My GS F Sport with ML / HUD / DRS review
04-05-12, 06:44 PM
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My GS F Sport with ML / HUD / DRS review
Ever since the revealing event last August, I wanted to upgrade my 2007 GS to the newer model. When I found out there is an F-Sport package and upgraded Mark Levinson audio, I really wanted it. The last car that got me so excited was a 2006 BMW 525i, which I traded a couple years later for the 2007 GS due to reliability problems. I always wanted to have BMW type performance and handling with Lexus like reliability. I think this will be the answer for me.
Finally, February came and I rushed to my local Lexus dealer trying to find one I like. To my surprise, it is not that easy. For some reason, all the GS F-Sports shipped to the west coast have NO ML option installed at all. The manager even showed me on the computer, out of thousands of new GSs, none with the options I wanted. If I have to pay $60K+ for a car, I don’t want to compromise and regret later. I placed an order for a custom built car:
Red GS F-Sport + Lexus Dynamic Handling (with Dynamic Rear Steering) + Mark Levinson Audio.
However, I was told to expect the car I ordered to arrive in about 90 days, which mean sometimes in May. This is kind of purring cold water over my enthusiasm for the car. Well, good things come to those who wait, right?
Soon after that, I received an invitation from another nearby Lexus dealer for a GS kick-off event. I decided to check it out. Wholly, there was a red GS F-Sport with LDH package right in the middle of the showroom; however, no ML installed. I started to complain to the sales person Garth there, and he got me the factory rep Mario. I complain again to Mario and he promised to look into his inventory computer. After half an hour, he came back to me and told me the good news. He found ONE for me that is still in the factory and it is schedule to go to a dealer in Louisiana (near New Orleans). Not offending to the Saints fans, how come they get the NFL team and cool cars that even Southern California could not get? Not to worry, the manager Sandy came to my rescue. She would work to get the car for me and it should be in the dealership in two to three weeks. Ohla, my enthusiasm is back and I am waiting to get my hands on the new GS FS soon.
Still, it took a bit longer than I thought. Garth e-mailed me that the car is leaving Japan on a ship on March 4. Two more agonizing weeks later, Garth e-mailed me that it finally unloaded in Long Beach on Mar 20. One more week before Garth confirmed the arrival date Mar 27 at the dealership. They need one day to detail the car, so I showed up on the afternoon of March 28, 2012 to make the deal and took delivery of the car. Finally, I got what I wanted. There are a couple more options that I don’t need and bump the MSRP for another US$2000+, but I am fine with it.
Here is the description of my car:
• 2013 Lexus GS350 RWD with F-Sport package
• Red exterior and black interior
• Navigation with Enform
• Lexus Dynamic Handling package with Dynamic Rear Steering
• Mark Levinson Audio
• Heads-Up Display
• Blind Spot Monitoring
• Park Assist
MSRP $60496
- $1000 from Dealer
- $1500 for Conquest rebate
- $1000 for Lexus Performance tour credit
- $500 Lexus of Riverside GS event credit
I think the tax is calculated before the rebate, still it is a good $4K off.
Extra Down payment $7000
Lease for 5 years, 15K miles/per year. @ $715
Residual at the end of the lease $23594
Add 4 year 60K miles maintenance contract $3000
Final lease price: $777 per month.
That's a lot of money, but it is for a great car.
There is a thread on 4GS pricing that argues pros and cons about this financing and you can go there to read all about it.
I am enjoying the car and I plan to write some reviews on all the different features and options on this car and post it on this thread one at a time. It is too long to post them all at once. I’ll try to view it as a normal driver who uses the car everyday and compare it to the old 2007 GS I traded for this car as well as the other cars I owned, so it will be different from all the experts review or the short user reviews.
Here are a couple pictures on the car:
Finally, February came and I rushed to my local Lexus dealer trying to find one I like. To my surprise, it is not that easy. For some reason, all the GS F-Sports shipped to the west coast have NO ML option installed at all. The manager even showed me on the computer, out of thousands of new GSs, none with the options I wanted. If I have to pay $60K+ for a car, I don’t want to compromise and regret later. I placed an order for a custom built car:
Red GS F-Sport + Lexus Dynamic Handling (with Dynamic Rear Steering) + Mark Levinson Audio.
