looknow12

We picked up our 2006 GS430 9 days ago and have accumulated enough commentary to write a review.

The dealer experience was quite good, the sales person walked us through various features, after getting the necessary business paperwork out of the way. The business office lady had us sign close to 50 times on various agreements and disclaimers. They also do a new thing which I though was interesting. We're given a sales pitch on different types of warranties and options and I thought it was very informative while retaining the sales pitch touch. There was extended warranty, tire warranty, lojack 1 & 2, and paint repair options. We choose the tire and rim warranty as the run flat tires and rims could prove to be expensive if damage were to occur. It cost us 450.

Now onto the vehicle and experiences over the last week.

With the key in my pocket, I walked up to the GS, placed my hand on the handle, and the doors unlocked, I could then pull the handle. The one thing you need to get used to us to approach the door handle and wait a half second for the door to unlock before pulling at the handle. But it is very nice to have the doors respond that way. At night the GS illuminates from the side mirror door you walk up to. The other doors and the trunk will also respond if you walk up to them directly. It should be noted the sensors are accurate enough to know what door you are stepping up to. There is also an option to program what doors to open when you approach a door. I programmed mine to open the two driver side doors so that I could toss thing into the back seat easily. The programming is easy as the small display screen in the instrument pod walks you through it. I found the instructions to start the process in the manual which by the way is not well written. I found the flow of the new owners manual to be confusing and sometimes I had to read the manual in the car and go over it several times to understand a segment. Also, each door has a small button on it for locking. Remember you cannot lock your keys in the car as it will complain with a 10 second long beep. This GS is smart enough to know the keys are already in the vehicle. After sitting in the vehicle, you can press the Start button once for Accessory, once again for Ignition and lastly to turn it off. The start button will continue to cycle through these modes to which the light in the start button will illuminate orange when in accessory or ignition modes. If you press the brake pedal, the Start light will illuminate green, pressing the start button will start the GS. You don't have to hold the button until it starts; holding the button for a half of second is sufficient.

Once the GS is started, the only way you can tell is from the gauges it is that quite. The Navigation screen displays the Lexus logo first and then the court appointed attorney who will swear you in as to disclaiming everything. The instrument panel comes to life and is vividly clear. The machined finish on the gauges is to die for. The lighting is amazing. All of the lights are blue leds. Even the map light is now a larger led light and is not distracting during evening driving. Lights are turned on automatically based on entry and some lights stay on all the time if it is dark out. There are lights shining down from the side mirrors, the bottom of the doors, on the steering wheel, on the center console, and on the floor mats. The lighting experience is an invitation to step in and feel at home.

The controls are nicely laid out in the usual Lexus fashion. With the exception of the buttons around the Navigation system. I always like the placement of the buttons on my old GS, GX, and the RX, but some of the buttons in the new GS are a bit out of reach, particularly on the right side. The drop down pod is very innovative. The pod drops down at a dampened speed and the controls include rear shade, turning off the adaptive lighting, parking assist which is there whether you have it or not, mirror controls, trunk open, fuel door open, instrumentation lighting, headlamp washers and there maybe one or two I’m neglecting. I like the center console. It houses the ventilated seat switches, suspension and transmission setting, and traction off buttons. The center arm rest acts as a console with a door that pops up and allows for organizing items on two levels. It also ingeniously slides forward to cover the aforementioned switches so you see pure wood. Very nice. The instrument panel now has a display similar to that of Mercedes Benz vehicles. The Information screen centered under the speedometer provides trip information such as range to empty, average tank miles per gallon, current miles per gallon simulated by a line bar and outside temperature. It will also provide information messages such as Key Not Detected if the car key is out of range but the car is still running and other messages linked to warning lights on the dash. This is a nice touch to giving the driver information without having to cycle through screens on the Navigation. Cycling through information can be done through the steering wheel’s DISP button. There are also buttons on the steering wheel for volume control, seek/preset advance, audio mode, telephone answer and disconnect, and speech recognition control.

