Fairly reliable. Smooth ride. Good power. Very quiet car. Great for seniors.

No sportiness found here. V8 thirst for fuel.

I really wanted to like this car. I really did. For 90% of the people out there this car will be fabulous. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing really wrong with this car except for the fact that it's boring. It drives like a Grandpa car. 0-60 in 5.7 secs and 14.2 in the 1/4 mile are nothing to scoff at but it doesn't feel fast because the car tries to do everything TOO smoothly. When you floor the gas pedal or do an emergency lane change it takes what seems like an eternity to downshift and then smoothly provides the acceleration. I was almost rear ended twice because the car took too long to shift. The shiftronic buttons on the steering wheel are useless. The transmission takes your upshift/downshift commands as suggestions and doesn't shift when you want it to. It will also not let you downshift into first gear. This might be why later year models didn't have this feature. The ride though is silky smooth. Seats are very comfortable. Fuel economy is what it's expected to be for a V8. Headlights and sound system is very good. Love the heated seats. But handling and performance is very grandpa car-esque. Feels like an old floaty Buick despite the low profile 17" performance tires. I drove it for 60K miles. In that time I had an alternator, tie rod, and wheel bearing go bad. Can't really complain about that. If you pay someone to change your oil they will charge you more to remove the under carriage shield to access the oil filter. I'm currently looking for a GS430. Probably won't keep it long but will make for a reliable daily driver.

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300C, STS.

LEXUS RULES

1- Not happy with low speed city roads
2- feul economy ( but it worth paying )

Lexus rules !!!!!

Amazing car, powerfull, luxury !!!

4300 cc on the road.. the best ever!

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Mercedes E240 , Accord Vtec 2.4, BMW 530 , Ford mustang GT

Power, style, quietness, comfort, handling

transmission is a little hesitant

I traded in my '93 SC400 with 186,000 miles on it, for this one with 86,000. The car came with the upgraded 17" wheels, and gave a decent ride, but I recently upgraded those to the '06 18" 5-spokes. Handling and looks went up, ride quality went down. About an even trade. This car is nearly silent compared to the SC. Fit and finish on this car is exemplary, the wood looks perfect! One thing about Lexuses, they never put out anything that doesn't have every detail thought out, and their cars just get better and better. I recently drove a new Caddy STS and at 8 years newer with ALL the gizmos, I would still rather take my GS. The car is next to silent, very powerful and comfortable. The only complaint I have was the low-grade stock (non-Nakamichi) stereo which I upgraded and the transmission. While smooth as glass, it's a little hesitant due to the fact that Lexus takes luxury over sportiness when designing cars. But that is the tiniest of nitpicks. I would take this car over any of it's competitors. I think I'm sold for life on Lexus.

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'92 SC400, '01 LS400, '06 Caddy STS

Solidly built car...with all the power I would want.

Levison sound/radio is very poor. Road noise is extreme

My GS has a lot of raw power...extremely nice appointments. I had to replace tires after 7000 miles, road noise wasa extreme. Tried to get dealer to explain why new tires so fast, nothing but silence from them. When I put on new tires had alignment checked and 3 of the 4 wheels were out of alignment?

In summary this car is the most effective blend of performance with luxury for under 50k dollars I have ever seen or heard of.

-Car doesn't FEEL as fast as it is- mainly because it's so smooth and quiet. No sense of speed sometimes. -Lack of an optional manual transmission... this car would be incredible with a 6-speed manual. -The e-shift (buttons on the steering wheel to manually upshift or downshift) will not let you shift into 1st gear and also refuses to stay in a certain gear if it thinks it knows better than you. For example if I'm in 3rd gear at 50 MPH and I want to push the pedal down a bit... it will refuse to stay in 3rd and will instead downshift to 2nd. What's the point of even having e-shift if you can't use first gear and your inputs are realistically only "suggestions"?? If Lexus MUST do this they need to at least equip the dealerships with an optional ECM upgrade that upon the owner's request will basically load a true manual program in for the e-shift. -The chassis could be a little stiffer. It's still very good... but for this much money it should be a little more unitized over the big bumps in the road. -As mentioned, the reliability. Hopefully it will get better though and follow Lexus' reputation. I'd hate to think they're losing their touch?

I got a 1999 GS400 a few monhs ago after much research and deliberation. I'm only 21 years old so this was quite the purchase for me. But I'm also a car enthusiast so it's not only my transportation but also my hobby. Overall a great car. Has some strengths and some weaknesses. A few more weaknesses than I expected from the qualityclass-leading Lexus nameplate. But I still wouldn't even dream of trading this car in for any of its competitors (BMW 540i, Audi A6, Infiniti M45, etc, etc). The car is incredibly well sound-proofed. But it still lets enough noise in to keep the driver aware of their environment. The same with vibrations... they are very dampened but still there enough to communicate with the driver. The engine on this thing is nearly inaudible at idle and still very quiet even at wide open throttle. -The automatic transmission is bar-none the smoothest and most seemless transmission I've ever driven. -Gets great gas milage for a V8 in a large car (I get from 19 to 24 depending on conditions) -Seating and overall ergonomics are very comfortable -Stereo (Nakamichi) sounds GREAT. I have a $4k+ stereo in my other vehicle and while the bass isn't nearly on par in volume or clarity, the midrange and higher frequencies and their imaging are BETTER in my opinion. -Reliability so far is questionable. I'll put it to you this way. I've had the car for 4 months and already the dealer knows my name by the sound of my voice. The waterpump broke, paint has peeled off a small place on the dash, both front (HID) headlights have taken in a bunch of moisture, and there are a several 'creeks' 'pops' and 'rattles' that occur over various rough road conditions- although I attribute this moreso to the car being so silent inside- you can hear the tiniest noise. Also the car has DIED on me 4 times already just from ordinary driving. It only does it when the lights and A/C are both off and only when I'm at a complete stop or just barely moving (1-2 MPH). The dealer has been great and fixed all of the aforemetioned issues EXCEPT for the dying which they are stumped on. They also claim they've never heard of GS400s doing this. However at www.clublexus.com there is a poll going and ~60 out of 100 people that responded to the poll said they're having the same issue, so I think there is something weird going on here.

