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:

• 

  DONT DO IT...! - 2002 Lexus RX 300
  By BillYo - June 17 - 2:00 am

  WITH A NAMEPLATE LIKE LEXUS...YOU WOULDNT THINK YOU WOULD HAVE THE PROBLEMS I HAVE EXPERIENCED....EVERYTHING FROM BEING STRANDED OUT OF TOWN WITH A BLOWN TRANSMISSION...TOO FEW LIGHTS..AND CHRONIC FUSE BLOWING...INTERIOR LIGHTS ..SECURITY ALARM...THE LIST GOES ON.... NEVER EVER AGAIN...BUT THE SERVICE WAS GREAT AND VERY APOLOGETIC....SORRY BUT THE STING OF BEING STRANDED ON YOUR VACATION LONG OUTLIVES THE FINE SERVICE.

• 

  Expected a better car - 2010 Lexus ES 350
  By Victor - June 16 - 2:00 am

  This is my last Lexus. The car feels and rides a lot, a lot less secure and solid than my wifes Mercedes e350, she has just oil service, I had to go to the service station 3 times to fix audio system.

• 

  poor build quality - 2003 Lexus LS 430
  By realist - June 12 - 2:00 am

  the facts are that most people that purchase and drive the ls430 are not as familiar with the workmanship of luxury cars. the ls is a reliable vehicle but the overall workmanship show several areas that corners are cut to save$. the dash in my car was 4 different colors. lexus admitted the problem but did nothing about it. Promised to fix it but never did. the driver door rattled from the beginning, never fixed. hinges and inside of truck were not painted to match car color. the list goes on so take a close look at the car paying particular attention to the exposed screws at the bottom of the door sills.

• 

  Very disappointed for this ES350. - 2013 Lexus ES 350
  By mineg - June 10 - 3:29 pm

  Very disappointed for this ES350, its 19km now. I bought it for its serene and comfortable reputation, this vehicle is not quite at lot. 1. The car vibrates when it stopped and the engine is engaged, the vibration makes me so uncomfortable that I have to switch to neutral whenever stopping before traffic light. I took it to dealer to check, I was told its rotors problem. I dont think thats the case because it vibrates also when I dont press breaker.

• 

  Not as good as I thought.... - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By MYNULEXUS - June 8 - 10:00 am

  I wished I had more time to shop around before buying this car. Like many reviews posted here, I found the transmission sluggish which makes me feel dangerous when merging into traffic. The car gives me the feeling that I might lose control over it when changing lanes on highway with speed between 60-75mph. The performance is not even as good as my previous 96 4Runner.

• 

  Known Defect With RX330 - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By starforce - May 7 - 2:00 am

  I read all the reports on Edmunds and Consumer Reports and was thourghly dissapointed when I bought the car to learn that it has a known defect that Lexus hasnt fixed. When stopping at red lights with the AC on the steering wheel vibrates. The Lexus service and told me that this is a known problem and they couldnt do anything at this time. What I cant believe is that nobody in this group seem to mention it.

• 

  Misleading Fuel Economy - 2015 Lexus RX 350
  By Mariah Bendr - May 5 - 8:52 am

  I had a 2006 RX 350 for 10 years and absolutely loved it. I wanted to purchase the Volvo SUV but my husband convinced me to stick with Lexus since we had such a great experience previously. Unfortunately this 2015 RX350 is no that great. The navigation is very annoying and takes so long to enter an address, I prefer to use the map app on my iphone so can can just say the address and off I go. I really miss my armrest... I know its something most people dont care about but I like to have an armrest where it meets my elbow. My biggest complaint is the gas economy. Its supposed to range from a minumum of 18 MPG local. It only gets 14 MPG on average!!! which is worse than the V8 Ford Explorer Limited that I had from the 90s. This is a huge gas guzzler - thank goodness the gas prices have gone down. On a positive note, I love the seats, they are very comfortable with beautiful color option of "saddle"... or brown. Its very roomy and looks great. The service from Lexus is also always top notch.

• 

  Poor Design - 2002 Lexus ES 300
  By Hate ES300 - April 17 - 12:00 am

  Look too much like a Camry.

• 

  Defective Model - 2003 Lexus GX 470
  By Isis Jones - April 12 - 2:00 am

  I purchased the long awaited model GX 470 on February 6th 2003. This is my fourth Lexus purchase. Due to the poor availability for test driving, I did not realize until after the purchase an unacceptable vibration in the 40-50 mph range. After taking the vehicle back for service twice, I have been informed that it is a known problem with this model but there is no fix at this time. Totally unacceptable for a luxury SUV that boasts a noise/vibration free ride. Lemon law currently being exercised.

• 

  Horrible engines, do not buy! - 2001 Lexus RX 300
  By winburnj - April 5 - 6:40 am

  All I can say is do your homework! Just after I rolled over 100,00 miles my engine threw a rod and now I am getting another engine put in. I ran a full synthetic oil for 22000 miles and did not think that Lexus would have problems like this with this mileage. All I can say is before you buy do your research on Lexus oil gel/sludge.