Thought i would start a thread showing +'s -'s between the 3rd and 4th Gen GS.

So i owned a 2006 RWD GS430. I currently own a 2013 AWD Luxury GS 350.

1. I moved from Texas to DC a few years ago, while i havent been through a winter storm in my new ride i think the AWD should deal with snow better. My RWD 430 with summer tires stayed in the garage if thier was a hint of snow or ice as she didnt perform well in icy conditions.

2. I like how i dont have to press the continue button on the nav when i start the new car up. This was a liitle annoying on my old GS.

3. my old GS had a 300HP 8 cyl engine, new car is 306HP but only 6 cyl. I dont know, maybe its a guy thing, but i would rather have the 8 cyl. I will say the new car feels a little peppier while gas milage is about the same(i dont have good stats on gas mileage as i have only filled up twice). But one of my favorite things is feeling the lumbar support go into my back as i press the accelerator, Awesome!!!

4. I would say 1 in 10 times when i would put my old car in reverse, the side mirrors would not return to the original position after tilting down. so far i havent had this problem with the new car.

5. usb port is really nice. I had to buy a $400 VAIS ipod connector for my old car. However, my new car doesnt recognize my ipod touch.

6. rear radio/ac controls are nice in the new car. I dont sit back there but i have had passengers back there who seem amazed by it.

7. no power trunk on my new car? really? my old GS had it. It was a touch of class that really needs to be put on all GS's.

8.oh man, the 18 way power seats are awesome in the new car!!! the headrest tilting forward and back,not just up and down is awesome!!! one of my favorite features, old car didnt have that.

9. tpms shows tire pressure on each tire. old car only fired if one of my tires fell below the threshold by i didnt know which one so i had to check all of them.

10. i know lexus stole the front lighting from audi but i think its pretty cool.

11. I know alot pf people may not agree with me on this but i am going to rate exterior styling as equal between my old and new GS. My old GS was just incredibly sexy. the wheels i had on her, which are now on my new car looked amazing. the stance was so sick. The new car with my old wheels there is a gap in the wheel well, didnt expect that. but,Lexus kept my favorite part of the exterior styling which is the lines of the side fender and hood. everytime i walk up to my car from behind it just brings a smile to my face when i see those lines.

12. If the exterior is equal, the new GS is far and away more technologically advanced. I wont get into some of the bugs/issues with the new technology, thats a different thread all together, but the tech refresh is amazing.

a. I didnt have sat radio built into my old head unit so i had to buy an extra unit
b. The new nav shows traffic patterns on my route, pretty helpful in the DC area, old car didnt do this.
c. voice commands are a little different, but just saying "go home" or "play playlist XXXXXXX" is really nice
d. my car actually reads my text messages to me in her own voice, awesome!

13. New car produces a bunch of brake dust. I cant remember if my old car did the same thing. I changed to ceramic brake pads early on when i upgraded to slotted rotors (something i will do with my new car as well). but the brake dust is a little annoying with chrome rims

So, just a few things, im sure i could come up with more if i continued to think about it. I will say this, i LOVED my 2006 GS 430. I felt like i was cheating on her when i went into the dealerships looking for my new car. Never had any issues with her, only used the warranty once for a new battery. I am pretty sure i am a Lexus owner for life because my 2006 GS 430 was so rock solid. with that said,i love my new car. I havent had enough time with her to create a similar bond that i had with my old car but everything is going great so far. So, no buyers remorse despite loving my old car so much.

 

What size wheels and tires are those?

 

20" Liquid Metal Static

255/30/20 Michelin Pilot Sport AS

 

you're currently running 20's on the 4GS? just asking,,, would like to know if there is a noticeable diff in the ride as opposed to the 19's. want to put 20's on my F-Sport. as for your post,,, you would only be cheating if you still had your 430. you forgot to add that we need more low end torque in the 4GS. liked your post, i guess you had to get some things off your chest.

 

You know what, i guess i do have something to get off my chest. One thing that stands out to me when i traded my old car in is how she looked with the 2013 GS wheels on her. It was so blah, its like the life was taken right out of her. I had at least a $2k brake job on her, slotted rotors, painted calipers with the Lexus stickers. You couldnt even tell the brakes were after market with the new wheels on her. I dont know, i felt bad leaving her like that. I'll tell you what, whoever buys my old car is getting a gem, i absolutely babied her.

As for the ride with 20's, id be lying if i told you there wasnt a difference. The ride isnt quite as smooth as with the factory wheels but it is negligible. I think its more the low profile tires i had to go with to fit the 06 wheel well. But i noticed the new car has a little more space in the wheel well and could probably go with a tire that doesnt have such a low profile

 

IMO the 430 looks better with the 4GS wheels than the 4GS does. then again maybe i would have to be actually standing there too see what it really looks like. thanx for the info.

 

We need lowering springs with a quickness.

 

Although I never owned one, I thought the 3GS was sexy as well. I test drove one each time I traded a car and just couldn't get my mind around the isolated driving experience (I wasn't willing to mod) and each time I traded for an Infiniti M. That's before moving to Audi A5 and S5. I had pretty much written off Lexus until I saw the pics and read he comparos on the 4Gs. That, and a test drive, brought me back to Lexus. As far as design goes, I think Lexus designed a fine-looking 3GS.

 

new car looks cool but she desperately needs some drops

 

For #2: You could upgrade the NAV map disc to new version and you won't have to press ACCEPT everytime the car start.

I have '08 GS350 AWD as well, I like the taillight on 3GS better than 4GS. 3GS taillight make a Lexus stand out but 4GS taillight make Lexus look like a Kia. But the front end of 4GS definitely make the sale.

And the wheels on 4GS Lux is so UGLY and cheapest even cheaper than standard 4GS wheels.

One more things why they dont put rear lip spoiler on 4GS Lux? People have to drill holes on the trunk to get in mount.

 

3GS was...is hot. I feel like i traded in Cindy Crawford for Kate Upton, even though Cindy is still smoking hot!!!

Oh, thought of a couple other things;

backup cam has the grid, the old GS didnt.

Old GS was quiet at idle, new GS fuel injection noise takes getting used to.

the center console in the old GS feels cheap and flimsy compared to the new GS center console

seatbelt warning in the new car is a little less anoying than the old car

no sunglass case in the new car,old car had one near the sunroof

 

Yeah, now that kind of pisses me off. I mean you pay $60k and there's no sunglasses holder? My Volvo C30 had very limited room as it is a small car. To get around not having a sunglasses holder up by the sunroof they had an option to remove the drivers Holy ***** handle and replace it with a sunglasses holder there instead. It worked really well...so...where's Lexus' solution?