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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  Failed Lexus!!! - 2017 Lexus RX 350
  By RB - July 13 - 10:03 am

  Giving a single star due to droning noise and vibration issue and the hesitation issue of the 8 speed transmission.. please check out the details at club lexus online forum.. there are detailed discussions on these 2 issues (vibration & noise; hesitation) with the new RX 350.. Lexus gets an F grade on the RX re-design. BTW 450h, the hybrid version seems to be fine as it is not impacted by the above said issues... stay away from gas version until Lexus fix this issue.... my 2 cents.. disgruntled owner of a $59K MSRP 2017 RX 350.

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  Unimpressed - 2010 Lexus RX 350
  By P. Chetras - June 9 - 10:50 am

  The AWD system on this vehicle is horrible in the snow. It is not as good as other systems I am familiar with. It appears that the rear wheels only work when there is noticeable slip in the front wheels. The delay at which the rear wheels engage is very noticeable and is scary when going around corners. Even with the stability control the AWD system destabilizes the car around corners in slippery conditions.

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  The paint color is off too much. - 2015 Lexus RX 350
  By Carolyn Chang - May 22 - 11:43 am

  I bought a new Lexus 350 RX in 2015 with the color of Pearl White. My teacher colleagues and I noticed later that the rear bumper color is different from the body. It is kind of yellowish. I understand that the bumper is plastic, the color is always a little different from its body. I accepted this little difference. But my bumpers color, in brief, is off too much. My relative told me the bumper looked like repainted after the car crash. I have been contacting Lexus Dealer since then. They repainted the bumper but its color is still off too much. They refused to paint it again. Everybody who sees my car told me the rear bumper color is off too much, which makes people think this car once had a crash, the bumper was repainted. I was told by the Consumer Authority person that I could bring this matter to the small court. I already have a court day. I would like to give my advice to anyone who wants to buy Lexus cars, which is: look carefully at every parts of your new car before you drive your new car home. In addition, my GPS failed in taking to the restaurant where I was invited to. My tire pressure warning light is on many days of the year even if the tires pressures have no problems at all. I am a good driver for 23 years and have no accident at all. My experience tells me Lexus is not a good car.

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  RX350 Rear Main Seal Leaking at 200 Miles, - 2017 Lexus RX 350
  By Lexusma - February 24 - 11:11 pm

  Do a complete check on the NEW vehicle (if there is a oil leaking) before you sign the paper.

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  Lexus Enform does not work. - 2017 Lexus GX 460
  By KemN - February 2 - 3:17 am

  That fancy tech package that might buy does not work. I bought my GX 460 30 days ago (April 2017). The Enform app is down with no date planned to fix the issues. DO NOT BUY THIS OR ANY LEXUS IF YOU WANT THE APPS TO WORK. Demand that the dealer demonstrate all of the features before you buy. They wont because they cant. Its crap. I have called both the dealer and Lexus. They will not help. Buy the Audi. I wish I had.

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  Disappointed - 2016 Lexus RX 350
  By koehler1200@gmail.com - September 26 - 9:36 am

  I was super happy to buy a Lexus, but now wish I had stuck with my Nissan. After only 10000 miles, the car has had many many issues that they can not fix. For starters, it whistles loudly some times depending on which way the wind is blowing, and I have a video of that. The power locks do not always work and I have to get the key fob out to unlock the doors. But the most concerning to me is that I get a message the the breaking power is low and to pull over immediately and call service department. They can not fix this issue or replicate in the service department. And now the parking break does not always engage. I am seriously considering contacting an attorney and claiming this as a lemon. Not what you would expect out of a $50k+ vehicle! And when I first bought the car, the airbag on the passenger side would not turn on when someone was sitting in the seat. Update 5.18.16 - They have replaced the break booster as advised by Lexus. Will update again if this fixes the issue.

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  Terrible for a Lexus -- cant wait to sell it. - 2017 Lexus RX 350
  By Unhappy Lexus Owner - August 1 - 6:37 pm

  I was coming out of an Acura MDX into the Lexus RX 350 Fsport. I am very disappointed in the vehicle and with Lexus. 1.) The cars with headsup display come with a windshield that causes headlights and streetlights to be duplicated (like being cross eyed). After taking pictures and getting a Lexus service tech to ride in the car in darker weather, they agreed there was a problem. At first Lexus (corporate) said it was defective glass and replaced the windshield. When the problem still existed they found an engineer that knew that there was different glass for cars with HUD. Their solution was to put the glass from non-HUD equipped vehicles into my car. This glass then made the HUD blurry and duplicated and rendered it useless. I eventually got my money back for the HUD since its now useless. During this experience, I found that using polarized glasses eliminated the problem. I shared with Lexus dealer and corporate and received the response "we trust our engineers to solve the problem." So I found a solution that costs about $100 -- a clear, polarized window film would solve the problem. Instead they want to break the factory seal on the windshield and put in a $1500 windshield rendering the HUD useless. 2.) I have less than 15K miles on the car and have rattles in the drivers door and the roof. Of course the dealer cannot reproduce the issue. 3.) Rear hatch struts werent lubricated correctly and squeal loudly. 4.) Entertainment software usability is very poor and not intuitive. It doesnt remember your last media setting and turns off when using bluetooth connections. 5.) Mouse is too sensitive and creates a safety issue to use when driving (even after adjustment). 6.) The overall fit and finish of the car feels cheap. When shutting doors it sounds like hollow metal slamming. Ive had lower end cars that dont sound like that. 7.) No remote start without a paid subscription. For a 2017 luxury car, how can this not be a standard feature? 8.) The Mark Levinson stereo is definitely not worth the money. It is NOT surround sound, not tuned to be balanced for different music types, and sounds like the rear speakers dont work. The base stereo sounded better. There are some nice features on this car, but it is significantly lacking overall quality in many areas putting it below low end car makers like Kia and Hyundai. The biggest issue is how Ive been treated by Corporate Lexus when dealing with the HUD windshield issue, but combined with everything else this car is a huge waste of money.

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  Nice Car to Drive - poor rating because of droning - 2017 Lexus RX 350
  By KenSW - June 8 - 6:48 pm

  Do not buy or lease an RX350 unless you like consistent droning from the drivetrain. Mine was super quite until around 1800 miles and then something changed. There’s a low pitch droning sound with a vibration all the time - especially at about 1400 rpm. The nice ride and comfy cabin does not make up for this serious flaw. Search “RX350 droning sound” before making the investment. Look elsewhere for a midsize SUV.

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  IS 300 - 2002 Lexus IS 300
  By ISC - May 13 - 10:00 am

  not for grown adults, too tight in the back, small trunk space is very inconvenient

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  IS 300 - 2002 Lexus IS 300
  By rijofla - May 13 - 10:00 am

  reliability is a plus, i am not too much sold on the looks but it is alright