Overview & Reviews

Lexus has earned a well-deserved reputation for turning out utterly refined luxury vehicles. The hallmarks of this brand are a quiet, well-crafted cabin, a plush ride and commendable performance from powerful, nearly silent engines.

Lexus began out of a desire by parent company Toyota to create a world-class luxury car brand. Groundwork for Lexus was laid in the mid-1980s, when the company began tapping U.S. focus groups in an attempt to define design concepts best suited for American consumers. Hundreds of prototypes were built and tested on Germany's autobahn and on U.S. roads.

In early 1989, the company unveiled its first two models (which would debut for the 1990 model year) -- the entry-level ES 250 sedan and the flagship LS 400 sedan. The LS 400 was lauded by both journalists and consumers alike for offering a stellar luxury-car experience, with a remarkably silent cabin, superb build quality and a refined V8 engine. At the same time, the LS was priced considerably lower than smaller, lesser-equipped, six-cylinder European rival luxury sedans.

By the early 1990s, the Lexus brand was expanded to other markets, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. More models were added to the lineup, including the SC 300 and SC 400 coupes and the brand's first luxury performance sedan, the GS 300. By decade's end, the company had added SUVs (in the form of the LX 450/LX 470 and RX 300) and had sold more than a million vehicles in the U.S.

The first decade of the 2000s saw Lexus proving itself a trend setter with the launch of many hybrid-powered versions of its vehicles such as the RX 400h and the GS 450h. And by 2011, Lexus even introduced a world-class supercar, the LFA.

In the years since its inception, the Lexus brand has distinguished itself time and again in quality and reliability surveys. The brand's vehicles may not offer as much passion as some Teutonic rivals, but for drivers interested in vehicles that emphasize quality, dependability and comfort, the Lexus marque is hard to beat.

User Reviews:

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  Buyers remorae - 2016 Lexus RX 350
  By Carl Richards - April 14 - 7:06 am

  This is my 3rd RX 350. With each generation the navigation and other electronic controls get more complex and harder to use. For some reason instead of getting faster and more responsive over the years, the computer in this car is slower and less intuitive than the earlier models. It is on its way to the dealer for the second time because the screen has blacked out and now freezes on occasion. I pay for the traffic package and it is not unusual to drive 10 miles after starting the car for the traffic info to show on the screen. And compared to an app like Waze, it is very dumb and likely to lead you into a traffic jam and then cheerfully chirp "slow traffic." If i could get out of this lease, I would.

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  poor quality - 2004 Lexus GX 470
  By mellis1100 - March 26 - 2:00 am

  I fell in love with the styling of the car. The car drives terribly. Poor mileage. Jerking when it is at a stop. Taken it to service, they say that is the way the car is made. High reving when it is started, even when it is warmed up. The comfort of the car, on the passenger side, sits low and cant adjust seat. No lumbar. No power on the highway, due to they all come in 4 wheel drive.

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  Faulty Transmission - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By Lucy Ricardo - January 24 - 10:00 am

  This car has a definite problem that Lexus is well aware of. The problem is Lexus does not have a solution to the problem so they say the car was designed to drive this way. Every person that I have spoken to at any Lexus dealership and into management has told me the same thing. The ES 330 has a transmission problem big time, it slips and shifts very rough...no way to correct the problem. Lexus stands for Luxury export US....there is no luxury in whiplash...thats the effect of the transmission shifting!!!!!

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  A big disappointment - 2017 Lexus RX 350
  By David Smith - January 4 - 6:15 pm

  This is the second RX we have owned. We purchased this RX 350 all wheel drive new in Oct 2016 and wish we had our money back. The first one, many years ago, was really good. This one is a big disappointment. The Info system is just terrible. Voice recognition does not work, not at all, no matter how much training you do. The car seems to be less quite than in the past. Shifting is just strange from time to time. No trouble with it, but just not worth the money with all its faults. I recommend you look elsewhere.

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  Give It a Serious Test Drive - 2012 Lexus CT 200H
  By gary7465 - December 25 - 4:10 am

  I know Im in the minority here, but Im very disapponted with this car. If youve never had a hybrid, give it a very serious test drive before you buy or lease. On the plus side, the MPG is excellent -- better than advertised -- and the front seats are very comfortable. The exterior of the car is very pretty. Overall, the car isnt as much a Lexus as it is a gift wrapped Prius. There are obvious trade offs with a hybrid, but the performance in Normal mode is tepid, at best. Theres better performance in Sport mode, but its annoying to have to toggle back and forth. The ride is harsh, the car is full of rattles, steering is jittery and the back seat is very cramped.

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  Dont bother - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By JamesB - October 12 - 10:00 am

  Lively vehicle with somewhat noisy motor. Comfort slightly snug for a large fellow. The acceleration doesnt seem too good. Good features for upper version cuv. Not very reliable, already have trouble with throttle.

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  Same old stuff but worse - 2014 Lexus LX 570
  By zeus2012 - August 30 - 6:49 am

  I owned a 2011 LX 570 and enjoyed it, it drove great and I never had any problems with the SUV. I purchased a 2014 LX 570, 3 months ago and have been surprised & disappointed. The electronics system sucks. The navigation is not up to date, there are 36 presets on the radio sound system, but I am not able to label them. So I have 36 numbers. It is a danger looking for a particular station. The weather map looks like a five year old with a magic marker. The Lexus Enform App never works. $93K and I have a 1990 Ford Escort electronics package.

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  My last Toyota purchase - 2002 Lexus RX 300
  By c krempley - August 8 - 7:00 am

  This car did not live up to my expectations. After owning many Toyota products, a Corrolla was my first car, I will no longer be purchasing their product. The hype that this car would run for 200 to 300 thousand miles is just hype. My transmission gave out on a major highway at 10:00 PM in a construction zone 30 miles from ANY gas station or other help. Two years ago the air conditioning unit needed replacement and now there are electrical problems. I have never had so many problems with a car.

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  GX 460 review (already problems) - 2010 Lexus GX 460
  By Mr_Sylvester_79 - April 29 - 10:33 am

  I like this vehicle, but there are problems with the acceleration after stopping and accelerating quickly. This is a safety problem if trying to accelerate quickly through an intersection, one can get into an accident. Lexus is addressing the issue, but do not believe this is safety issue because no accidents reported yet (although this is new + expensive vehicle). If there was not this safety issue, I would say that the small area for 3rd row is an issue and leg room for drivers side. It is build on 4runner chassis. The exterior and style look very nice. Just some fundamental issue

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  Enform - 2013 Lexus RX 350
  By narragansett - April 7 - 1:50 am

  The Lexus Emform suite is poorly designed and never should have been released. There are numerous bugs, the most annoying being the failure of Pandora to operate. Dealer had no answers or fix saying Lexus is working on the issues. Its fairly obvious that product/software testing was not adequate prior to releasing.