Road Test: Lexus GS350 EX

Ray Leathern gets two handfuls of the new Lexus GS350 EX. He comes away from the experience thinking it’s a complicated, comfortable, but still a purposefully rendered piece of machinery.

Okay boys and girls, get an eyeful of the new Lexus GS350. Good looking isn’t it? Maybe it has a bit of a Hyundai look about it, but that’s not meant to be back-handed adulation these days. In case you hadn’t noticed, Europe is in economic free-fall. The East is where it’s all happening nowadays. The new capital cities of economy are Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul and Beijing. I believe the new Lexus GS is utterly justified in brandishing its eastern-centric styling as proudly as it does. Despite this, try looking a little deeper. The Lexus GS is a breath of fresh air styling wise.

It isn’t obvious, grand or appealing to those who like massive roman pillars in front of their houses either. No, it’s better than that. It’s a bit like the violinist, Vanessa Mae. She isn’t the last thing you think about before you go to bed, but every time you see her strumming away on her violin you think, “Wow, she’s really pretty isn’t she? I bet she’d be really nice to have a chat with over dinner.” Vanessa Mae and the Lexus GS350 are educated, classy and dignified like that.

The previous Lexus GS grabbed a fair amount of attention for its ‘Performance Hybrid’ drivetrain with a V6 engine, electric motor and some batteries thrown into the mix. This car I’m testing now is the non-hybrid model, so it keeps things short, sharp and to the point with a big, 3.5-litre V6 engine. It produces 233 kW and 378 Nm of torque, which gets it to 100 km/h from zero in 6.3 seconds and onto a top speed of 235 km/h. I much prefer it to the GS450h. Trying to make something sportier by deploying eco/hybrid technology is like trying to carbo-load by drinking gallons of wheatgrass and nothing else. Sure, the end result will be green, but I guarantee it’ll leave you feeling green too.

Lexus claim the GS350 consumes 9.4 L/100 km, although we pegged it closer to a thirstier 12 L/100 km over the course of the test drive. It produces 223 g/km of CO2, which is also not the normal hybrid, eco, vegan, bunny-hugger behaviour for a Lexus.

On the inside of my EX specification test car the GS still provides a superb finish and tactile experience. Soft leather, refined switchgear and Japanese-type graphics are all part of the experience. My personal favourite feature is the 12.3-inch screen for the Sat-Nav, reverse camera and central control unit. It is the biggest ever fitted to any car and I’m sure it’s bigger than my first television.

The cabin is illuminated in LED lighting, as is the instrument binnacle in red or blue, depending on which driver mode you’re in. The ‘mouse’ operated command system is still blindingly difficult to work if you don’t have eyes that can point in different directions at the same time. Keeping one eye on the road and one eye glancing over the deftness of your mouse skills is a challenge. Thankfully the voice activated command system is more than capable and I quickly struck up a relationship with the woman’s voice emanating from behind the dash. She didn’t sound like Vanessa Mae.

Driving wise, the first thing that won me over about the GS350 was the civilised behaviour on the highway. This is what the previous GS sedan had in spades as well; a quietness, comfort and civility that completely takes the edge off any commute. While all around you, people cut and thrust in the heat of a traffic-battle, you sit back in supreme comfort and total control of your Lexus, like it’s all happening in another universe. That’s the next thing you realise as you drive along, just how connected and responsive the GS is from behind the steering wheel, even at sedate speeds. It steers beautifully (all Lexus’s do actually) and the ride is comfy yet communicative.

Then the road opens up and you pin the GS350’s ears back with a forceful jab on the throttle pedal. The pulsating V6 engine note makes its presence felt inside the cabin immediately. Sure, there is a ‘resonator’ that beefs up the best of the V6 sound in the engine bay, but it puts me in mind ever so slightly of the 5.0-litre V8 of the magnificent IS-F. From then on you’re utterly invested in the driving experience. The steering doesn’t feel like it changes its character much when you fiddle with the Drive Mode Select. The traction control too, seems as if it works in a helpful and unobtrusive way if it is called into action. The GS350’s behaviour at really fast speeds does begin to get a little unwieldy from there on in.

The rear suspension clearly favours comfort over sportiness and on twisting sections of road it shows a lack of capacity and lots of comfortable, but not very sporty, pitching and rolling. At speed you also begin to appreciate the GS’s slightly more cumbersome kerb weight, as it takes an extra millisecond or two to wrap itself around a corner. The peak power and torque from the normally aspirated engine is a little peaky as well, so you need to be fully committed. The 6-speed automatic gearbox in the GS350 is a pleasure to entrust with cog swopping duties, however, thanks to a few crossed ratios in the middle you can keep the V6 on the boil. Forgiving that mountain pass thrashing is hardly what the Lexus GS350 was built for.

What’s my final verdict on the Lexus GS350 then? Well, it’s not exactly the heart starter it feels like it’s going to be, the first time you rev it all the way up to the juicy redline. Once you settle down and drive it like a Lexus should be driven, however, beneath all the fancy graphics, trick command systems and fight-club exhaust noises, it’s still just a sublime, comfortable and highly accomplished executive sedan. What I like is that there is also no sense of compromise to it, which is refreshing in sedans of this class. The Lexus GS350 is a very, very good car. It’s pretty in a Vanessa Mae, dignified and slightly complicated way, but it is very well priced too and that makes it a four-door sedan worthy of sitting in between the four-walls of anyone’s garage.

What we like…

• Quality, comfort and standard equipment for the price.
• Fighty engine note from the V6 engine.
• It’s the most characterful big Lexus for a long time.

What we would like…

• Better fuel economy, but no hybrid bollocks please. Turbos will be fine.
• A more easily usable central command system.
• An adaptive suspension to tighten things up when you really thrash it.

All images courtesy of Matteo Conti Photography. Visit the Facebook page for more images and information.

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