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The 3.5 engine would have the horsepower at around 270-280hp (depending environmental regulation for each country) with torque power that is very close to the Fuga 350 (Nissan) sedan since l don’t have the brochure with me. I also called the engineers at the Higashi-Fuji Technical Center last night and he told me the new engine design was suffering lower than expected “performance” and hesitation problems that is very similar to the Windom sedan selling in the America market when they installed environmental-related components to comply America environmental regulations (but such problem have not exhibit by the ones that’s selling for the Japanese market). Therefore they decide to postpone the launch date for the GS 350 sedan in America until the issue has fully resolved which they hopefully can be done by the time the LS sedan arrives in America. So what is likely to happen is both GS 350 and 430 would launch on schedule for the Japanese market, but the America market would have to live with the new 3.0 liter engine for a while until Toyota come up with the solution for the 3.5 liter engine.
I am just wondering what are the types of hesitation/performance problems suffered by the Windom sedan currently selling in America since none of the Windom sedan in Japan I know of has suffer any sort of hesitation or performance problems? But I know there are researchers in Japan working on the engine/transmission problem for the Windom sedan selling in America market (is this the nature of the problem?). Any information available would be greatly appreciated.
Ken
Toyota Avalon??? Humm..I never heard of this sedan in Japan before, but since you are talking about this car would also have the 3.5 liter engine like the GS-sedan does, then the problem becomes much more complicated. My best guess would be although the engine's basic platform between the two sedan would be very similar, but I think GS engine would be tuned for high sportniess, which make some of the parts used to produce the engine are differ than the Avalon sedan which I believe it’s built for comfort (am I correct??). Also the transmission used by the GS-sedan would be the ones coming from the Crown Athlete sedan (6-speed), which is tuned for sportiness. On the other hand, I believe from what I read from edmunds.com the Avalon sedan are using the 5-transmission that is similar from the Camry sedan, which is less expensive to produce it. Such difference between the engine components and transmission can explain as to why the Avalon sedan would be on sale on schedule and the GS350 sedan is not
Hope this would help
Ken
It did not come quite as loaded as I had hoped. No PCS or adaptive cruise control.
Price was $58,334 MSRP. No discount, no markup.
I am very surprised the new GS in America have no adaptive cruise and PCS Japan because these things are standard features if I pruchase the B package, which would cost me around 6.2 million yen (around 62000 US dollars). The package also include the lane departure warning system too! and they are selling the GS for $58 334; it's way too expensive. I think there's has some serious problems in Toyota America because why they don't sell the similar types of packages we have in Japan??? May-be they would come in later model years, but why not now???
Ken
Just jabbin ya, I thought it was a funny typo.
~alpha
The engine was adequate. This is not bad and I could be happy with this performance given the mpg bonus. I was not surprised by more power than I expected from the stats though.
I love the outside lines of the new car (very BMW 5 series and 1st generation SC coupe front end) but was disappointed by the Mystic Metallic (silver) color on this car. The interior design was pure Lexus/Heaven.
I was VERY disappointed with the interior dimensions. My head scraped the border of the moonroof border cloth even with the seat full lowered and seatback tilted more than my usual. My left shoulder was too tight against the door and B-pillar area. Same noted when in the front passenger seat with my right shoulder. The rear roof is about 3 inches too low for me to sit up straight. I am 6'3" but still surprised as I fit fine in my Boxster. The trunk also was very small for a four door sedan. (I think only 2 cu. ft. larger than the Boxster!)
Now, for my 'mistake'. I sat in an LS430. It was glorious. Inches of room top and sides leftover. The seats, particularly the front thigh supports, where better. GS and LS are both ventilated. Rear seats obviously were cavernous as was the trunk being nearly double the size. The exterior dimensions being 7 inches longer and two inches higher and width about the same as the GS. I took it for a test drive and found the acceleration much better than the GS (no suprise 0-60 5.9sec). What really suprised me was how much better it cornered compared to what I thought. While it was not nearly as good as the GS in cornering it made up for it (to my mind) with better ride and acceleration.
