Looking...

Paul64 · October 29, 2019

Hi All,

I'm looking for a face-lift 2016 onwards GS, preferably a 450h in top-trim level. Here in France, it's the Executive and back in the UK, the Premier version.

They are far and few between here in France but there are several available pre-2015 that look decent value however, in day to day use, does the facelift provide much improvement on the older model in reality or are they much of a muchness? A vertical Battery position for more luggage space, multi-lens LED headlamps and more effective operation of the Remote Touch seem to be the big improvements that might affect daily operations - is that basically it?

Any advice greatfully received!

Paul

i-s · October 29, 2019

The change to vertical Battery occured in the transition from 3rd gen to 4th gen GS - all 2012-on GS hybrids, whether pre- or post- facelift have the same boot space.

The most significant interior change is the operation of the screen - post-facelift cars can have full-screen sat nav, while pre-facelift are limited to 2/3rds, and the facelift cars gain the ability to control sat-nav/screen functions using buttons on the steering wheel (but I've no experience of it so I can't tell you if it's better. The pre-facelift controller is pretty bad).

LED Headlamps were an option on the pre-facelift cars, but one rarely taken up (ours have them). However, the post-facelift gained a limited matrix feature which the pre-facelift don't have. I am not sure, but it is possible that the LED lights became standard on Premier spec models post-facelift.

Executive trim was also available in the UK - it was a cut-down version of Luxury, for lowering P11D prices for company car users.

Be aware that it isn't quite as simple as "pre-facelift" and "post-facelift" however. Our car is a 2015 Premier, so it's a late pre-facelift. However, the sat nav is updated through a microSD card hidden behind a flap with the Mark Levinson logo in the centre console. This is in common with Post-facelift cars, while earlier pre-facelift (2012, 2013, I think 2014 also) were updated via a download on a usb stick. Also more in common with post-facelift cars, ours has the HUD, which wasn't even available as an option on earlier pre-facelift GS450h. My point being that the car received a series of rolling updates over the years, rather than getting everything at once and a late pre-facelift might share more with a post-facelift than it does with a 2012 model.