However, I was told to expect the car I ordered to arrive in about 90 days, which mean sometimes in May. This is kind of purring cold water over my enthusiasm for the car. Well, good things come to those who wait, right?
Soon after that, I received an invitation from another nearby Lexus dealer for a GS kick-off event. I decided to check it out. Wholly, there was a red GS F-Sport with LDH package right in the middle of the showroom; however, no ML installed. I started to complain to the sales person Garth there, and he got me the factory rep Mario. I complain again to Mario and he promised to look into his inventory computer. After half an hour, he came back to me and told me the good news. He found ONE for me that is still in the factory and it is schedule to go to a dealer in Louisiana (near New Orleans). Not offending to the Saints fans, how come they get the NFL team and cool cars that even Southern California could not get? Not to worry, the manager Sandy came to my rescue. She would work to get the car for me and it should be in the dealership in two to three weeks. Ohla, my enthusiasm is back and I am waiting to get my hands on the new GS FS soon.
Still, it took a bit longer than I thought. Garth e-mailed me that the car is leaving Japan on a ship on March 4. Two more agonizing weeks later, Garth e-mailed me that it finally unloaded in Long Beach on Mar 20. One more week before Garth confirmed the arrival date Mar 27 at the dealership. They need one day to detail the car, so I showed up on the afternoon of March 28, 2012 to make the deal and took delivery of the car. Finally, I got what I wanted. There are a couple more options that I don’t need and bump the MSRP for another US$2000+, but I am fine with it.
Here is the description of my car:
• 2013 Lexus GS350 RWD with F-Sport package
• Red exterior and black interior
• Navigation with Enform
• Lexus Dynamic Handling package with Dynamic Rear Steering
• Mark Levinson Audio
• Heads-Up Display
• Blind Spot Monitoring
• Park Assist
MSRP $60496
- $1000 from Dealer
- $1500 for Conquest rebate
- $1000 for Lexus Performance tour credit
- $500 Lexus of Riverside GS event credit
I think the tax is calculated before the rebate, still it is a good $4K off.
Extra Down payment $7000
Lease for 5 years, 15K miles/per year. @ $715
Residual at the end of the lease $23594
Add 4 year 60K miles maintenance contract $3000
Final lease price: $777 per month.
That's a lot of money, but it is for a great car.
There is a thread on 4GS pricing that argues pros and cons about this financing and you can go there to read all about it.
I am enjoying the car and I plan to write some reviews on all the different features and options on this car and post it on this thread one at a time. It is too long to post them all at once. I’ll try to view it as a normal driver who uses the car everyday and compare it to the old 2007 GS I traded for this car as well as the other cars I owned, so it will be different from all the experts review or the short user reviews.
Here are a couple pictures on the car:
Last edited by Howiiieee; 04-05-12 at 06:47 PM. Reason: Oops, wrong price info.
04-05-12, 07:07 PM
#2
Lexus Champion
I didn't know I could order corduroy seats?! (j/k)
In all seriousness, congratuations! She is a beauty!
I'm in the final wait for mine as well. Arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on 3/29, so I am expecting that call from the dealer any day now. Enjoy!
In all seriousness, congratuations! She is a beauty!
I'm in the final wait for mine as well. Arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on 3/29, so I am expecting that call from the dealer any day now. Enjoy!
04-05-12, 07:13 PM
#3
Congrats! I got a red F-Sport as well (although AWD). It's a great car. Let us know what you think of the dynamic rear handling (not available on AWD models).
It also looks like yours sits lower (my AWD is higher) - which looks much nicer. The red is a great color - I previously would have never considered red, but I saw mine in the showroom and it was all over!
In Canada, we unfortunately don't get many options on top of the F-Sport. So no ML, HUD, or park assist. It's a shame!
Looking forward to hearing more.
It also looks like yours sits lower (my AWD is higher) - which looks much nicer. The red is a great color - I previously would have never considered red, but I saw mine in the showroom and it was all over!
