RC51TOFUMA

iTrader: (1)

Coming from:
-1969 VW Superbeetle
-Yamaha Riva 180 scooter
-1989 Ford Ranger
-1992 Ford Mustang 5.0 (Fox Body Notchback)
-2003 Acura CL
-2004 Acura TL
-2007 Lexus GS350 (mark levenison)
-2013 Ford Raptor SuperCrew (still have)
-2016 Lexus GSF (still have)
-2015 BMW RT-P 1200 (daily driver)

This Car amazes me. I've never had a 2 door sports car, however the GSF is amazing. I drove the car in Sport+ for 2 days and wow how can you not terrorize around town stepping on the gas pedal.....? I noticed the difference in the gas mileage.....night/day difference......Eco Mode vs Sport +

Prior to purchasing I test drove and compared pricing
-Audi S6 Prestige (almost bought this)
-BMW M6 - this car is a BEAST (priced out of my league)

I have never owned a European Car and was prepared to jump ship from Lexus towards the Audi. The Audi was nice to test drive and I wasn't going to settle for Premium Plus despite the slight differences to Prestige.
The following was my deciding factors:
-Long Term ownership - Lexus
-Sleek Body design - my opinion Lexus however the Europeans body style rarely go out of style...Maybe because they don't do a body-style makeover so often or maybe because I haven't taken notice to European Autos. The Audi S6 I felt was a little "Boxy" traditional 4door sedan feel.
-Reliability can be categorized as Long Term Ownership- Lexus
-Non Turbo or Supercharge / Straight V8 - Lexus

I bought my GSF on September 14. I shopped for a while. NOBODY was budging on price and I was willing to go on Pre-owned as well. I knew my price-point to go with.
If there was an Audi Prestige model available.......I could've easily gone with Audi purely on impulse decision.
I went on a limb by a referral....for the Lexus GSF Brand New and my price point was met.....I ended up with the GSF. My color combo, Mark Lev, impact sensors, bumper applique, and illuminated door sills. THE ONLY regret although.....I'm 50/50 on being over it......is not having the Orange Calipers...... Set aside from the F Badge...the Orange Calipers are the common signature of the GSF...in my opinion.

In comparison with my 2007 GS350 and 2016 GSF
-interior quality of the 2016 doesn't feel solid in my opinion. The Door Panels feel like cheap plastic. The Center Console lacks storage. The rear trunk space certainly feels smaller. The Mark Levinson in the 2016 sucks....my 2007 sounded better. I'm getting used to the ASC (acoustic sound control). I guess there is quite a feel auto manufactures that do this in regards to simulated engine cabin sound. It doesn't make sense to me.......but I guess.
That's it.....other than the minor annoyances / complaints on the interior this GSF is cool.
I still wonder about the Audi S6 as well as ......the orange calipers

I have alot of time this morning in the office.....so I'm writing my 10 cents on this forum.......today......lol

mr2dave

Too much slow time today in the office too...

Good summary and I had to chuckle about the orange caliper covers comment. When I first saw them, I thought they were a bit too blingy for me and I almost did not buy my particular color because of them and I also thought they were a more expensive unnecessary upgrade. That said, they have really grown on me and when I see an F without them, I think it looks kinda bland.

I learned the orange caliper covers are not as expensive as I thought and can easily be installed or installed during your next brake job.

Like you, I think this car is a tremendous new car at a discounted price when looking at it as a Lexus and when evaluating it as a sports sedan in general, it scores pretty high in my book and I have yet to have a passenger get out of my car and say gee, that was not all I thought it was going to be. So far, it has been 100% the opposite. Total sleeper.

Safe journies.

Bzguy78

Very nice points, As for me coming from AWD turbo cars like the Evo and STi, the GSF's interior is totally an upgrade. However the selling point to me was the intoxicating V8 sound especially on Sport +. My only regret was not purchasing it at once when I traded my STi, instead I bought the F sport first then traded the F sport with the GSF which I end up losing money. Well, lesson learned.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Wow that is a detailed review, I think the orange calipers are nice but you can always wrap them to match the color and the price will be less than from the factory. I'm surprised you think the interior feels cheap compared to the 07 GS 350, when I got out my hybrid GS 07 it felt like night and day no squeaks or rattles and most of the items felt soft touch and premium. Appearently Lexus states that the sound is not simulated but real and it is just tunneled through the speakers. Well congrats on the purchase can't wait to see what you do with this GS-F.

Meraki Autoworks

iTrader: (8)

Glad you like it! When you start getting bored, let us know when you want to open up that v8 with an exhaust!

-Josh

RC51TOFUMA

iTrader: (1)

True that ....On the Creaking sounds and Dash Rattles on the 2007. I will not miss those annoying things....
I was debating on waiting for the 2017 GSF just due to the fact 2016 is the first year model of the GSF.......
If I"m not mistaken....the 2016 GSF Interior / Body style has been out out for at least 2 years ....which based off of the GS350 model ....Please correct if I"m totally wrong...

I wanted to avoid 1st year model cars.........

Additional Note:
ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THE ASC? No simulated V8 sound?

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Yes there was a post about it but Lexus has stayed it's not fake noise just enhanced to be louder and throatier in the cabin.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

anything through speakers man artificial to me.

but btw, when you are selling your car let me know!

