LAUNCH: LEXUS GS (From RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins)

Lexus Malaysia The all-new fourth generation and highly anticipated Lexus GS (CBU) is now offered in Malaysia with a wide range of choices – two engine sizes and a Luxury as well as a F-SPORT version. Lexus Malaysia graciously allowed us to take the GS 250 Luxury as well as the GS 350 Luxury out for a short spin, so we could feel what each had to offer.

Positioned below the IS but above the LS range of Lexus vehicles, the GS allows Lexus to go head-to-head with the likes of BMW’s 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class.

A naturally aspirated direct injection (EFI-D4S) V6 engine, armed with VVT-i sits comfortably up front and provides propulsion to the rear. Yes it’s a RWD and offers you a choice of either a 2.5L (4GR-FSE) or 3.5L (2GR-FSE) petrol engine. The uniqueness about it is that there’s one injector installed in the combustion chamber and a second mounted in the intake port.

Coupled to the engine is a 6-Speed Super ECT with A.I. Shift Automatic Transmission that lets loose 206bhp at 6,400rpm and 253Nm of toque at 4,800rpm, if you’ve opted for the GS 250. On the other hand, with the same transmission, the GS 350 has an additional 106bhp and125Nm of torque, bringing the total figure to 312bhp at 6,400rpm and 378Nm of torque at 4,800rpm.

The paddle shifters will not work unless you shift the leather clad gear knob into M (Manual) mode. Gear shifts seem nicely quick and very precise (not as quick as a DSG of course) but more importantly, it’s quick enough to get you feeling really sporty.

Down shifts are not allowed till you get the revs down to about 4,100rpm and if you try to down shift above it, you’ll be nicely informed by a small beep.

The emphasis on the engine seems more torque-sided than horsepower, but either one is no slouch, capable of heaving their 2,000kg heft up to 230kmh for the GS 250 and 235kmh for the GS 350. The GS 250 gets from zerotohundred in 8.6s whereas the GS 350 does it in 6.0s flat; 2.6s faster.

If you’ve opted for the GS 250, you’ll be missing out on the Sport+ driving mode, that’s found as standard on the other higher-end variants. When activated, the ECU changes the characteristics of the car so that gear changes are a little more abrupt, the suspension is stiffer and the engine is greatly responsive, as well as switching over to a different set of electronic stability controls for a far more aggressive drive feel. Power and torque remains the same in all driving modes.

On top of that, you’ll be on a set of 17″ alloy rims that sit on 225/50 tyres, 10 way (instead of 18 way for both driver and front passenger) power adjustment front seat, driver-side only memory seat (instead of both driver and front passenger), an 8″ Electronic Multi-Vision (EMV) Screen, instead of 12.3″ and a Lexus Premium Audio 12-Speaker system instead of a Mark Levinson 17-Speaker system.

Out on the road, both the GS 250 Luxury and 350 Luxury will look pretty much identical, save the rear badge of course. The same goes for the GS 250 or 350 F-SPORT. However, the GS 250 F-SPORT will not have the Lexus Dynamic Handling (All Four-Wheel Steering) whereas the GS 350 F-SPORT will. But that’s an additional RM71,000 from the GS 250 F-SPORT’s price tag.

But what really stood out, when entering the cabin of the GS was the massive 12.3” non-touch LCD screen. If you’re familiar with the CT200h, then navigating through the multi-function screen of the GS should be of relative ease. This particular screen is available on all other variants except the baseline GS 250.

Our first driving impression for the GS 250 Luxury was that it came off as rather placid. Perfect for those not looking to outpace the other out on the roads, but would rather enjoy the spacious and rather cushy rear seats in relative comfort. What really impressed were not the pop-out cup holders integrated into the rear’s centre arm rest, but rather the integration of both climate and audio controls!

Right behind the rear seats lies an enormous amount of boot space; 566L of space! In short, the boot is capable of packing in four golf bags for your other three mates that are joining you for a flight, just out of town.

