Gs430 Vs Gs300 & Rx300

[mudzs]

Have decided to stay with lexus and have narrowed my search to the gs300 and gs430 and RX although would consider an is300 (if i could find one).could some of the owners let me know thier average mpgs as the data i find seems a bit hit and miss .seems the 430 is only one mpg worse on fuel than the 300 on most sites .also the insurance group states 17 were as my ols gs300 is in group 18 .Also is the Rx worse than them all on fuel being a heavy four wheel drive. and lastly if any one is selling one in the near future please get in touch .

[Dave-Ellen]

GS430 Sport...............excellent car

[jsj24uk]

Im also for the GS430. I used to have a 2001 GS300 SE. Very smooth and quiet and it has one of the most awsome sounding 6 cylender engines you can get but since having changed to a LS430, you can't beat a V8. It is also proving just a little more expensive in terms of MPG than the GS300 was. Also you get the effortless grunt when you need it.

[Einstein]

The 430 is a fair bit quicker than the 300, and as you say, only suffers a few mpg less......... on paper..

I would think in general terms, it will probably use quite a bit more fuel than the 300, and also cost slightly more to service as well..

Saying that, I would have preferred a 430 myself.... just for the extra oomph.

John

[Giblet]

i didn't look at the GS430 too expensive, but on mpg, the GS300 is excellent. Round town never goes below 27mpg and as a lot of my driving is motorway, i generally average around the high 30's, even into the 40's. But depends obviously how you drive it. As for engine performance, I swapped a BMW 530i sport for the GS300 and boy it is faster than the BMW. I don't want the larger engine, but I suspect the suspension may be better on the 430, and that would be a good thing, as the GS is rather soft on the suspension.

One negative i had with RX and the reason why i didn't buy one is that as I am 6' 5" tall the RX was actually too small a car. I know on the face of it that probably sounds silly considering it sits higher than the GS, but the issue i have with the RX is that the door aperture is too low, and whereas with normal cars you crouch down to get in anyway, on the RX you step up, and I found I had to step up and crouch down at the same time to get in through the door. Not very easy.

[Rillo]

I can confirm Giblet's comments - I am 5'8 and even I need to wary of banging my head when getting into the RX. Great car though.

[maneesh]

no brainer mate!

mudz, get the GS430. the engine is a lot more modern than the GS300, hence it's bigger and more powerful, but isn't significantly worse on petrol.

im assuming you're going to buy a mk2 GS when i make these comments

[mudzs]

yes mate mk2 .have my eye on a nice black one on auto trader . just under the 10k mark with 80,000 miles .a little high but at 10k i cant really grumble .

[Mike_B]

Having got a GS430SE myself, the mpg round town is not good - I averaged 18mpg on the last tank.

However, unless you drive it in town all the time, then out on the open road the mpg isn't too bad, and overall I average about 25mpg. I work as a consultant, and as it happens I've been working in London since June so have only used the car for local pottering about to Sainsburys and various mates houses etc, hence the low mpg recently. If you only fill it up every 3 months, it doesn't really matter what mpg it does...

The car has a vast amount of 'shove' and no matter what speed you are doing (even >100mph), if you plant your right foot down you will be pinned back into the seat and hurled toward the horizon at a frankly indecent rate of knots. The handling is not razor sharp, but is a lot better than the magazine reviews suggest and the softer suspension gives it a lovely level of comfort. For someone like me, who frequently finds himself 200 dark and wet miles from home after a long and crappy day at work, the comfort and power are far more important than the ability to hit every apex with pin-sharp precision.

Overall I would highly recommend it, as long as you are not going to use it in town all the time and can stomach the higher fuel cost in exchange for sheer brute force when wanted. I don't know how well the 300 does round town with mpg (but then central London traffic could make a VW Lupo diesel look profligate with the motion-potion) but the 430 isn't that much worse I suspect.

Besides which, it's all worth it for the ability to utterly humiliate chavs in their bodykitted Saxos at the lights...

[shake]

i've had my gs300 for 2 weeks now, and visit the pump once a week. i get about 250-290 miles a tank. mixed but more in town than M WAY

but thats with me flooring it every now and then. you cant help but floor it.

the insurance difference for me between 300 and 430 was £10. i did want the 430 but couldnt find one i liked in my budget.

as mine has the sport kit, i can forgive it for not having that extra 80bhp.

my advice to you.....

get the 430!

[mudzs]

thanks for all the replies ,looked at a 430 (fantastic car to drive ,miles away from the mk1 in every way ) on wednesday but sadly thier just was not enough room in back for two large kids and a baby ,the baby seat just takes up to much room .love the cars but will have to wait a few years before buying one . have bought a toyota landcruiser colorado vx ,very different to what i have but not quite a people carrier ,needs must and all that .not far from being a lexus really and will hopefully be as reliable etc .

[Keith Bowler]

Mudzs does this mean you have finally sold your GS?

[mudzs]

no mate just gone up on auto trader tonight ,cant believe i have bought another car after five years of ownership .will miss it when its gone .