BNR34

iTrader: (1)

You think Fala is best? She looks good here, she lost some weight. She was a little chubby a while ago. She is weird, sometimes she looks pretty hot, sometimes she is just average.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

ok getting OT here, but just like most celebs, you can always find angles where you go huh?!

but no, i didn't say she is the best

yamanote

Yeah, that's the one. If you take a look at the brochure I linked to in the post you replied to you'll see that is the only wheel type shown in the colors page.

No idea, but I highly doubt it. Crown Motors don't seem to let customers tailor their orders- they wouldn't let me order radar cruise/PCS on my LS even though it was a BTO car anyways. I'll certainly ask when I swing by though.

Ah- those look much better

It's not a Lexus only thing, pretty much all vehicle mfgs use that location for car shows.

Yeah, glad that didn't get approved. As if our 115% taxation on private vehicles isn't enough

Acceleration is the name of the game in HK traffic jams. You'll basically be stuck there for the rest of the day while cars from around you slip into the gap in front unless you can accelerate relatively quickly.

That said, I expect the 350 to be more than sufficient. Not so sure about the 250- I hear complaints about the IS250 (the only IS offered here) being underpowered even for HK roads and this a bigger and heavier car.

Ouch. Looks like HK doesn't really have it all that bad then.

How much is the reduction in pricing for environmentally friendly vehicles? We have a similar scheme here although a $50,000 tax reduction isn't all that much when the car is forty times that.

yamanote

I went by the dealer a few hours ago.

-Four models currently available: GS 250 'Luxury', GS 250 'Ultimate', GS 250 'F-Sport', GS 350 'F-Sport' and GS 350 'Ultimate'.

'Base' model (GS 250 Luxury) features:
.8" screen with Navigation & Remote Touch
.backup camera
.Intuitive Park Assist
.Bluetooth
.12-speaker stereo
.USB/AUX input
.multifunction steering wheel
.ventilated 10-way front seats with driver's seat memory
.dual zone climate control with S-Flow
.SmartAccess with push start
.LED DRLs, HID headlamps with washers and auto-leveling
.power sunroof
.LED interior lighting
.10 airbags, VDIM, HAC, cruise control, etc
.17" wheels

GS 250 / 350 'F-Sport' adds on top of Luxury:
.F-Sport bodywork
.16-way F-Sport heated/ventilated seats
.F-Sport aluminum trim
.F-Sport steering wheel with paddle shifters
.Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS)
.HUD
.AFS headlights with auto high beam
.power rear sunshade
.power folding mirrors
.19" wheels

Ultimate trim adds on top of Luxury (on both 250 & 350):
.12.3" screen
.HUD
.Mark Levinson 17-speaker audio system
.tri-zone climate control with Nano-e technology
.rear seat audio/climate controls (not a rear seat entertainment system as the brochure would suggest- it's just a little OLED screen with buttons in the rear center console a la LS)
.Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS)
.AFS headlights with auto high beam
.'premium analogue clock' with LED markings
.rear heated seats
.power trunk lid
.heated 18-way seats with semi-aniline leather
.power rear sunshade & manual rear side shades
.power folding mirrors
.18" wheels

You can't have your cake and eat it too it seems- there's no F-Sport model with the larger screen and other gadgets. Similar story with the CT and IS here- if you want F-Sport, you can't have nav, and vice-versa.

Pricing is not available for the F-Sport models, or at least it's not listed on the pricing sheet- I'll ask next week when I'm back for a test drive.

GS 250 Luxury : 559,900
GS 250 Ultimate: 679,900
GS 350 Ultimate: 796,800
(Hong Kong dollars)

Steep increase. For reference the (3) GS 350 Ultimate in 2010 was around $600,000 and the 450h was around $700,000.

Did not ask about custom order but it's probably not possible, though I'll ask next week.

Thoughts:

.The base model has no heated seats but ventilated seats are standard. Usually it's the other way around, but I guess it makes sense- more use for vented seats in humid & hot Hong Kong than for heated seats.

.Navigation is standard on all models, even with just the 8" screen

.Build quality is nothing short of outstanding, it felt much better inside compared to my 3GS

.Looks like we get power folding mirrors. Is it true that it's not available in the US, period?

.Why is the HUD still black and white... BMW had a color HUD back in 2005 fitted to the M5

.No radar cruise/PCS/blind spot options, though something called 'electric comfort cruise control' is standard on all models

.Useless LED interior lighting that was on the 3GS has been replaced with much brighter and much more useful LEDs. Not sure if it was just me and the black interior but the 3GS LEDs looked bluish and were extremely dim- I hated those. These lights are much more pleasant and way brighter.

