I agree with Matt Farah's one take assessment of the GSF...

 

GSF gets too much hate for the infotainment and not enough for the slooooooowwww transmission.

 

He actually praised the transmission and said it was better than the ZF 8-speed which is truly a compliment as ZF's 8-speed seems to be considered the absolute benchmark in the industry these days.

 

Drove friend's ~5yr old M5. Shifts were instantaneous. Depressingly faster than my GS F.

Now, there are many advantages to our slush box auto over a DCT, but the shift speed difference is massive.

 

 

Another validation of Jeremy Clarkson's raving review of the GSF back in 2016. I love it that it's not a "popular car". I could care less when I know it is a great car.

 

Clarkson also said “If someone were to offer me the choice of any car that had ever been made ever, I would like a dark blue Lexus LFA.” which says a lot. I'm also glad that the Lexus F cars are so underrated/unknown in the enthusiast world yet they get rave reviews from well known car guys.

The GSF is one of the cars I've thought about getting once I move on from my 2012 ISF someday but I think it would almost feel the same, not that that would be a bad thing. I see you owned an ISF previously, what are your thoughts?

 

Agreed. However, he was very unfair to the RCF. A lot of it had to do with RCF following the LFA and being a coupe, he imagined it to be an "LFA lite", which it is was never intended to be considering 1/5th the price. He did not allow Stig to lap the car. He put RCF in 'expert' mode to demonstrate it did not drift and induced understeer instead (as traction control grips the rear tires). Expert mode allows limited slip angles and standing burn outs. Luckily, I drove the RCF myself and after pushing it hard, I decided to buy it very quickly.

For proper drifts, one has to turn off traction control as the subtle dig of Ben Collins at Clarkson especially with TVD in 'track' mode, it allows the rear to step out easily powering out of corners.

 

 

Well thanks for asking. Between the two, there are most definitely more similarities than differences. It depends too on what you need so it is subjective. The ISF leans more towards boyish-racer whereas the GSF is more refined, nothing wrong with either one. In my own opinion, there is just more little things that feel more right with the GSF. They definitely applied what they learned from the ISF and just like what the reviews said, the handling is what impresses me most about this car. I definitely think the handling is a notch better than the ISF. Other than that, the trademark throaty intake rasp brings the same smile to my face. I most definitely recommend it as a very good choice if you decide to move on from the ISF, IMO.

 

The shift algorithm seems to vary depending on RPM, throttle, etc. I feel it shifts quick when it needs to (sporty driving, higher rpm, large throttle input), but shifts are slower if you're just cruising (lower rpm, lighter/part throttle).

Matt's review really hit some of the highlights of the car.

 

Good review but some inaccuracies like the seats and adaptive suspension.

 

Definitely focused on the car's better qualities. That said, I still like my IS F better for the kind of driving he was doing. The reason for a GS F in the garage was simple - two car seats in the back isn't pleasant up front in the IS F. The wife wanted an SUV, I said it needs to be a Cayenne because I'm not going to buy something that isn't fun to drive which also killed off all Lexus SUVs. She came back with the GS F, much to my surprise. As he said, if you need a five person car and want fun to drive, your choices are pretty limited. I really don't think there is anything near the value proposition the GS F delivers when you need real room.

 

The engine is a masterpiece and amazes me after 1 year of ownership. The needle spins up and down so freely that I hit rev limiter all the time. Matt hit the nail on the head. One day, people will look back and see it as pinnacle of high-revving, freely spinning V8s and will be appreciated even more when everything is FI. The new A90 Supra is a good indication of where Toyota performance is going. It is great this engine gets a lot of appreciation considering Lexus will be making Turbo 6s for the next generation F so it is a great way to end an era.

 

There are two reviews I really appreciate, and not because I'm biased. In fact, one of which I watched before owning a GSF and I though it was bang on!
Chris Harris and this one.