My GS-F 24 hr test drive

[Whirlio]

I've felt a bit sorry for the GSF recently, it consistently gets 7 or 8/10 reviews from the motoring press and every youtube video I've seen is positive or very positive. Something along the lines of "not as fast as an M5 but it's special to be inside". However, they're not seeming to sell in good numbers at all. The one in the dealer garage near me is dropping around £1000 a month and it remains on the forecourt. It's a 65 plate and now just about £20,000 off list price. It goes without saying that I've never seen one on the road.

I saw it in the dealers in the summer and convinced myself I didn't like the look of it. However after the recent price drop (and a very generous bonus from work) I  called Lexus Cambridge up and asked for a test drive. It turned into a 24 hour test drive while they have a look at the '62 plate IS-F and what it might be worth in trade-in.

After my mistake in buying the  IS-F (drive first, then start negotiating after I'd told the dealer I loved it... he didn't budge on price), I was very clear with the guy this time that I knew I'd like it, but this was a practicality test more than a driving test - right now I have to bag up my road bike in a padded bike bag, put a tarp down in the back seats, and rest the bike on them, because it doesn't fit in the boot at all. Only 2 seats in the back as well. Here's my thoughts so far:

Practicality

The soft bike bag now does fit in the boot, and there is a 3rd seat in the back, although I'm 5'7" and wasn't comfortable on it. Compared to the IS-F, the other 2 back seats are a bit less cramped and the boot is a lot bigger. This is very positive and has me worried I might actually buy it... Shame that the back seats still don't fold.

However, living on a street of detached houses, with the car on the driveway, it's embarrassingly loud on startup. If you thought the stock IS-F growl on startup before the cats have warmed up is loud, this is way more aggressive, although less boomy. Luckily I don't drive to work so it's not everyday, and I live in a town of boy racers so it isn't the only loud thing on the block.

In every way, it feels like it's moved on from the IS-F, everything seems about 30% better. I love the wing mirrors flashing orange when a cyclist gets too close (or vice versa), the lane departure warning (only for long slow roads, it's just annoying when going at 7 10ths on a B road). The perforated leather seats are more bucket-y but still as comfy, and not just heated, they're ventilated, with I think 4 or 5 settings, not 3. The Heads Up Display is very useful indeed and displays the known speed limit on the stretch of road I'm on. This would make me update the maps every year because of the move to 20mph zones here that are still marked as 30.

In Sport S mode, the exhaust is "always on", and even in eco mode, it's not as quiet as the IS-F. My wife in the passenger seat said the GS-F feels, looks and sounds faster and more "butch". The default-on but easily turned off Active Sound Control isn't as ridiculous as the reviewers make out, and can add to the experience when pushing on, but this is better for the driver and worse for the passenger.

The comfort, tech and luxury make this by far the nicest car I've ever driven. It feels nearly 10 years newer than the IS-F and a class above in every respect when I sit inside it. Whether I buy it or not, seriously, well done Lexus, this is a fabulous car.

Driving

Going into this, I knew it was heavier but more powerful, with the halo features being the torque differential and switching to the atkinson cycle when in eco mode (very Japanese - cramming extra tech in that has varying degrees of usefulness).

First impressions are that it's much more grown up, and what I'd expect a Lexus to be like. Sound isolation is better and the low speed ride is life-changingly better - I can have my head on the headrest for maybe 95% of the time, compared to 5% in the IS-F, where the back of my head gets smacked constantly, even at 60mph on the M11.  Driving is smoother and the wheel is lighter in the gentle modes.Throttle response is better in the faster modes.

It only feels faster than the IS-F at the very top end: 4.4s vs 4.8s for the 0-100kph is only really noticable in manual and sport-S mode, and the speed seems to come from the higher gearing - it feels the same time that I get to the redline in 2nd, but now it's 70mph, not 60. 3rd is over 100mph, not 90, and so on. The auto gear changes seem similar, but the unexpected lurch from 3rd to 2nd in M mode is much smoother.  

Braking is not as grabby and I'm not yet used to the weight transfer in the corners, but it feels like it is better balanced than the IS-F but subsequently I need to turn in properly and get the braking sorted out... it's more demanding than the IS-F.

It passes the all-important "boot it out of a roundabout onto a dual carriageway" test very well. I'm no race driver, but with the TVD in "slalom" I managed the IS-F style hooligan 4 wheel drift out of a roundabout, despite the Pilot Super Sport tyres. I switched the IS-F fronts from Contis to Super Sports and back tyres from Yokohamas to Pilot Sport 4s after a couple of tankslappers in the wet and it's now impeccably behaved and I've not been brave enough to slide with the extra grip in the IS-F, so this was a welcome surprise.

Point to point on a B road, I think this would slowly pull away from an IS-F despite the extra weight, but it needs a better driver than me to understand and utilise the different TVD settings. As far as I can work out, "track" means tidy turns, "slalom" gives a bit of oversteer and both make me feel like I've got it noticeably wrong in corners when I brake too late or don't balance the throttle, whereas the IS-F seems to be a bit more forgiving, especially on late braking.

Overall:

Yeah, it's really nice. I thought Lexus had abandoned the IS-F but no, this is the spiritual successor for me. The increase in tech (driving modes but also things like auto-opening boot) all works and it's very inward focused on the driver, rather than extrovert. Would I mind if a new M3 pulled up alongside and then beat me in a drag race? I'd get over it, because this is no supercar; it's about comfort and enjoyment, it's way better at low speeds than the IS-F and there's more going on at high speeds... and yes my bike does fit into the boot.

