Lexus GS 350 dreams dead - anything similar?

JaxonWyatt · April 19, 2020

After haggling with my insurance I found out the 2015 Lexus GS350 F Sport I had my eyes set on might actually be more trouble than its worth due to insurance going up an extra $170 a month thx to its luxury-sportiness and general features. While that's not going to make me broke, it's a little more than expected and I'm wondering if anyone here has a suggestion for a car that is similar in features, sportiness, and size but might not veer too much in the 'luxury' sector.

I've looked at the 2017 mazda 6 and 2015 Infiniti Q50 3.0 which seem to fit the bill but wondering if I've missed anything.

Bonus points for Android Auto OR a removable stereo that I can stick an Android Auto double DIN into without hacking to pieces. Infotainment is important to me, but i was willing to deal with the GS350s due to the rest of it being amazing

Budget is 25K, I am 6'4".

Thank you!

johnatg · April 19, 2020

Do I surmise that you are from or have been in USA but are now in Devon (with a US keyboard with no £ key?) But I'm puzzled by your reference to GS350 which I don't think has been offered in UK - 2015 was pretty much GS300h or GS450h and a few GS200t models

If I'm correct about that - what about getting a quote for a GS300h or looking for a slightly older GS450h - saving a few K on price will pay for a lot of extra insurance costs and/or alternatively the GS300h is perfectly adequate for UK roads and will help you keep your licence!

The Mazda 6 is a great car - stay away from diesels - but you'd do better with a GS300h. I'd avoid Infinity now - they are withdrawing from Europe and were never that popular so parts etc might get difficult - they never got good press reviews.

If you are in USA all bets are off!

ColinBarber · April 19, 2020

Hi Jaxon, if you are in the US you may be better served on our US site although you are most welcome here too - https://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/

westo3 · April 19, 2020

Agree with John I would not touch the infinity. I was looking into buying one before I bought the Lexus. The reviews were not good and when they said they were pulling out of Europe I stopped looking.

JaxonWyatt · April 20, 2020

22 hours ago, JaxonWyatt said:

After haggling with my insurance I found out the 2015 Lexus GS350 F Sport I had my eyes set on might actually be more trouble than its worth due to insurance going up an extra $170 a month thx to its luxury-sportiness and general features. While that's not going to make me broke, it's a little more than expected and I'm wondering if anyone here has a suggestion for a car that is similar in features, sportiness, and size but might not veer too much in the 'luxury' sector.

I've looked at the 2017 mazda 6 and 2015 Infiniti Q50 3.0 which seem to fit the bill but wondering if I've missed anything.

Bonus points for Android Auto OR a removable stereo that I can stick an Android Auto double DIN into without hacking to pieces. Infotainment is important to me, but i was willing to deal with the GS350s due to the rest of it being amazing

Budget is 25K, I am 6'4".192.168.0.1 routerlogin 192.168.l.l

Thank you!

Do I surmise that you are from or have been in USA but are now in Devon (with a US keyboard with no £ key?) But I'm puzzled by your reference to GS350 which I don't think has been offered in UK - 2015 was pretty much GS300h or GS450h and a few GS200t models

If I'm correct about that - what about getting a quote for a GS300h or looking for a slightly older GS450h - saving a few K on price will pay for a lot of extra insurance costs and/or alternatively the GS300h is perfectly adequate for UK roads and will help you keep your licence!

The Mazda 6 is a great car - stay away from diesels - but you'd do better with a GS300h. I'd avoid Infinity now - they are withdrawing from Europe and were never that popular so parts etc might get difficult - they never got good press reviews.

If you are in USA all bets are off!

arthur1 · July 11, 2020

Have you considered a VW GTI? They have Android Auto, are sporty but not really considered "luxurious" and would fit in your price range (used slightly). They are also decently sporty and the DSG makes it a really fun (and somewhat practical) drive.

Also, consider the new Accord Sport? This is similar in size to the Lexus. They are also available with Android Auto, would likely fit a taller person better, and are decently sport. Hell, they are even offered with a 6 speed manual if that's your thing (I'm assuming you wanted an auto, just throwing it out there). You can get them slightly used for well below your budget and they will last you a long time.

olliesgrandad · July 18, 2020

On 7/11/2020 at 12:11 PM, arthur1 said:

Have you considered a VW GTI? They have Android Auto, are sporty but not really considered "luxurious" and would fit in your price range (used slightly). They are also decently sporty and the DSG makes it a really fun (and somewhat practical) drive.

Also, consider the new Accord Sport? This is similar in size to the Lexus. They are also available with Android Auto, would likely fit a taller person better, and are decently sport. Hell, they are even offered with a 6 speed manual if that's your thing (I'm assuming you wanted an auto, just throwing it out there). You can get them slightly used for well below your budget and they will last you a long time.

My understanding is that the DSG gearbox in the VW is very unreliable and expensive when it fails. Strangely I read an article about it this week.

royoftherovers · July 18, 2020

1 hour ago, olliesgrandad said:

My understanding is that the DSG gearbox in the VW is very unreliable and expensive when it fails. Strangely I read an article about it this week.

HJ columns are full of DSG problems Les.

Sherra · July 18, 2020

I regularly drive a disabled friends 2017 Skoda Superb with DSG and it often scares me at junctions or islands when it initially refuses to go when I press the accelerator then spins the wheels when it does move. You dare not go for a gap that I would in my car as you're not sure if it will move or stay!!!

