well I did it - i swapped my GS450h for a 22 year old LS400

Julesprivate · September 13, 2016

Recognizing that it won't be to everyone's taste, this is my new toy. It's a 140k mile 1994 LS400 running 20" valveless rims and fully adjustable coilovers.

I have to say it's been an eventful couple of days ownership, there are a couple of trivial things to resolve and the new owner of the GS told me it was written off 24 hours after he got it (his wife & 2 kids were in it when a lady hit them head on, she's critical in hospital but his family are relatively unscathed). i am not so sure they'd have faired quite so well in the barge...

I'm loving the LS, have some ideas for jobs to do on it and have used it to commute to work this week, so I've covered 160 miles in the last 2 days in absolute comfort.

I loved the totally silent GS and all its toys, but the burble of the V8 is so much nicer, especially with the modified exhaust on this one.

Purists won't like it, but I certainly do :-)

The IACV needs a clean, I'll need to do the ECM capacitors sometime soon and one of the A-arms seems to be knocking but they are trivial things. I've prioritised the new stero ahead of them LOL, 1500W amp received, new sub coming later today, head unit installed and new door speakers on their way :-)

lex - eleven · September 13, 2016

Well I for one.....love it! Enjoy being different.

Lexmanic · September 13, 2016

LOOKS GREAT TO ME BUT THEN i'M SCRAPPING MY 98 LS 400

cruisermark · September 13, 2016

would love to hear your comparison between the two becuase i have been thinking about the GS450H

September 13, 2016

It looks in fantastic condition,some more pics would be nice.

mikeyv · September 13, 2016

1 hour ago, Lexmanic said:

LOOKS GREAT TO ME BUT THEN i'M SCRAPPING MY 98 LS 400

Looks good to me as well.

Why are you scrapping your car Lexmanic?

There is somebody on the owners club facebook page who is after a towbar, if you have one?

Julesprivate · September 13, 2016

3 hours ago, cruisermark said:

would love to hear your comparison between the two becuase i have been thinking about the GS450H

Do it! The GS450h was probably the fastest car I have ever owned (and I've had TVRs, Supercharged Jags and the SL500 and always have a number of fast bikes in the garage too), but it was so much more than just fast, the hybrid system on it is amazingly good, the 2 speed diff is great for acceleration and then cruising, the 6 speed CVT takes a bit of getting used to (just the way the engine sounds, totally different to a standard autobox, the revs hardly change). It had every gadget you could imagine (mine was the SE-L),

No matter what though, I only ever did 27.5MPG (measured over almost 70,000 miles of ownership), the electric range was around 3 miles, great around town and huge fun trying to get it into electric mode on the motorway (you really need to finesse the throttle).

In my ownership I claimed 2 pedestrians, a jogger and a cyclist - all of whom "didn't hear you mate" and none of whom LOOKED!

My wife hated it that the first thing she knew about my arriving home was when the front door opened - I haven't investigated why she feels she needs the advance warning!

It was comfortable (not LS comfortable, but plenty good enough) and with the hybrid in "power" mode it could take almost anything from the lights (electric motors make maximum torque from 0 revs), 0-60 in under 5 seconds is M5 territory.

And like most Lexus (Lexii?) it was faultless in 3 years and 70,000 miles of driving.

I already miss the "keyless entry/keyless go", but TBH I think I can rig that up on the LS without too many problems, I already have on my Smart Roadster and reckon the same approach will work on the LS.

The James Bond style hidden buttons on the GS were a good talking point, the heated AND cooled seats were great (I miss the cooled seats already).

Honestly they are great cars, I'll have another one someday, but after it being my "everyday workhouse" I just got bored, but I was doing over 25k miles a year and spent a LOT of time in that car. I've changed jobs now so my mileage is going to be closer to 16k now including private miles, as opposed to 25K plus the private miles, and I can spread those miles across the entire fleet (don't ask) so the LS will have a 5000 mile policy applied.

Pay the extra for the Mark Levinson audio system - it is worth every penny, and the "radar guided cruise control" is awesome, especially in the fog! And I miss my reversing camera too... so many things I miss :-) fortunately most of them I can fit to the LS with no great hardship.

The only thing really wrong with the GS was - it looks bland, ordinary.. I've had people this week come up and say "nice wheels" for the first time in 3 years..