Lexus GS F: PH Carpool
How reliability and a £20,000 discount got this PHer into his V8 luxobarge
Car: Lexus GS F
Owned since: November 2016
Previously owned: Ford Anglia, Ford Cortina, Vauxhall Viva, Sunbeam Alpine, Ford Capris x2, Volkswagen Derby, Talbot Horizon, Renault 21, Ford Escort, XR2, Cavalier SRI, several Mercedes, Lexus IS250, Lexus IS F
"My previous car, a Lexus IS F, was getting a bit old and the hard ride on our rubbish roads was becoming a pain, so I was looking around for a replacement. I really wanted a newer IS F with the upgraded suspension but the newest available was three years old and a ridiculous price. I also wanted a car I could keep for up to 10 years. The German alternatives weren't really in the game because of the problems that they experience, and American cars aren't really built well enough, so the only candidates were a GS F or an XF R.
"The original plan was to keep the IS F for another couple of years and then buy a used GS F. Then I found out that Lexus had only sold about 50, so the chances of me having much of a choice of cars and colours in two years time started to look remote.
"I'd seen this car on the local Lexus dealers forecourt in the spring and had a good look round it, but had to dismiss it because no amount of man maths would make it affordable. Then in the summer it came down by £10,000 and I thought "another £10,000 off that and it might be possible". Lo and behold another £10,000 came off by the end of October so the man maths started to work and after a short negotiation it was mine. Eight months old and with only 300-odd miles on the clock, to all intents a new super saloon at a massive discount. Nobody seems to want to buy these cars and I can't understand why. They're easily comparable in real world performance to the C63s, RS6s, M5s and so on, with Lexus that quality means they'll be reliable. I suppose the problem is the badge; Lexus ownership just doesn't have the bragging rights of a Merc/BMW/Audi, but I've never been that impressed by labels - build quality and engineering does it for me. The Germans might be slightly quicker round a track but I bet they'll spend more time being fixed than mine."
"Nothing, it's a Lexus."
Things I love:
"The colour and the rarity. Nobody has a clue what it really is. Really easy to drive slowly on our crowded roads but when asked it will pile on the speed at a frightening rate. The ride is much better than my old IS F and the V8 soundtrack is wonderful- it barks when you fire it up. Plenty of toys, superb seats, good handling for such a big car and of course the power! Journalists have criticised the gearbox response on a track, but in the real world it's fine, it just does the job it's required to."
Things I hate:
"The indicator stalk - it has an electronic latching mechanism rather than the mechanical one on previous cars and sometimes it doesn't cancel after turning a corner so you tap the stalk to cancel it and then the other indicator comes on, making you look like a numpty. The electronic speed nanny - I've turned it off, got fed up with the constant beeping."
"None so far apart from an excess on a broken windscreen, which took three weeks to get fixed because Lexus didn't have any in the country. To their credit, once I'd shared my 'disappointment' with Lexus Customer Services, they organised a loan car for me to use until the new screen was fitted."
Where I've been:
"Mostly local trips over the winter apart from a weekend jaunt to Yorkshire and back. The car made this such an easy journey. I'll be trying to take it further afield this summer."
What next?
"What indeed? With the way it's going to depreciate, I'll need to keep this until I'm too old to drive it. Then it'll probably be something more appropriate, such as an electric or a hybrid, or perhaps not..."
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Not sure if it's the design or the photos.
I do like that Blue colour though, saw one of the coupes with it and it looked striking.
Think I need to see it in the flesh because I like the new Lexus design ethos generally.
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/lexus/gs-f/2016/#20...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-f-2008-2014/56...
As said already, it's an odd looking thing isn't it?! Perhaps it's because I'm used to the ISF and it ends up looking like a stretched version of that?
Sounds like a bargain though and pleased to hear it's serving the OP well. I am a fan of that blue.
I'll now add it to the list of cars to look at on Auto Trader when daydreaming about powerful barges. :-p
Then spends three weeks without it while waiting for a bloody windscreen! Made me giggle.
Lovely car though, very much the left-field choice which makes it all the more appealing.
They may not be in the same league, performance wise, in comparison, but i'm sure there is plenty to be enjoyed, coupled with the fantastic reliability and customer service that they're renowned for. I would love an ISF myself, maybe even over an E92 M3.
The other issue is size. Be under no illusion, these cars are massive. In the flesh they look even bigger than in photographs.
However, the GSF exists when targeting those going for the next size up in the saloon world I.E. BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E Class, Audi A6, etc. I don't think any of those are much different, size wise, to the GS Series.
Yes it is a large car but you only notice it when parking . On the road it feels the same size as the ISF. To some extent it feels more agile than the ISF as the steering seems to turn in sharper and the better damping on the suspension stops it skittering on rough bends.
Yes, it is slightly slower to 60 than its rivals but it is still pretty quick - 0 to 60 in 4.6 secs isn't slow, but it nails them all on top speed - 168mph (limited). In absolute pedal to the metal racing it will get beaten but that is an environment that few of us will ever enter.
Fair point about the windscreen delay but I would point out that the car wasn't off the road , it was still being used (sparingly) despite the ever growing crack across the screen. After I had words with Lexus about the delay, they delivered a newish RX450h to me and I used this for the long weekend trip I wasn't happy to take the GSF on because of the windscreen crack. I kept this until the GSF was fixed. I wonder how many other manufacturers would have done this? I still maintain, based on my experiences with the ISF that it will spend less time off the road in its life than its German cousins , if the posts on some of their forums are anything to go by.
It looks better in the flesh than in pictures, but since there are only 46 registered in the UK, you might never see one. I've never seen another!
As I said in the original note, the problem with this car is the badge on the front and Lexus' poor marketing. To my mind it makes a better second hand buy than its competitors because of Lexus' quality and reliability, but sadly there aren't going to be many around 2nd hand.
Oh, one last thing, I take exception to PH's description as a "luxo barge" . It's not!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIHQfqwLYys
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