Gs450H Vs Ls460

[Carl911]

Ok, so I have always like the idea of the top dog LS but deep down felt it a bit impractical for my commute.

That said, I have always wondered how the LS compares to my GS.

Well I took out a LS460 for a test drive to decide.

I was hoping to be blown away by the vast improvement in refined and quiet ride.

I'm certainly not knocking the LS as it is indeed a wonderful car but comparing it against my GS the differences are frankly Smaller than I expected.

Road noise was possibly a tiny bit better but not enough to make any real difference. In both cars I can chat to my son sat in the back without raising my voice at 60mph. I would have to measure the difference in decibels with a device as my ears couldn't detect a vast difference.

In fact I found the LS suffered from quite a lot of wind noise which seem to come from the wing mirrors. In the GS, this is not noticeable at all. The engine note was about the same level as my GS albeit in the LS the gearbox changed gear as apposed to the single gear feel of the CVT.

maybe I have got used to the CVT now but I found the gearbox on the LS could have been a lot smoother changing. If anything my IS250 seems to change smoother.

Power wise the engine was responsive particularly when kicked down although I felt my GS pull quicker and stronger for the most part.

I really wanted to love the LS and be convinced that it was indeed the next car for me but to be honest other than the additional gadgets most of which reside in the rear I just could t justify the change.

I got back in my GS afterwards and took the same journey just to compare in my own head and I felt in many ways the GS was equally as good in almost every respect.

Given the better fuel economy and price to buy a GS vs a LS I really have to say I come away knowing that the GS was the right car for me.

I think that it has helped me decide that the next car would have to be the newer shape GS.

CARL

[royoftherovers]

Ok, so I have always like the idea of the top dog LS but deep down felt it a bit impractical for my commute.

That said, I have always wondered how the LS compares to my GS.

Well I took out a LS460 for a test drive to decide.

I was hoping to be blown away by the vast improvement in refined and quiet ride.

I'm certainly not knocking the LS as it is indeed a wonderful car but comparing it against my GS the differences are frankly Smaller than I expected.

Road noise was possibly a tiny bit better but not enough to make any real difference. In both cars I can chat to my son sat in the back without raising my voice at 60mph. I would have to measure the difference in decibels with a device as my ears couldn't detect a vast difference.

In fact I found the LS suffered from quite a lot of wind noise which seem to come from the wing mirrors. In the GS, this is not noticeable at all. The engine note was about the same level as my GS albeit in the LS the gearbox changed gear as apposed to the single gear feel of the CVT.

maybe I have got used to the CVT now but I found the gearbox on the LS could have been a lot smoother changing. If anything my IS250 seems to change smoother.

Power wise the engine was responsive particularly when kicked down although I felt my GS pull quicker and stronger for the most part.

I really wanted to love the LS and be convinced that it was indeed the next car for me but to be honest other than the additional gadgets most of which reside in the rear I just could t justify the change.

I got back in my GS afterwards and took the same journey just to compare in my own head and I felt in many ways the GS was equally as good in almost every respect.

Given the better fuel economy and price to buy a GS vs a LS I really have to say I come away knowing that the GS was the right car for me.

I think that it has helped me decide that the next car would have to be the newer shape GS.

CARL

Thanks CARL.......................and you have not even mentioned the relative difficulty of parking the LS ?

Regards

John

[Carl911]

Ok, so I have always like the idea of the top dog LS but deep down felt it a bit impractical for my commute.

That said, I have always wondered how the LS compares to my GS.

Well I took out a LS460 for a test drive to decide.

I was hoping to be blown away by the vast improvement in refined and quiet ride.

I'm certainly not knocking the LS as it is indeed a wonderful car but comparing it against my GS the differences are frankly Smaller than I expected.

Road noise was possibly a tiny bit better but not enough to make any real difference. In both cars I can chat to my son sat in the back without raising my voice at 60mph. I would have to measure the difference in decibels with a device as my ears couldn't detect a vast difference.

In fact I found the LS suffered from quite a lot of wind noise which seem to come from the wing mirrors. In the GS, this is not noticeable at all. The engine note was about the same level as my GS albeit in the LS the gearbox changed gear as apposed to the single gear feel of the CVT.

maybe I have got used to the CVT now but I found the gearbox on the LS could have been a lot smoother changing. If anything my IS250 seems to change smoother.

