You won’t tell by looking, but Lexus’s high-performance saloon curio has been treated to a refresh. It’s still no class leader, but there’s definite appeal
LEXUS – IT’S A BIT OF AN ODD ONE. For the best part of three decades it has been turning out sybaritic saloons and heart rate-lowering hybrids that are beautifully built but as entertaining as chartered accountancy exams. Yet every now and again Lexus takes leave of its senses and rolls out cars such as the M3-rivalling IS F, the unhinged LFA, the LC and this, the GS F, which has been treated to amid-life refresh.
The changes are very modest and in a line-up you’d struggle to pick out the latest GS F from its predecessor. The updates have been made under the skin, where you’ll now find adaptive dampers, or Adaptive Variable Suspension in Lexus speak. This set-up delivers up to 30 levels of damping force across four pre-set modes (Eco, Normal, Sport and Sport+) to provide greater suspension compliance for the daily drive, but tauter responses when you’re hustling.
The rest of the GS F remains largely the same, which means it bucks the current super saloon trend for downsized turbocharged engines, four-wheel drive and twin-clutch gearboxes. The Lexus’s combination of big capacity naturally aspirated V8, rear-wheel drive and torque-converter auto is refreshingly old school. It’s an impression that’s reinforced once you’re on the move.
This story is from the February 2018 edition of Evo.
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This story is from the February 2018 edition of Evo.
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BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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