All,

My bro dumped his C32 AMG and picked up a new GS. I'm sure he's happy with the upgrade (in interior; downgrade in performance). He was getting antsy with his warranty running on the AMG (good idea), so he wanted something more practical and better on gas.

Like most of us, he got sucked into the marketing so he jumped on the Lexus bandwagon. His GF convinced him to get AWD so he opted for the GS300 AWD. Silver on black , just like his last car. I'll have to wait 1500km after the break-in to see what guts that engine has. V6, 3.0L, ~4000lb, Pirelli P6 tires ... I bet this thing will drive like a pig. (A highway cruiser for sure, but won't be a super-handler ... not its purpose, I realize)

Attached are a couple pics I just took. Old news to most, I'm sure.









I love this key fob. No need to take the keys out of your pocket ... auto door/trunk opener ... push the start button on the dash ... just like the new Corvette.

 

quite the change in cars...but in the end probably a smart decision about getting rid of the AMG. Not that it matters now, but what other cars did he look at?

 

slow or not, still a badass car

 

hot car

 

Cars he was looking at:

- GS300/GS430
- M35/M45

That's it. I told him to take a look at a TL (since he is a miser) but he didn't want to go below his previous car AND he didn't want to drive a car similar to his brother (I have a 2nd gen TL).

His GF works at Johnson Controls (major supplier to Nissan/Infiniti). She strongly advised him NOT to buy any Nissan product. Their Q/C is not up to par with Toyota/Lexus. Nissan builds great engines and chassis but crappy interiors. The M takes great strides forward in interiors, no doubt. However, it doesn't have the reliability as the Lexus -- according to the GF. (The M and GS are both first year models ... who can say which one is more reliable? I think most of us will use the company's track record to extrapolate 'quality').

I've sat in a few new GS's ... I like them. I do prefer the design of the 2nd gen GS (Kenstyle bodykit, etc) over the 3rd gen GS ... but then again, I haven't seen any around here that have been modded. (Everyone in my town who can afford one is 40+ whiteys and definitely aren't into the import / VIP scene...) Plus the Lexus dealer doesn't cut deals so I've seen only 1 other on the road (MD plates on it).

 

.. when are the dubs arriving?

 

I wish ... my bro is a miser (see previous post). Another reason for getting AWD was that he didn't "need" to buy 2 sets of rims like his AMG ...

He's asked me to sell his AMG rims ... he has no idea what to do with them (since the Lexus dealer wasn't going to give him anything for them ...) I would love to use them on another application but stupid Mercedes and their 5 x 108 bolt pattern. (STUPID!)

 

Kinda looks like my brothers, then again my brother has a silver Maxima.

 

I was looking at a GS in the chinese rest. parking lot last friday...

Nice ride

 

I dont know if there is a dif in suspension between the 430 and the 300 but my gpa has the 430 with the dif suspension settings and it rides like its on rails. great handling! and fast to boot

 

haha

 

Sweet car. You surely can't beat Lexus reliability!

And I see he got the clear bra on it already. Smart guy.

 

The Infiniti M35/45 was one of the highest rated in CR. Also Infiniti has surpassed Lexus in reliability when the years go on.

 

Actually according to JD Power and Associates Lexus is still leading dependability for the 11th straight year, while Infiniti is 5th. I would trust JD Power Associates before Consumer Reports.

 

tell him to get some tanabe df210's

 

I think you might be alone in that opinion. Many people don't love CR but most would not put any stock in JD Power (in this case I believe Lexus to be superior in reliability, but many JD Power surveys are BS like the "Initial Quality" one). I think CR has a better chance of being unbiased while JD Power could be completely funded by a few select carmakers for all we know.

 

God knows i've closed many doors on all type of car's and rentals i've had over the years.

But on that 2006 GS is the smoothest door i've ever closed.. very soft but yet very firm.

 

Just curious….No buttons…How do you lock the doors when you park it?
My Vette automatically unlocks when you get close and it has the push button start, but you still have a button on the FOB to lock it.
There is a mode you can set that it automatically locks the car when you walk away, but the dealer said not to use it.
Too many stories like if you leave the FOB in a jacket pocket in the car it might not detect it and lock you out.

 

Nice

 

I guess I'm confused. If you leave the FOB in your jacket pocket and leave the jacket in the car I would imagine it wouldn't lock. From what I understand it should only lock when the FOB itself leaves the car.

