Gs 250 - So Who's Got One And How Many Are On The Roads?

[Gunther]

We've been looking to replace our E60 525d M Sport Auto (facelifted 3.0l) for a while. Just plain tired of the harsh ride and poverty spec, even though it has £5000 worth of factory options.

So we road tested several Audi A7's, A6's, F10 5 Ser, Merc E class - all latest models. All had good and bad points:

Audi - the new A6 seems over priced, the A7 is gorgeous to look at and very good to drive, but only in Quattro/S Tronic form (the CVT is lethargic from a standstill). Whil;st both are on the same platform, the A7 seemed better, though sufefered from too much wind noise. Also, as we were looking for a nearly new one, finding a 5 Seater was a challenge! It really seemed expensive at £44k+ for a new one.

The 5 - -nice but boring and a knobbly rough run flat tyre ride.

E class was like something from 1982....steering buttons from a chrysler sebring....

What was so stark was the poor customer service at the dealers, don't care a darn attitude etc, and we had completely ruled out the GS as a non-contender. That is until we drove it today.

OK - it might not be cleanest petrol engined car, and the road noise seems a tad high, but overall we thought it was the best compromise of the bunch.

The Luxury Spec with ML/12.3" screen makes it formidable as a non-German alternative, and I am sorely tempted.

[Valkirk]

Glad to hear the experience was good! The new GS seems to be comparing very well in reviews with a number of wins. I certainly prefer the styling, especially in F Sport trim.

I have dealt with most of the main premium dealers and nothing comes close to Lexus!

If you really want more economy but not the cost of jumping to the 450h they are bringing out a smaller hybrid model next year, might be a fair wait though.

[wendle]

Hi, I test drove the GS 250 while waiting for my 450h to be delivered, at the time they didn’t have any 450h demos, and was quite impressed with the cars performance considering the weight of the car to the power output.

I had a 2008 GS450h and that was good, but this new one is better in every way and although I have only covered 150 miles I have managed to get 35mpg, not too bad as I only do 5/6 mile trips, I am hoping to get that up to nearer 40mpg as time goes on.

And as for customer care I don’t think your beat Lexus

[Silver Arrow]

Certainly isn't under powered, but not "quick" either. An excellent waft-ability factor though.

[PQuist]

Sold my 55 plate GS for the E-Class 350CDI. The Lexus drives much nicer but got fed up with the rattles. If you are looking for fuel economy, then the E - Class CDI is the way forward. If you want a relaxing drive and toys to play with then the Lexus. I guess it a matter of what you are looking for. It was a hard choice for me but changed mainly because of the rattles

[PJ S]

If you are looking for fuel economy, then the E - Class CDI is the way forward. If you want a relaxing drive and toys to play with then the Lexus. I guess it a matter of what you are looking for. It was a hard choice for me but changed mainly because of the rattles

Beg to differ on the economy aspect......Obc Mpg Vs Pump Maths......

Got the dash and driver's door trim creaking, but that will get addressed in due course.

[Silver Arrow]

Only mine (GS250) on the roads I reckon - anyone else got one yet, or ordered one?

[wicked677]

I saw one at the New Inn pub in Worcester about 1 month ago (I think)- I was driving so didn't get the chance to have a good look. So there is at least one in the Midlands!

[MW70]

I've saw 2 yesterday in the Isle of Man, guess one could have been a demonstrator mind you as the dealer is not far away. Looks nice to me. certainly an improvement over the old model. (especially on the inside!)

[Silver Arrow]

Hopefully there won't be a massive number hitting the streets in September - I like the exclusivity....

[PJ S]

Lexus are looking to up their sales volume across the board, but I doubt you'll see as many GSes as you do the Germanic trio, for a fair while yet.

[ironrose]

I live very close the Lexus/Toyota UK headquarters in Epsom Surrey. I can a number of new GS pulling out from their car park every evening, although most of them were badged GS 450h , there were a handful of 250s as well .. i reckon the higher ups might have opted the GS as a company car choice.

no updates on howmayleft.co.uk so far about the GS250

[Silver Arrow]

I think the governments tax policy on company cars will mean not many sell. I reckon now mine must have been the first my dealership sold....

Does make you wonder if you've made a mistake lol

[Silver Arrow]

I was halfish expecting someone else to have bought one....seems I'm the only one with the GS250 in the UK on this forum....

Guys - you really don't know what you're missing!!! lol

I still haven't seen a single one on the roads. Come to think of it, my garage are very "green" on what the car can do. They claim to have sold a few, but I doubt it. Think mine is the first in the UK....wow....either I'm daft, or tooooo clever! lol The others that people have seen must be demo's or Lexus' own company cars

To the OP - did you ever buy one?

The other thing I have noticed is that there are NO rattles at all in this new GS - seems that much better construction practices are in place.

[Silver Arrow]

Saw one finally today, A14, west bound at about 0830....I was eastbound....between Huntingdon and Cambridge

[Exdee]

There's two gs250's down the road from me. Depends on where you live. I've seen plenty in London.

