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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  Dont Mess With A Good Thing - 2009 Lexus RX 350
  By Clayton - June 5 - 5:03 am

  Our 2000 RX 300 had cleared the 125,000 mark so I took the wife car shopping at the Dallas Auto Show. She looked at 10-15 comparable mid-size SUVs and choose the 2009 RX 350 -- hands down. We had great luck with the first RX and we saw nothing we liked better than the 09 RX. Had it now for about a month and weve taken two trips. Super comfortable and WAY more fuel efficient than our original RX. Also, the turning radius is greatly improved. I think the best part of the whole deal though is that after 125,000 trouble free miles, the Lexus dealer gave us 26% of our original purchase price. Pretty unbelievable for a nine year old car with 125,000 on the ODO.

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  Great car except for tranny - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By skeown - June 4 - 10:00 am

  car has great features,and quality feel on the interior.GreatSedan, and the 4th ES I have owned. Very,very disappointed in the hesitation/hold back from first to second gear, and really bad in bumper to bumper traffic.Fly by wire transmission cant learn between how it should control in staight road which is great,but in bumper2bumper its relearning new shifting patterns and =s jolting. The internet is full of writeups on this problem,and tires pulling left. The 2003 chip fix helped some, but hesitation can be dangerous.

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  Comfy, reliable SUV - 2003 Lexus GX 470
  By taniamekv - June 1 - 11:50 am

  Ive driven this SUV for over 6 years and its the best car Ive owned. Service is excellent (especially the Naperville dealer) and the SUV has the best fit and finish of any car Ive driven (including Mercedes and Porsche). It continues to drive smoothly after 85K miles. I hope to have it for 200K+.

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  lexus lx470 donnas view - 2003 Lexus LX 470
  By donnanard - May 27 - 2:00 am

  love the truck, performs well always. love the looks

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  Delilah DLexus thats what I named her! - 2008 Lexus ES 350
  By Teri - May 24 - 5:29 pm

  I would recommend this car to anyone especially those who drive a lot and enjoy travelling in comfort. Pros....pretty much everything. Steady. Smooth. Reliable.great looking interior.everything at your fingertips as far as controls go. Cons: sits a little too close to ground therefore it tends to bottom out on steeper inclines/declines. Can be a little hard exiting car at times if your taller than your average. Im now looking to buy my 3rd Lexus, Im hooked on and spoiled to a Lexus. Ill miss Delilah DLexus but I know her sibling is awaiting for me.

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  Just bought 1 yesterday - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By metalbandit - May 22 - 1:47 pm

  I just bought the Lexus RX330 2004 yesterday, so far no complaints. Whom ever was the previous owner took immense care to keep it nice. The whole vehicle still looks & runs like new. It being a 2004 it only has 89k + miles on it, and its just been very nice. Now with that in mind of course, I have read reviews, and such people saying that when it gets around the 90k mark things start going wrong with it, so I have a full 2 year coverage for just about anything that goes wrong with it. But for right now its been a great 2 days so far. Im on the hunt now to see about getting the onboard GPS updated on it, well see what happens.

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  new rx 350 - 2009 Lexus RX 350
  By jmartin - May 17 - 5:03 pm

  1) Navigation system, with adaptive headlights, and rear camera not worth the purchase. Save money by buying a Garmin and jawbone, which work and outperform, what is on the Lexus. Lexus needs to rethink and engineer the technology with the thought in mind that less is more! 2) Lexus reliability is reason for purchase/lease and the appointments which come with the automobile are very nice. 3) Outstanding service with loaner car is a plus as well.

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  Nice Car, bad paint - 2002 Lexus ES 300
  By Gladys Arnold - May 10 - 10:00 am

  Everything about this car is nice, but the paint. Ive notice several spots where the paint is chipping. First, I thought it was caused by treesap, but the other cars were not affected. I will discuss this problem with the dealer.

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  I dont know what to think.... - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By svet - May 10 - 10:00 am

  Has a great interior and exterior design. But performance is not that great. I expected more from a Lexus/Toyota built car. I wish, I didnt have to take a brand new car back to the dealership so many times. There is always something wrong with the car. First, was a recall. They kept my car for 3 weeks there. Then, both of mine sinwisers broke. Now, seems like this car is burning oil. I was wondering if anybody else is having same problem. Needs more power and gas pedal is too stiff.

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  noisy car - 2016 Lexus RX 350
  By Raymond S. - May 10 - 7:56 am

  Car has an annoying drone noise when starting up and driving. Was told it was the exhaust and Lexus was designing a new system which when available would be installed. Have not been notified yet after 4 months. Intend to check with dealer to see what is happening. My guess is that if they are serious, the new system will be on the 2017 models and will then be available to be replaced on the 2016 cars for the people who complain.