No One!

[toosic]

this is the Lexus Owners Club, and NO ONE has anything to post about the 2013 LEXUS GS 350 F-Sport?

[lenore]

Not sure about the front end, seems all of the car manufacturors are going for the same look.....

[peterharvey73]

I tested one last week.

Here are the strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

The new spindle front end is good.

The boot is a little larger than before, but no match for a capacious front drive Camry!

The interior has higher seats, and there is a little more head room; no match for a Camry though.

At idle, the insulation is even more impressive than the outgoing model.

Also, cruising along, the new model is even more isolated than it's predecessor.

The power steering is now actually lighter, yet more feel.

It is a little sharper than before.

The ride has improved substantially.

The old GS was a little too soft on the springs, too soft on the dampers resulting in floatiness, and too short in travel, always bottoming out.

The new GS has such long travel, like a truly large car etc.

The new GS is a fraction firmer in the springs for greater steering sharpness.

It is also slightly better damped for less floatiness.

However, the travel is really long now, giving an impressively comfortable ride.

The body structure is also more rigid than before, with no squeaks and rattles in around the glove box and the central console like the old model.

The handling is better, but not a great deal; the 5 Series is still firmer on the springs and sharper than the GS.

The current model IS250 would simply leave the new GS behind for dead on a handling circuit.

The new GS 2.5L V6 is not actually an IS250 engine.

Now it has bags of bottom end torque!

The new GS has an impressively improved equipment list including:

Fully electric boot closing.

Much more adjustments for driver's seat.

Fully automatic parking brake, synchronised with the "P" setting on the auto tranny.

Significantly more powerful, more effortless, and cleaner hi-fi system.

Clearer sat nav display.

Blind spot and lane changing indicators.

Auto dipping hi beam.

Head-up display.

Rear window sunshades.

Rear adjustment for fore/aft of front passenger seat, to improve rear chauffer driven passenger legroom.

Rear adjustment of temperature, fanspeed, and stereo system.

Overall, the greatest advancement of the new GS is the longer suspension travel benefiting the ride a great deal!!!

There is also a little more room, more bottom end torque, lighter steering with more feel and more sharpness, and heaps of equipment.

The GS now has the very best engine, ride and refinement in it's class.

Weaknesses:

However, the brake cooling intakes and the foglights are bland.

The C pillar area is bland; the old GS C pillar treatment, or the C pillar treatment on the LS would be much better.

The new GS tail is very bland, some likening it to a Hyundai Sonata; the tail is no match for the prototype which it is based on.

Constructively, the GS tail end styling should have taken off the LS, or at least the IS, or even a refinement of the old GS tail end styling!

The interior styling is complex, untidy, boring, designed for the older person aka 60+, and will age very quickly; Benz and Beamer have GS beaten solidly here!

The interior only has a little more headroom, not a great deal, and certainly no match for an E Class or 5 Series.

Disappointingly, the rear foot room is only a little bigger than before; just a touch roomier - very disappointing.

The rear leg room, and the rear hip room seems to have actually diminished!

Although the new 2.5 V6 has bags of bottom end torque, it is moderately louder, and not as smooth.

The hi fi system has lost the 6 disc stacker! Now it only takes 1 disc, and it relies on you using an mp3 device.

Remember, mp3 music is actually compressed music! Not for the purist, but for 99% of the population, it sounds fine.

The greatest drawback of the new 2012 GS lies in the poor styling, outside and inside!

Then there's the louder engines, something that is not Lexus-like, but bearable.

Conclusion

Overall, the new GS is a mixed bag compared with the old model.

In comes the superb stiffer platform and super duper ride, with lighter power steering with more feel, and greater sharpness, and a brilliant stereo.

Out goes the slick, and timeless styling, and the insulated engines.

Thus, the old GS had style, but flawed mechanicals.

The new GS has the mechanicals, but no style.

The E Class and the 5 Series will continue to romp away with sales.

The main advantage of the E Class and 5 Series over the new GS is two fold:

(1) new GS poor styling inside and out, and

(2) GS's slightly smaller interior.

If the new GS had retained the old GS's quietness under acceleration, then that would be a big boon to the new GS.