JustinBr

I think that you have pointed out a few really good points that I had to Google to understand better.
Key points are - trunk space is down from a GS350 (16.2) to the GS F's 14 cubic feet. Second, look at the dramatic drop in rear legroom. GS350 is 36.8" vs. GS F's 32.8", which puts the GS F's rear legroom right at the same as a IS 350!

This is interesting to see that you get a dramatically shrunken rear legroom and a smaller trunk.........I did not notice it as much when I sat in it.

RC51TOFUMA

iTrader: (1)

I knew......I wasn't imagining......it......daym.......

rominl

iTrader: (4)

but my biggest issue with the 3gs trunk is not the space but the opening. the opening is so small and in an awkward position. it has the space for 2 large lugguage but there is no way you can throw in the second one after putting in the first one.

the same luggage in the 4gs, i fit them in with ease and still got space for another hand carry.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Sounds a lot worse than it is. It's still way more than the IS F on both trunk size (especially useable space) and rear leg room.

mr2dave

^^^ Very well said and dead on Lance!

ModInJapan

iTrader: (5)

I opted for the Black brembo calipers.... not that i didn't like the orange, but since my GS F is orange it would have been over kill haha

otherwise, loving every moment behind the wheel.

Happy new year

danwlee

I just picked up a GS-F a couple of days ago and was looking at similar cars as you listed (GS-F, BMW M5, BMW M6 Gran Coupe). I also have a 2013 Audi S6 Prestige in the garage. For me, I like a combination of performance, luxury, tech, and unique design.

I can't say a ton about the GS-F yet as it only has 230 miles on the odometer, but I can give my take on the GS-F vs S6 based on my experience so far. I will definitely say that are totally different animals considering the combination of things I listed above that I was looking for.

From a design perspective, the GS-F has that love it or hate it design that really satisfies the 20 year old in me (I'm 35), while the S6 satisfies the professional profile I'm supposed to exhibit at work. Interior of the S6 screams class and refinement from the diamond stitched seats to the classy font on the digital display. GS-F screams "look at my predator mouth" (sorry, couldn't resist...) while S6 is the sleeper (for an S6 that screams "look at me", check out the S7, which is essentially the same car with a different body... not unlike the M5/M6 Gran Coupe)

From a driving perspective, I haven't pushed the GS-F in S+ mode, so this might just be the lack of time with the car, the S6 FEELS faster. Mine is powered by the 4.0 V8 twin-turbo, but I don't feel any turbo lag: it just goes. You HEAR the engine on the GS-F (and ASC obviously supplements that), whereas the S6 is a bit quieter in the cabin (more emphasis on luxury). There are a couple of modes to choose from on the S6 as well, but from my experience so far, they all have a softer ride than the GS-F. Both cars feel tight, but GS-F is definitely tighter. I also live in Ohio, so we get some snow in the winter... meaning, I'm trusting the Quattro S6 over the GS-F RWD. GS-F has Eco mode and S6 has "Cylinder Deactivation", where it actually shuts off 4 of it's cylinders under low engine load. I prefer the Cylinder Deactivation on the S6 over having to manually switch modes in the GS-F. We're not buying these cars to save gas, but I have to say that the S6 gas mileage is pretty impressive.

From a tech perspective, I feel like the S6 has fewer features, but does what it does have better than the GS-F. S6 has heated steering wheel, my GS-F does not (i don't know if it's even an option on the F's?). The Navi on the S6 is just beautiful (Google maps), while the screen on the GS-F is huge and fantastic to look at for that reason. I LOVE the Google maps integrated GPS. The S6 has a pop-out screen that feels a bit cheap and aftermarkety (and waiting to break), but that's just a personal preference... you can retract it into the dash, but you can't have it engaged permanently. The dash, center console has alot more buttons than the GS-F and takes a bit of getting used to and can be a bit cumbersome because some of the buttons are on the center console and some are in the area on the gear shifter. Some things which should be simple to do are more complicated than it should be (like adjusting dual zone fan speeds) because you have to start the gear shifter buttons and then jump up to the center console or you have to go through several layers of menu commands to do something rather simple. I'm probably knit-picking, but it does slightly annoy me from a user-experience perspective, so I thought i'd mention that. The GS-F seems more intuitive, but so far, there are a few things that have me jumping from the joystick to the steering wheel. To make the most of the the S6, you need to subscribe to Audi Connect which will get you more integrated with Google services and apps and features similar to Lexus Enform - car locator, statuses, SOS, etc and it does so through cellular service through a SIM card. GS-F has the HUD, S6 has an optional Innovation Package which adds features like the HUD, Lane Assist, and nigh vision road scanning, but comes at like a $5k premium that I opted out of simply because of the price.

From a reliability perspective, the S6 has 35k on it, but has already been in the shop to replace some hoses for a coolant leak (bad initial design, but were replaced with redesigned hoses through Audi Care). It's a German... cost ownership is going to be higher. :-p

Overall, I love both... I feel geekier and "younger" in the GS-F, and more refined and snobby in the S6.

There's a ton more for sure, but this was what was top of mind for me when comparing the two. Hope this was helpful.