frhill

…so when I purchased my new 2014 GS350 with luxury package I traded in my Lincoln LS 32V V8, 5 speed auto and all aluminum independent suspension. The Lincoln was a hoot to drive. I remember many long distance drives where once I reached my destination I had such a smile on my face. Incredible vehicle I thought. The beautiful noises that V8 made, the balance handling. I never wanted it to end…I just wanted to keep driving. But all too frequently that LS was in for service. And the last service light indicator was the last for me. Lincoln estimated $2000 to fix. My wife said that I was not putting another dime into that car, go out and buy new with a warranty. With that I felt I was licensed to go out to my nearest BMW dealership to buy a 5 series since Lincoln LS became extinct after 2006. I knew BMWs were expensive, but when I drove the first demo with a turbo 4 it was unbecoming for a car of that stature and costing in the low $60s. I moved up to the 535 with a turbo 6 at close to $70K and again disappointed. I felt like to get the car to move I had to mash the pedal. I was thinking that to enjoy this car I would have to drive it like I was mad at it all the time. I also noted that the handling didn’t rise to the “Ultimate Driving Machine” status. It felt like a big sedan without much feeling that I was in a luxury sport sedan. I looked at Audi, but thinking of buying a front wheel drive designed sport sedan was unappealing to me. I test drove a Mercedes E350 which while having a naturally aspirated motor, was an unmemorable experience. The interior was ugly, and exterior not much better looking in my opinion. I also couldn't see paying Mercedes money for a Chrysler designed V6. Although, my wife was ready to sign — after all it’s a Mercedes. Cadillac interior looked cheap and while the exterior look pretty good, for that price point, I thought other competitors hit the mark better. Lexus was last on my list. I wasn’t crazy about the spindle grill design, but it has grown on me over the years. The interior impressed me. It was leagues better than the competitors. However it was the drive that sold me. Here was the first car that was close to the feeling I got when driving the Lincoln LS. The GS was significantly faster that the LS, and the engine note (although not a V8) was music to my ears in the upper rev range. In fact I’ve really come to love the exhaust and intake sounds the GS350 makes in all throttle positions. So now I’m having a deja vu moment. It looks like the Lexus will end production of the GS. And I’m not sold on the direction with turbo charged motors. I know that they are making incredible power…400+ hp in the new LS500. But has anybody notice the 45-65 mph times published by MotorTrend? The LS500 1/10 second slower then the 300HP GS350. And while track conditions vary when these test are done, with 100HP deficient, the GS350 hangs in there. In fact, I notice that a recent times published for a 2018 BMW M5 that the GS350 would probably hang with it from 50-70mph acceleration. It seems like the to obtain these incredible acceleration times, these vehicles with turbo motors have to be put in launch modes or put the brake on while revving the motor. So in the world everyday driving, I don’t know that I would use all that power of these new turbo motors offer nor do I think that the characteristics of the throttle response will be as pleasing as the GS350. So given Lexus reputation of trouble free motoring, maybe I’m not in the same position I was in when the service light came on my Lincoln LS. With almost 50K on the odometer with only routine maintenance, I’m thinking I’m looking forward to many more years of driving pleasure in my GS350.

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

You can always add a supercharger to the GS for about 6k, it would be pretty fun to have it added. I didn't care much for the F10 535i either nor the A6. With what I've done to my GS its plenty powerful and fun to drive for me.

Knucklebus

Wow, hard to read with no paragraphs but I get your point.

I've always had a car with at least 400HP since I got my license in 1978. No replacement for displacement. Torque wins and HP sells. I've owned my GS 350 AWD for almost 4 months and though it isn't 400HP, it makes the best use of the HP it has in every way. I no longer fear taking off on wet roads and enjoy the curves just as much as I did in my Mazdaspeed Miata.

I doubt the GS will leave you at the dealership service desk very often. Change the oil, put tires on it and drive, drive, drive!

eddie420

Still a nightmare to service OOW.

