5PM

After fretting about it for a long while, on Labor Day I traded my leased Obsidian 2013 F Sport for a 2015 in the same color, which I purchased and then had completely wrapped in Xpel; I plan to keep it for at least five years, probably much longer based on my previous track record with cars. Needless to say, I really really like the 4GS; it's just about the perfect car for my situation.

For anybody on the fence about picking up a tail end of the year '15, here's what I've found to be better about the new car, after around 1700 miles:

1) With double-pane front windows and likely a lot of other build changes you can't see, the '15 is a very quiet car, noticeably quieter than my '13, which was already pretty tranquil. Everything about the build seems just a touch more solid; closing a door produces that soft, reassuring muffled thunk all well-made cars seem to have. I haven't heard a so much as a squeak since I got the car, much less a rattle.

2) My '13 had a ridiculous semi-finished trunk with a lid that would blow closed in a light breeze. Multiple dealers looked at it and came back with variations on the classic "they're all like that, " which based on the comments of other CL member is total BS; plenty of '13s have a completely finished trunk with a properly balanced lid. If I had kept the car I would have *****ed until it was fixed under warranty; it was actually dangerous and the last thing anyone would expect to find in a $58K luxury car. Anyway, the new car doesn't have trunk issues.

3) The 8th gen nav is a huge upgrade from the '13 nav. As we all know, there is no such thing as a truly great car electronics suite available from anybody, but this system is at least worth learning to use, something I can't say about the '13 nav, which I stopped using in favor of iPhone + Waze early on. In the Bay Area with HD traffic (which I know doesn't work at all in many areas of the country), I'm finding that the Lexus nav gets pretty close to Waze ETAs; Waze is better at predicting travel time at the start, but once you get going the Lexus system catches up pretty quickly. The net results are about the same and the Lexus nav is much less distracting. Voice Recognition in the '13 wasn't worth crap; it just made too many errors to put up with, but in the '15 it works and I've started using it quite a bit.

4) The phone/information/entertainment interface is also far better in the '15. You can turn off all the damn popups about data usage, phone transfers, etc. The system no longer dumps you back into map mode when you shift out of and then back into Drive or take a phone call; now you return to whatever screen you were using. The map default thing was probably the single stupidest "feature" of the old system and there was no way to turn it completely off. For example, if you were using Pandora with the old system, it took three clicks to get back to the Pandora screen; now it takes zero. The new "Source" button in all the entertainment screens saves many, many clicks. The broadcast radio 15 minute cache is extremely cool, especially when some idiot calls you in the middle of a great Fresh Air interview. If you're an Apple person and a music head, Siri Eyes Free plus Apple Music is like magic. All of this still has a learning curve, but it is definitely worth the time it takes to learn it.

5) The previously stupid seat ventilation controls, which you had to get reprogrammed by the dealer to work anything like sensibly, have been completely reworked. In the old car, what is now the Auto mode was the ONLY mode; you couldn't turn the seat heater up and leave it that way. All fixed now, no dealer required.

6) The 8 speed is super smooth and I don't find this car less sprightly than the '13 with the 6 speed. If you want to move, you do have to floor it due to the throttle switch, but I'm sure I can get into the just as much trouble with this car as I could with the last. Which was plenty.

7) Great upgrade to the backup camera, with cross traffic sensor/alarm and predictive gridlines.

So far, there is nothing I miss about the old car, except the Flaxen interior (I couldn't find a car with one this time and ended up with black, which is very nice). This car's MSRP was roughly the same as the '13, but it feels around $10-15K more expensive. It tends to validate the old cliché about avoiding the first model year of a new design. Still, whomever ends up with my '13 will have a fine vehicle; the new one is just a bit finer.

Stylnhonda

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the info! Good to know, I'm picking up a new 15 on Monday! Can't wait. Wrapping the whole car in a clear bra...I thought I was ****!

5PM

Have you ever owned a black car, son? If you had, you still might not do the full wrap, but you would understand.

