Lexus GS F First Drive Review | A Japanese M5?

If you grew up in an Asian household, chances are you had a Toyota Lexus in the driveway, so you probably know that they're reliable. Great bang for the buck, but not particularly invigorating if you're watching this channel. Or you may also know that Toyota only builds a legendary sports car once every 20 years or so. Well, I'm here to tell you that this isn't it. This is the Lexus GS F. It's supposed to be Japan's answer to the BMW M5, but I wouldn't be so quick to call it a competitor just yet. It's currently the top dog in their F performance line and at 85 grand it undercuts the M5 by almost $20,000. But at the same time it's only got a naturally aspirated 5 liter V8 with 467 horsepower and 389 foot pounds of torque. So really it's more of a competitor for the new BMW 550i. Still, that's some big shoes to fill, and I think it fills them pretty well from a performance standp. Once you leave the notion that this is supposed to be an M5 killer, you begin to understand it more. 467 horsepower and a 7300 rpm redline sounds similar to the refreshed Mustang GT, but I still think the Mustang is faster because it's got more torque and less weight. The exhaust note is also way more civilized. It doesn't open up until past 4000rpm and even then it's kind of tame. At first I was disappointed, but the more I drove the car, the more I appreciated that it didn't bark at everyone. The interior is also a nice place to hang out, but it better be right. After all, it is a Lexus. The seats are well bolstered and I'm really digging the sporty design language. The one thing they got right is these paddle shifters. They're made of some sort of metal and they feel confident when you engage them. Plus, when you do engage them, the car responds quickly. There's no delay or lag, especially in Sport plus, but at the same time it doesn't slam you. Like an aggressive dual clutch gearbox, it's a pretty well balanced transmission. The GS F comes standard with a torque vectoring differential and really what it does is hide the fact that this thing is a 2 ton lug V sedan. It gives you the illusion that you're driving something much sportier. Well, I guess illusion is a bad word because there's actually a bunch of science behind it that makes it faster around a corner than it normally would be otherwise. You can select your modes through the dial and buttons here. Put it into Sport plus and Track mode for the most aggressive setting. I don't have much else to compare this to, but it feels much more planted around a corner than my 535 and that thing weighs 400 pounds less. The one thing that bothers me though is the mid range punch, or lack of. Because this is a high revving, naturally aspirated engine, most of the power comes in after 4000rpm. In my535 the turbos start building torque from 2000, but in this thing I have to work for it. It's more rewarding and the GSF is still faster to limit. Go for fun around town. I'd rather have something with boost. Let's just take a step back for a moment and appreciate what Lexus is doing. You're the only Japanese automaker that's actively competing with the Europeans, and even though they may have missed the mark with this car, I think it's the effort that counts. It's not that I don't like the GS F, I just don't think the car accomplished what it set out to do. It's lovely and comfortable to drive, but there's just no excitement factor. Such a conundrum. I wish they did something different with the engine. Maybe turbos, maybe more power. Just something. Oh boy, look at the time. I better go take advantage of the daylight. So on top of everything I've said, I'm also on the fence about the way it looks. Lexuses have a hard time exciting me and this one's no different. I like what they did with the wide front fenders and the gills, but I feel like the rear doesn't really match. It just looks like a GS350 that took a little bit too much pre workout. Did a bunch of bicep curls. The stacked exhaust tips are the only interesting thing back there. It's also not a photogenic car. It feels a bit dated to me. I can see why this car doesn't really sell. It rides in this gray area between the BMW 550i and the M5. It doesn't stand out from the crowd. If I had to buy a midsize sedan, I have plenty of other options out there. The Kia Stinger GT, the 550i, and the Audi S6 starting at $85,000. This thing just doesn't make sense. But if I had to buy a lexus I'd save 20 grand and just go with the RC F. It outperforms the GSF in every department. It's the better looking sister. In hindsight I feel like I was pretty harsh on the car, and I hope that if Lexus sees this review they don't take it too personally. After all, I did grow up in an Asian household where My mother drove one for almost 10 years and at one point almost bought an RC F myself. Oh and stay tuned. I still have to find out how fast this car is in our acceleration test.