The Navigation System has to be the best in the business and is one of the items I use a lot. I’ve used MB, Ford’s and GM’s Navigation system and Lexus/Toyota’s system is light years ahead. New for many Lexus vehicles including the 06 GS430, 05 RX330, 05, GX470, 05 LS430 and perhaps others in the 4th Generation Navigation Software. This new system has improvements in several areas. First is the Points of Interest (POS). You can type in POS by Name, Category, and Phone Number. You can also list everything by distance easily. This makes it easy to find the closest Italian restaurant, or burger joint. When pulling up specific information you can also see and dial the phone number to make sure they are open. The Map screen has many different split view screens you can see while driving. New for Gen 4 is a Highway Exit list which gives you indicators for what to find on each exit, for example Hotel, Restaurant, Fuel, etc. Very nice for highway driving. There’s also a Latitude Longitude screen which displays your destination an current position with specifics of Lat/Long though I hardly see myself using that option. To some of the other functions in the Display Screen, the information screen I believe is new for Gen 4. I’ve also seen it in the RX330. It provides information about Tank Average Miles Per Gallon, current Miles Per Gallon with a bar graph, and Average Speed, etc you can reset when needed. My 2000 GS had another screen which logged your AVG Speed, MPG, Fueled Up and posted dates for each of them organizing a log.. This was nice, but perhaps more than the consumer needed. A Maintenance and Calendar option is present on the GEN4 system. Until the time that Lexus Service will automatically upload what has been services to the computer, I don’t find this too necessary. I can only figure Lexus has long term plans for these functions. The Speech Recognition is getting better. But you must remember the commands, and one thing I don’t like is if the system doesn’t recognize your command it compensates with a similar (not similar enough) command. So you might display Parking Garages on the Nav Map when all you wanted to do is turn the radio off. The system adds an option for adjusting the temperature up and down just by giving a command. Nice.

The climate control seems refined for the 06 GS. The system still has the sunshine cold air blowing woes, but not as bad as the RX and GX. But Lexus needs to re-evaluate some of the concepts that adjust vent and temperature control. The new system does have many more steps for the speed of the fan controller and also includes a smog sensor which switches your air inlet from Fresh to Recycle when smog has been detected. This is not new for the 06 GS, however there are many more sensing options than in the GEN 2 GS. You can adjust the smog sensor’s sensitivity by holding down the automatic button. There is also a button for reducing allergic particles in the cabin. Pressing this button will put the climate control system into a cleansing mode for about 3 minutes. The system varies cycles of A/C, Temperature, air inlet, and vent selection until it has completed. I have not noticed the difference as of yet, but then again, there’s 6 inches of snow still on the ground here in Connecticut. The ventilated seats are much quicker for heating then the traditional Lexus seat heaters. They come on after about a 1minute, but get you warm quickly. I have turned the seat ventilators onto the cool mode and also noticed it to be very effective. Lexus removed, perhaps a while ago, the vent positioned below the steering wheel and it can get uncomfortable on a hot day sitting on leather, but the ventilated seats puts a stop to that.

The Mark Levinson system is very powerful. 330 watts and vivid clarity. My GX470 is quite good but only if you turn it up. At low levels it seems drab. But with his system it seems to annunciate a wide range of frequencies at all audio levels. There’s now a AM-SAT button for cycling through AM and three Satellite presets. I don’t have the Satellite Radio Tuner yet because I am waiting for Lexus to release the Sirius tuner. For me there’s no comparison.

I’m pretty short (5’6”) so I normally raise my seat all the way up so I can see as much of the hood as possible. I can’t do that with the GS because my head will rub the ceiling. My brother who’s a bit taller (5’10”) had know problems but felt elbow room was smaller than his E class MB. I looked up the specs and that’s contrary to what he said. There seems to be plenty of leg room, the seats recline back nicely for the wife, and the dog (yes the dog) was comfortable in the back seat. We picked up seat covered from PetSmart to cover up the seats before lifting the dog (a Black Labrador) into the GS. We even put socks on the dog just to make sure no damage would result.