.'Lexus Premium Sound System' (the stock stereo, not ML) that was fitted to my 3GS was awful. Based on my 5-minute listen to the ML stereo this is much better, on par with the LS's ML system

.Still don't like the weird rear door design. I know it's a design carryover from the 3GS and I was hoping it would look better in person, but it still looked like the designer sneezed when he got to that area and forgot his eraser at home

.No telematics (Enform) as no infrastructure for such a system

.No AWD, not that there's any use for that in Hong Kong

spwolf

did you have same options included into ultimate before? That all looks like more equipment than both base and top spec in Europe, our top spec always had optional navigation/ml and sunroof, which basically added almost 10% to the price :-)

yamanote

In the last year of 3GS production there were two models- 'Luxury' and 'Ultimate'.

Luxury had basically every feature available fitted (except for nav, ML & radar cruise/PCS), and Ultimate added navigation.

Not too sure about previous years since I was only interested in the IS prior to 2010.

Forgot to add- delivery begins mid-March with plenty of in-stock (or arriving soon) models.

The 535i costs the same as the GS 350.
528 and 530 are both more powerful than the GS 250 yet cost the same as the Luxury model.
WAY more features on the Lexus though- even heated seats are optional here.

BMW is seen here as a more premium marque than Lexus though, so it remains to be seen how sales will be.

yamanote

Pictures.



Ultimate.



Luxury.



Ultimate model wheels. Looked slightly better in person, but still terrible.



Luxury model wheels. They're a bit small, but I'd still take these over the ones above- they look slightly better and probably ride better.



Not sure if anyone's seen nav on the 8" screen (it seems that the 12.3" screen is linked to nav in other markets?) but here you go. They should have had a different dash piece for the 8" equipped models though- this looked awful with all the plastic shrouds around it.

I still don't know what type of wheels come on F-Sport models. Hopefully it's this:

natnut

So there were no F-sport on display? And is there an option for RWS(Rear Wheel Steering)?

yamanote

No F-Sport on display (there was a GS 250 Luxury, an Ultimate and a GS 350 Ultimate). I have one booked for a test drive next week though.

The brochure shows the Ultimate model wheels in a gunmetal color- that is probably the F-Sport wheel unfortunately.

No rear wheel steering available.

Anyone know what 'electric comfort cruise control' is? It isn't radar cruise- the button for that isn't on the steering wheel - I'm guessing it's regular cruise control that can brake for you when going downhill to maintain your set speed?

jtrue28

Ultimate wheels look like a carry-over from the 2008 Avalon that we used to have.

LexFather

Thanks for sharing!

spwolf

you are probably right with the cruise control... thanks for the info.

Blackraven

Agreed

I'd rather pick this

Instead of

Those tuning fork wheels are disgusting eyesores.

Anyways

Not sure if anyone's seen nav on the 8" screen (it seems that the 12.3" screen is linked to nav in other markets?) but here you go. They should have had a different dash piece for the 8" equipped models though- this looked awful with all the plastic shrouds around it.

Ah so that's how the 8 inch screen looks like. It looks quite good. granted, it's still a notch below the awesomeness of the 12 inch screen.................but nevertheless, this should be fine imho.


I hope so............but it might be unlikely. In the event of such though, dealership must have the obligation to at least carry those 19 inchers that other countries get (if not for free, then at least as a cost option).

yamanote

Thanks guys- if anyone has any specific questions about options or features on Hong Kong spec models fire away and I'll be sure to ask next week

Same size as in my LS but it felt smaller... probably because of the horrible black plastic shrouds surrounding the display. It's not that clear in the images but it looks out of place. They should have had a different dash design with a smaller hump for the 8" equipped models.

At least it's a color screen- did not buy the RX back in 2010 because it had no color screen available with no clear option to fit an aftermarket screen. Went for the GS instead Not sure why nav was available on the GS but not the RX back then. Nowadays nav is standard on all models with the exception of the IS and CT.

Yeah, the F-sport probably has the 'tuning fork' wheels (haha) but finished in gunmetal gray.

Not sure what you mean by the dealer having the obligation to carry the other wheels?

spwolf

i am sure his dealer will be happy to order him those 19" wheel, at some gigantic price, as usual :-).

Our Lexus upgrade wheel prices here in Europe are 5x more expensive than in US.