I have been accused of being a particularly harsh critic of recent Lexus (and Toyota) redesigns, and my first exposures to the latest, fourth-generation GS350 last year did little to change my opinion. As the owner of a third-gen, 2007 vintage model, I’ve felt my concerns are valid, but the public doesn’t seem to agree, as it buys three times as many of the new GS as the old.
[caption id="attachment_2175" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="2013 Lexus GS350"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2176" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="2007 Lexus GS350"][/caption]
Was there something I was missing? I had the chance to find out recently, when a GS350, this time in Luxury Package specification, showed up for a week. I had no immediate change of heart, as this latest GS350, parked next to mine, looked like a bloated, amateurish caricature. Gone was the taught litheness of that earlier sports sedan, one the first Lexi to use the company’s then new “L-Finesse” styling. In its place was the new model, with its overwrought, unfinished detailing and slab sides, perched precariously atop too-small wheels.
Yet a week driving them back-to-back had me revising many of my original criticisms. For in most every objective measure, the new GS350 was a better car to drive than ...