2016 Lexus GS F Sport- Test Drive, Review, Ratings, Spec

The Lexus GS350 an Ultimate Smooth Sailor

You won’t find too many luxury sports sedan making its way here from the far east continent – it’s generally the Germans takes the main spotlight. But the Lexus GS350 certainly marks a deep footprint with its audacious styling, athleticism, and an overall charming character.

Most of its charms are derived from the distinctive spindle grille, L-themed LED headlamps, and 18″ split 5 spoke wheels. Underneath its beauty is a 3.5L V6 with direct fuel injection and port injectors. This formula yields a respectable 306 horsepower for the GS350 and GS35F model. But if fuel savings is a higher priority in the shopping criteria, the GS200t is offered with a 4 cylinder turbo, or the upper trim, GS450h hybrid that produces 338 horsepower while achieving a sub 30 MPG combined city/highway EPA rating.

Looks Matter

The prestigious sound of the two letter “GS” along with the F-sport suffix was enough to heighten my anticipation upon booking. With that said, my first encounter with the GS350 F sport didn’t exactly spike my heartbeat out of control like a Maserati would – especially given the candy blue color scheme and subtle styling. But nevertheless, it was still a thing of beauty that would fuel anyone’s excitement if its keys were handed to them.

Having driven both the toned down Lexus ES and the more performance inspired IS, the Lexus GS350 is more or less the idol parent of the two with its elevated styling and quality. The standard GS350 more or less holds its looks in modern day standards, but the F-sport detailing it really makes a name for itself. Its LFA inspired front mesh grille, custom rear spoiler, 10-spoke 19″ staggered wheels and various F badges is enough to help bring the GS350 styling up another level.

Seamless Cabin Space

The F-Sport ambiance flows seamlessly into the cabins space as well. Here, you’ll find dimpled stitching on the steering wheel, aluminum shift knob and pedals, softer leather seating and anupgradeable 17-speaker Mark Levinson Premium audio. The mouse-like center console controller allows the driver to navigate between menus on the infotainment screen by “snapping” onto windows with vibration feedback. I can’t say I’m a fan of it as it does take a fair bit of patience, but overall, it’s functionally complete.

Interior real estate is well laid out with a clean center dial interface, a massive 12.3″, and navigation is made easy thanks to it. Layered throughout the cabin space is beautifully crafted out of mahogany wood panels, aluminum plates and high quality leather material. Space wise, there’s plenty of it in both front and back row. Seating ergonomics is a positive plus with excellent comfort and ergonomics – it’s a Lexus after all. Rear seating room is plenty as well thanks to its long wheelbase chassis design.

Lexus Cruising

Drivetrain can be configured in either a no-gimmick 3.5L V6 producing 311 horsepower with combined direct fuel injection and port fuel injectors while the GS450h straps on its second generation Lexus hybrid drivetrain with a combined engine and electric motor power rating of 338 horsepower. Coupled to the engine is again, a simple and straight forward 8 speed automatic transmission.

With our GS350 tester configured with a 3.5L, acceleration is smooth and its power is more or less expected from a V6. It’s not quite at the performance level of acceleration I had hoped for, even after double flicking the drive mode selector to Sport+ mode. Nevertheless, highway merges and overpasses were a breeze.

The F-Sport badge doesn’t boost its power figures any higher than its standard trim, but you do get adaptive front and rear suspensions with firmer springs, larger disc brakes, and thicker roll bars. Translating this to the road yields an overall more sports-like driving experience in a mid-size luxury sedan. Its stiffer suspensions does have a slight compromise for comfort though in my opinion. Road noise is well insulated in the cabin space and its engine tone is produced from its raw natural frequencies.

Fuel efficiency isn’t something marketing material would brag about as its EPA ratings are 18.9/26.1 mpg city/highway respectively. Our GS350 F Sport configured as a RWD is priced in at $54,115 while the more climate-immune AWD system can be had for $55,860. It’s a pretty hefty price-tag, but then again, we’re in the luxury realm, and the GS350 F sport does rightfully belongs there. But that’s not to say the Lexus GS350 is a lone wolf in the competition arena. There are plenty of choices from the German market that will easily offer good looks and driving enthusiasm. The BMW 5 series, and Mercedes E class are only a few to name as contenders. Heck, even the Koreans are catching up with the Kia K500 and Hyundai Genesis.