In Canada, we unfortunately don't get many options on top of the F-Sport. So no ML, HUD, or park assist. It's a shame!
Looking forward to hearing more.
04-05-12, 07:21 PM
#5
Lexus Dynamic Handling package with Dynamic Rear Steering
04-05-12, 07:52 PM
#6
Please do post more pics especially the HUD. I like to see how it is in a real car. I would like to get this option but apparently west coast or at least California doesn't come with it.
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04-05-12, 09:04 PM
#9
Man i wish we had those option in canada. I wanted the HUD and the ML for my f sport but there was no option. Wish lexus was like bmw you can choose every single option you ever wanted.
04-05-12, 09:23 PM
#11
+1 - $1400 for ML is a steal! We don't get that option on the F-Sport, and even if we wanted ML on the Luxury, we'd have to shell out a few grand for other things we don't as part of the technology package.
still not here but have been waiting since mid feb... good luck with yours sir!!
04-06-12, 05:19 PM
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Before I go into the reviews of the car, I would like to share an incident that happened last night on my way home.
It was around 7:30pm last night and the traffic has lighten up a bit. We were all cruising around 70+mph trying to go home or go somewhere. I was in my brand new GS SF and blasting the music on ML. Then on a blind curve on the freeway inter-change, the traffic all of a sudden just stopped. I was a bit surprised by it, but a squeeze on the brake bring the car to a very quick and controlled stop. No drama with my car. However, the car in front of me did not do so well. That car skidded forward and plowed into the car in front of it. Bumpers, debris, fluids everywhere. I think the people are OK, but the two cars were not.
I was shaken a bit. If my brakes weren't so good, I could have done the same thing. If I have passed it and got in front of the car that caused the accident, I could have been the one who got rear ended. Either way, my brand new performance car would be greatly damaged in just one week of ownership. That was too close for comfort. I was lucky this time.
I have been driving performance cars as daily drivers for a while now. I always appreciate the great stopping ability these cars provided. However, I am always so nervous about the cars behind me. Will they stop in time behind me? Do all those tailgaters know how dangerous it is?
I wish you all enjoy your car, drive safe, and good luck.
It was around 7:30pm last night and the traffic has lighten up a bit. We were all cruising around 70+mph trying to go home or go somewhere. I was in my brand new GS SF and blasting the music on ML. Then on a blind curve on the freeway inter-change, the traffic all of a sudden just stopped. I was a bit surprised by it, but a squeeze on the brake bring the car to a very quick and controlled stop. No drama with my car. However, the car in front of me did not do so well. That car skidded forward and plowed into the car in front of it. Bumpers, debris, fluids everywhere. I think the people are OK, but the two cars were not.
I was shaken a bit. If my brakes weren't so good, I could have done the same thing. If I have passed it and got in front of the car that caused the accident, I could have been the one who got rear ended. Either way, my brand new performance car would be greatly damaged in just one week of ownership. That was too close for comfort. I was lucky this time.
I have been driving performance cars as daily drivers for a while now. I always appreciate the great stopping ability these cars provided. However, I am always so nervous about the cars behind me. Will they stop in time behind me? Do all those tailgaters know how dangerous it is?
I wish you all enjoy your car, drive safe, and good luck.
Last edited by Howiiieee; 04-06-12 at 05:24 PM. Reason: Spelling and grammar
04-06-12, 07:29 PM
#14
Before I go into the reviews of the car, I would like to share an incident that happened last night on my way home.
It was around 7:30pm last night and the traffic has lighten up a bit. We were all cruising around 70+mph trying to go home or go somewhere. I was in my brand new GS SF and blasting the music on ML. Then on a blind curve on the freeway inter-change, the traffic all of a sudden just stopped. I was a bit surprised by it, but a squeeze on the brake bring the car to a very quick and controlled stop. No drama with my car. However, the car in front of me did not do so well. That car skidded forward and plowed into the car in front of it. Bumpers, debris, fluids everywhere. I think the people are OK, but the two cars were not.
I was shaken a bit. If my brakes weren't so good, I could have done the same thing. If I have passed it and got in front of the car that caused the accident, I could have been the one who got rear ended. Either way, my brand new performance car would be greatly damaged in just one week of ownership. That was too close for comfort. I was lucky this time.
