borg1of2

I test drove the 2008 GS450h today. I've been looking at getting an 07, but had never driven one, so was curious. I own an RX and an IS right now so those were my reference points as far as Lexus cars. I prefer Lexus over the others, but am always interested in what others thought when they did a test drive.

Differences between the 08 and 07. They've added an AUX jack for mp3/ipod players. They also added the Shark Fin for XM and I think another antennae.

Comfort - It feels very similar to the IS as far as a low sitting sedan. But I had just driven an hour in my RX, so that feeling was fresh. The seats were very comfortable, loved the soft leather, but am curious how well that it holds up.

Drive - Very smooth. Great exceleration and good power right away when stepping on it from stop or for a quick exceleration. I didn't pay too much attention to see if there were any blind spots as I was more focused on looking forward and the dash information with the Hybrid kicking in and not. It wasn't really clear to me when the battery was supposed to be on or the engine. I was expecting that for the first 20 to 30 mph it would be battery, but it seemed to go straight to engine. The sales person said slow exceleration, but it must be really slow or I have a lead foot.

Technology - I love how Lexus does this, except with the sedan's they seem to hide the radio into the NAV system, so you can't have the NAV screen running and also see what song is playing. I have that on the RX, but the IS is the same as the GS. There are a lot of similarities between the IS and GS. If I wasn't wanting to get a hybrid, I would almost get another IS.

Room - The back seat was OK, a little bigger then the IS, but not as much leg room as what you get with the RX. I was kind of expecting a little more leg room.

Trunk - One word - Small, but I had read that already. Can't even fit a full size piece of luggage. Understand that the battery is taking up the room. Has anyone seen the trunk space in a Camry? Is it just as small?

Overall - It didn't WOW me, but I did enjoy it. Struggling between the GS and the RX. I've been driving RX's since 98 when they first came out, so I kind of have a desire for something different. My price point won't allow me to get an 08, but I think with this vehicle getting an 07 is better as the value doesn't appear to be holding up as much as other Lexus'.

I would appreciate any other thoughts or input from others that have driven a 5 series or also drove or has the GS.

The G Man

The GS and the RX is 2 totally diff. vehicle. You should buy what you need, do you want fun or utility? I bought a GS because my wife already have a SUV.

AKoch

I test drove one twice recently as I am on the market to replace my SL500 with something more 'interesting'. And basically I am going back and forth between Infiniti G37 or M45, GS450h or upcoming Nissan GT-R. All are very different vehicles as you can see.

I loved driving the 450. It is even less 'sport' than the SL, but that's fine. It makes up for it by the way it 'feels' and cares for you. But I still have hard time convincing myself that it is worth the asking price. I can easily see why so many would chose an Infiniti over the GS. Or I might go up to LS, which is just a little bit more price-wise, but offers considerably more as a vehicle (unfortunately being a bit too large to my taste).

So here you go... hard choice

Modeler

It is absolutely NOT worth the asking price! The asking price is way too high. I bought mine for $7,000 below MSRP ($53,000), which I consider to be a good deal. If I weren't able to get such a discount, I'd be buying fully loaded M45 without hesitation at invoice for about $52,000 (the price is a bit higher now, and it seems like it's not possible to avoid the Advanced Technology package if you want Navigation and other premium goodies).

This was a year ago, when M45x was not available yet. If I were buying now, I'd probably choose the AWD M45x over the GS450h. I love my 450h, but I'd like to have AWD for safety.

AKoch

Had an unsuccessful negotiation attempt with my Lexus dealership for a 2007 GS450h. They are asking 68k for it (this is after 11k discount, the MSRP for 2007 was 78k here). And if I could get it for 65k, I'd have taken it. But they would not go that 'low'. My wife and me ended up being just disappointed with them and decided to got try Infiniti now.

Just got back from a test drive. Did M45 and G37 back-to-back. And while it is no match for the GS in terms of comfort, overall we liked it a lot. And since we did it one after another, I can easily see us now in the G37. It is just a sweet sweet car. Great balance of comfort, size and just a touch of 'sportiness' - enough so you can enjoy it, but not much so it does not take to too far. Loved to drive it actually. Fuel consumption seems to be comparable with the G450h, it is just as quick and it is more comfortable on the twisty roads.

The G Man

I am sorry, but people buy the GS450h to be green. If you are going to compare the Infinity G or the M to the GS, you should compare it to the GS460, the price tag will be closer.

LexFather

Kinda weird how the cars are in the same class for so not similar when it comes to fuel economy. The GS 450h used to be eligble for hybrid tax credits, the M45x AWD gets hit with I think a $1300 gas guzzler tax.

