grayson73

Is there a difference in the stereo between Luxury and Standard, or are your referring to Mark Levinson?

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the Mark Levinson is standard in the Luxury package and it sounds GREAT.

JDR76

The only way to get NuLuxe on a GS is to get a base GS200t. All GS350s have leather. With that said, my IS had NuLuxe and I actually prefer it to leather. If I could have gotten it on my GS, I would have.

To my knowledge the only radios available are the standard and ML.

Dave144239

I found a few Luxury Package cars today, but the Mark Levinson is still an option - only a few of the cars had it. I don't listen to music much anymore, so I'm not really concerned about getting the ML system. It would be nice, but not a priority.

Taz68

DallasDave: I purchased a '14 Luxury in early Aug. with 8.6k miles. Currently have about 9.7k mi.

Mine has the optional 19" rims and the ride is firm but not excessively harsh. I believe the suspensions of the '14 and '15 luxury models are pretty much the same. Seat of the pants it feels pretty much the same as the 2 '14 F Sports that I test drove.

I'm actually somewhat surprised at how well it rides with 19" rims and Dunlop Sportmax tires.

I am contemplating searching for a set of 18" takeoffs as I would like to smooth out the ride a little bit and get rid of some tire noise over imperfect roads but I'm not sure I want to give up the look. I know....1st world problems

BTW: Mine does not have the ML stereo. Maybe it became standard with the '15 model year.
Erik

Dave144239

I didn't realize the 19" rims were an option...I was only expecting to see those on the F-Sports. I would also prefer 18s for a better ride, especially with the crappy roads around here.

I see that all the LP cars I found were '13s and '14s, so it's possible that the ML system came with '15 and up. I must keep an eye out for it.

spoogenet

We've discussed this a bit in other threads (you and I). I'm curious to drive your car because your description and experience clearly finds the ride significantly firmer on that car. For the cars I've driven (obviously not your car) I really don't notice much difference between Lux & F-sport. The Lux should feel a little smoother with the 18" but I didn't notice a difference. I did notice they're firmer than a ES but nowhere near what I'd call a jarring ride. I've driven slammed our cars with full coilovers & 25-series tires and that can be a bit jarring, nowhere close to a stock GS.

One thing I was thinking about, the AVS system is more than just Normal/Sport mode, as it allegedly continually monitors and adjusts to conditions -- I wonder if something's wrong in the sensors/controllers for that?

On other aspects of this thread....

ML is not standard with the Lux on the '13, '14, '15, but I think it's a somewhat common combination. The standard Lux wheels are 18" split-nine with "superchrome" finish, with the option to pay even more and get 19" wheels.

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mrpink13

i guess if youre comfortable with vinyl in a lexus. it smells cheap and feels like...vinyl.

JDR76

Yup, very comfortable with it. It was soft and required no maintenance. It didn't feel like vinyl to me, but everyone will have a different opinion. After two years, it looked as new as the day I bought it. I already can't say the same for the leather in my GS.

It did have a strong smell early on, but that quickly dissipated. My GS did have a great leather smell when I bought it, but that has faded now into an older leather scent that I don't particularly enjoy.

spoogenet

Maybe you fart on it too much? You can get that great leather smell back with some quality leather treatment products.

The leather seats all have a polyurethane type top-coat on them.

Taz68

I didn't know that 19's were an option on LP cars until I found mine. They look like what would come equipped on an AWD F Sport.

My car was the only '14 or '15 LP car that I could find in the Phoenix and SoCal area after 4 months of searching. LP equipped GS's are somewhat of a unicorn out here in the Southwest. All I could find were F Sports and Premium packages.

I would like to try 18' rims at my next tire change. I am, however, a bit apprehensive about making the swap.
I'd hate to spend the money for 18' rims and give up the cool look of the 19's only to find out that they don't make much of a difference in tire noise and ride quality. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be possible to test an LP car with 18's in my area because I think I may have the only one.

Out here in PHX, our roads are in generally pretty good condition. With your roads in NJ, I think that 18's would almost be a no-brainer on a daily commuter for the improved road hazard protection. I'd hate to be stranded with blown tires and bent rims after hitting one of your gigantic potholes!
Erik

grayson73

I think 19" on luxury was only an option starting in 2014.

twylie

iTrader: (3)

They are not terribly common, but out there. When I searched nationwide last month with the color/price/mileage I was looking for, I only found a half a dozen at the time I purchased. I settled on a Silver/Flaxen w/ ML, BSM, Nav, Park Assist, and the trunk mat/cargo net. As has been mentioned, the extra adjustability in the seats, adaptive lighting and interior tweaks were what convinced me to wait and find exactly what I was looking for.

Dave144239

It's happened to friends of mine. One guy had a wheel ripped off his (high mileage) Mercedes by a pothole on a Philadelphia street. It was actually a good thing, as it turned out the suspension was worn out and he could have lost steering on the highway.

I've seen many flats due to potholes, and last winter there was a Honda Odyssey with its front wheel buried to the axle in a local pothole.

The worst is when we have enough rain or snow to fill the damn potholes, because unless you know where they are, you can't see them to avoid them. I'm sure the towing industry lobbies against road repairs around here

sakuragrl

Honestly, I barley see any with the Luxury package. I wished I could test out a GS with that package. lol I have the the f sport package....I remember you can only pick the f sport or the luc package?