Lexus swears by the archetype of the hybrid drive. Even the gentle renewal of the GS mid-range sedan does not open the door to either plug-in technology or a lithium-ion battery; the nickel-cadmium battery, which cannot be charged externally, remains. For this, at least 47.100 Euro expensive and 4,88 meters long four-door have changed facial features and a stiffer body structure, at least with the basic model GS 300h, the average consumption according to ECE standards was reduced by 0,3 liters.
The nose of the GS has become sharper. Triple LED headlights frame the newly drawn radiator grille, which, as previously called Diabolo, is used. The F-Sport versions have a lattice structure, and new 19 inch light-alloy wheels also set accents here. The designers also gently touched the interior. The instruments now shine in easier-to-read 3D technology, the sliding button for the remote control on the center console should make operation easier, but in practice it still reacts oversensitively and does not always position the cursor on the large central screen at the desired location right away , The head-up display can be finely adjusted and the audio equipment with the renowned brand Mark-Levinson and no less than 17 loudspeakers has remained, the sound enjoyment is indeed formidable. The fact that an 13 inch laptop can easily be stored in the glove compartment is by no means a matter of course today.
Above all, the aerodynamic fine-tuning has at least made the GS 300h more frugal. Optimizations on the underbody and streamlined wheel design reduce consumption by 0,3 to 4,4 liters for 100 kilometers. On the other hand, 5,9 liter consumption remained for the GS 450h, which with its naturally aspirated V6 motor and a system output of 354 kW / 345 PS looks like a gentleman of the old guard, but nevertheless occasionally very strained. Despite the abundant performance, the combustion engine owes the stepless automatic transmission to revs up quickly and remains at this speed level until the desired speed is reached. Not unlike a motor boat. After all, Lexus allows the GS 450h to put a maximum of 1500 kilograms on the hook. The GS 300h (164 kW / 223 PS), on the other hand, can only pull ridiculous 500 kilograms.
The body has gained stiffness thanks to new joining technology. The components are assembled using the laser welding process and adhesive bonds. This gives the GS a tighter gear, although the adaptive damper control, which is standard in the top models, does not act particularly sensitively with pronounced transverse joints. The steering has been re-tuned and - unlike the brakes - is now much less synthetic.
The Lexus Safety System + is designed to provide occupant protection and now includes, among other things, the rear traffic assistant, blind spot monitoring and the previous pre-crash system. So the GS is not a particularly light and super agile but consistently safe travel sedan for sophisticated but not particularly sporty demands. A gentle giant.
Author: Michael Kirchberger / SP-X