ralittle2

I'm new to this forum, and here is a brief backdrop on why I'm here. I'm in the market for a premium mid-sized sedan for myself as a semi-DD. As a family with three kids, we have the requisite minivan. I purchased my wife a Subaru Outback a year ago, and my eldest son has taken over the 19 year old Mercedes E320. This leaves my wife and I swapping out the Honda. We are going to retain the Honda, but I want something nicer that falls within the 4-door sedan category. And that is where the trouble starts. I'm an auto enthusiasts so I prefer a sporty ride. I'm familiar with the ride characteristics of a Mercedes E-class car (not exactly sporty I know, but I've got a couple of vintage sports cars.) I'm not considering BMW due to apparent severe reliability issues, and I would have to become more of a jerk to drive one - YMMV. I've driven an Audi A6, and frankly liked it. It's not perfect, but I did like the AWD. I should also mention that I will be purchasing this car, and tend to keep cars for around 7 years.

First question. I drove a GS yesterday for the first time. I came away with mixed feeling about the car. I'm not a fan of the pronounced grills on newer Lexus's; I prefer something a little more subdued. I should have mentioned that I'm early 50's. So, what did I like? I like the interior, big lcd screen, and the controls. I really like the fact that Lexus hasn't gone to controlling things via a touch-screen. The Subaru has that is it not a good thing. The materials are of good quality. I like the seats very much as well. Not a fan of the front end, the back end is a bit boring, but I did find the throttle tip-in to be "relaxed." It appears that you have to push the loud pedal to the floor to really get it going. I know that mpg is being rammed down the throat of manufacturers, but am I being overly sensitive in this area?

The test car was not equipped with the ML audio. I'm a bit of an audiophile, so I'm hoping that the ML cars have much better audio. The regular audio seemed fine, but I'm hoping for better than fine. Is this so?

I guess the dilemma in my mind might come down to a car that's a bit boring, but will never let you down vs. one that could potentially break the bank. Comments, clarification questions and such are welcome. I find myself being annoyed that the answer is not cut-and-dried. TIA.

18017

Well, I'm new to the mid size market, only previously owning all 3 generations of the IS. In my experience, reliability has been rock solid and I've had great dealer experiences. So I'm loyal to the brand. I personally like the new front end on my 16 GS, and also am getting used to the size of it. My kids are smaller, still in car seats, but I can fit the whole clan in there if I want. The "family" car is honda pilot, but I do carry a set of car seats as well. I think the GS is a great choice as far as modern design and the reliability is what sells me. I have plenty of coworkers that are converts from the German brands once they hit a major service or even a brake job. Well I've pulled well over 100k out of every single of my IS's with nothing more than routine maintenance. I'm in my mid 30's and find it a great for me and my family.

islandbeef

The GS hits the sweet spot between driving excitement and reliability. It also has snob appeal.

gsfcrafted

I sold my BMW m3 convertible and got into the GS350 F-sport Crafted Line and no regrets here. All three kids fit in the back and the ride is sweet. Plus, when you kick it into sport mode, everything tightens up and handles like a sports car! I looked at others like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Infiniti but came back to the Lexus and the GS because of long term reliability. If you get a GS, make sure to get the F-sport!

I did add a few accessories and the JoeZ exhaust is great and the iJDMtoy led fog lights are bright!

Dallasguy1

Had a Lexus 10 years ago but moved to Bmw for some real driving fun but after wasting a lot of money and time again back to Lexus, Coming from a 535 the feel is not there but certainly the peace of mind is and I can't beat that. Love the upgraded interior and the big navigation plus some extra upgrades on the F package. I'm in mid thirties also keeping a Lexus GX for my kids these cars are very solid and go a long way with minimal maintenance compared to arm and leg on the German cars.

ralittle2

Thanks for your responses. I'm contemplating buying a CPO car as it doesn't look like there is much different in the 2016 vs. a couple of years old. Yes, the front end styling has changed, but I prefer the looks of a 2014/15 anyway. Are there any other changes I need to be aware of?

Also, does anybody have any comments on the throttle tip-in on the GS? Seems you have to push the throttle to the floor to get decent response.


TIA

JDR76

I have a 15 GS and love it, but if the car didn't really speak to you in the test drive, you may want to keep looking, or spend more time in one, playing with the different drive modes.

There aren't a lot of changes from 13-15, but the 14 added flush parking sensors, power folding side mirrors, and the option of a power closing trunk. '15 added Lexus Enform Remote, and the weather/traffic for the nav switched from a subscription based (monthly fee) Sirius/XM system to a subscription free (free for life) system using HD radio, along with a substantially revised nav system.