I'd highly recommend a test drive. The thing I'm worried about is the way the price is dropping on 2nd hand models... and I'm still 50:50 about whether I should upgrade. However, it's a fabulous car that shows Lexus have forgotten nothing from the IS-F and have moved on. Disclaimer - I've only driven old M3s, and an M4 only on track at Bedford so I don't know much about it's direct competitors. I'm going to buy my wife a very nice lunch and make her tea all day to sweeten her up for the conversation tomorrow!

[GibletPH]

Nice review. I've sat in the GSF at the dealers but I doubt I can convince them to let me test drive one. 

[MNMJ]

Very interesting report Olli, 

There are so many things that you say that make it seem like a 4 door RC-F. If it wasn't a size up I'd be very tempted.

With my IS-F I used a dog hammock to put my road bike on the back seat; it worked perfectly and was very quick to fit. Now I use a seasucker minibomber which uses suction caps to fit on the roof of the RC-F

[emjay82]

Really interesting review and I have every faith in the feel and quality of the car, for me I just think it's rather clumsy looking up against it's current competitors. I think that's why lexus will struggle with sales. Maybe when the used price has dropped it will be a sound 'good value' purchase for a highly refined, reliable car.

[Whirlio]

Hello! Have just driven back in the IS-F from the dealer garage after listening to the part-exchange and finance options they have.

GibletPH - I wouldn't have bothered if it was a new car, I think £75k is a lot, but the one in the photo below is only 8 months old and has lost nearly £20k, so you never know - might be worth asking if they think you might buy it!

emjay82/Mark - yes I totally agree about the look, Especially when I first saw it a few months ago I thought it reminded me of the old Bangle BMW 7 series (which btw I think look a bit better now than they did when they were new), and overall it wasn't a positive impression. This time, maybe I've got my lust goggles on, but I think it looks better - see the photo attached and please excuse me blocking some of the car.

So... driving the IS-F again. Firstly, the seat feels too high compared to the GS-F and the steering is heavier at parking speeds, in a bad way. It's so simple with the lack of buttons and tech - there's a lot less to go wrong with it.  And... I love how fun and enjoyable it is when I mash the throttle in it - the sound is boomier but it's having fun and so am I. It's nowhere near as precise or involving as the GS-F but it's not necessarily a bad thing. The GS-F is a fairly serious, pretty fast car, whereas the IS-F is like a puppy sports dog, a bit all over the place, I don't quite know what's going through it's head but it's really heart warming and makes me laugh, and is probably more memorable than the GS-F. Regarding cornering technique, late braking and throttle variation is ok in the IS-F which just tries to keep up, but the GS-F doesn't like it and needs smoother inputs, perhaps because it's heavier, but mostly I think because it's more faithfully telling you what's going on and the chassis is more precise.

Also, My wife gets it spot on when she says the GS-F needs to be given a boy's name because it's so relatively aggressive and rorty, whereas the IS-F is a girl and sort of cute. The IS-F makes us both laugh when madly accelerating, the GS-F just demands respect and makes you think "good car". These things are relative of course, it's not black and white!

[Whirlio]

2 hours ago, MNMJ said:

Very interesting report Olli, 

There are so many things that you say that make it seem like a 4 door RC-F. If it wasn't a size up I'd be very tempted.

With my IS-F I used a dog hammock to put my road bike on the back seat; it worked perfectly and was very quick to fit. Now I use a seasucker minibomber which uses suction caps to fit on the roof of the RC-F

Dog Hammock! Seasucker minibomber! I hadn't thought of these, thank you! I keep getting asked why I carry a huge tarp around in the boot so those are great ideas :)

[OldTrout]

Dog hammock? - See 

 

[lotusdave]

its too big to go in my garage with the lotus!

 

good write up, thanks. Go on, buy one. Move from rare to, err, what ever rarer than rare is

[Ray-ISF]

Sat in one of these at the motorshow. Lovely car. Wonder what these will be in 5 years time?

[dr_rick]

On 10/15/2016 at 11:27 AM, Whirlio said:

After my mistake in buying the  IS-F (drive first, then start negotiating after I'd told the dealer I loved it... he didn't budge on price), I was very clear with the guy this time that I knew I'd like it, but this was a practicality test more than a driving test - right now I have to bag up my road bike in a padded bike bag, put a tarp down in the back seats, and rest the bike on them, because it doesn't fit in the boot at all. Only 2 seats in the back as well. Here's my thoughts so far:

Whirlio,

Just did the road bike fandango and realised that it doesn't fit in the boot. What sort of bike bag do you have?

I can see everything online from simple thin nylon type packaway bags, through 'box' like padded bags, to a rigid box.

Short of just heading to Decathlon for one of these: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/bike-cover-bike-storage-accessories-and-travel-bags-black-grey-id_8023151.html, what's best?

[Whirlio]

On 25/10/2016 at 1:02 PM, dr_rick said:

Whirlio,

Just did the road bike fandango and realised that it doesn't fit in the boot. What sort of bike bag do you have?

I can see everything online from simple thin nylon type packaway bags, through 'box' like padded bags, to a rigid box.

Short of just heading to Decathlon for one of these: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/bike-cover-bike-storage-accessories-and-travel-bags-black-grey-id_8023151.html, what's best?

Sorry for the late reply. I have 2 bike bags - one is a hard one that I take on flights, this in no way fits in the IS-F, either in the boot or in via the back doors, so I need to order an estate taxi:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/scicon-aerotech-evolution-tsa-hardshell-bike-case/

The one that fits in the back seats of the IS-F and the boot of the GS-F (without the wheels though) is more or less this one, a soft, slightly padded bag that's mainly a protection for the rear seats:

https://www.evanscycles.com/vaude-bike-bag-pro-00103648

The attached pic is the soft bag with a bike in but not the wheels... so slightly cheating.

Neither Lexii are ideal for a bike on the inside, and I'd really prefer back seats that fold down. Oh well. MNMJ's Seasucker MiniBomber seems like the way to go in the future.