Took my 2014 GS in for some warranty work today and had an LBX as a loan car. Have been thinking of downsizing so was looking forward to seeing if it suited my needs. So, after spending a day with it here are some of my personal thoughts and not an in depth review.
First impressions were quite positive. Initially it felt good quality with good materials on the bits that are often touched. Except for the steering wheel which appeared to be covered in some kind of tacky leather substitute. However, after a bit of poking some of the plastics lower down felt very un-Lexus like. As were the A pillars. I was also surprised to hear a couple of rattles and buzzes on a so called luxury compact car with less than 700 miles on the clock.
However, the driving experience was also surprising but in a quite pleasant way. It was quite nippy, handled well around the country lanes near me and, dare I say it, quite fun. The only real disappointment was how noisy it was. Both road and engine.
I won’t mention the relative lack of interior space as it was as expected and probably very similar to its competitors. Unfortunately, what really let it down for me was the infotainment system and dashboard. It was a premium plus spec so had the upgraded main screen and digital dash. The touchscreen seems fiddly on the move and quite distracting. The dashboard was also overly complicated with too much information regardless of which of the three modes I tried. Again, very distracting. Little things really irritated such as the bong which goes every time you pass a new speed limit zone. I could switch this off but it automatically came on the next time I started the car and I had to distractedly have to switch it off again once on the move. And once it was off I had a light on the dashboard telling me it was off! Why? Also why do I need script on the dash telling me what radio station I’m listening to?
The most annoying things though were the steering wheel controls which are so sensitive it’s almost impossible to use them and so distracting as to be dangerous.
I’m not a Luddite but I fear that technology is being used just because it can, not because it is useful. I did like the hud though. I do much prefer the simplicity of my GS dash and ice system. Driving can be a dangerous thing and we need less distractions not more.
In isolation it wasn’t a bad car and these are my personal subjective views but it looks like I’m stuck with my GS for a few years yet!