MustangSal

I just purchased a 15' GS 450H F-sport and find that it performs beyond excellent. Not sure what you mean by "tip in" but I don't have it at the track and just tooling around the normal world putting the hammer down on a GS doesn't last very long because it's right up on the next block of traffic in a heartbeat.

As far as styling, I personally like the front end of the GS but your taste is yours. If you don't like it, your preference. The rear looks better with spoiler for sure but definitely don't find it boring per se. Mark Levinson is a superior sound system. Is just is.

The GS makes a tons of points on the tech and finish. IMHO its superior for the $50k, turns heads everywhere and has a reputation built by Lexus that is proven.

An l-certified CPO won't steer you wrong with the wide bandwidth of driver options and 16' are going to start coming in soon on lease return so maybe there is one for you.

drjosh123

Here are my thoughts. I had a 2014 GS F-Sport loaded with every option including ML and DRS. It was a good vehicle. However, my first six months with the car were not a marriage made in heaven. It is a very comfortable car, but the eight speed transmission just didn't seem to be tuned as well as the German competitors.

Note - my two previous vehicles were a 2005 Audi A6 4.2 V8 and then a 2011 E90 BMW M3. The Audi was a great vehicle, but it spent about 15% of its life in the shop. In my three years of ownership, my warranty paid for over $15k in repairs. Lots of time in loaners. Once that car hit 99000 miles (warranty up at 100k) I ditched it for the M3. The BMW had always been my dream car. It was an awesome car - never in the shop. Unfortunately, I got t-boned by a vehicle running a red light and it totaled the car 3 years into ownership. As my wife and I were planning on having a child, I figured I would replace with a sporty car that is more family oriented. In came the GS.

Like I said, I was not enamored with the car in my first six months. For lack of a better word, it was kind of boring. The tech was good - the navi/tech system can lag and be a little slow at times. Nothing was wrong with the car. It just wasn't that fun to drive. By the time my lease was up (just recently), I realized (after extensively searching for other sports sedans) that I wanted another GS 350. It really grew on me. So, I leased another - something to be said about having a reliable vehicle. This time, I got a loaded 2016 luxury package. They have made improvements. The car feels much different (maybe because I went from F-Sport to Luxury). The tech system is snappier. I am really enjoying the ride.

Bottom line, any GS 350 is a good, reliable car. You mentioned the throttle tip-in. GS 350 has an interesting throttle, in my opinion. It doesn't respond as quickly as the competition (my opinion, YMMV). It does get loud and go fast when you floor it. You may question it when you first drive it wondering if there is something missing. But, it just may grow on you like it did on me. Or maybe I am just becoming an older fuddy duddy that is more concerned with safety, reliability and comfort than going fast and showing off. I would definitely check out the f-sport and luxury models to see what suits you best - they were way different for me. Any year should be fine. JDR76 listed the annual changes for options. Good luck and you really can't go wrong with the GS.

ralittle2

Thanks drjosh123 for your response. I find it a bit crazy that in 2016 I/we are still worried about any manufacturer producing a woeful car. I've got a really old E320, and when something breaks it's not cheap, but it's nothing compared to my fears, and apparently your experiences with some of the cars I'm considering. I'm not close to making a decision yet, so I will definitely drive the GS again. I also think I will make sure to drive the car on familiar roads so I will know how it compares to other vehicles.

ralittle2

Throttle tip-in is how quickly a car reacts as you press down the accelerator pedal. There are some cars that are a little too jumpy when pressing on the pedal, but in my brief drive the GS seemed to require pressing down the pedal a substantial amount to be driven in a sporty manner. As I mentioned in another post, I'll drive it again and see if my experience is different. The Mercedes E350 was somewhat similar, but the A6 has a more playful attitude.

teezee1000

One noticeable change is the dashboard/speedometer graphic and steering wheel controls. The wheels controls on the 2016 are intuitive vs the 2015 and the there is more functions in the 2016 vs 2015.

lamikela1

On the whole throttle/response question my first thought was that it was not too responsive either. after driving my GS for a time I realized that ths car needs to be up in the RPM range a bit. Seems it performs best in the 3000-6500 range. Try putting it in manual mode and 2nd or 3rd gear and punch it from about 3000 RPM and it just takes off. It surprised the heck out of me the first time that I tried it.

madrussian

OP, I know what you mean when you are talking about tip in. I came from a TL Type S, and my wife has a 335D, and the power band on the GS takes a bit getting used to. What helped me is having the car in Sport mode; what sold me is having the car in Sport+ mode. I know that you wont drive it in Sport+ all day long, but give it a shot, it might make a difference. Just my 2 cents

ralittle2

Is the Sport Plus mode only available on the GS Fsport?