ChuH

Fifth Gear test out 2013 GS450h. Season 22 Episode 1. You can probably find the show online or torrents.

Mr. Burns

Finalgear is the source.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Here you go. Skip to 8:38 if you just want to see the Lexus. I think there review was pretty spot on, as I hated the CVT and also it really is hard to have fun in the GS in terms of the electronics.

Chris8152

It’s a pity they couldn’t have got there hands on the f sport version with dramatic rear wheel steer, it would have been interesting if there views would have been any different.

SW17LS

I'd like to see what they think of the 350...

I too don't like the CVTs in the hybrids. Also, we can shut the stability control off can we not? Probably cant in the Hybrid because it endangers the hybrid system,

InfamousQ

According to the manual, you can fully disengage traction & stability, same way as the GS350.

Blackraven

Sadly, the GS350 is not available in Western Europe. (only GS250 and GS450h units are sold there)

Anyways, I think it's a good review and for what it's worth, it's a good score. 30/40 is really quite good =)

SW17LS

That I know, I'd still like to know what they would have thought without the CVT though.

Blackraven

Hehe I know what you mean.

Still, their experiment meant that they wanted to investigate what it was like to drift a hybrid vehicle. Hence, I reckon the GS450h was the first thing they've thought of.

With that said, the CVT is the sole gearbox option for the 450h.

SW17LS

Right...I understand the CVT is the sole option with the hybrid. I'd like to see what they think of the non-hybrid.

natnut

Some misinformation in that review : total hp is 338 not 280+

did they attempt to turn off traction control fully before drifting the GS450h?

Would have been interesting to hear their take on the GS450h F-Sport with DRS.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Actually the total HP from the engine is 280hp with the electric battery it makes 338hp so they were speaking on the engine hp which is correct.

sydtoosic

why would they choose the 450H to throw around??? i'm pretty sure they could have gotten their hands on a 350 F Sport GS or a 450H F Sport, with and without DRS of course, to do some real comparo testing. porsches, jets... i'm sure they could have finessed a 350 F Sport from somewhere. i know it's not available there, only the 250 and 450... but i'm just saying.

Modeler

I'm pretty shocked. CVT is 70% of the reason I bought the 450h over any other car on the market. I absolutely loved the CVT in my 2007 450h and hated the 7-speed in the Infiniti M35h. I also drove a bunch of other cars (BMW 535i, Audi A6 and A7, and couple Jaguars) and realized I absolutely hate traditional automatics now. It may take a month or two to get used to the CVT, but I can't imagine ever going back to the crappy jerky feel of a traditional transmission.

Modeler

Also, it's complete BS that the engine always sounds the same and is stuck on the same RPM. The RPM and the sound vary a lot as you accelerate. Then, when you're cruising, you can't hear the engine at all. So I'm puzzled as to why they got tired of the engine noise. Maybe they use the auto-manual feature as opposed to fully automatic transmission mode. Go figure...