However, this new GS should be able to solidly kill and outsell the Audi A6 and the Jag XF this time around.

Btw, the unconventional styling of the Infiniti M37 has no hope of competing against the new Lexus GS.

If you have any questions about the new or old GS, just ask me...

[dd15]

this is the Lexus Owners Club, and NO ONE has anything to post about the 2013 LEXUS GS 350 F-Sport?

That is sad, isn't it? :(

When I was looking at purchasing the 2013 GS, I looked for user forums for feedback/reviews and came here - found this plan barren like the sahara desert. Actually, worse - the sahara at least has scorpions! lol!

There is another site (not sure if I'm allowed to post the name here) with VERY active forums for the 2013 GS. Search the web and ye shall find :)

I recently purchased the 2013 GS RWD (NON F sport) - Liquid Platinum/Flaxen - upgraded from an ES. It has been a month since I purchased it - absolutely love it!

There are a few things about it that I think could have been improved, but those are fairly minor.

How about you? Are you looking at purchasing one? Or have you purchased already one?

[ValetParker]

I just picked up my Luxury AWD one (not the F sport version, but most of my performance "needs" are just off the line power - not many tight turns on my suburbia drive to work) last weekend... and I LOVE it. Only real complaint is why are there audio controls in the back seat? Otherwise it's an awesome ride and the Mark Levinson stereo is awesome. Kicks the crap out of the stereo in the Infiniti M56 I test drove...

[dochusar]

Just wanted to post how much I like the 13 GS. I have a Liquid Platinum AWD for about a week and just love the drive. Put about five hundred miles and am getting about 24 mp of mixed highway city diving. Love the ride. The new nav and enform has gremlins and when these are fixed will be fantastic.

[Howard Frazier]

Just got my 2013 GS 350 F AWD last week. So far, I love it, but only have about 130 miles so far.

I noticed that there is a significant 'ticking' noise from the engine compartment that is quite audible at idle, and low and medium speeds. Almost sounds like a diesel engine under some conditions. Anyone else have that? I've had several different Lexus models previously and this one is the only one that I could hear anything from the engine compartment.

I took it back to the dealer and after inspection, they said the noise was likely from the fuel injectors(?). Apparently the GS350 has 'direct' fuel injectors which are noiser than 'standard' injectors. I asked if there was any remedy and he said none are available. After some proding, he said that earlier GS models had two side panels in the engine compartment designed for acoustic dampening, but the 2013 model does not. He wasn't sure why the change, but he mentioned that with a significant re-design, they may have determined that they were unnecessary. I fired off a letter to Lexus to see what they have to say about it.

[SW03ES]

Congrats! Welcome to the LOC!

Yeah that ticking noise is pretty common on these direct injected cars...

[caztx]

I've had a 2013 RWD GS350 for about 2 months. While I like it overall, I think the cooled seats are far worse then the 2012 ES loaner car I was driving. I live in Texas and I can barely feel the air flow on the seats and I'm certainly not "cold" while driving. The main vents, those are freaking cold.

Other minor dislikes: don't park the car in ECO mode as there will be a long delay to get the A/C going.

I think the voice recognition is terrible. As far as apps/phone, I have a Blackberry, so I am doomed for failure there.

I have the Mark Lev, but I feel that using the wheel audio controls or mouse is more cumbersome than having push-button pre-sets. With satellite radio, HD radio, and 6 sets of presets, clicking one at a time with the mouse or wheel is a huge pain.

[LEX-SV]

Now that the new GS has been out for over a year, we can see the sales volume in US is up by a huge margin over the previous gen GS.

Note: I don't find the ticking direct injection to be loud at all in my IS350 when seated inside the car. Mostly it's heard when standing outside of the car.

[SW03ES]

12,500 miles on mine and I love it like no car I've ever had!

[pj8708]

Over all, it sounds like Lexus hit a long, perfect homer with this one. I like seeing "Big L" becoming more aggresive in style and performance for the customers who like those products.

I've been wondering if they will come out with a side strip of chrome for the ES next year or if they'll hold off on that for a few years.

Paul