It would have certainly been a no brainer to me in 1997 to buy this over a comparable 540i and E430. Interesting that I've driven all 3 over extended periods and the Japanese copycat is leaving the biggest impression.

Beats both German equivalents on paper statistics wise... and what it lacks in styling and interior quality, it makes up for in comfort and reliability. The Nakamichi stereo is also far superior.

$3500 and 124,000 miles.

Flame suit on in anticipation of Spdrun.

1998 Lexus GS 400 - Motor Trend

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Damn! I thought it was a Suzuki GS400. (No flames)

Lexus makes some really awesome cars.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I had a GS300 iirc it was a 97 or 98 and loved it.

Reliable, competent luxury cars.

But they do not have the "soul" o charisma that the competing BMW and Mercedes have, it's been said by many.

Good choice for your "daily" though.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

The thing is ugly enough to feel ashamed when carrying potential business partners. I'd very much go for the LS, which still has some traces of the old W126.

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[GONE] - 1995 Mercedes E300 Diesel - 130k miles - Smoke Silver (702) over Mushroom leather (265) - Bladder blasting, coast-to-coast work machine.

In December I accompanied a friend in her search for a new car. While we were test driving a BMW 320ix, I asked the salesman which cars he considered to be comparable. He mentioned an Audi and a Benz. He had good talking points relative to each car. I said, "What about Lexus and Inifiniti?" He scoffed and said something like, "Those are Japanese cars. I wouldn't consider them comparable." I didn't respond, but I felt like telling him that he needs a better answer to that question. I have never driven a Lexus or an Infiniti, but I believe them to be excellent cars. Good thing for him that my friend refused to consider buying any non-German cars.

She bought the 320ix, which was a good choice. I had some fun with it on a curvy road. It is a blast to drive.

My only complaint about Lexus is that their drivers too often show the same annoying characteristic that way too many Toyota drivers show. In particular, they like camp in the left lane on the freeway and in any event commonly refuse to move over or drive over the speed limit. They also like to run parallel with the vehicle in the next lane and create an ongoing road block. It appears that many who drive this marque have some control issues.

But I’ve heard naught but good things about Lexus as a car and dealership experience. I’m thinking of getting an older Lexus LC equivalent due to its combination of comfort and 7 kilopound towing capability.

The LS is so boring to drive, but looks alot better.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Lexus makes a nice luxury car, not my cup of tea but they are very well built and comfortable. I like their big SUV's I'd buy one before a Mercedes SUV unless it was a G wagon.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

LC?

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I believe he means Land Cruiser - which is called the LX in Lexus.

honestly Land Cruisers should not be prettied up, they are off road trucks and require mud and dirt to complete the look. All my life the only Cruisers I saw were diesel - I had heard of the gas versions but the 4.2 litre 24V diesel of the old LC were claimed to be powerful enough to tow a loco.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

FIFY

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62 220sb
67 250S
72 280SE 4.5
74 280C
77 300D
82 240D
85 190E 2.3
86 300E RIP 12/28/09
85 300SD
92 300D 2.5
00 E320 Current
Over 1,000,000 miles in Benzes, Since66

....and a whole passel of BMW 2002 and Tii

Very good copies. Faster than both the E430 and 540i. Handles like the BMW while still riding like a Mercedes. Very tossable and easy to tell where the limits are. Seats are more comfortable than both. Nakamichi stereo is far superior than both. The gauges are more fun to look at, especially at night.... also, paddle shifters.

Styling is subjective, but I find it more attractive than a W210. Park it next to a 211 sport or AMG, 124, or comparable 5 series of the era and it will lose the beauty contest certainly. The overall design is good, but too swoopy. Swoopy doesn't look good unless the hood is longer, like on a Jag XKE, Corvette, old Ferrari, etc. I also don't like the way the C pillar blends to the rear quarters and trunk. Kind of like the Porsche Panamera, but thankfully the trunk and attractive spoiler stops the droopiness in the rear.

The interior is very Japanese blah, but everything is perfectly laid out and the electrics will continue working like new until the end of time.

Biggest thing going for it this time of year are the bum warmers. Simple ON and OFF switch. Not ON, then in 5 minutes automatically turn off or nearly off. Let me decide when my ass is warm enough, thanks.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Japanese blah is a good thing, IMHO. The dashboard and controls on my wife's 1998 Accord totally put to shame the dashboards and controls in my BMW or either of the Mercedes I've owned. And Japanese HVAC is far superior to anything I've seen in any German car.

IMHO.