I’ve driven the GS both in city and on highway and the first word that comes to mind is smooth. Particularly with the drive train. The GS now has the best of both worlds. In Gen2 GS would drive more like a sports car all the time. I noticed the gas pedal is a bit heavy at first, but with more driving I’ve gotten quite use to it. I can say the same for the steering. But it’s a great feeling. The steering seems isolated as much as it should without any sacrificing of feel for the road. Turning radius is better than I’ve seen it. Lexus reports a turning radius of 36.4 feet, which bests BMW and MB’s 37.5. When I first get a car, I always drive slow to get a feel for it and to see what it is capable of. Driving the GS at a relaxing pace is very rewarding. The transmission shifts so smoothly and the engine is so quite you might forget your driving. The transmission reminds me of MB. MB has for many years had big engines but with you could always drive them smoothly if you wanted. The new GS has that but it also has the option of driving with ECT set to power. When you drive this way you get a sports car performance. The transmission has less patience for low RPM torque accelerating you, it demands a lower gear to get the job done, and it does so quickly. I enjoy both modes, but mostly, I drive in normal because there’s nothing like silk. The power of the GS is like a rubber band, it is very smooth acceleration but it does move you. You definitely get depressed into your seat when at full throttle. The GS430 has a great exhaust sound to it. Throaty and with authority is the best way to describe it. The ride is a bit stiff but I attribute that to the Run Flat tires. I already tried talking the dealer into take the tires back for a pair of Yokohama’s but no luck. The Run Flats have only 600 miles on them if anyone is interested. I’ve tried reducing the tire pressure to 31 but to no avail. I am afraid to go to much lower than that. It’s not that the ride is a stiff as a board because it is not. It is very sure footed and rides better than my GX. But you feel a bit more in the road than I’d like. Our roads are pretty horrible and the weather is the blame for it. Our roads last a year and that is all. Between the freezing and thawing and the poor drainage on many small narrow roads, there’s a lot of shifting with potholes appearing.

Traction control, VDIM, handling in bad weather I posted separately and can be viewed at https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=154060. I will repeat what I said in that article and that is the traction control is much more dynamic that the GEN 2 GS. My 2000 GS400 when encountering traction losses turning on to a fast paced road would cut power to the wheels and leaving you hanging in the middle of a fast road for what seemed like seconds before you had power to get going. The 06 GS is much better in this regard. You know it’s working, but you’re not inconvenienced by it. Handling is very good. The GS shows no compromise in the turns. It seems to handle them quite well. We have tons of back roads in the New England area and driving the GS at low and high speeds through twisty turning roads is fun to do and the GS seems quite surefooted. It’s not a Corvette which will rail turns with no lean but also rides like a go cart. It’s also not a MB SL55 which I’ve also driven. But for our price range, I think it’s as good as it gets. I must say of course, I’ve don’t have a lot of experience with driving 5 series BMW’s so I cannot compare directly. It definitely handles better than a 2004 E class MB.

Braking seems a bit grabby, but things probably need to brake in. On I95 a Chevy Tahoe panic braked in front of me due to a line of cars in front. The Tahoe had to drive to the shoulder for safety. The grabby-ness of the GS brakes had me in a bit of a back end tail but the VDIM kept me in control quickly.

Gas Mileage is exemplary on the highway. I strived for 80+ miles per hour and was rewarded with a 25mpg rating on the highway. I can only attribute that to the 6 speed automatic transmission which maintains low RPM’s as often as it can when the transmission mode is set to Normal. I’m not positive but I would believe my RPM’s to be below 2300. Someone can probably say for sure. The run from Virginia to Connecticut is mostly Interstate 95. I have some emotional issues that one day I’ll work out with a psychiatrist. But until then I have this desire not to get passed on the highway. We all see it when were driving. You see a swarm of cars grouped together vying for the top position. There might be segments of relaxed cruise control driving but as soon as the wife goes to sleep and the pack approaches, I direct more fuel through to the engine. The GS had all the power I needed on the highway. Its highway stability was quite good and it seems to slice through the cross winds well. I’d take the GS into battle any day.