AKoch

I don't mind going green. As a matter of fact I prefer the drivetrain of the 450, but for its power and smoothness.

Realistically, if you would like to go green you should be looking at Honda Insight or alike. It by far had the best gas milage of any vehicle I ever owned (like 65-75mpg routinely), and used bare minimum of any materials whatsoever The 450 has practically same fuel economy rating as say G, while using a considerable size electrical battery with all the environment unfriendliness associated with it. So I would chose the 450 if I could, but not for the 'green' factor.

marshmallo

After driving around in this lousy winter and watching RWD and FWD cars
get stuck or worse, I pretty much made up my mind that while I live up here
my car will be AWD.

That prevents me from buying GS450h, LS460 and CLS550... The M45X is
nice and all, but the refresh kind of left me cold and it is not worth the gas
guzzler tax annoyance.

EyeKutr

iTrader: (5)

Are we talking about a g37 as in the 2 door coupe ?

AKoch

Well, the thread as actually about the 450. I jumped on it since I 'almost' decided to get one, but could not negotiate the price. So went around to test other options. But yes, the G37 is two-door.

timeToy

iTrader: (11)

Hi, I have a '07 450h since March last year, when considering my options I wanted a sporty car but I wanted a car I can live with on a daily basis. I compared the 450h to the BMW 530 and 550 (there was no 535 back then), to the MB E350 and E500 and to the M35 and M45. I quickly rule out the 8 cylinders engines, they have the power and the torque and feel quick but return from 12 to 16 MPG also the CO2 emissions are pretty much terrible between (250 to 400 g/km), I know CO2 is not even mentioned here in the US but it is a factor everywhere else in the world and in some country it is taxed. So a 8 cylinders for a daily driver is pretty much a non starter to me. Then after this the 6 cylinders are all good options but they all reminded me of my previous car a '05 Accord V6 EX-L with Navi (you can't beat that for value BTW). the BMW is too stiff and too rough, but it is it's quality though, the handling is phenomenal, but it is not what I need on a daily driver, the Merc is a terrible boat and the reliability went to the drain in the last years (we sold our GL450 after spending too much time at the dealer...), that leave the Infiniti, it is a great car, but my feeling was that it didn't worth upgrading from the Accord !

No really what win me over the GS450h is a test drive. My car has the APSSS (Active Power Stabilizer Suspension System) and that is fantastic to have a BMW handling feeling when you need it (high speed cornering) and yet have a nice plush ride when you want it (pretty much all the time !), also the hybrid system is great to get that extra power when you need it (off the line or to overtake cars at speed) and to help with gas mileage in city driving.

I found the 450h to be the perfect balance between luxury and comfort (it is still a Lexus...), sportiness and performance (when you need it most), looks and responsibility (after all it is a hybrid that return 22 to 30 MPG). Layer on top of that the toys and the technology level of the car and that was a winner to me !

The 450h is not that expensive here is SoCal it start at just $2k more than the V8 for as much (if not more) performance. I guess I was lucky I got my car at a very good price, it was a fully spec'ed car that another customer ordered and didn't take delivery of, so the car was sitting in the showroom, I was able to negotiate a great deal (62k out of the door) so I felt pretty good about the pricing actually.

Having say all that I'm still not your average GS450h driver, my car is (heavily) modified (springs, wheels, intake, exhaust...) so I guess even perfection can be made better ! In the end, every time I walk to my car and and every time I smoke my friends in their M3 and RS4 I say to myself "this is wonderful car, I love it!" (yes you can smoke M3s and RS4s with a 450h, you can do that on a 0-60 dash and also on the highway, but they will smoke you back in the twistys and canyons road as soon as the hybrid battery is depleted...)

Oh and as you can see in mu sig, we also have a LS in the family and if you want to read my thoughts about the GS450h vs. the LS460 please head here

AKoch

The technology/drivetrain on the 450h is AMAZING. So smooth, comfortable, quite and quick. I absolutely love it. But also I will make another comment - this is what the Camry should be like in the ideal world, in a positive way.

Modeler

I don't think that's true, at least not the way you mean "green". Yes, I really like the fact that I get 10 mpg more than the comparable power V8, but being green as in "protecting the environment" didn't play into my considerations that much. It would be a good idea to have a poll on this; I feel it's going to be more people saying that they got the car for the CVT and power, for the HOV exception, and other reasons above being green. Just my opinion though, and I'm too lazy to set up a poll.

Wassa786

GTR hands down mate.