1996 GS300 review

simonmc · July 25, 2022

Hi Everyone

1996 first generation Lexus GS300 57,000 miles

I bought this in March and it is now the end of July and just over 2000 miles later so I thought an overview might be interesting.

We went to Lyme Regis on the Dorset Jurassic coast in early May, this was the first touring we had done in the car. It performed faultlessly, was very comfortable and averaged just over 30mpg in spite of the area being very hilly. The gearbox coped very well, on very hilly sections I disengaged the overdrive to avoid too many changes up and down. What really helped was Shell/Esso’s 99 octane fuel, expensive of course but keeps the fuel system clean. This is really the only fuel suitable for the Lexus as 10% ethanol on the others is not worth the risk, ok in an emergency but not for everyday. Backing in and out of car parking spaces takes a bit of getting used to as the car has a high back and no sensors, anyone got any ideas of aftermarket ones being fitted? On the way back home I noticed some wheel judder at about 75mpg so thought it was time to get it checked out at my favourite local garage.

So Before we went for our main holiday to the far south west of Cornwall I took it in for a thorough inspection. Back in March the selling garage had done quite a lot of work on the car including a full service, rear brake pads, aircon regas, wiper blades, replace cambelt and tensioner, replace boot and bonnet struts and one rear tyre. In June just before the Cornish tour the local garage replaced front wishbones and balljoints, carried out wheel tracking and cleaned the Mass Air Sensor. We spent 11 faultless days touring the far south west, I love this in-line 6 2JZ engine, it is so smooth, turbine like and very quiet. Contemporary reports mention wind noise at motorway speeds but I never noticed it, the performance is fine for us in our 70s, if you are in the right gear the car accelerates very well no complaints there at all. Having leather everywhere the interior has its own smell and everything works as it should, it is just such a pleasant car to be in and drive for long periods. The return journey took just over 6 hours with a couple of stops and I can honestly say I enjoyed the drive and was not completely knackered at the end.

Finally, we had a week touring in Northumbria and again the car ran faultlessly and being careful not to overuse brake and accelerator I got 34/35 mpg doing a steady 65 mph on motorways and dual carriages so very pleased with that. The next service will be done by the local garage and include fluid and oil changes in engine, gearbox, power steering, coolant, rear axle and brake fluid…I have always believed in changing these every two or three years. In addition the underside which is very clean will be treated with waxoyl by a specialist and this should last three years.