Simon Wittenberg puts the acclaimed Lexus GS F luxury sports saloon through its paces during a 600-mile tour of Cornwall and the South West of the UK.
There’s nothing quite like waking up in the morning and turning on a car’s ignition to hear the sublime tones of a naturally aspirated V8. It’s a rarity these days to have this “pure” configuration, with so many engines relying on superchargers or turbochargers for that added kick, and therefore, it’s nice to see that the Lexus GS F has gone against this common grain.
Going by price point, the regular GS luxury performance saloon sits in the range above the NX and underneath the RC to give an idea of positioning.
The GS F was first shown to the world in 2015 and is the latest model to emerge from the vehicle manufacturer’s “F” high-performance division, which has also been responsible for masterminding the LF-A supercar and the RC F, which we drove at Ascari in Spain back in 2014.
As a four-door, the GS F is the largest Lexus to date to be proudly wearing the “F” moniker.
At the front, the GS F has the familiar “in-out” grille, which is a hallmark feature of the Lexus model range. This is flanked on either side by large air vents and “L-shaped” daytime running lights.
The inward-facing lamps, carbon spoiler and quadruple chrome tailpipes characterise the aggressive look of the back end, telling others that this car means business and is no slouch.
At nearly five metres long and over two metres wide, the GS F undoubtedly delivers a dominant road presence that doesn’t go unnoticed by others.
Lying underneath the bonnet is a whopping 5.0-litre V8, which pumps out 470hp, the same level of power found in an Aston Martin DB9 or Nissan GT-R, to put it into some kind of perspective. This means that the GS F has the capability to hit a top speed of 168mph if there is the opportunity to do so legally and will complete the nought to 62mph sprint in just 4.6 seconds.
This is certainly not a car to impress environmentalists with a CO2 output of 260g/km (putting it in the highest tax bracket of £2,000 for year one), but if you’ve spent upwards of £70,000, you wouldn’t really be too bothered about this additional cost anyway.
The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, but there is still the facility to flick it into M (manual mode), where you can use the paddles behind the steering wheel to determine your own ratios.
The interior has a refined and luxurious feel to it and is dressed in red semi-aniline leather.
The hugging high-back sports seats with 10-way power adjustment can both be heated on demand and are very comfortable, especially when completing large distances, which we duly did.
There is a good amount of head and legroom in the front and back, so you don’t feel at all cramped.
Similarly, the 520-litre boot easily accommodated our weekend suitcases plus a bit of shopping, and there is an electronically assisted tailgate which can be operated from the key fob for a dose of added convenience.
In the GS F, there are all the mod cons that you would expect, such as electric folding door mirrors, a blind spot monitor, air conditioning, a USB port under the armrest, as well as a head-up display in the windscreen.
The leather sports steering wheel is comfortable to grip for long periods, and adaptive cruise control is always a welcomed aid on long stretches of motorways and A-roads.
The optional £1,000 Mark Levinson audio system, which our test car was fitted with, provides acoustically sublime surround sound entertainment when you’re not listening to the engine notes.
The 12-inch infotainment screen hosts the built-in sat-nav, radio and phone controls. It’s fairly intuitive to use and it’s clear enough, and it also doubles up as a reversing camera which is a welcomed addition to a car of this size.
So what’s it like to drive? The Lexus blurb points out that the GS F is a fun car, and it certainly is. It has that excitement factor about it and puts a smile on your face, especially as the engine comes alive at 3,500 revs, which is where you get the true sensation of what the GS F is really made of.
The acceleration is so quick that any cars sitting behind often become dots in the rearview mirror.
There was nothing that could really keep up.
The ride is smooth and relatively firm, and there is a single suspension setting which can’t be changed.
There are also four options driver-selectable operating modes: Normal, Eco (to help reduce fuel consumption), Sport S (assists the acceleration response by controlling the transmission and engine), and Sport S+, which is designed specifically for the race track as it provides earlier downshift timing in order to maintain a high engine speed and offer faster gear changes.
Even in just Normal mode, the onboard transmission is responsive, and the changes are seamless, which means that you can just get on with driving rather than having to worry about a stuttering box.
The winding roads near the Cornish coast and the sharp bends of Wiltshire villages are where this car really demonstrated its superior handling precision and stability, and despite being reasonably large in size, it’s a surprisingly easy car to manoeuvre through exceptionally narrow lanes.
The brakes are impressive, and there is plenty of stopping power thanks to the on-board Brembo system, which comes with eye-catching painted orange callipers that sit behind the beautifully sculpted 19-inch alloys.
And how much does it cost to run, you may ask? Tipping the scales at just over 2,300kg and carrying around a big block like the V8, the resulting fuel economy is 17mpg around town and 25 combined based on regular driving.
Even without a firm foot, the fuel station loyalty card will inevitably pick up a few points along the way, and the pump to fill the 66-litre tank will become a familiar sight if you decide to cover a fair few miles like we did.
The GS F is a £70,000+ car, so it is pitted against the likes of the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63, but the Japanese flair just steals the edge over the competition. It looks good, sounds good and performs exceptionally well, and is what can only be described as the perfect testimony to what the “F” engineers do best.
Lexus GS F – specification at a glance:
- Price as tested: £74,375 (including the option of a 17-speaker Mark Levinson premium audio system)
- Engine: 5.0 litre V8
- Transmission: 8-speed Sports Direct Shift
- Max Power: 470hp @ 7,100 rpm
- Max torque: 530Nm @ 4,800 rpm
- 0 – 62 mph: 4.6 seconds
- Top speed: 168 mph
- Fuel consumption – urban: 17 mpg
For more information on the Lexus range, click here.
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