Ask any petrolhead and they’ll agree: manufacturers are slowly reducing the need for a driver in modern day cars. Seriously! As soon as you begin to pass a certain segment or price range in a car these days, the car starts to take away more and more responsibility from the driver, to the point at which driving some premium cars is as easy as offending a South African politician.
We want to drive, take risks, be irresponsible, show off. We’re South Africans after all. It’s our car, let us drive it.
Lexus though, admit this is a problem, and they’re doing something about it in their new GS range. “Cars are being over-engineered and slowly removing the driver from focal point”, is their thinking. And isn’t this the exact reason you drive (aside from getting to places)? I mean, you’re the one laying out the cash on the car. You’re the one who should get to drive it, no? Not the ESP and the BMG and the S&M.
Lots of talk though, how have they faired?
Quite well actually. The new Lexus GS is as smooth as P Diddy to drive and the good news is they haven’t compromised on anything through the range. Buy the top end or the entry level and you’re getting yourself a luxury sedan.
So much so, that Lexus point out that to get to the same spec level as the GS350 in a competitive BMW sedan, you’ll need to spend a whopping R169 000.
Lexus is introducing a new identity for its cars with this range and it’s marked by the Spindle Grille and a likeness that kept reminding me of the LFA supercar. I can dream!
In all honesty it’s not much to look at from behind, but the front end is very aggressive, especially when you consider that those driving this car turn and run when someone else they don’t even know gets into a fight in a bar.
The GS range features three V6 engines, only two of which are coming at launch, the 3.5-litre and a quite brilliant 450 hybrid which has the 3.5-litre engine mated to a powerful electric motor and high voltage battery.
The 3.5-engine is as you can imagine quite powerful. A decent 233 kW and 378 Nm of torque as well as the compulsory din of a V6 will keep you quite content with this car.
It’s the hybrid that’s more impressive though. Many a hybrid would leave the driver with the shivers in passing a truck on the mountain pass. The 233kw engine is complemented to a grand total of 252kw, all of which comes through as smooth as if you were idling a 1-litre engine in a Pick n Pat parking lot.
At 120km/h on an open road, gear down from 5th, to 4th, to 3rd, and there’s not a wince from the engine. Sure the real petrolheads will groan at this ‘cos we want the thrust from behind and the rev of a V6, but a civilized human with his family in the car is going to welcome the electric motor picking up the slack of the gear change.
Over 160km/h the car did get a bit wobbly, but how often are you going to drive that speed anyway?
Driving the 450h is like walking into a bank with a fully loaded AK47 and a pair of tights in your pocket. You feel invincible!
Inside the Lexus GS is as comfortable as you can imagine. Leather all round with contrasting trim, a Playstation steering wheel and the party piece: a 12.3” center console display. Some would call it overkill, others unnecessary and others “still smaller than my penis”. Whatever your take on it, it’s so big they have had to chop their OS in two. The familiar Lexus mouse system can hover from the right section to left.
Gripes? Is it necessary to have such a big button for switching between Eco, Sport and Sport Plus? Couldn’t the mouse control go there instead. That’s all.
As for pricing, there is only one option in this range and that’s the 350. The cheapest hybrid model is R180 000 (and then some) more expensive than the most expensive 350 model. That’s a down-payment on a new house in a decent neighborhood. Frivolous spending really. And for what, to save a few trees?
| Model |
GS 250 |
GS350 |
GS 450h |
GS 450h F-Sport |
| Engine type
|
2500 cm³ V6 |
3456 dm³ |
3456 dm³ Hybrid V6 with electric motor and battery |
3456 dm³ Hybrid V6 with electric motor and battery |
| Max power
|
154 kW @ 6400 rpm |
233 kW @ 6400 rpm |
213 kW @ 6000 rpm
(252 kW total system output) |
213 kW @ 6000 rpm
(252 kW total system output) |
| Max torque
|
253 Nm @ 4800 rpm |
378 Nm @ 4800 rpm |
345 Nm + 275 Nm |
345 Nm + 275 Nm |
| 0-100 km/h |
8.8 secs |
6.3 secs |
6.1 secs |
6.1 secs |
| Gearbox
|
6-speed auto |
6-speed auto |
e-CVT |
e-CVT |
| Consumption (combined)
|
8.9 ℓ /100 km |
9.4 ℓ/100 km |
6.2 ℓ/100 km |
6.2 ℓ/100 km |
| CO2 (comb.) |
215 g/km |
223 g/km |
139 g/km |
139 g/km |
GS 250 EX R494 400
GS 350 EX R564 900
GS 450h F-Sport R753 700
GS 450h SE R771 700
