To start, I really like the new GS. The new interior is great, and the elevated sense of refinement compared to 3GS is very noticeable. However, I'm surprised that there were several downgrades:

Gas Door
The 4GS gas door can be opened from the outside. Why? I don't know if there's some magic combination of door locks and other adjustments that will prevent people from opening it while the car is parked on the street, but this seems like a downgrade from the 3GS design where it's opened from the driver's seat.

Trunk Strut
The 4GS went back to traditional hinges while 3GS had the tighter struts with auto-close. The hinges felt cheap and comparable to the likes of Corolla and Yaris. I realize that not everyone appreciated how "heavy" the trunk lid was on the 3GS as a result of using struts, but I thought it gave the car a more refined feel.

Cheap Interior Accents
The 4GS has these fake-metallic accents on all doors (at least for 350 with Luxury). They look really, really cheap and something found on sub-20k cars. In comparison, the same accent around the center console on the 3GS looked at least better (though still fake).

Am I the only one who felt these were noticeable downgrades?

 

on the gas door, personally i think it's completely silly to have something on the driver position to "unlatch" the cap. it's silly because you have to go to the cap area to put gas in anyway, why the need to reach some other button? i love the design on my bmw and mb.

and unless lexus did something stupid, when the car is locked, the gas cap should be completely locked as well, just like bmw and mb, for security reason.

for the longest time with my 5 lexus, i never really felt anything about the gas door button, but now after owning bmw and mb, i actually think the existence of the button is redundant. and i am glad that with the 4gs they changed it

regarding the accents on the door, i have heard similar comments before. i guess i am somewhat neutral on this. i have seen it and touched it, but maybe coz' i don't put much focus on those areas

for the trunk, like you said it's very subjective. i kind of like how it's done in the 4gs. to me the 3gs trunk lid has always been so tight for no reason (including the final latching mechanism)

 

I really hope that's the case. I didn't verify this when I checked out the 4GS. If the gas door is secure while the driver is not around (e.g. parked on the street), then I agree that this is an awesome feature. Otherwise, this creates a major problem for those living or parking in less desirable areas.

 

yes we are definitely on the same page. i didn't try myself, but i forgot where i read that's the case

 

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do.../sec_04-04.pdf
from page 206,

"Opening the fuel tank cap
With the doors unlocked, press the center of the rear edge of the fuel filler door."

And then, from page 208, "When you lock the doors, the fuel filler door will lock also."

 

Awesome. Thanks for the reference.

Now down to 2 complaints

 

Glad they went to the auto lock gas door similar to MB and BMW.

 

Honestly....

I think these are ALL Upgrades.... LoL

Your two remaining complaints...

IMHO, these parts are currently in my $65K IS-F... And they work & look perfect..

~ Joe Z

 

isnt the alu trim real? I had 3GS for 3 years and I would love i could afford 4GS450h... but it is $150k here and it is going to drop in value by $100k in 3-4 years, so it makes no sense at all.

 

I read somewhere that it's real, but it looked really cheap in person, like someone took a paintbrush and worked over a bunch of plastic.

 

^^^ SO are you complaining that it's Fake or Real... ??

Your Post # & Post #10 are contradicting each other..


Below is a Basic GS350 Premimum Package... (none F-Sport since you never mentioned it)



Below is a Basic GS350 Luxury Package... (none F-Sport since you never mentioned it)




~ Joe

 

I read that the accents were real, but they absolutely looked fake to me in person.

 

I love the striated aluminum accents on the GS F-Sport because they are different and I'm sure they will look cool with the lighting at night. My S5 has real brushed aluminum accents and they aren't half as interesting.

 

Is the button still there though?

If it isn't then that is a bit of an inconvenience. All gas stations in my area are full service, so I usually pop the gas lid from my seat. Very minor though.

Pretty sure the gas lid automatically locks when the car is locked.

That is so they could integrate a power trunk lid (not only soft-close as on the 3GS, but full power). My BMW 7 series and Lexus LS both have this type of hinge.

It is on my M5 as well, although it does not have power operation- there's a gas strut that pops the trunk lid open completely when unlatched (closing it does require more force than usual though). Not sure if the auto open feature is on GS models without the power trunk lid though.

From my few minutes playing around in the new GS, I noticed that the door handles and several other trim pieces are made from (or at least feel like they are made from) matte silver plastic rather than metal. Felt very light & cheap. Something I'd be surprised to see in a Camry let alone a Lexus.

The weighty chromed handles on my old GS felt much nicer.

 

I read that the Lexus engineers developing the 4GS went on a weight saving operation to keep weight down on the 4GS so that it would be bigger and more spacious than the 3GS but no heavier.

That involved trimming weight in both exterior as well as the interior trim. So as far as possible they went for lighter materials. That explains the new headliner material and lighter metal accents/trim.