Renelsisc

Guys,


I'm in the market for getting a luxurious yet sleek sedan, and have narrowed down to two choices. The GS430, which i've loved (the GS line) since it was introduced in 98...or the new Mercedes E500. I'm leaning more toward the Lexus, cause there are much more potential for it in terms of mods. However, after lurking around this board for a good few months, I believe that some argue that Lexus is coming out with a new line for the GS? can anyone confirm/disprove this being true? IF they are coming with a new line, anyone know WHEN that is happening? I've also seen that photoshopped ES so thats' outta the question, but the worst thing that i would want is spend the $$$ in buying a new GS only to find that they have a new model the following year. BTW, i understand that the new model might not be as nice as the current one, but atleast i still have that option to choose right. What do you guys think? thanx.

Gary.

rayscar

When I was looking for a new car I considered the GS 430, the Jaguar S-Type V*, the MBW 540i and the MB 500. To me the Jag and the GS430 are not in the same class as the E500 and the 540i. For reasons I have deiscussed in detail in other posts, I chose the 2003 E500. I don't think it is much of choice between the GS and the E other than price. If that is the biggest factor in your decision then the GS will likely win out for you. Otherwise go for the E500.

1SICKLEX

You obviously are a DaimlerChrysler shareholder as the GS pretty much =or is better than the E.

rayscar

Based on resale, luxury, style etc, in my opinion the GS is at least a step below the MB E500. I'm not saying it isn't a good car. It's just no MB. It's entry level lux sport sedan. You obviously like Lexus. The car mags generally rate Japan makers below German makers. Just my opinion too. To each their own.

bmms8

yea the gs will change in 2004 i believe, the gs was never better than any e in my opinion

99ML430

I will readily admit if you want a car with 0 reliability issues the Lexus is very hard to beat. If you desire a car with a pulse, the Lexus won't even make it on your list of cars to test drive.

I agree that the German marques continue to maintain a very large gap in the driving dynamic department. BMW's and MBZ's just feel so much better.........that carved from granite feel of the Benz pretty much puts it in a class of its own. I personally would rate the new E above even the LS430. Again not that Lexus are bad cars, but they have a very sterile/antiseptic feel to them. They make me feel detached from the driving experience.

Juke-box

Hehe..i hope i can help in this situation...i have an E500 on order(i'm currently driving the E430), and my sister owns a GS430 so i'd know a bit about the 2 cars.

First off, teh GS430 is getting dated in the chassis, its not as nimble as it looks. Although it may be fast in straight line, its corners are no where near a Mbz or BMW. But on the other hand, Lexus has hell of an interior in their cars and they are very reliable. The Air conditioner in a Lexus is better than a Mb, and their electronics are much better, as well as the dealer customer service is top notch.

And now, for driving dynamics....the GS430 doesn't cook my rice. It has NO road feel(that's the way my sister and mom likes it ) and again, the chassis is from the Avalon, meaning not as nice as the E430's(let alone the E500). You will feel very comfortable driving the GS, but maybe TOO relaxed for me? the steering wheel feeling isn't there. THe mercedes just feels tighter and better.

As for the guages etc, the GS has hard-to-read guages when its bright outside vs. the very easily read guages of the E430(still to be determined for the E500). so you might not see how fast you're going at a glance when you're pushing 150's

if you're an audiophile, the Mark Levinson system will blow you away, but you can always option the Harmon Kardon system-still to prove its status to me, never liked Hk that much, prefer Mr. Mark Levinson's products

hope this helps!
Juke



ps: Lexus has a lot of std. equipment vs. Mercedes' or bmw's cars..so watch for that too..

amirsafdari

My dad currently has a RX300.
I have driven it for a good 14k miles.

The quality of the car cannot be beat. But the car does have some squeeks and rattles, which I think is fair for a SUV. The car is the closest thing to perfect as I have ever seen.

Every car has a defect. Im sure the Lexus RX300 is the ONLY lexus that has squeeks and rattles. The RX300 also feels very dangerous above 68 miles per hour.. (110 km)

Those are my only two complaints, and I have a feeling that the RX300 is the only lexus that has those problems.

I love Lexus, amazing Quality and the Service is by far the best in the market.

BUT,

The car is boring. Always has been a boring car. I also think the GS430 is not competition to the new E-class. I've driven both cars, and the E500 is smoother, and comes with a lot more cool toys.

jhb

Here is a link to a picture of two new Lexus vehicles, one of which is a 2004 GS: http://thehollywoodextra.com/lexus/lexus.html

IMO, Lexus has been ahead of MB in reliability, in some cases even in design and behind in chassis and driveability. But in the last couple of years, they have really dropped the ball on design. The bulbous headlights on the LS and ES are really funny looking. I had been considering a GS430 because it is currently a decent design. It is pretty dated though. As far as waiting for the new one, well, the GS on this link seems to be another example of them moving to mediocre design. When I saw the link, that made up my mind. I have a Pewter/Stone E500 coming in October.

jhb

P.S. The photo is apparently a Toyota design that is to be used as the prototype for the 2004 GS. In any event the new body will come sometime in 2003 as a 2004 and make the current body that much more dated (although probably better than the new one ala the ES, LS and the SC!!)