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BMW 540i, Audi A6, Mercedes E420, Acura TL, Acura RL, Lexus ES300, Lexus LS430, Cadillac Deville, Infiniti Q45, Infiniti M45, Infiniti G35.

build quality, Powerful Engine, Roomy front seats.

"Gas Guzzler" I know,I know, It's a V8. Rear leg rooms is too limited. Climate control is kind of tricky but bareable.

Bought the car fully opt out with Navi and 18" aftermarket wheels. So I haven't have much to work on besides a little tweeking of the engine. I just love the quietness of the car "What a luxury car should be like". Step on the pedal a bit harder will pin you against the seat. Had the car for 5 mo. now and not a single problem with it.

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There was only 2 cars that was under consideration at first. Test drove both the 540i and GS400. I was leaning towards the 540i due to its feel on the road initially. But chose the GS400 due it's reli

The GS400 is iron like a lion in zion, or should I say godly.

none at all

I Owned the gs300 and now own the GS400 which is a mightyful beast, i love it. I love the power and appearance of my GS400. It's a real sexy lookin car inside out and i hope they dont screw up its looks in the upcoming remodeling of the GS No other cars can test or come close to the GS 400. The cobra mustangs are faster but they are a filthy looking car same goes for the firebirds.

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540 series BMW and it was a terrible car very lazy and ugly looking. Too square of a car.

Very solid car. Drives nicely, and has been reliable in the short time I''ve had it. No noises, rattles, other other signs of shoddy assembly.

Just doesn''t live up to my expectations of a luxury car. A similarly priced Mercedes or BMW drives much better. Suspension is too soft, and there is FAR too much road and engine/transmission noise. I realize that this car may sound quite if you''re used to an average car (it is a lot better than average), but compare the noise level, handling, and ride to a $50,000 Mercedes - simply no contest.

Nice car, but seems very similar to a Toyota with nicer trip. Acceleration, handling, and ride are all good, but not great.

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BMW 3 and 5 class Mercedes S and E class Range Rover Saturn Sedan Toyota Camry

Acceleration, braking, build quality, interior and exterior design, and too many other features like auto lights, engine sound

suspension a little too soft, more wind noise than I expected. That''s it.

I had decided no more Japanese cars that was until I saw the GS 430. I was pretty set on buying the BMW 540. After looking at features like price, performance, reliability, customer satisfaction my mind was made up. And this was one of the best purchases I had ever made. This car is awesome; strong acceleration and the brakes are excellent (almost as good as on my 98 911). The quality of build is very high and the interior is well designed and comfortable. The Navigation system is easy to use and very accurate and worth the price. And the Mark Levinson is out of this world. Well I never thought I would ever buy a Lexus, but I am extremely glad I did. My friends who drive Mercedes envy me. They paid more and got less than I did.

Both the sports car and sedan aspect of the car are played to the hilt. If you want a comfortable, sedate ride, this car provides it. If you want to go fast, turn sharply, drive the curves in the road, etc., then this car can provide that thrill. The 300hp engine moves the car off the line fairly quickly. The transmission shifts very smoothly. The ride is relatively smooth and quiet, and would be better with touring tires rather than the "hard" z-rated tires that are on the car (Dunlop 5000 Sport). Interior is adequately roomy, but not large. Instruments relatively well laid out and are easy to use. Car looks good, inside and outside.

Climate control system could be better. The climate control is fine if it is cold or hot. The in-between temperatures (60 to 75 degrees) seem to provide it with problems. It cannot decide whether to go with vent or air conditioning. The Nakamichi radio is ok, but not outstanding, although I am a bit of an audiophile and are very demanding when it comes to sound quality. However, I would like a bit more breadth and depth to the sound quality. The driver could use a bit more lateral leg room, as it is a little cramped.

Recently purchased this vehicle. My initial impressions is that this is a true "sports sedan." It has elements of both a sports car and a sedan. It is quick, fast, maneuvers relatively well and goes where it is pointed. On the other hand, it has sedan qualities such as a fairly good, quiet ride, comfort and has many of the desired amenities such as CD, leather seats, wood trim (could use a bit more), etc.

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1992 Infiniti Q45--good car to drive (another sport sedan), but unreliable. 1998 Acura TL 2.5--nice car, comfortable, smooth riding, relatively quiet, but not quite as exciting to drive as the Lexus.