^Yup. As BMW has demonstrated 8AT does have significant benefit to fuel economy, if not performance, even in models with smaller engines. I'm sure Lexus will give the GS a significant engine/transmission upgrade come the mid-cycle refresh. They probably just wanted to save some of the good stuff for the refresh to keep the car interesting throughout its life.

 

forget the 8 speed and just put a 7 in there like everyone else. the 7 g tronic in mercs are pretty good and choosing the right gear. Its not as buttery smooth as lexus gears, but I love to turnover at 1800 rpm at 65 mph

 

Not sure what you mean by "everyone else" because at this moment BMW and Audi have widely adopted 8AT while MB and Infiniti are using 7AT. Lexus already has a perfectly fine 8AT so there's no reason to develop/outsource a new 7AT.

 

Actually this was demonstrated by LEXUS as Lexus was;
1. First with an 8 speed automatic.
2. First to have it in multiple vehicles (LS, IS F, GS)
3. Prove it helps with better MPG while also being lighter with less parts.

Everyone else followed this.

Its funny to me when the LS/IS-F/GS had 8 speeds YEARS ago people on the internet bashed it endlessly as having too much. Now that the Germans copied it and others are using it, oh, its now amazing and a marvel.

I get my laughs on the internet

 

Well audi had 7 speeds in their vehicles as well before 8 speed. and merc and infiniti seem to be doing just fine with their 7 speeds.

I think 6 is a little dated now, and 7 should be the new "common" standard in luxury cars. Too many people complain about having 8 speeds and too many people complain about how 6 speed is antiquated. 7 seems to be the best compromise.Goldilocks.

 

My point is simply that other manufacturers have demonstrated that 8AT can be beneficial to smaller engines as well, while Lexus lead the way with 8AT in larger and only larger engines. No need to be so defensive.

BTW I'm a huge and loyal Toyota/Lexus fan if you haven't noticed, except that I'm also critical of things they could improve because I want to see them succeed instead of blindly accept everything they do/haven't done.

 

you are going to be paying a lot of money for 8AT in that BMW though - thats why they kept the 6 speed - to lower the base price.

If you are concerned about 1-2 MPG, then GS450h is there to keep it real.

 

Like the once-leading-edge 6AT, with economy of scale.the cost of 8AT will come down too if they apply it to more of their volume models. Lexus should not be about bean counting--that's what Toyota is for. Now that 6AT has been passed down to Toyotas, it's time for Lexus to stay on TMC's forefront and move on to 8AT as their main transmission of choice.

 

I think the 8AT doesnt make much sense with NA V6. In general it helps to improve fuel economy by keeping the engine in low revs, but the NA V6 is not very efficient down there in contrast to the boosted engines from Audi and BMW.

That being said I would always go for a NA engine because of the instantaneous response which is much more important to me than 1-2 MPG. Not to mention the potential reliability issues of the turbo engines.

 

depends if you are interested in buying the car or writing on the forums on it.

would i spend 2k extra to get 4cly turbo in my car that gives me 1-2 MPG extra and 8AT, and all the refinement and instant response of 4cly turbo??

Nope.

I think Lexus did the right thing by keeping 350 and 450h as far apart as possible with the pricing (or rather kept 350 as low as possible).

 

AFAIK, Toyota group does not currently have a 7-speed auto.

What they do have instead is a 7-speed CVT (which can work for up 2400cc class displacement engines)

Our Corolla Altis has that (2.0 V) and it is a quantum leap over the 4-speed and 5-speed SUPER ECT autos.

 

Well then whatever is cheaper for them. Either invest in a 7 speed auto for the mainstream cars and then eventually use it for Toyota models too, or just put the 8 speed into all Lexus cars

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6uZR0DkddQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=7w0Atx8Ve_M

 

Its sad that Lexus has listened to complaints and made the lightest car in class, arguably the SPORTIEST, with arguably the best interior with the biggest trunk and finally a true SPORT PACKAGE for those that have asked with class leading technology and all this is being glossed over.

What happened? No wonder people lurk and don't post. So sad.

This vehicle offers so much and no vehicle is perfect remind you we can find faults with them all. While I am disappointed with some decisions which I have been vocal about the constant complaining in every thread in this forum has gotten old fast.

2GS and 3GS didn't have this issue this early in their forum's life.

 

same here, i have been saying for long that the front is very aggressive that's cool, but the sides and rear they look "bland" by comparison. the lack of lines isn't something that you need to see in person

hahaha come on ryan, if it's sports driving, you shouldn't be letting the tranny to shift by itself anyway. in fact it shouldn't even get to anything higher than 6!