4GS loaner, not impressed
06-04-12, 03:41 PM
#16
Lexus Fanatic
Yep, lawyers and lobbyists.
06-04-12, 04:11 PM
#18
I dropped off my LS460 at the dealer for a service and requested and got a new 4GS as loaner for the day. I like the styling but for the rest I am not too impressed. Call me difficult but these are my findings in the short time I drove it.
1) Nav can still not be used while driving, you can crash the car playing with everything else except do something useful with it.
2) Man, does that gas pedal have to be so heavy, I am getting muscle cramps keeping the car at 80+ MPH.
3) Blinker and wiper stalks, the new mechanism is cool but I cannot tell by touch which mode it is in, kinda unpractical.
4) That mouse control is horrible, if that is going to be the new thing for the LS as well they lost me as a customer.
5) The LS seat is already rather bad but does the new GS seat have to made from concrete?
1) Nav can still not be used while driving, you can crash the car playing with everything else except do something useful with it.
2) Man, does that gas pedal have to be so heavy, I am getting muscle cramps keeping the car at 80+ MPH.
3) Blinker and wiper stalks, the new mechanism is cool but I cannot tell by touch which mode it is in, kinda unpractical.
4) That mouse control is horrible, if that is going to be the new thing for the LS as well they lost me as a customer.
5) The LS seat is already rather bad but does the new GS seat have to made from concrete?
1. I have only had my car for 3 weeks ,but i really like using the voice commands for resettng my destination or playing with my different music options, so i dont play with the mouse much while driving.
2. Heavy gas pedal at 80, getting cramps? did your model have cruise control? did you try going 80 with the sport+ mode? i guess i dont know what a heavy gas pedal means and i need to drive an LS to find out. I personnally like how responsive the car is to the touch
3. i like the different settings on the turn signal and with rain sensing wipers i dont really need to know how fast my wipers are gong unless its raining. If its raning is it really that hard to set where you want your wipers to be?
4. totally agree with the mouse. When i bought my 2006 GS 430 what i really lked was the touch screen. haven driven a few BMWs i really didnt like the central *** feature. But, over the past couple weeks i have gotten used to the mouse control, i have it set at the stiffest setting and its second nature to me now.
5. I have to say, my old GS 430 and my new GS 350, one of my favorite features is the seating layout. I am a pretty big guy, 6'2",250, and i love how the seat feels like it is tailor made for me.
Again, just my opinion. I'm sure the LS is a little more luxurous than the GS but a few of your gripes are what i really like about my car. Maybe when i turn 40, stll a few years off, i may start lookng at the LS
06-04-12, 05:31 PM
#20
No offense but your complaints are showing me that you are old for the GS and more of a guy for a cushy isolating car. The seats are way too comfortable and not at all firm. Have you even sat in audi a6 or bmw 5?? The GSis much better. Pedal is great and easy to cruise at 90 with no cramps unless you have weakness. It cruises as ease like my BMW. Touch mouse is awseome is easy to use after few weeks and you can change sensitivity of the resistance to your hand input. Turn signal are like the germans so get use to it.
06-04-12, 05:45 PM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
Its a question of being able to take your own preferences out of the equation and assess something for its true nature.
06-04-12, 10:12 PM
#23
Rookie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: TX
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I will try not to take offense to the 'old' accusation, you don't know how old I am or feel. I have always driven a mix of big sedans and sports cars, I don't think that anyone can call a 3000GT or NSX a cushy isolating car.
There is a reason why I never bought German cars, I don't like the controls nor the seats and trying to emulate that is not a good thing in my book. Ultimately it is about personal preference, compared to the 430 the 460 is a disappointment and I like the IS better than the 4GS.
There is a reason why I never bought German cars, I don't like the controls nor the seats and trying to emulate that is not a good thing in my book. Ultimately it is about personal preference, compared to the 430 the 460 is a disappointment and I like the IS better than the 4GS.
06-04-12, 10:29 PM
#24
Lexus Fanatic
Just out of curiosity, what about the 460 is a disappointment to you over the 430?
On one hand I can see your point, Lexus has always focused on luxury, and instead of just taking a few models and emphasizing sport with them, they have made a shift towards sport throughout the entire line. For instance, I like a little chrome on a car, and I was a little disappointed that the new 2013 ES deletes the chrome door handles and the chrome trim at the base of the doors. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the LS this time. The LS430 vs the 460 is a pretty good example, you go from gathered leather, and huge seats, a square conservative look to the decidedly swoopier, and firmer interior'ed 460.
Overall though, I like the new cars, but there is definitely a shift.
