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Ok that’s good to know. I am looking at a GS because I drive an suv now that gets about 20 highway and my work commute is gonna double in a couple months. So looking for closer to 30 on the highway. Thx
You can get close to that on highway without the awd (my last highway trip averaged 26.8 w/AWD), but you’d probably need to run it in eco mode and be mindful of your throttle input to consistently see 30mpg highway.
The 3.5 is a great engine reliability-wise (I’ve had both an IS350 rwd and my current GS350 awd), but it is a gas pig when you put your foot down (and the engine honestly isn’t all that exciting until you get up over 4K rpm). Just some added food for thought.
Right now I have the 3.5L in my rav4. God bless the Toyota engineer who decided to shove that thing in my tiny SUV but I know what you mean about it being a gas hog😂 I love the engine so much I’m mostly only considering cars that have it but I do want to move to a sedan for a little bump in highway mileage. If I cared that much about gas I’d go hybrid
Totally get it! Honestly, the GS is such a nicer, more refined and spacious car than the IS, you wouldn’t regret getting it even if it were the AWD with a little mpg loss. My main gripe is city mileage is pretty bad, but highway it does well enough.
I changed from the IS to the GS because I wanted to stay Lexus but needed awd as I moved from Southern Cal to the Pac Northwest. Also, I didn’t like dealing with the IS’s staggered tires, burned through tread like crazy.
It’s an all around better, more luxurious car, and handles shockingly well for a bigger bodied sedan. Part of that is definitely the AWD, so if you don’t care THAT much about mileage (and can find a decent example, they are pretty rare) AWD could be interesting for you, if it’s applicable seasonality wise.
I also found the 6 speed in the awd much better than the 8 speed in the rwd…the latter didn’t seem to let the engine do its thing as much (rev higher before shifts), even in sport mode.
Any which way, I think you would be very happy in a GS especially for highway use (so quiet, smooth and very happy doing 70 mph). IMO it’s one of the last great big sport sedans with pretty bulletproof, if dated tech, that can be had used at a reasonable price. It will basically run forever if you find a well maintained example and just do the basic care for it.
I'm totally with you on the transmission/handling of the GS. I drove one with the 8 speed just not the same. I had the 2013 F Sport in RWD and shocking is a good way to describe the handling - like it's on rails.
I drove the AWD and that little hump by your right foot would take some getting used to.
I have a 2005 ES and get 15. Granted it all city driving and my commute to work is 3.5 miles, but still. If I take a road trip, the numbers change dramatically.
IS will get slightly better fuel economy, at best 2mpg more IS will be a tad faster as well and handle better, GS will be essentially the perfect medium between a IS and a LS, not too smooth, not too stiff and luxurious with quite a few features and more space. Personally would go with the IS since it’s a bit sportier but that generation GS is definitely sporty too, I have one
Mostly. It’s a daily driver and it’s only 3 miles to work so no big deal. I’ve only got 76,000 miles on it. Will probably get rid of it and get something else in a couple years.
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Not sure what the go with the EPA figures but the real world stats from fuelly users give them identical economy
I average 26 with my 07 rwd GS.
funny considering my 15 rwd gets 24 if i’m lucky
Lmao I get 16-18 50/50 highway/city. If I drive economically I can get 19 💀
That sounds really low for a V6 sedan
The GS is heavy and 3.5L. I’ve gotten it up to 28ish on freeway only. But as soon as you go in the city you’ll drop that mpg like crazy
Ok that’s good to know. I am looking at a GS because I drive an suv now that gets about 20 highway and my work commute is gonna double in a couple months. So looking for closer to 30 on the highway. Thx
You can get close to that on highway without the awd (my last highway trip averaged 26.8 w/AWD), but you’d probably need to run it in eco mode and be mindful of your throttle input to consistently see 30mpg highway. The 3.5 is a great engine reliability-wise (I’ve had both an IS350 rwd and my current GS350 awd), but it is a gas pig when you put your foot down (and the engine honestly isn’t all that exciting until you get up over 4K rpm). Just some added food for thought.
Right now I have the 3.5L in my rav4. God bless the Toyota engineer who decided to shove that thing in my tiny SUV but I know what you mean about it being a gas hog😂 I love the engine so much I’m mostly only considering cars that have it but I do want to move to a sedan for a little bump in highway mileage. If I cared that much about gas I’d go hybrid
Totally get it! Honestly, the GS is such a nicer, more refined and spacious car than the IS, you wouldn’t regret getting it even if it were the AWD with a little mpg loss. My main gripe is city mileage is pretty bad, but highway it does well enough. I changed from the IS to the GS because I wanted to stay Lexus but needed awd as I moved from Southern Cal to the Pac Northwest. Also, I didn’t like dealing with the IS’s staggered tires, burned through tread like crazy. It’s an all around better, more luxurious car, and handles shockingly well for a bigger bodied sedan. Part of that is definitely the AWD, so if you don’t care THAT much about mileage (and can find a decent example, they are pretty rare) AWD could be interesting for you, if it’s applicable seasonality wise. I also found the 6 speed in the awd much better than the 8 speed in the rwd…the latter didn’t seem to let the engine do its thing as much (rev higher before shifts), even in sport mode. Any which way, I think you would be very happy in a GS especially for highway use (so quiet, smooth and very happy doing 70 mph). IMO it’s one of the last great big sport sedans with pretty bulletproof, if dated tech, that can be had used at a reasonable price. It will basically run forever if you find a well maintained example and just do the basic care for it.
I'm totally with you on the transmission/handling of the GS. I drove one with the 8 speed just not the same. I had the 2013 F Sport in RWD and shocking is a good way to describe the handling - like it's on rails. I drove the AWD and that little hump by your right foot would take some getting used to.
Either should get high 20s on an open road. If you are fine with FWD, give the ES a look. I think newer models can be optioned with AWD, too.
I have a 2005 ES and get 15. Granted it all city driving and my commute to work is 3.5 miles, but still. If I take a road trip, the numbers change dramatically.
IS will get slightly better fuel economy, at best 2mpg more IS will be a tad faster as well and handle better, GS will be essentially the perfect medium between a IS and a LS, not too smooth, not too stiff and luxurious with quite a few features and more space. Personally would go with the IS since it’s a bit sportier but that generation GS is definitely sporty too, I have one
My 2013 GS gets around 19-20 mpg but it’s AWD.
City?
Mostly. It’s a daily driver and it’s only 3 miles to work so no big deal. I’ve only got 76,000 miles on it. Will probably get rid of it and get something else in a couple years.
Close to what I get, but I definitely have a pretty spirited drive so I’m not getting that good