The shocker was that the 63K sticker leased out to $799/month inc. tax(36months/15Kmiles/month) while the non-discounted GS300awd was $854/month same particulars. Both had Nav/ML.
Needless to say, I am strongly leaning toward the LS430. While it has 'senior stigma' and no awd I can get past this. To be fair, if the GS 'fit' me then I never would have sat in or drove the LS. Bad things do happen for good reasons...
I've said it before, the LS is one of my favorites.
I'm betting Lexus will fix this with the next LS. It will probably start at 65k or so to distance it from the GS430.
M
Merc1: The reason I can give up a bit on the sport side of the equation is because I have a Boxster-S. I suspect most folks cannot have three or four cars. The GS series is a nice combo of sport/luxury and will remain quite appealing particularly due to the awd in north.
Thus far the LS is in or at the top of its class. The past GS models have not, THAT is why they have not been flying out the doors. The LS is all around better (particularly value) than the 7 series BMW but the GS has not been in the same league with the 5 series.
As to pricing, Lexus is the dominant Japanese luxury brand in the U.S. and they have earned premium pricing against their peers. It is interesting that you think the new Lexus GS is somewhat under-contented compared to the Japanese model for the price. Ironically, the Infiniti M35/45 (Fuga) has some of the options you cited at a lower price. However, Nissan/Infiniti is playing catch-up against Lexus and probably has to deliver more for the $ for quite a while to catch up to the Lexus brand equity. If you are Toyota this is a good situation because you can basically charge more for your cars. Infiniti and Acura (Honda) do not have this pricing power IMO. Lexus is in a similar position as a Japanese brand as Mercedes Benz was (or is) against its European competitors.
The feature is on the LS's, so I don't think it is a matter of working the kinks out. I think it might be price sensitivity, inasmuch as they are concerned with the price of the GS moving too close to the LS.
Some issues: The interior color combination of ash leather with black bird's-eye maple looks too cheap. The wood is so polished and dark it looks like plastic. The cashmere/golden bird's-eye maple looks much more lexus-like, but it's only available in really dark exterior colors, white, gold and red.
The exterior colors are uninspiring. 25% of GSs will be silver (actually called mercury metallic) - another 40% will be black or white. I was hoping for a little darker silver - the only thing they have is a too dark flint mica.
The interior is too small. Entry/exit into the back seat is unpleasant due to a high wheel well. Once back there way too cramped. The trunk size is marginal but the trunk opening is horrible, try putting a suitcase or groceries back there - need a larger opening.
The car is underpowered. Did a 0-60 mph sprint plus some 30-50 mph passing tests. OK but not good enough for a "sporty" sedan. Compared to the M35, Acura and even the Toyota Avalon the GS needs more power. The brochure says 0-60 takes 6.8 seconds - highly doubtful. The saleslady told me she heard this from quite a few people but had good news - a bigger engine is coming maybe as soon as the end of the year. Did you catch the "tire life may be substantially less than 20,000 miles" comment.
~alpha
Toyota must have really high MF or Low residual.
And I saw a lease on a G35 (which I do not care for personally ) for about $300 a Month.
DL
Tony T
Dealers say they can order, but have separately quoted me 2, 4 and (more than)six months. Any guesses who is correct? Thanks!
Interior finish nicer on Lexus, so for me comes down to is interior worth $11k? Undecided.
In defense of Lexus, new RL interior struck me as too much plastic, and on the one I drove they couldn't even make the smart key work. (Smart key worked on Avalon and Lexus I tried).
~alpha
"The difference is that the Lexus just feels better than the Infiniti. The Lexus feels special. Although not as powerful, its engine is smoother and more refined, its interior is quieter and more elegant, and its suspension tuned more precisely. Driving the Lexus makes you feel like your money has been spent on the very best, and the car will reward you for years to come."
"This is quite a car. It's the best sport sedan from Japan in its price range. It may even be the best sedan in its class. Nice job, Lexus."
Far from faint praise.
~alpha
Thank you