I did not get the Pre Collision system and I wish I could have. I would love to be able to set the Cruise Control once and sit back and relax. For long trips it’s got to be nice. I’d love to hear reviews from anyone here on CL that has an experience with it. The rain sensing wipers are nice. I enjoy them in my GX. The GS doesn’t seem to be sensitive enough even with the setting at maximum.

That’s about it. I love the new GS and our poor GX has been getting a lot less attention as of late. Anybody concerned with performance, I don’t believe you’ll be unhappy with the 2006 GS430. I’ve driven many fast cars including the MB SL55, Aston Martin DB7, Ferrari 360 Modena & Testarossa. These cars definitely spoil a person. Performance wise, the GS430 doesn’t feel underpowered. It can outperform 99% of the cars you’ll need to pass out there, but with all of these vehicles, the GS430 seems to have the best bundle of performance, consistent ride, surefooted handling, smoothness, whisper quiet cabin, luxurious interior, awesome technical controls (I’m a geek for them all) and styling. I’m loving the new GS.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Nice review. Thanks for the feedback.

flipside909

Great review!

clexusking

Very nice, indepth review. Just one question, the climate control cleansing mode, which button is pressed for that??? That is an interesting feature I had not heard of before.

looknow12

It's between the Auto button and the Defroster (I think).

GFerg

Great In depth review. You should be writing for Car and Driver.

dlomshek

Great review looknow, very informative, thanks. Can't wait to have my own GS430 next Summer.

jwaters

Thanks for the write-up! As others have said, very detailed & informative. It sounds like you are enjoying your new GS430 and I can't wait to join you!

Can you clarify one thing for me? Did you mean to say that all GS's have controls for Park Assist in the pull out panel whether your GS has this feature or not? If so, that's weird. Basically it would be a button with no fuction, unless there is some type of pre-wiring for this feature if you ever want to add it later. Either way, I ordered my GS430 without the Park Assist. I despise those damn sensors in the bumpers! They stick out like a sore thumb.

looknow12

The button definitely exists in the drop down control pod. The sensors I am not certain of, but I can tell you it looks like there are two cut outs in each bumper. I was hoping Lexus design things this way so you can add a module later (aka Satellite Radio), but I'm told it is not available as a part, at least not yet.

looknow12

Despite the many issues you may have in setting up the Bluetooth Phone System, once you get it working you will enjoy the convenience and the ease of use. I remember reading some time ago that IBM owns the rights to the Bluetooth technology and for many years it was questioned if this would ever get off the ground. Bluetooth is a wireless short range protocol that allows two devices to communicate to one another on the 2.4ghz frequency. It supports multiple different profiles (types of use) such as voice, serial emulation, data transfer, networking and more. In the last two years cellular phones have started to employ this technology to enable using headsets with out any messy wires. Now vehicles have started to build in Bluetooth to emulate the the old style car phone kits that used to be available. Just have your phone nearby and the vehicle will recognize it, receive calls and place them through the vehicles speaker system.

New Lexus vehicles with Navigiation now have Bluetooth as a standard feature but setting things up can be troublesome. Bluetooth requires a pairing technique to handshake both the cellphone and the car into a forced friendship. It provides security to make certain your car doesn't start picking up phone calls from a nearby cell phone accidentally.
It also allows you to transfer phone entries from your cell phone. But performing these tasks will take the right device, time and a little bit of perserverience.

To pair your phone: In the Lexus phone screen, press settings, go down a page and select Add Phone. This puts Lexus in a discovery mode where it will wait for another Bluetooth device to come along. Then go to your cell phone, locate the Bluetooth settings and have it add a new device. Once the cellphone sees the vehicle it will prompt your for a pin number, The pin number is visible on the Lexus screen. After this is complete, calls placed in the Lexus phone screen will go through the cars speaker system as well as any calls received. A lot of this depends on your phone. Many phones might have additional options to answer calls using Bluetooth based on certain conditions. It is best to see your owners manual for your phone.