I have been driving performance cars as daily drivers for a while now. I always appreciate the great stopping ability these cars provided. However, I am always so nervous about the cars behind me. Will they stop in time behind me? Do all those tailgaters know how dangerous it is?
I wish you all enjoy your car, drive safe, and good luck.
It was around 7:30pm last night and the traffic has lighten up a bit. We were all cruising around 70+mph trying to go home or go somewhere. I was in my brand new GS SF and blasting the music on ML. Then on a blind curve on the freeway inter-change, the traffic all of a sudden just stopped. I was a bit surprised by it, but a squeeze on the brake bring the car to a very quick and controlled stop. No drama with my car. However, the car in front of me did not do so well. That car skidded forward and plowed into the car in front of it. Bumpers, debris, fluids everywhere. I think the people are OK, but the two cars were not.
I was shaken a bit. If my brakes weren't so good, I could have done the same thing. If I have passed it and got in front of the car that caused the accident, I could have been the one who got rear ended. Either way, my brand new performance car would be greatly damaged in just one week of ownership. That was too close for comfort. I was lucky this time.
I have been driving performance cars as daily drivers for a while now. I always appreciate the great stopping ability these cars provided. However, I am always so nervous about the cars behind me. Will they stop in time behind me? Do all those tailgaters know how dangerous it is?
I wish you all enjoy your car, drive safe, and good luck.
I almost got T-boned on the second day in my car. A dude had come to a stop at a red light perpendicular to my left. And my light had just turned green. I was starting to go into the intersection and the dude gunned it right in front of me.
Lucky for me I was still in "break-in" mode on my car and doing a very slow acceleration. Had I been 1km past break-in mode, I would have had a huge dent on my left side...
04-06-12, 08:05 PM
#15
Lexus Champion
Before I go into the reviews of the car, I would like to share an incident that happened last night on my way home.
It was around 7:30pm last night and the traffic has lighten up a bit. We were all cruising around 70+mph trying to go home or go somewhere. I was in my brand new GS SF and blasting the music on ML. Then on a blind curve on the freeway inter-change, the traffic all of a sudden just stopped. I was a bit surprised by it, but a squeeze on the brake bring the car to a very quick and controlled stop. No drama with my car. However, the car in front of me did not do so well. That car skidded forward and plowed into the car in front of it. Bumpers, debris, fluids everywhere. I think the people are OK, but the two cars were not.
I was shaken a bit. If my brakes weren't so good, I could have done the same thing. If I have passed it and got in front of the car that caused the accident, I could have been the one who got rear ended. Either way, my brand new performance car would be greatly damaged in just one week of ownership. That was too close for comfort. I was lucky this time.
I have been driving performance cars as daily drivers for a while now. I always appreciate the great stopping ability these cars provided. However, I am always so nervous about the cars behind me. Will they stop in time behind me? Do all those tailgaters know how dangerous it is?
I wish you all enjoy your car, drive safe, and good luck.
It was around 7:30pm last night and the traffic has lighten up a bit. We were all cruising around 70+mph trying to go home or go somewhere. I was in my brand new GS SF and blasting the music on ML. Then on a blind curve on the freeway inter-change, the traffic all of a sudden just stopped. I was a bit surprised by it, but a squeeze on the brake bring the car to a very quick and controlled stop. No drama with my car. However, the car in front of me did not do so well. That car skidded forward and plowed into the car in front of it. Bumpers, debris, fluids everywhere. I think the people are OK, but the two cars were not.
I was shaken a bit. If my brakes weren't so good, I could have done the same thing. If I have passed it and got in front of the car that caused the accident, I could have been the one who got rear ended. Either way, my brand new performance car would be greatly damaged in just one week of ownership. That was too close for comfort. I was lucky this time.
I have been driving performance cars as daily drivers for a while now. I always appreciate the great stopping ability these cars provided. However, I am always so nervous about the cars behind me. Will they stop in time behind me? Do all those tailgaters know how dangerous it is?
I wish you all enjoy your car, drive safe, and good luck.
