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Sedans Lexus GS Infiniti M35 vs Lexus GS 300
84 messages, Last post on Jun 06, 2007 at 7:30 PM
You are in the Lexus GS Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Well, I decided on the M. Unfortunately, it was a practical decision, not really based on what car I really wanted. My wife and I are not very tall (I'm 6'0" and she is 5'9") but we both have longer torsos, and we just couldn't fit in the GS. My hair would definitely scrape the top of the roof with the seats all the way down. I liked the GS styling inside and out better than the M. I liked the fact that the Lexus dealership was 5 minutes away. I liked the fact that I would be driving a Lexus -there, I said it! But, the M wins. I liked the driving dynamics better in the M but I was looking for more of a comfortable cruiser for my all interstate drive to work. Looked at the LS, which I really liked, but my wife said "no way- old man's car". What was Lexus thinking of when they chopped off 3 cubic feet of trunk room? Enough said. I'm really not that disappointed as the M is an excellent car, but I think the GS was such a narrow miss for me. This class of LPS vehicles is very competitive!!
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Replying to: ckelly14 (Aug 28, 2005 4:12 am) Good luck with your M! Did you get the M35/x or M45?
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Replying to: ahom12 (Aug 28, 2005 4:23 am) |
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I have 2300 miles on my 2006 GS300, and it is for sale. I am driving around with a piece of cloth on the center console near the shift lever -- because the sun glare off the black wood has almost caused me to hit the center divider twice, and have put aluminum tape on the LEDs in the foot well, and above the shift lever because these cannot be shut off at night. The climate control system does what it wants, and not what I want, and takes far too many buttons to push to get anything done. I selected the GS300 over the Infinit M35 because of superior gas mileage, and further apart reccomended service. But I was truly stupid to do so. Every aspect of the Lexus GS300 is counter-intuitive -- from putting the side view mirror controls, parking sensors, odometer brightness, setting, and reset buttons (and many others) into a tiny fold away cluster -- which is UNSAFE TO OPERATE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS MOVING, to an erratic and unreliable bluetooth connection to a Nokia 6230B cell phone (sure the Moto flip phone does bluetooth fine, but has lousy reception, so what is the point?) So if you want an unsafe to drive car because you are constantly distracted by the non-intuitive controls, blinded by the setting sun reflecting off the side view mirrors, and almost hit the center divide while trying to get the side view mirrors tilted down (oh, they go down automatically when you enter reverse, just not when they are reflecting the sun into your eyes), lack of any polarization on the rear window, absolutely minimal front windshield tinting, and a stereo with lousy reception for remote stations, then please take my $45,000 luxuary car off my hands for a mere $36,622 -- which the dealer is happily offering me after 3 months and 2300 miles. I have gone to Lexus Corporate and dicussed these (and several other issues with them), and they agree --- the GS300 is not for me, and they will NOT stand behind their vehicle to make it better, or take it back. P.S. when you switch between AM/ FM, or FM and CD, you have to adjust the stereo volume substantially. Not too bright. |
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Replying to: byu1 (Sep 17, 2005 11:40 pm) |
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| I am trying to decide between the m35 and the gs300.I like the handling of the m35 but the loud reving kind of bothers me. I am currently driving a gs300 and don't here anthing when I drive. I think the features of the m35 are great but am concerned about resale value. does anyone have any thoughts. | |
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Replying to: abun (Sep 28, 2005 11:31 am) Better interior and exterior (completely subjective) Quiter highway ride Better dealership experience (for me) M35: More power More room (my head brushes the top of the GS roof) More storage Better handling Residual values on leases are higher for the M so resale value may actually be better for the M. Both are great cars, it's a matter of taste. If the GS had a few inches more headroom, I would pick it. Right now, I'm leaning to the M but my mind changes literally every day. However, it keeps coming back to how annoyed I'd be when my head keeps brushing the top of the headliner during my commute in my GS ....
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Replying to: ckelly14 (Aug 21, 2005 1:52 pm) * Lexus was beautiful in terms of fit and finish and interior look/feel/quality, BUT it felt SO MUCH smaller inside. Although the differences in interior room are measured in 1-2" in each dimension, the M just felt like it had so much more space, like a Lexus LS or MB 5-series. We felt cramped sitting it the back seats of the GS. Just didn't feel right for a car in its class, especially since physically the two cars are so similar in size. * The Lexus had some odd placements of some important controls -- that drop-down console below the left side of the steering column is awkward. All of the M's controls were easily accessible without having to take one's eyes off the road for more than a second or so. Also, the nav screen is up higher, meaning you can glance at it without having to take your eyes too far off the road. * Tech Options: Both cars have really nice technology options, but I found the "multiple way of doing the same thing, pick what works for you" approach in the M to be more intuitive. If you don't like the computer interface, there are manual controls that do the same thing just like "in the old days" (pre-2003!). * Now for the biggest difference: DRIVING. The GS, with its "electronic overlords" (as one of the big car mag reviews recently stated) insulates the driver too much from the road. The GS drives smooth and luxuriously, but I'm more of a rubber-meets-the-road driver and really loved the FEEL of the M...it feels like I'm connected to the car -- part of the machine -- whereas the GS made me feel like a passive observer in the driver's seat. The GS felt sluggish off the line, while the M just cranks across all levels of the power band. I also drove the M45 and that car is just a beast off the line...could get a lot of speeding tickets with that V8! In the end, I guess the M just inspired passion in me, while the GS left me with "nice car, but for $50k I'll take the one that's more fun to drive." The GS was a nice ride and I probably would have picked it if the M didn't exist...but it does, and so parked in the driveway now is a new M35 Sport. Both cars are much better than their expensive and unreliable German counterparts! I like to think of Lexus as having a focus on Mercedes-style luxury, while Infiniti is clearly going after BMW for performance. Anyway, that's my $0.02!
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Replying to: msportfiend (Oct 06, 2005 11:51 am) |
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Replying to: ckelly14 (Aug 21, 2005 1:52 pm) I leased the M35 (with Journey and Tech). I've had it since March and find every excuse to drive. I actually like the interior (black) very much. The controls are very user friendly. I love the bluetooth, and voice controls. My phone is synched up to the system. I was surprised at how inaccessible the controls were in other cars, compared to the M35. The M handles like a champ. It seems much more responsive and fast than the GS. I was a little bored driving the GS (and the ES ), but the GS was a bit quieter. I also noticed a big difference in interior size between the two cars, and I am only 5'3". The M35 is much roomier in the front AND back seats. Based on my test driving and my experience with the M35, I would highly recommend the loaded, fun-to-drive, yet luxurious, Infiniti. My BMW-driving friend (5 series) told me he was "shocked" at the great handling and features on the M35. He decided to buy one for his wife after driving mine. |
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