For quite some time, my son has been encouraging me to test one of the high-end Lexus vehicles as he worked at a dealership. A call to the public relations people and I was in a GS 350 AWD model, which turned out better for me as the poor weather made the AWD feature a real bonus.
Lexus as been gunning for a share of the market for years now that has been traditionally dominated by Mercedes-Benz. There are some enthusiasts that truly believe Lexus is equal to or greater than Mercedes. For me, the week of testing this luxurious Lexus sedan was going to help me determine my opinion.
I am always one who has to see a car in person to decide its looks and looking over the GS I was quite impressed. Like all the Lexus models, the GS shares the similar front styling which in real life is much more striking than in pictures. Generally I like the proportions of this car as I consider it just right for today’s market. Add to this, one of the lowest drag coefficients of just 0.26 – truly amazing considering it has conventional car lines and doesn’t look like it is from outer space.
As you might suspect, fit and finish were second to none in any price range. I have to say I was impressed as all controls were easy to get at and on the whole, were easy to control. A joy stick on the console controls many of the extra features offered, like the sound system, GPS, phone sync plus a whole lot more. Seating was top notch, as I only had to make minor adjustments to seat controls to get comfortable. Rear seating was also very generous, comfortable and basically suited for two. Besides a comfortable interior, the appearance was excellent and oozed quality. I was pleasantly surprised to find the trunk was generously sized as well at 530 L (18.7 cu.ft.).
Now, powering the GS was a 3.5 L double overhead cam V6 matted to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Power comes on very smoothly and swiftly giving the 306 hp car 0 to 100 kph times of about 6.5 seconds, which if you check is very good for a car weighing in at 1,765 kg (3,970 lb). Even with all this power, fuel consumption was pretty good at 9.7 L/100 km combined is better than some lower priced economy cars.
Most of you can probably gather I really liked the GS 350. I have driven numerous cars over the years and most of them are above average with their pluses and generally not many minuses. But sometimes I find a vehicle that I just adjust to instantly, something that is just hard to define. This might just be the reason why the Lexus line is so popular, as it seems to be just right for a lot of other people as well. Considering how well this vehicle does most things, and with a price of $63,000, the GS 350 is worth considering if you’re looking for the best.
MSRP: Base price is $54,900; Tested $63,200
HP: 0.306 @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 277 @ 4800 rpm
Layout: All-wheel drive
Fuel economy: 10.7L/100km city and 7.1L/100Km highway