SPECIFICATIONS
Model:
Lexus GS300.
Price:
from £30 400 (about R358 700).
Engine:
2995cc, V6, 24 valves, 183kW at 6200rpm, 310Nm at 3500rpm.
Performance:
240km/h, 0-100km/h in seven seconds, 9.86 litres/100km official average.
Lexus. Out of nothing, Toyota created a prestige brand and caused an earthquake, at least in the US market, beneath the foundations of German automakers.
That didn't quite happen in Europe but the original Lexus LS400, back in 1990, was still a revelation. Its smoothness and silence, the quality of the wood, graphics and switchgear, the attention to detail - breathtaking from an automaker steeped in the mass market.
But Lexus has kept models in production longer than their merits can sustain. The advertising might have been aimed at individualists tired of the conformity among the German car-buying classes but most Lexi have still used the Germans as their template.
No wonder then that Lexus sedan sales have been sinking: the range was too old and about as fashionable as New Labour.
That's the background. Now the remedy: the new Lexus GS range, replacing cars launched nearly eight years ago. And with them comes a new design language called L-Finesse that's intended to identify all future Lexus models (the next one will be the new, BMW 3-series-rivalling, IS).
The cars will arrive in South Africa lateish in 2006.
The GS takes on BMW's 5 Series and the Mercedes E-class, among others, and achieves quite an individual look with its fastback tail, minimal bootlid protrusion and the interplay of gentle curves with the tension of edges and the simplicity of flat surfaces.
The overall effect is one of more confidence, more recognisable character - this is a good-looking car.
It's also dripping with technology, especially the V8 GS430. That car has radar cruise control that will automatically brake if you come up too quickly behind another car and adds the ability to brake extra hard, by means of emergency braking pressure, to halt if necessary with seat belts pre-tensioned if it detects a stationary obstacle.
It's able to do this because it has brake-by-wire with no direct interface between brake pedal and wheels. It's not the most confidence-inspiring of systems, though, because the pedal action feels as if you're standing on a balloon and it's hard to apply braking effort progressively. So far, then, qualified praise only.
Next techno-byte? A system akin to BMW's "active steering" that electronically alters the steering angle of the front wheels to counteract a skid or slither. It doesn't make the steering more responsive at low speeds but it helps rein in a wayward nose or tail if a corner proves less grippy than expected.
To make this system work, the steering is electrically power-assisted, which is unusual in a big car.
The top-range GS with all these toys yields 223kW from its 4.3-litre V8, an engine, carried over from the outgoing model. But many more of Lexus's targeted individuals, those neither "conservative" nor "assertive" buyers of luxury cars but rather "informed" buyers, will go for the cheaper GS300 with its new V6.
This 184kW unit has direct injection, variable everything and strong pull, andreplaces the former straight-six, a configuration now offered in Britain only by BMW and TVR.
Spun aluminium discs
Entering a Lexus should be a special experience; so it proves. It would be especially pleasing at night, because various parts are illuminated in sequence as you approach and enter: door handles, interior lights, footwell lights and spotlights for the steering wheel and gear selector.
Then you notice the instruments - spun aluminium discs fronted by glass able to vary its transparency to suit lighting conditions.
On one side of the fasica is a drop-down panel containing mirror adjusters, tripmeter zeroing and other sundry minor controls, secreted away to remove clutter. Models beyond the base version have a part-wood steering wheel of questionable aesthetics while the doors and the centre console are also wood-finished: red and curiously grainless in the GS300, black-lacquered in the GS430.
The fasica itself has deliciously snug components but an oddly sticky, synthetic feel to its leathergrain. That first-time Lexus quality stratosphere isn't quite reached this time. The top versions' Mark Levinson stereo, whose logo incorporates a circuit diagram's transistor symbol, is mighty impressive, though; it would take the deployment of all 12 crash bags to match its bass-drum kick.
So much technology, and I haven't even mentioned the rear parking camera, whose view alters with the steering angle. These Lexi are intended to impart sportiness as well as luxury, though, just like BMW and Audi. And this is obvious as soon as you move off because the ride quality has an underlying firmness that you wouldn't find in an LS430 or even a Jaguar.
The 18" wheels - standard on the GS430, optional elsewhere - make matters worse but the corollary is flat, taut, tidy cornering and the possibility of considerable driving fun.
Fast and accurate steering
With its rear-wheel drive, the GS has a BMW-like balance and a similar ability to power out of a corner with a hint of a tail-out flourish, albeit reined in by the tyres' fine grip and a vigilant, though not joy-killing, stability system.
The steering is fast and accurate but the GS430's electric assistance gives it a slightly artificial feel. That, plus the curious braking response, would make the GS430 driving experience a kind of real-time PlayStation were it not for its excellent engine: 0-100km/h in six seconds plus the most cultured of sporting V8 soundtracks.
It's a shame the six-speed automatic gearbox isn't smoother, though; a downshift is too much like a rubber band being stretched and suddenly released.
The GS300, though less thrilling, is the better drive overall with its more natural steering and brakes and a fine spread of pulling power - 90 percent of the total torque is tappable all the way from 2000rpm to 6000rpm.
True, this is rather less than that of the V8, but maximum power is not much lower despite the smaller engine capacity. This is a smooth engine, too, nearly as smooth as a BMW straight-six and smoother than the old Lexus one. A GS430 is a quiet, serene way to travel.
There is much to like in this new Lexus, not least the lashings of equipment for the money. One snag, though, might be the lack of a diesel in the range.
There won't be one in the future, either, but instead we'll see the GS450H - a hybrid with the V6, more-than-V8 pace and diesel-matching thirst. Looks like the marque is set to make a mark at last.
The iconic status may take a little longer. - The Independent, London
THE RIVALS
BMW 530i SE £31 725 (R374 000)
Opinion may be mellowing towards the BMW's "flame-surfaced" looks and it is still a fine car to drive. Ride can be firm, though, and iDrive control system is frustrating.
Jaguar S-Type 3.0 V6 £32 295 (R381 000)
That money will buy either a sybaritic SE or a more purposeful Sport, which has one of the best-judged "sport" suspension systems of all. Today's S-Type is a desirable car.
Mercedes-Benz E350 Elegance £35 770 (R422 000)
Expensive, but the E-class is crushingly capable and its new V6 engine is spirited. Optional multi-contour seats alter support as required during cornering.