforgiving compared to my RX. The GS is a solid car. I enjoyed driving it.

SW17LS

Yeah my dealer has a couple GS loaners too. You should drive one with the luxury package, AVS makes it ride even better and it gets the 18 way power seats. The firm seats are something I definitely had to get used to vs the ES. I like them a lot actually, but still appreciated the softer seats in the ES loaner.

Mike728

That is exactly how he comes across on here, but I don't think he realizes it. Anyways, for the most part, his other posts are quite useful and informative. I've learned a lot about the GS through him. I still wouldn't purchase one over my ES, but if for some unknown reason I was looking to lease, maybe. It just isn't worth the $12k + premium to me. The residuals seem to show that, too.

KennyLexus

I too have had the GS as a loaner a couple of times. The first time I wasn't that impressed and gave it a so-so review; I think it was a regular one. The second time I got one with a few more bells and whistles (probably the luxury edition). I had it for a few days and kept it in 'sport mode' most of the time. My second review is pretty much the same as MDames2'. I would have given it a serious consideration if I wasn't looking for a hybrid. The GS comes in a hybrid but the price difference between a ES hybrid and GS hybrid pushed it out of reach. Plus, if the GS hybrid power train is anything like the RX hybrid, the ES has them both beat in the MPG dept. Oh yeah, I recently had the '14 RX hybrid as a loaner for a couple of days.

P.S. I didn't think it possible but the RX seems to keep getting better. A very solid and quiet ride for a small SUV.

SW17LS

It really is not my intention to come across that way. I'm a Lexus fan from way back, I'ved owned two ES's and enjoyed them very much...as I said in my post I could very easily go back to an ES, and if I were buying instead of leasing I don't know that I would pay the premium either. Is the GS a superior car? Yes. As the LS is a superior car to the GS. Its just a question of how much value one places on the things about them that make them better cars.

You guys are entirely responding to an attitude that isn't there...discussing my GS and how it compares to the ES and others is not "flaunting" it. I mean...like I said I'm paying $70 a month more than I was paying for my ES lease...what is there to flaunt?!? I post in forums outside of the GS forum because I enjoy talking about all these models and how they compare. I post in and discuss the GS in the LS forum...do they think I'm "flaunting" the GS?

FastTags

even if he does, so what. You not the tread police, let him vent as he wishes.

I also agree with SW13, ES is a very smooth auto, yet I would not buy it as it does not look appealing nor fast enough for me.
I do agree with previous poster about the firm seats (which I hate) and GS is very smooth in Normal and Sport mode, not as smooth as ES.

SW17LS

And theres no venting...like I said...the purpose of the thread was to compliment the ES

lesz

Anyone who has participated in various internet forums should know that there are certain kinds of threads that are guaranteed to result in numerous negative reactions. When I read the first post in this thread, I immediately recognized that this was going to be one of those kinds of threads. I know that, if I were to post a thread on the GS board explaining why, for me, the ES was a better choice than the GS, I would get exactly the same kind of negative reaction from GS owners, and I would not think of posting such a thread unless my purpose was to "push the buttons" of GS owners.

That is why the value of such threads is, at a minimum, questionable, and it is even more questionable considering that the ES and the GS are two very different vehicles aimed at very different segments of the car-buying population. Even putting the price differences aside, the choice between the ES and the GS for an individual buyer should be quite clear depending on whether that car buyer's priorities lie with performance, fuel economy, ride comfort, interior room, etc. I would think that, for someone who values performance, handling, etc., buying an ES would not likely be a wise choice, but I would also argue that, for someone who values a quiet cabin, lots of interior room, and fuel economy, buying the GS would not likely be a wise choice.

Thus, it would seem to make sense to me that there would be value in a thread that compares either the GS or the ES to similar competing vehicles from Acura or from BMW or from one of several other manufacturers, I don't see much value, however, in comparing the ES to the very different GS. And, since the people who participate in vehicle owner forums tend to be the people who develop emotional attachments to their vehicles, threads like this one are guaranteed to bring forth a good number of negative reactions.

FastTags

I realize that, I am just saying that this is a Forum and there is nothing wrong with expressing how you feel about a certain vehicle. I got myself a GS350 which I wish I didn't buy, it is how I feel and I don't care that every time I say that I take the heat for it.

SW17LS

But thats not at all what I said. What I said was that, if anything, driving that ES loaner made me question why I selected the GS...

You guys aren't actually reading what I'm saying.

This is the crux of the point of this thread:

Like I said before, its not a discussion of why I chose the GS, it was my experience of driving an ES again after having not driven one for 2 years...and my POSITIVE reaction.

LexBob2

Seems fair to me.

I think it's just the nature of enthusiast sites for the various brands/models. I spend some time on an Audi/Q5 forum, and many times if someone weighs in on, say an X3 or RX, there are a lot of unintended reactions IMO.

SW17LS

I think the bottom line is...no car is the "best car in the world". Theres always a better car, especially when you're comparing two different models. The more expensive car is better...it just is. A6 is better than an A4, 5 Series is better than a 3 Series. The GS is in numerous ways superior to the ES or IS. The point of my post was that as someone who has become accustomed to the higher end car...the cheaper car still wowed me in a lot of ways and had a lot of attributes I thought were better. Thats a COMPLIMENT to the cheaper car.

Being experienced enough with the LS I know that if I upgraded to an LS...driving a GS after 2 years would never make me think "maybe I should go back to one of these". So...when that happened with the ES I thought it was worth sharing that with ES owners. Apparently not lol.