It was obvious, the GS 250 struck us as a purely chauffeur driven car, and bringing it up to speed will take some effort from the 2.5L V6, but it is after all, a two tonne vehicle. It will very comfortably bring you up to 180kmh before wheezing for air.

However, you could very much consider both the GS 250 and 350 to be bi-polar, though they may look and feel the same; they are in now way similar once your foot is on the accelerator.

The 350 Luxury corners relatively flat around fast corners and steers well into tighter ones as well, allowing you to exert some torque steer if required. The Lexus Dynamic Handling (LDH) helps point the car in the right direction by making incremental adjustments up to a maximum of 2.0 degrees

The GS 350 doesn’t look like one, but it sure feels like a car that wants to be driven, plant your foot down and watch the speedometer climb to 210kmh before it starts to struggle.

At speed the GS is rather quiet and having a coefficient of drag of only 0.27Cd, it makes perfect sense.

The Lexus GS’ interior has everything easily within reach and best of all, it’s customisable for every one of all shapes and sizes and the best part is that the driver gets vented AND an air-conditioned leather back rest to help keep cool and calm.

Colours for the GS 250 come in White Pearl Crystal Shine, Sonic Silver, Mercury Gray and Starlight Black.

The Luxury variants have Fire Agate Mica Metallic and Meteor Blue Mica Metallic to choose from.

The F-SPORT variant has White Pearl Crystal Shine, Sonic Silver, mecury Gray and Crimson CS to choose from.

Price List
Lexus GS 250 – RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins
Lexus GS 250 Luxury – RM409,287.30 OTR + Ins
Lexus GS 250 F-SPORT – RM411,279.30 OTR + Ins

Lexus GS 350 Luxury – RM468,884.95 OTR + Ins
Lexus GS 350 F-SPORT – RM477,092.95 OTR + Ins

COMMENTS FROM PREVIOUS PLATFORM:

03-30-2012, 10:33 AM	#2
poolupwai 5bhp Stock Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 34 Likes: 6 Liked: 17 / 8 Posts	Re: LAUNCH: LEXUS GS (From RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins) Quote: Originally Posted by Jay Positioned below the IS but above the LS range of Lexus vehicles, the GS allows Lexus to go head-to-head with the likes of BMW’s 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class. I thought it should be like this: IS > GS > LS (from low to high)?
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03-30-2012, 06:18 PM	#3
Veloc 2000bhp Senior Join Date: May 2010 Location: Sabah Posts: 2,332 Likes: 632 Liked: 532 / 311 Posts	Re: LAUNCH: LEXUS GS (From RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins) What a remarkable car… I fall in love with every generation of GS and Aristo. Quote: Originally Posted by poolupwai I thought it should be like this: IS > GS > LS (from low to high)? Agree with poolupwai by the way.
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03-30-2012, 06:50 PM	#4
Jay ‘(00) | Contributor Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 251 Likes: 9 Liked: 607 / 187 Posts	Re: LAUNCH: LEXUS GS (From RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins) poolupwai and Veloc: Thanks for pointing that out guys! really appreciate it!
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03-30-2012, 07:24 PM	#5
kUmUcHaI 11/1 300bhp Nitrous Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: JB – KL Posts: 310 Likes: 3 Liked: 49 / 34 Posts	Re: LAUNCH: LEXUS GS (From RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins) Like..6 sec yo..
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03-30-2012, 11:14 PM	#6
alwjmonster 100bhp Junior Join Date: May 2009 Location: Subang Jaya Posts: 111 Likes: 0 Liked: 27 / 17 Posts	Re: LAUNCH: LEXUS GS (From RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins) the rear 76.29% similar audi A7..
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04-02-2012, 05:52 PM	#7
fast Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: PJ Posts: 59 Likes: 0 Liked: 4 / 3 Posts	Re: LAUNCH: LEXUS GS (From RM375,995.30 OTR + Ins) CT head… with IS250 rear… hahaha
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