Stylnhonda

iTrader: (1)

I have...I had one and said I would never have another. Then I got a good deal on an Acura RDX that was black and told my wife to never let me buy another black car. If I had the money, I would wrap my whole car in a heartbeat.

5PM

You're smarter than my wife and I; we're now serial black car buyers! We just don't like any of the other F Sport colors. Lexus Obsidian comes pre-swirled from the factory; it's really a joke, a gorgeous joke. The pre-wrap detail on the new car took 8 hours.

Prinny

Makes me a bit envious haha, but the price difference is too much. I'm stuck with my '13. Wrapping the whole car is so pricey :/..

metrathon

I only had black cars. But then I never keep a car more than 3 years so while I would love the all-around clear bra, doesn't make financial sense.

Me gots Flaxen I think it was the only Black/Flaxen in SoCal but I told my dealer non-Flaxen is a deal breaker. So he eventually found one, even if he had to drive 200 miles to get the car.

MEAHT

iTrader: (1)

Congrats!
I swore never to get a black car again because of the swirls but damn, that Obsidian GS gives me a boner every time I see it...SEXY

1111GS

Interesting you didn't mention power trunk/mirrors and Lexus Enform Remote. Those along with rcta are the little things I like. I personally prefer the old 6 gear. I feel that it has a more aggressive sound when you push it. I feel the new 8 gear also seems stuck low when accelerating from a stop in a moderate traffic (30-40). I never had this feel with the old 6 gear.

5PM

I don't have the power trunk and in my case the mirrors do nothing for me; in fact I asked what the big deal was about the mirrors in another thread and the best answer seemed to be that chicks dig 'em. Ehh.

Not mentioning Enform Remote was an oversight; it is extremely cool and works really well, but again I'm not sure it will ever be of any practical use to me. The trick will be to remember to try remote start during our next heat wave. The car lives in underground garages, so there's no day to day need for it and I imagine it wouldn't work in one of them, as cellular coverage there is about zero.

I really haven't sensed much change, but I also haven't had a chance to do any really aggressive driving yet. I was worried about the 8 being a total slush box by comparison, but it doesn't strike me that way at all. The car has a slightly different sound than the '13; I think there may have been some tinkering with the exhaust note.

kmm

I totally agree.

This my my first 6 cylinder daily driver since I learned to drive. (decades ago!) I always drove V8's that inherently have more "grunt".

8 speeds is too many gears for the transmission in this car.

Otherwise, it is a great car in my opinion.

mehran888

This is great, thanks 5PM! I have a very early build '13 GS, and it continues to be a great car. I had a lot of squeeks and rattles when I originally got it and they drove me nuts. But given that I have two young kids (and car seats and all their other stuff), I gave up on 'tightening' everything up on the car for a silent ride and let the car noises and the other noises blend together.

More recently though, my sunroof has started rattling. I'll get the dealer to check it out on my next service but it's such a pain as my car is not just my daily driver, but also the car I use for all kids routines (school, swimming, cottage trips, hockey, etc), so it requires not just cleaning up but coordination to get the car empty.

My other gripes are the wind noise (better if I keep the sunroof shade closed and since I got rid of the clear wrap on the side mirrors), which has been pretty persistent for 3+ years, and the odd whine I get when I take my foot off the throttle around 80-95km/hr.

Anyways, I've been wondering what I'd get if I wanted to swap up my car, so your summary gives me good confidence that a later model GS might be a good idea.

I'll hold on to the car for now, part of the reason being it's low mileage (50k kms, and I told myself I'd drive it to 200k kms), and also because I'm torn on wanting an SUV for my next car. But you might have pushed me to consider at least a test drive of some '15s that are still sitting on the lots .

Thanks!

fuddyduddy

Is there something the dealer can do on my 2013 to keep the Level 3 heat on without it automatically turning down?

vinnier6

What did it cost to clear bra the whole car

jtrue28

My 2013 F-Sport AWD with cold package had double pane glass...