Guys, thanks for some great posts here on the new GS. Here in Korea, I was all set on the new Benz CLS350 when I saw the new GS on the road a couple of weeks ago. I didn't pay much attention to Lexus since they changed the SC model, but I must admit they did a great job with the new GS.

I had a chance to take hom both the GS300 and GS430 for a couple of days to test drive, and have decided to go with the GS430. I like the GS300's fuel economy and the growl that the engine has, not typical of Lexus (almost as good a growl as my current 330i). However, after flooring the GS430 the decision was quite clear. Simply put, I can't wait until I pull up next to a CLS, E350, 530i, 545i, and an A6 and blow down away off the line, not to mention that I should possibly be able to keep up with an M3.

Need your help in selecting the interior color. I'm set on Black for the exterior (the new GS looks stunning in black) but trying to decide between the Black interior or Ivory interior. Anyone already have either of the interior colors can provide feedback? I realize that Ivory interior can get dirty, but I've been pretty good at keeping my cars clean.

Lastly, I'm not happy with the fact that the voice activated navigation is not available in Korea. We have the ML audio but no navigation (Lexus didn't care to make one in the Korean language). However, we have just about all other options (here in Korea, the GS only comes fully loaded, you can only select between the GS300 or GS430 and colors).

Thanks...

 

i would get the black interior for sure. looks more classy, and easier to maintain. ivory is much harder to maintain

 

Black; as you can see from my sig, SHE has black/ivory. I actually LIKE the rituals involved in cleaning my vehicles but I've gotta say that having to do HERS as frequently as is required has gotten old.

 

I like both the black & ivory interiors, they are both nice in their own ways, but I prefer black interior to go with the black exterior, plus it's easier to keep clean.

 

I had a black interior GS300 AWD demo for the weekend and I reallly liked the black interior. The exterior was Mercury Metallic. I've since ordered the car in those colors.

The black is not a real deep black. It's somewhere between a deep black and charcoal. I thought the black might make the cabin feel small, but it doesn't. I think the black looks both sporty and luxurious. It does show dirt from my 5 year old's shoes fairly well, but of course it's easily wiped clean.

For my past several cars I've always had some form of tan or beige interior. It was time for a change. I think the beige/tan/ivory colors look luxurious, but not necessarily sporty.

Way off topic, but I couldn't resist commenting on your CLS comment. Glad you didn't go with the CLS. I came from the Mercedes world and traded both my E320 and SLK320 for this GS300. Although I wouldn't even consider a new Mercedes because of the many quality and reliability issues, I looked briefly at the CLS. It looked beautiful but for more than $70,000 U.S. it's way to pricey. After being very impressed with the comforts of the GS, I had to laugh when I opened the trunk from the outside trunk release. The trunk was sprung so tightly that I thought it was going to take my arm off when it opened. Minor thing, but overall points to the attention Lexus pays towards human engineering compared to other brands such as Mercedes.

 

Funny that you said this. I had a similar experience when I test-drove the CLS. Anyway looking to buy the CLS needs to just open the trunk, then rethink your decision.

As for the color choices on the GS, I am a fan of black interiors. That's all I've had for as many cars back as I can remember now. One thing bothered me a bit about the new GS though and that's the wood color that comes with the black interior. It looks almost purple to me? I much preferred the two other wood selections that were with the other leather colors. Anyone else notice this?

 

With a black exterior, I agree black interior works. I was very keen to get a tan (or ivory or cashmere) interior, but what put me off was that they did not use black for the dash and door trim--it's ligher than the dark charcoal in the black and gray interiors, a sort of dark gray. I felt it weakened the sharp contrast between the black exterior and the lighter interior. So I ordered my GS430 with the gray interior. Since that is not a standard for the US west coast region, I have to wait 4 months for it. Still have a month and a half left to go...