E55 KEV

I like the GS. However, I have not seen a lot of mods available, especially things like superchargers or increased engine displacements. There are very few Lexus tuners and I believe the list is very short:

Lsportline
L-Tuned
TTE
Rod Millen

However, the list of MBZ tuners looks like:

AMG
Brabus
Carlsson
Expression
Fab Design
Inden
Kleemann
Lorinser
MKB
Nowack
RB Tech
Renntech

Today TireRack has 83 wheel options for the outgoing E-Class and only 54 for the GS.

Dema

I'd recommend GS430. Why?
1. Since I drive MB, I 'd like to be more exclusive and staying apart. So if you select GS, then you won't be in my camp.
2. Better Lexus sales can drop price for MB. Actually it goes agains 1., but can push Mercedes make better cars.
Actually, for sake of these reason I'm buying Lexus for my wife, although she wants MB.

Juke-box

Awwww....that's cruel..

yipikaye

I own both car. Both car are great cars. BUT there is one thing bothering me about E : Electronic problem. Well, of course the choice is in your hand but if you want realiability, you better take GS430. And, YES, the new GS will be out in 2004 as my dealer confirmed me. I will put my deposit for ordering th enew GS when it is possible.

amg55

Yipikaye the choice should be based primarily on whether you are a driving enthusiast or simply use your car to get comfortably from point A to point B.
The only 2 real knocks against the GS, and Lexus cars in general, are 1) they're very boring to drive, and 2) they are rather dull to look at (though the SC430 has broken that mold....but looks like an infant's toy boat to me.....I'd be embarrassed to drive one unless I was a retired old lady).

If you only want peace, quiet and reliability out of your car, you should always drive a Lexus.

When I drove the current GS430 I was amazed that such an engine could be put into a package so dull and lifeless. I kicked that car around pretty hard and it was pretty amazing how it accelerated OK, but handling was terribly flat, it rolled heavily on corners at speed, and was not solid at high speed.

The opposite ends of the spectrum I'm talking about are BMW and Lexus. BMW is all about letting the car excite you. Lexus is all about not noticing the car is there in the first place.

Caliz_Finest

ROFL

KrispyK

The S-class forum has a long-running 34 page-long thread which has degraded a bit, but is still funny regarding the Lexus v. MB question.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=15312

As for the gentleman who started this whole thread, if you want information on the '04 GS430, you might want to check: http://www.clublexus.com/ -- they'd have more of an idea in their GS430 forum.

1SICKLEX

I can understand the ES 300 or LS 430 or RX 300 a boring drive but it is painfully the people here say the GS is not sporty has not driven it. The GS won accolades FOR IT'S SPORTINESS. Damn this is nuts.

Both are great cars, if u want the newest thing out, get the E, but a new 5 is coming next year.

amg55

If you're a big fan of the GS430's "sportiness" 1SICKLEX, maybe it's because of your standards for comparison.
I'm not saying that the GS430 is "unsporty" compared to a Ford Focus or a Toyota Camry.
I'm just comparing it to the true sports-type cars I drive and have driven in recent years, like the BMW M3 & M5, Porsche 911, CLK55, E55, Audi S4, Jaguar XJR and such.
The GS430 is just a wannabe in the aggressive sports sedan market IMO (though the 911 is the outlier in my list, not a sports sedan).
It's marketed to people who want a sporty edge to a sedate car, rather than people who want a sporty car which can function as a sedan.

Look at Lexus' entire history, focus and market niche.
It has nothing to do with aggressive driving and sports cars.
The Japanese have tremendous engineering and marketing ability and insight. Lexus CLEARLY tries to stay out of the way of the German sport market where thay just can't compete.

1SICKLEX

Dude, I will not or did not make any argument about the GS 400/430 vs any Limited Production High Performance model ala every car u named.Those are RARE cars and much more expensive, they should and BETTER whoop on the GS (which they do).

That is apples to oranges bub.

And I love all those cars u names, I really think the RS-6 though is SOMETHING! And my next car maybe a 996 (later than sooner) Aye, I agree. I wish there was a factory High Performance Lexus vehicles (actually there are many of us). Time will tell.

mstrange

I see multiple posts about what people have read and heard and a few from owners of some of these cars. I currently own a 2000 BMW 540i and love it. However when I was buying 3 years ago I was sure I wanted a GS400 - Until I drove it. Don't misunderstand me, it was a very nice car and had some power but just did not feel all that fast and strong. I was ready to just keep what I had and wait. Then I was talked into driving the 540i and was ready to buy before I finished the test drive. So read all you want, but nothing takes the place of sitting and the car and driving it!

I am looking to turn in my 540i (lease end) in a couple of months and have been out driving again. I just drove the new E500 and it will be the replacement for my 540i. BMW will not have there new car for at least 6 months!! I am sure it will be nice, but the E500 is the nicest sports sedan that I have driven. BTW I also looked at other options outside of the sedan market (Porsche 911, Lexus SC430 (very nice and unique), 7 series BMW etc.) but love the size of the E500 and the combination of power, handling etc.

All of that to say - go drive the cars - they are all good cars but it depends on what you like.

Mike

1SICKLEX

Statement of the year!