[ironrose]

ok .. Howmanyleft is now updated with stats for the GS250 ... apparently 100 cars have been registered in the UK in Q2 2012..

http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/combined/lexus_GS250

and considering about 30 of them are on auto trader for sales from dealers..

and 30-40 might be still as demonstrators over the country ...

there might be upto 30-40 odd currently owned by private owners and company cars...

[Silver Arrow]

Is that all? They must all be demo's then other than mine, assuming that each dealership got one or 2 on the roads when launched.

Having had mine for a few weeks, I can see why not a lot of people have bought one...although it's a lovely car it just doesn't stack up financially at all. Servicing plan is about £300 per year - fuel economy around town is at best low 20's, on a run at best mid 30's driven normally (which really plummets when you hit traffic), road tax is £270 p/a (£600 for the first year), and finally the depreciation will be dreadful. The biggest problem is that the car has next to no torque - so it just drops a cog each time you breath near the pedal.

So for a company owner it makes it very very hard to justify. For private people who do less than 10k p/a on the other hand it's OK - provided you buy it and keep it beyond 5 years. Else it becomes an expensive way to motor. The hybrid for the smaller engine next year should be better unless they decide to plonk that engine in from the CT which is not a good advert for refined motoring!!

I sort of knew this when we bought ours -so I'm OK about it. But the good news is that there will never be enough of the around -and so I am hopeful that as 2nd hand cars residuals will be OK - there will always be a loyal Lexus following from disenchanted drivers of cars with German origins - !!

So all in all I would say get the 450h. The 250 is good, and you then have to question whether the £10k premium for the current hybrid is worth it.

[ColinBarber]

The hybrid for the smaller engine next year should be better unless they decide to plonk that engine in from the CT which is not a good advert for refined motoring!!

I cannot see them doing a GS200h, the car is too big for only 130bhp. They may use the 2.5 engine from the ES300h and produce a GS300h although I'd prefer they state away from a 4 cylinder engine in the GS

[Silver Arrow]

Absolutely agree Colin, but it looks as though Lexus favour the Atkinson Cycle engines, and I believe the only 6 Cyl one is the one from 450h, which I believe is now quite an old design. So it will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully they'll be working on a new even more efficient V6 Atkinson, with plug-in, better batteries and a greater range.

[spwolfx]

300h is coming in 2013 Lexus IS... it should have between 210 and 240hp, as well as direct injection and get same mpg as Prius v.

GS is getting same engine in Europe, we just dont know when, quite possibly 2013.

[larryadler]

I have been the owner of a GS300 Se-l from new in 2007, and am now considering a change to the GS 250 Luxury.

As I am retired, and don't do any real commuting, my Gs300 has never returned less than 26 winter, 29 summer, and usually averages out at 38-39 on a run. I do about 8k a year.

I have read the reports from Silver Arrow, and must confess I am now undecided. He seems to be the only one in the UK that owns a Gs250, and from what was initially glowing reports, you now appear to be somewhat disillusioned . Is that because of the lack of fellow owners, or the new vehicle itself? The GS has never been a big seller, and of course offers exclusivity, but my worry is, will that effect the future values. I see on autotrader that the £36+k luxury model has already shed £5-6k since launch in June.

I have test drove the bmw 5 series, Jag XF 3.0d, and Merc, but I do worry about dpf problems, given my annual mileage, and would be happy to go Lexus again, at least then there would be Silver Arrow and me.......2 owners in 5 months since its release..Mmmmm am I doing the right thing?

As an after thought, why is servicing more expensive on you new car, but gets discounted when its over 3 years old?

[GME]

I test drove the GS250 over night. I just love this car!! It comes with so many gadgets, a german would dream of unless you pay for extras which is typical German! I was born and brought up in Germany and I just can't stand German cars! Most of it are overpriced! And drivers are arrogant thinking they driving the best car on the market. The GS 250h f-sport will definitely be my upgrade once it is out. Everyone who drove with me was impressed!

[wooski]

The real problem with the GS250 for me is the fuel consumption and CO2 numbers. I'm getting comparable figures in my 09 LS600h (22 city, 28 motorway).

The GS300h due next year will be the one to watch. It will have the newly developed 2.5liter 4cyl atkinson cycle engine with DS-4 that was just shown in the new LF-CC concept coupe. It launches with the new IS early next year and will be available in the GS up to 6 months later. It should have 220 - 225bhp. It is a more advanced version of the motor in the US/Japan Toyota Camry hybrid and Lexus ES300h. The IS300h is expected to deliver under 100g CO2 but the GS300h is likely to be around the 110g ballpark as it will be a heavier car. Still, it will be very competitive to the 520d for urban drivers (no DPF and NOX issues too). I would expect it will be priced somewhere between the GS250 and the GS450h.

[larryadler]

I hear what you say wooski, but there are financial limits that you are prepared to go too. I see no reason why the GS 250 should not achieve actual urban and combined figures at least, hopefully marginally better that my current GS300, with which I am more that happy, given the car/engine size.

It would be ideal to get a 300hybrid, but that is probably circa £40k, and that extra over the G 250 buys a lot of fuel and VED.