KayCee · July 19, 2020

Yes Les my grandson also had massive probs with DSG cost him a fortune suffice to say he got rid

royoftherovers · July 19, 2020

46 minutes ago, KayCee said:

Yes Les my grandson also had massive probs with DSG cost him a fortune suffice to say he got rid

Toyota had problems with its Multi Mode Transmission (MMT) in the Yaris.

i-s · July 20, 2020

I too find the DSG very poor.

Motoring press loves it because it's very fast and smooth when shifting up or down when blatting down a back country road at 10/10ths.

Most people hate it because it's hopeless at the everyday "automatic" stuff - as Sherra said, it's terribly slow and unpredictable out of junctions, onto roundabouts, it's incredibly dim-witted at dropping gears on the motorway (ie it will hang onto 6th as you slow down to ~30mph, then you prod the throttle to get up to speed again and it has to shuffle 6th-5th-4th-3rd GO!!!!, it's AWFUL for trying to parallel park on a hill (something I used to have to do daily at my old house). They do also tend to expensive issues and maintenance.

I was shocked to discover that the Infiniti Q50 has the same over-head console as my Nissan Leaf did. Acceptable in a cheap hatchback, unacceptable in a "luxury" sedan. The Q70 felt much cheaper inside than the GS and we didn't like it nor the attitudes of the sales people. The Q50 and Q70 do have that legendary VQ motor (legendary as it was once suggested that "Ward's 10 best engines" should be renamed "Ward's 9 best engines and the Nissan VQ"), but it's just not enough to save them.

It all comes back to the USA question. Your location and cars you talk about are USA, so will assume that's correct. Lots of choice of GS alternatives in the USA at $25k budget:

Genesis G80
Cadillac CT6

These are probably the most direct V6 GS350 competitors.

Stretch your budget a bit and you can get into a Tesla model 3 for about $30k, and will easily make back the $5k in fuel, maintenance and depreciation savings

Then there's a raft of somewhat cheaper, slightly more "naff" cars
Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger (the redneck option!), SRT8 hard to ignore
Lincoln MKZ (FWD mondeo platform blinged to the max)
Acura TLX/RLX (FWD base platforms, but RLX available as SH-AWD. A Honda V6 is surely a thing of beauty)
Chevrolet SS if you want to go full-on hoonigan (better known to UK readers as the Holden Commodore, which came here as the Vauxhall VXR8)

rich1068 · July 20, 2020

Continuing the slight digression into discussion of the DSG 'box, I've just returned from a family holiday in Cornwall and we hired a Skoda Kodiaq 1.5TSI DSG for the trip. 750 miles or so in a week and had none of the problems mentioned above. In fact I thought the combination was rather good and it made light work of being 5 up + luggage + roof box. Like all new petrol and diesel cars it does have the start/stop irritation but the first thing I do is turn it off. Problems at junctions and roundabouts could be down to that.

dutchie01 · July 20, 2020

Richard this will be an age thing but when i see a big vehicle like a kodiaq with 5 people and a roof box and the i read it has a 1.5ltr engine my immediate reaction is NO WAY.

I know downsizing is an art but really?? How did it go, did you have to work the engine hard, full throttle most of the time? Petrolconsumption through the roof because of that?

rich1068 · July 21, 2020

Didn't have to work it hard at all. I was seeing about 35mpg with a combination of motorway, dual carriageway and the tiny Cornwall lanes. I should say that I also had the cruise set at 75 as I assumed like most cars the speedo overread but when I checked with the GPS it was accurate. Hopefully no nasty letters on the way! It did drop a "cog" occasionally (7th to 6th) for the hills on the A30/A39 but it never seemed stressed.

Something else that intrigued me was the automatic Eco Mode which involved the car shutting off two cylinders when they weren't required. So on a stretch of motorway or dual carriageway with very little throttle input the car would knock out two cylinders. How's that for NO WAY?

BUT... let's be honest. It's no old Lexus or Toyota, it's a disposable item. That engine will be on the limit regardless of how it felt and the whole car will no doubt be a second hand nightmare in 3 or 4 years. Like most new cars I guess. I'd certainly never buy one, I'd lease one if we needed such a thing but if anyone feels the need to sink their own money into something like that then they need their bumps feeling. As they say

Sherra · July 21, 2020

Richard I also turn off the stop start and run it it normal mode but its still abysmal. The car itself is impressive otherwise but can't stand the DSG box. My son is a Volkswagen Mastertech and says yes they can be unpredictable!!!

The-Acre · October 7, 2020

3 minutes ago, roundcubetwelve said:

Have you considered a VW GTI? They have Android Auto, are sporty but not really considered "luxurious" and would fit in your price range (used slightly). They are also decently sporty and the DSG makes it a really fun (and somewhat practical) drive.

I would guess by the original post being in April he's sorted now, although you'd never know as we've not heard a thing!

royoftherovers · October 7, 2020

5 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

I would guess by the original post being in April he's sorted now, although you'd never know as we've not heard a thing!

I`ve never heard of anyone recommending a DSG box before !

Las Palmas · September 22, 2022

On 7/18/2020 at 8:50 AM, olliesgrandad said:

My understanding is that the DSG gearbox in the VW is very unreliable and expensive when it fails. Strangely I read an article about it this week.

DSG in VW Golf 2.0tdi. 200.000km no problems. 6 spd. Both automatic and manual with a sports setting

DSG with 7 speed had problems that have since been solved.