Anyway, if this Lexus fob is like the BMW's there is a spot on the door you can touch to lock it in addition to setting it to lock automatically when you leave the car.

 

Good point. I took a pic of the one side of the key fob. I will take a pic of the other side. The other side has 4 buttons: unlock door, lock door, open trunk, panic. If you hold the unlock door button for 2 seconds, the all the windows go down and the sunroof opens. Hold the lock door ... you get the idea.

By default, it has the 'intelligent key' on. (ie walk away and doors lock/alarm is set). I could see how one could forget to leave the key fob in the car (it won't allow you to lock yourself out) and you unintentionally keeping your car unlocked. But I would be so paranoid that I would check my pockets for my keys, regardless.

Other default functions (auto-lock when you shift out of park; auto-unlock when you shift into park) can be annoying. I prefer to click the door lock button when I want to lock / unlock the doors. You never know what shady characters lurk in Windsor. Haha. (More like shady characters in Metro Detroit...)

 

The problem comes if you get out and accidentally leave the keys IN something and inside the car, such as a jacket or purse.
If they’re shielded from the sensors good enough it will think you left the car and then lock the doors.
I have this “feature” turned off so it doesn’t happen.
I have the auto unlock turned on and it automatically locks the doors once the car reaches 15MPH.
Then unlocks both doors when you stop.
You can also program it to just unlock the drivers side or neither.
It has all kind of settings that I’m still playing with.

 

niceee, congrats

 

Its almost impossible for that to happen. My mom has this feature on her Murano and has never locked herself out (if it was possible she probably would have once by now). The fob works even when burried in her pocketbook burried under other crap in her car. Although hers doesn't have an automatic lock feature, you have to hit the fob or a little black button on the door handle that locks the car.

 

So how old is your brother? Like 58 now?






Just kidding. Nice ride.

 

C32

 

Did a 20km test drive with the car this afternoon (it was 50F outside ... ahhh). The brakes are a bit mushy ... maybe due to the weight of the car? Otherwise, the engine is silky-smooth ... road-noise is non-existant. "Base" audio-system competent for radio and the Diana Krall CD in the 6-disc player I sampled. Bumpy roads weren't that bumpy but you did get decent feedback from the relatively small steering wheel (for such a big sized car). Power steering is boosted quite a bit at city speeds. As a luxo-tourer, it does the job very well. Need to drive it on the highway for a long distance to see if the seats are as comfortable as they were in the 20km I drove it.

The fit & finish is light years ahead of my 2002 TL-S. (As one would expect paying C$28k more MSRP than my TL-S). Engine bay is entirely covered in plastic to prevent the average joe to tinker with it. Bells and whistles inside ... very inviting. Haven't tried the Bluetooth function with the cell phone. I imagine that would be intuitive. I'm not a big fan of the touch screen NAVI screen.

One pet-peeve -- my bro should have sprung for the A/C ventilated seats. The nerve!

PS The C32 ... all hype. I think the MY2003 was way better built than the MY2002. Maintenance on the C32 ... way too expensive. I almost fell on the floor when my bro told me how much the dealership charged for an "oil change". Close to C$600. A simple service on the Lex is about C$60 for an oil change. Please tell me why it's 10X more expensive in the AMG motor?

In the C32's defense, the torque ... It motors up to 200km/h from 100km/h almost as fast as from 0-100km/h. Don't ask me how I know that ...

 

Im susprised that you thought the brakes were mushy, mabey there is a big dif between the 300 and the 430 but the 430 I have driven had some big ass front brakes and were some of the best I have felt... not mushy at all very firm.
and like you said he should have got the ventilated seats they are great

 

For Shawn S ...

The other side of the key fob.



And joshr .... I was totally surprised at the lack of feel for the brakes. Virtually every other Lexus I've driven has really firm brakes. Maybe it's still 'learning' my bro's driving habits? I had to really mash it to get that porker to stop. (Way more than my car or my bro's AMG)

 

Stupid Lexus ... they give you a listing of what features you can set (auto door lock when shift out of park, auto unlock when shifting into park, etc). Nothing can be done on your own ... you have to bring it in and have a technician do it.

Well ... then again, this is what my bro is telling me and he's the last one to actually read an owner's manual. (And he also refuses to get his hands dirty to actually FIX something.) He might be a typical Lexus owner (which makes the service dept very happy...)

 

Mine has tons of stuff to set.
When I start it, it says “Shawn’s Vette” on the display for a few seconds.