Hello Vince,
I have now had the GS250 for 6 weeks and am still learning plenty. I am mainly using the Eco mode for my motorway journeys to try and squeeze more MPG out of it. Thats fine for cruising, but I can certainly feel the need for more power when overtaking and/or hill climbing. In this mode I am averageing about 36 MPG which is great compared to my 27 that I was used to with the IS300.
To be honest, I have only used the Sport mode on one occasion, and I was pleasantly surprised by the more spritely performance. If petrol wasn't so damned expensive, I'm sure I would be using it this way all the time!
The handling is just fine, nice and comfortable but no noticeable roll or sponginess. Obviously, it is a much bigger car than my previous one. No one could ever accuse the GS250 of having a hard ride. This is my favourite aspect of the car. It is sublime and feels just like an executive cruiser. You get a genuine feeling of being cosseted, and you can cruise along the motorway and just let the world go by.
The seats are exceptionally comfortable just like most Japanese cars, unlike the famous German marks which the motoring journalists love so much - they obviously don't drive them for hours on end like real people!
Are there any minus points?
The Sat Nav - Oh dear. The previous model in the IS300 wasn't that clever, but this is worse I'm afraid. I went from Derby to Huddersfield last week (about 55 miles) and it wanted to take me via the A1, M62 which would have added about 50 miles to the journey - crazy! The traffic information system is just a nuisance. The other night, the A500 had an exit closed and it popped up the 'Do you want to see an alternative route?' every 30 seconds or so for half an hour even though I had entered 'No' the first time. I just wanted to turn the thing off.
The fact that everything has to be accessed via the screen system is also a bit annoying, but to be fair, all modern cars are like this - its just the current trend.
Example -: to turn on/off the RDS traffic announcement messages used to be one push button above the radio. Push it once to enable, again to cancel - simple. Now, you have to go through several pages of software to do the same thing - not safe whilst driving.
The ML audio system is just great - well worth going for the 'Luxury' just for that.
Overall, very pleased I went for it and I'm sure you would be too.
Cheers,
Marc