On one hand I can see your point, Lexus has always focused on luxury, and instead of just taking a few models and emphasizing sport with them, they have made a shift towards sport throughout the entire line. For instance, I like a little chrome on a car, and I was a little disappointed that the new 2013 ES deletes the chrome door handles and the chrome trim at the base of the doors. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the LS this time. The LS430 vs the 460 is a pretty good example, you go from gathered leather, and huge seats, a square conservative look to the decidedly swoopier, and firmer interior'ed 460.
Overall though, I like the new cars, but there is definitely a shift.
06-04-12, 11:11 PM
#25
Rookie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: TX
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lets start with the good, the styling of the 460 is just way better than that of the 430 which looked "too high" and the transmission is a whole lot better as well and not that jerky when slowing to almost a complete stop and then pressing the gas pedal in deep. The Bluetooth system is also a whole lot better, it is actually understandable now on both ends.
The bad is a long list of larger and smaller gripes that are mostly just dumb ergonomic mistakes
1) Engine noise is a lot more, if this is supposed to be a luxo barge it should be dead quiet
2) Wind noise along the front windows and mirrors, very much discussed to death by now
3) The NAV doesn't have the back door anymore for operating while driving, makes it rather useless
4) Give me my cell phone storage bin in the center stack back, I don't want to scrape the nice wood when I charge it. Now I just removed the ashtray insert and use that.
5) The channel up/down buttons should be located up and down not left and right, the L430 did it correctly and so does the new 4GS.
6) When in automatic windshield wiper mode give me a manual wipe by pushing the stalk backwards, the LS430 had it. The automatic mode does not seem to work very well with a very fine mist.
7) When locking the door from the inside FOLD THE MIRRORS, again the LS430 did this, it is stupid to have to use the outside button for this to work.
8) The seat heater light is too far back, I cannot see when sitting in the chair.
9) Get me a better lumbar system, it sucks. Also put it on the seat memory. It is not very reliable either, it had to be replaced after maybe a couple of dozen uses. Now I just don't touch it any more.
10) Why doesn't it read a DVD with MP3's, it reads regular DVD's.
11) The inside paneling seems to be of inferior quality, after a year it already looked rubbed and worn down around the door.
12) The driver side mirror doesn't fold anymore after about 4 years, the gears seem to be stripped.
13) There is little air-conditioning flow available for the rear passengers, for them to be comfy I am almost becoming a Popsicle behind the wheel
14) The LS430 had a very nice tool container in the trunk, I guess a$20k more expensive car cannot have that anymore.
And the worst of them all, when asked by the dealer how I liked the car and I told them I felt it was a $85k disappointment I got NO reaction, nothing, nada, zippo. Doesn't anyone care anymore? I guess that business is just too good.
The bad is a long list of larger and smaller gripes that are mostly just dumb ergonomic mistakes
1) Engine noise is a lot more, if this is supposed to be a luxo barge it should be dead quiet
2) Wind noise along the front windows and mirrors, very much discussed to death by now
3) The NAV doesn't have the back door anymore for operating while driving, makes it rather useless
4) Give me my cell phone storage bin in the center stack back, I don't want to scrape the nice wood when I charge it. Now I just removed the ashtray insert and use that.
5) The channel up/down buttons should be located up and down not left and right, the L430 did it correctly and so does the new 4GS.
6) When in automatic windshield wiper mode give me a manual wipe by pushing the stalk backwards, the LS430 had it. The automatic mode does not seem to work very well with a very fine mist.
7) When locking the door from the inside FOLD THE MIRRORS, again the LS430 did this, it is stupid to have to use the outside button for this to work.
8) The seat heater light is too far back, I cannot see when sitting in the chair.
9) Get me a better lumbar system, it sucks. Also put it on the seat memory. It is not very reliable either, it had to be replaced after maybe a couple of dozen uses. Now I just don't touch it any more.
10) Why doesn't it read a DVD with MP3's, it reads regular DVD's.
11) The inside paneling seems to be of inferior quality, after a year it already looked rubbed and worn down around the door.
12) The driver side mirror doesn't fold anymore after about 4 years, the gears seem to be stripped.
13) There is little air-conditioning flow available for the rear passengers, for them to be comfy I am almost becoming a Popsicle behind the wheel
14) The LS430 had a very nice tool container in the trunk, I guess a$20k more expensive car cannot have that anymore.
And the worst of them all, when asked by the dealer how I liked the car and I told them I felt it was a $85k disappointment I got NO reaction, nothing, nada, zippo. Doesn't anyone care anymore? I guess that business is just too good.
06-05-12, 04:39 AM
#26
Lets start with the good, the styling of the 460 is just way better than that of the 430 which looked "too high" and the transmission is a whole lot better as well and not that jerky when slowing to almost a complete stop and then pressing the gas pedal in deep. The Bluetooth system is also a whole lot better, it is actually understandable now on both ends.