Power wise the engine was responsive particularly when kicked down although I felt my GS pull quicker and stronger for the most part.

I really wanted to love the LS and be convinced that it was indeed the next car for me but to be honest other than the additional gadgets most of which reside in the rear I just could t justify the change.

I got back in my GS afterwards and took the same journey just to compare in my own head and I felt in many ways the GS was equally as good in almost every respect.

Given the better fuel economy and price to buy a GS vs a LS I really have to say I come away knowing that the GS was the right car for me.

I think that it has helped me decide that the next car would have to be the newer shape GS.

CARL

Thanks CARL.......................and you have not even mentioned the relative difficulty of parking the LS ?

Regards

John

Lol, yes this is also true, I didn't want to sound like I m knocking the LS any more than necessary and perhaps compared to something like a BMW the compare would have been considerably different.

It's fair to say it has given me renewed faith in my GS450H and a lot more respect for the quality that it really is.

Carl

[mr2lad]

Lol now I'm the total opposite from you, I think it's because LS is in my blood

3yrs ago I bought a 08 GS450h sel and I liked the car but from week 2 yearned to get back into a LS, this time last year I sold my GS and bought a LS600hl and to this day I still smile every time I pop outside and see it in he garage or driveway,

I have never struggled to park my LS600hl which is the long wheel base (no I don't use the self parking switch) tried it once and scared the hell out of me lol... I prefer to be in control

im not slating the GS in anyway at all as I LIKED my ownership of it but did find the seat uncomfortable on long journeys and found myself shuffling about after awhile coz of numb bum lol as did my mrs in the front passenger seat

Now I said I LIKED my GS?... But I LOVE my LS... And only fault I can find in the design of it is the drop down telly screen as once it's down I can't see out my rear view mirror, now I'd of thought they would of had 2 either side for rear passengers (it's the relaxation pack 4 seat LS I have) intially I was going to replace headrests with DVD ones like I had fitted in my GS but due to the way the headrest on passenger seat folds away when rear passenger uses the relaxation seat, I can't fit them or the wiring would be stretched every time it was operated ... .... I have 2 kids at different ages who want to watch their own programs hence needing 2 tellys so on long journeys one watches his DVD whilst the other watches his downloaded DVD on iPad

Attached is a pic of the rear DVD/games system fitted on my GS I had, all blue toothed wireless headsets etc plus they could watch their own DVDs or switch over and watch each other..all equalled to no squabbling and silence from the back lol

[Carl911]

i don't like to put one Lexus against another As they all have there pros and cons but I think my main quibble was I expexctrd it to be much quieter than my GS.

Ultimately though, my GS is an extremely quiet car and as mentioned, the differences at this level start to become slighter.

It's interesting you mention your ceiling mounted TV. The rep. that went out with me said he had had a few customers drop orders as they didn't like the new position of the TV screen in the new models as apparently they are mounted between the fronts seats now. Many argued it restricted the cars use of interior space, so again these things are always personal preference.

For me I am happy with my GS in almost every respect but if I could improve it it would be to add throes extra gadgets even though I don't really need them, just because you can.

Carl

[stevet]

I had a go in a brand new LS. The first thing I noticed is that it didn't have the lovely leather covered dash that my GS has.

[rayaans]

The tyres may have affected the noise in the cabin.

My RX was quiet with the OEM Dunlops on it, I changed them out a few weeks ago to Michelin's and its like a vault inside now. The tyres are a huge variable in terms of cabin noise in all honesty.

Its also safe to mention that the LS is getting a bit old in the tooth now. Its been going since 2005! Replacement coming 2017, expect hydrogen power too :D

[Carl911]

The tyres may have affected the noise in the cabin.

My RX was quiet with the OEM Dunlops on it, I changed them out a few weeks ago to Michelin's and its like a vault inside now. The tyres are a huge variable in terms of cabin noise in all honesty.

Its also safe to mention that the LS is getting a bit old in the tooth now. Its been going since 2005! Replacement coming 2017, expect hydrogen power too :D

What michelins did you fit, I hAve Dunlop all round and thought they were one of the quietist tyres out.

Carl

[royoftherovers]

Michelin Premacy are quiet om my E Class Estate and Khumo`s are very quiet on my GS450H.

IT`S THE ROAD SURFACE THAT SEEMS TO CAUSE THE NOISE!

Regards

John