My intention is to get it added to my car this November if finances are not a burden. I got a quote around $10K that includes the SC, boost and wide band gauge, ppe tuned headers, header titanium wrap, manifold gaskets, Invidia midpipe + installation. Also I have the F10 535i xDrive. The GS is hands down better.

I've had my GS 350 AWD for 6 months, I'm right with you on that brother man!

rj4510

bb700092

@OP: That is one long paragraph!

Here is a comparison between the 2018 Camry V6 (naturally aspirated) and the 2018 Accord 2.0T by Fastlane Car. The 0-60 test starts just after 12:30 mins in the video.

OneFunGS

^ Right but they dont do a rolling dig if I remember that video correctly. The OP is 100% correct on turbo engines sucking for everyday driving. Not to mention that you have to get those engines into boost fairly regularly to maintain their integrity. This is the first sub 400hp car and not V8 i have had in 6 years and its just "okay". Where I think V8's are far superior is in the smoothness and quietness of getting a car moving. My 5.0L didnt breathe from 0-115mph and I yearn for that again. (not to mention I am getting just about as good MPG's with the GS as with my 5.0L so what did I gain in the long run? A lexus badge...thats it)

rj4510

Yup, the 4.0L in my 99 GS was smooth as butter. A bit less HP than the current model, but man the way that engine sounded and spun up was far superior. It never even broke a sweat. Lexus could have easily squeezed another 100HP from the GS 400/430 and it still wouldn't have broke a sweat. Mileage has been the same with my 4GS as with my 2GS. Even with 165K on the odo, the GS400 was a smoother power plant than the current. All this technology for fuel savings...blah...blah...blah and we've gained nothing and lost a whole lot!

I'm pretty impressed with the Ecoboost engines in the F150. You can't really tell they are turbo charged. They don't act it either. I still think we'll see them fall apart on those trucks that are under load a lot. Can't reverse the impact of heat on engines over time. Fuels savings are just okay. I would still rather have the Tundra and absolutely no reason why Toyota can't get better mileage from those to match the ecoboost. Just lazy I guess, but there has been zero development on those since....I can't remember when!

Knucklebus

Friction saps power and 8 cylinders requires more mass, more heat and heavier blocks, etc to run. At idle, a V8 is going to burn more fuel unless it is a 4-6-8 type with cylinder cut, which is a whole other can of worms.

There is no doubt that V8s are smoother and more powerful. Getting more economy out of a V8 is tougher due to package constraints. The laws of physics bend for no man. Any big increases in fuel economy will come when they can produce a composite ceramic that can be used for engine parts, enabling the much leaner combustion that will destroy the aluminum alloys we use today.

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

They have the ecoboost in the ford gt as well. I'm not sure of the specs on it exactly how it compares, but the car is incredible. I was just watching some reviews of it yesterday. I actually perfer the sound of most v6's over v8s.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

tl;dr

I prefer that Toyota/Lexus stay on the naturally aspirated path but the truth this they have to keep up with the market with stricter fuel economy and lower emissions standards which drive OEMs to turbocharge their cars...yes even super cars are under these restrictions!
plus nothing beats the low end torque that turbos give.

OneFunGS

IMHO, CAFE Standards have done no good for anything and should be abolished. Then we can move back to pure gasoline and get better fuel economy again off NA engines.

bclexus

I really don't care much for cafes regardless of their standards. Nice restaurants are more my style.

Knucklebus

You can blame the corn lobby for that one. As a Kentuckian, corn is best used to make good bourbon instead of bad gas.

rj4510

Where do I vote for that? Corn is also most delicious over hot coals. haven't had decent corn since we've been shoving them in our tanks. On that same note, back when I first bought my GX 470, I was getting 21mpg on the highway. With the first round of "improved" gas, it dropped to 19, then lower with the second round of "improvements" then all the way down to 14.7. We used to have a few places where we could get old fashioned gas and my mileage would immediately improve. They were all eliminated a couple of years ago. It's never been about improved mileage...