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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  Lack of power a real problem - 2017 Lexus GX 460
  By Ron Mann - April 27 - 2:23 am

  If you are looking for a car to drive in the mountains this is not the car for you. Poor power and the 6 speed trans is constantly downshifting trying to find a low enough gear to get up steep grades. Sloped floor in the storage area puts everything you carry against the rear door so it falls out when you open the door. Had an 05 GX470 that I loved, this is nowhere near the same car.

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  Unsafe vehicle - avoid at any cost - 2010 Lexus RX 350
  By LexusOldCustomer - April 25 - 10:06 am

  Have had this car for a month. While it drives better than our previous 2007 Rx this vehicle has a fatal design flaw - it rolls back on even slight incline. The dealership says that it is normal and they cannot do anything about that. The previous RX did not do that and so does not our much cheaper 2007 Civic. The car is unsafe to operate. Avoid.

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  Transmission problem - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By Miami Mike - April 13 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my ES330 for 10 months. BAD= 1) Had many troubles with Countyline Lexus and would NOT recommend them. I am now using JM for maintenance. 2) Transmission problems (with acceleration) since purchase. Both dealers claim that I was the only person that had reported the problem (from these reviews, I see that this is a lie) and they could not duplicate or solve the problem. It has been getting worse. Now the car jerks with normal low speed cruising. 3) Leather on the seats seems cheap; rough and not supple. My Volvos leather is much nicer. Good= 1) Nice interior luxuries (except leather). 2) Nice to drive when you get past the transmission problems. 3) Good mileage.

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  Highlander has better interior and ride - 2015 Lexus RX 350
  By Fred MacMurray - March 31 - 8:58 am

  This review is based on a test drive, not ownership. Shopping for a mid-sized, crossover for the wife to replace her 15 year old Sequoia. The kids are grown so it was time to move down on size and up in luxury. I really thought the RX would be a great fit. The wife wants a Toyota as we have had great experience with them from a reliability standpoint but she wants something easier to handle in parking lots (which would be damn near anything compared to the Sequoia). We dont like the wild styling of the new RX so we went to look at CPO 2015s. As soon as we got in, we were both taken back. Everything I read talked about the quality of the interior materials. Huh? Where are they looking? I saw a sea of cheap looking, hard plastic. The door panels were just slabs of plastic as was most of the dash. The Sequoia has a much nicer interior. Then we drove it. I didnt expect a sports sedan, or even an engaging driving experience but this was horrible. It wallowed around turns and floated over undulations like it was on springs with no damping. Disappointed, we went down the street to the Toyota dealer to check out the Highlander. What a difference. The interior was much nicer, with nice, soft simulated leather covering the dash and soft inserts in the door panels. And it drove much better, handling seemed secure and bumps smoothed out. I just amazes me that for these two corporate cousins, the Toyota drives better and has a more luxurious interior for a lot less money than the Lexus.

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  I wanted so bad to like this car! - 2005 Lexus IS 300
  By mjf - March 2 - 4:20 pm

  Where do I startÂ… I have had this car at the Lexus shop 7X in the past year for numerous rattles & squeaks which still arenÂ’t fixed. I have had the clutch on the AC replaced, the AC/heater fan motor replaced, the heating/AC control unit replaced, & the sunroof track system replaced. I wanted so bad to like this car but it has been nothing but a pain. Performance wise, it just OK. The 5-speed manual shifts hard & the traction control is bad, kicks in when taking off or cornering hard & then stays activated too long causing lack of power. The car handles well on dry & wet pavement, however, its downright scary on any remotely slippery roads. I wished Id bought a BMW again.

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  Lexus Lies - 2004 Lexus GX 470
  By Dissatisfied - February 24 - 10:00 am

  I bought my GX during the Lexus Golden opportunity Day. I was told that there were no incentives on the GX. But I found out later that that was not true. Lexus has decided to drop the prices on the GX by making the worthless 3rd seat a N/C item on the last of the 2004 models. So, I lost $2000 by buying during the Lexus golden opportunity days. Beware these guys are tricky and they Lie. Go buy a Sequioa or Infiniti.

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  First year lemon - 2007 Lexus ES 350
  By phillipson - February 13 - 7:20 am

  I love my car but hate its electrical system. I have had a number of defects with this cars electronics and of course they have all occurred after the warrantee has ended. Lexus charges $150 just to diagnosis the problem. On one occasion the issue was a loose wire which feed all of the sounds the care made. sure enough plug it in and my car was fixed but i was down the diagnostic charge. Recently my car had the air bag light go on. I received an estimate for $8700. A bit hi since my car is worth 11K at this point. My local mechanic fixed the issue for $500.

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  LS430 - 2002 Lexus LS 430
  By michel - January 29 - 10:06 am

  My lexus ls430 is an o.k. car. The engine is under powered. It is very quiet and the ride is nice though I just dont like the car at all. It was a horrible buy. The dealers at the dealership treated me like I was buying a geo metro. I shouldve bought the new Q45. The sound system in the lexus is horrible! It is very tinny and doesnt sound very good at all.

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  Front end shimmy - 2004 Lexus GX 470
  By Bill Mclaughlin - January 29 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car for the safety & reliability for my pregnant wife. Immediately after picking it up I noticed a significant shimmy at 60-65 mph. I have had it back twice to the dealer and it has not been corrected. Watertown Lexus has told me it been occuring to some of the GX470s. Lexus Customer Satisfaction has been no help solving this issue. I am pursuing this & if they fail to fix it this 3rd time I will pursue the lemon law. At this point I am very dissapointed with Lexus,the dealer and the vehicle, and would not recommend the GX470 as I feel the shimmy is significant enough where it could render the vehicle unsafe in certain conditions.

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  NIGHTMARE - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By Cathy S - January 22 - 2:00 am

  My RX330 was in for service 4 times in the 1st month that I owned the vehicle. They are unable to fix the alignment and I have had 3 speakers replaced & another broken one. No one from Lexus would return a call until the 4th time that I called and demanded to speak with a real person. They said they would replace my car and then said something different. McGrath wouldnt take it back because they said it was used. They gave me a defective car but no one would help......until I contacted an attorney.