The Phonebook in the Lexus is quite primitive. It does not allow adding phone numbers manually through the touch screen. Instead, you must transfer the phonebook (or its entries one at a time) from the cell phone. To do this go to the settings screen, second page and select Start Transfer Phonebook. If you have any entries present the system will give you an option to Add or Replace. Replace starts the phonebook from scratch. It is obvious the designers of the Lexus Bluetooth system assumed you would be transferring large phonebooks at a time, but many cell phones do not support this operation. Most of the time you will Select the Add button.

I use a Pocket PC Siemens SX66 Phone. It is a PDA with touch screen, phone capabilities, and basically a small version of Microsoft Windows on it (Windows CE). This device paired up fine with the Lexus Bluetooth System, but will not transfer phonebook entries despite the support built into the phone. Apparently the Lexus Phonebook has a problem with phonebook entries with multiple numbers. But despite that, removing all phone numbers but one will transfer an entry with a name and no phone number. The phonebook entry appears grayed out because it is of no use with out the number. My wife also has a Imate Windows Smartphone. It is even a smaller version of Pocket PC. Windows Smartphone operating system is more of a cell phone trying to act like a PDA, while my SX66 is more of a PDA trying to act like a cell phone.

My wife's MS Smartphone will not pair with the Lexus Bluetooth system, but it will transfer phone entries with some degree of hardwork. None of the existing entries would transfer over to the vehicle. I had to create new entries with just the name, and one phone number and then transfer it over. This finally worked. I struggled for over a week to find this solution. You can only transfer one entry at a time (MS Smartphone supports that only) and it takes a great degree of time. Also your phone entries cannot have () in them. These characters come across as ||||||| where the phone number should be.

Once I transferred these phone book entries, I then setup the one touch entries. Lexus does not allow you to dial phone numbers or even use the phonebook while driving. You can however use the One Touch entries. There are nearly 18 One Touch entries that can be setup. Through the Settings menu, first page, there is PhoneBook, Set One Touch, Delete. Select Set One Touch. The system will display the phonebook. Select the phonebook entry and then select the One Touch Slot.

Now that everything is setup the Lexus Bluetooth system does work nicely. To place a call you can press the off hook button located on the steering wheel. The screen will change to the phone dialer or the One Touch screen if you are driving. Enter your number or press the One Touch entry and the system will instruct your cell phone to do the rest. The screen changes to one labeled as Conversation. With a Mute Option, Hang Up and Volume touch screen buttons available. The radio will mute if it was on previously. You can hang up also using the button on the steering wheel. If a call comes in the screen will immediately change to a conversation screen and you can answer it using the off hook button on the steering wheel. One thing that does not apparently work is the simulated ringer through the speaker system. I know it works in the RX330 with a Motorola MPX220 but I have yet to try that phone in the GS. You can also place calls from the cell phone itself for additional freedom to access the phone book or dial numbers. For my phones, the Lexus system takes over once you press the send button on your phone.

We enjoy the Lexus Bluetooth Phone system now that it is setup. I'm not sure how persistent Lexus owners will be in settings things up. I've logged close to 10 hours getting this far. My hope is Lexus will release software updates to improve this system through time. If the answer to improving some of these woes is to buy a new model year Lexus, many customers will be extremely upset.

Rockville

The new GS series is the first Lexus to offer Bluetooth without Navigation as it comes with the touch screen in either case. This trend will be repeated in the new IS and so on.

looknow12

Thank you, I wasn't aware of it. How can you control it and dial phone numbers without some sort of interface?

looknow12

Another thing I discovered yesterday. When going down a hill with the cruise control on, the GS will sometimes shift down to keep the card at the requested speed. I guess otherwise it might go much too fast.

I don't recall any other Lexus I've owned ever doing that. Is this new for the 06 GS?

I also noticed that the rear sunshade will go down if you put the vehicle in reverse and then it will return to its previously set positon after in driving and moving a bit. Very cool.

flipside909

My 04 IS does this on long downhill decents w/the cruise on.

lexuslover

looknow, thank you for the great writeup. i have one Q related to the bluetooth. you mentioned that you paired up both your phone and your wife's. does that mean now that everything has been linked, the phone feature works no matter who is getting in the car that day? or do you have to "switch users" to tell the car which phone is in there at that time? and can you see each other's address books, or is that based on user also?