The bad is a long list of larger and smaller gripes that are mostly just dumb ergonomic mistakes
1) Engine noise is a lot more, if this is supposed to be a luxo barge it should be dead quiet
2) Wind noise along the front windows and mirrors, very much discussed to death by now
3) The NAV doesn't have the back door anymore for operating while driving, makes it rather useless
4) Give me my cell phone storage bin in the center stack back, I don't want to scrape the nice wood when I charge it. Now I just removed the ashtray insert and use that.
5) The channel up/down buttons should be located up and down not left and right, the L430 did it correctly and so does the new 4GS.
6) When in automatic windshield wiper mode give me a manual wipe by pushing the stalk backwards, the LS430 had it. The automatic mode does not seem to work very well with a very fine mist.
7) When locking the door from the inside FOLD THE MIRRORS, again the LS430 did this, it is stupid to have to use the outside button for this to work.
8) The seat heater light is too far back, I cannot see when sitting in the chair.
9) Get me a better lumbar system, it sucks. Also put it on the seat memory. It is not very reliable either, it had to be replaced after maybe a couple of dozen uses. Now I just don't touch it any more.
10) Why doesn't it read a DVD with MP3's, it reads regular DVD's.
11) The inside paneling seems to be of inferior quality, after a year it already looked rubbed and worn down around the door.
12) The driver side mirror doesn't fold anymore after about 4 years, the gears seem to be stripped.
13) There is little air-conditioning flow available for the rear passengers, for them to be comfy I am almost becoming a Popsicle behind the wheel
14) The LS430 had a very nice tool container in the trunk, I guess a$20k more expensive car cannot have that anymore.
And the worst of them all, when asked by the dealer how I liked the car and I told them I felt it was a $85k disappointment I got NO reaction, nothing, nada, zippo. Doesn't anyone care anymore? I guess that business is just too good.
The bad is a long list of larger and smaller gripes that are mostly just dumb ergonomic mistakes
1) Engine noise is a lot more, if this is supposed to be a luxo barge it should be dead quiet
2) Wind noise along the front windows and mirrors, very much discussed to death by now
3) The NAV doesn't have the back door anymore for operating while driving, makes it rather useless
4) Give me my cell phone storage bin in the center stack back, I don't want to scrape the nice wood when I charge it. Now I just removed the ashtray insert and use that.
5) The channel up/down buttons should be located up and down not left and right, the L430 did it correctly and so does the new 4GS.
6) When in automatic windshield wiper mode give me a manual wipe by pushing the stalk backwards, the LS430 had it. The automatic mode does not seem to work very well with a very fine mist.
7) When locking the door from the inside FOLD THE MIRRORS, again the LS430 did this, it is stupid to have to use the outside button for this to work.
8) The seat heater light is too far back, I cannot see when sitting in the chair.
9) Get me a better lumbar system, it sucks. Also put it on the seat memory. It is not very reliable either, it had to be replaced after maybe a couple of dozen uses. Now I just don't touch it any more.
10) Why doesn't it read a DVD with MP3's, it reads regular DVD's.
11) The inside paneling seems to be of inferior quality, after a year it already looked rubbed and worn down around the door.
12) The driver side mirror doesn't fold anymore after about 4 years, the gears seem to be stripped.
13) There is little air-conditioning flow available for the rear passengers, for them to be comfy I am almost becoming a Popsicle behind the wheel
14) The LS430 had a very nice tool container in the trunk, I guess a$20k more expensive car cannot have that anymore.
And the worst of them all, when asked by the dealer how I liked the car and I told them I felt it was a $85k disappointment I got NO reaction, nothing, nada, zippo. Doesn't anyone care anymore? I guess that business is just too good.
I agree. I recall the old 2002 Lexus LS430 ultra luxury my uncle had and how impressed we all were to ride and drive in it. It was an hallmark LS at that time and alot of those features you mentioned are gone and its a shame. My GS does not have folding mirrors like my 2006 GS and I am still a bit angry about that. Business is business as you said.
06-05-12, 08:56 AM
#27
Guest
Posts: n/a
There is a reason why I never bought German cars, I don't like the controls nor the seats and trying to emulate that is not a good thing in my book. Ultimately it is about personal preference, compared to the 430 the 460 is a disappointment and I like the IS better than the 4GS.
I'll never forget sitting in the CT the first time, it was like clearly aimed for Europe.
So here we are at a point where Lexus is changing and they know and we know that it will alienate some previous loyal customers.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jzqj55
LS - 5th Gen (2018-present)
3
02-25-18 07:20 AM
