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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  Great used vehicle, love it! - 1997 Lexus ES 300
  By Research Nut - October 14 - 12:16 am

  Bought this 2yrs ago with 160k from a private party after getting it checked out at a Lexus dealership. Outside of the usual, I HAVE NOT SPENT A PENNY! Not one thing has gone wrong or needed to be fixed. It is just a wonderful car, and Im glad all of my research (much of which I did here at Edmunds.com) in finding it paid off. After owning this car, I just cannot understand why people would ever pay more money that I paid here for another inferior, less-reliable used car (like anything from Detroit)...

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  lexus - 2004 Lexus LX 470
  By JakeJacobs - October 13 - 10:00 am

  Very Nice Vehicle I will definitely consider a Lexus again & recommend the vehicle to anyone that is in the market it handles & does everyghing well

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  it is an outstanding car - 2003 Lexus RX 300
  By Bubu - October 13 - 10:00 am

  this car is the best suv I have ever driven.It has everything you need in a SUV.

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  Great car, but still has some issues - 2008 Lexus LS 460
  By tommyguy - October 12 - 12:26 am

  After a year with this car, it has been very dependable. However, like with most other owners, the side wind noise drives me batty. And calls to Lexus say that it is a design problem, that nothing can be done about it, and the problem wont be addressed until about the 2011 model year. Bummer. Also, the complete lockout of nearly every navigation feature while in motion renders the system nearly useless. Dont waste the money on this. Buy a Garman instead.

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  My 2004 GX - 2005 Lexus GX 470
  By GX4DAVE - October 10 - 10:23 pm

  The reviews are right. You wont miss the LX 470. The GX 470 is Toyotas best SUV in my mind. All the features and options I wanted at a reasonable price. I even found it fun and easy to install the rear spoiler myself. I would definitely buy one again.

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  a product that does what it says it will - 2005 Lexus SC 430
  By ab - October 9 - 7:13 am

  it wont every be your only car but it will always be your best car. it is more fun to drive than i could have expected and it does just what an 8 cylinder sports car in this class ought to do-lift you out of your socks flawlessly.

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  Best SUV for the money - 2006 Lexus RX 330
  By davduf - October 8 - 6:40 pm

  Consumer Reports and reading Edmunds owner reports were very helpful in making my decision to buy the RX. Hopefully, the Lexus will be reliable and pretty easy on the wallet. The Hybrid would be a fun toy but I couldnt make the math work. They make you take the NAV and back-up camera so the price is actually $6000 more than a regular well-equipped RX. ($41,171 MSRP in Socal)

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  Most Impressive - 2010 Lexus GX 460
  By Impressive - October 7 - 9:30 pm

  Great vehicle caught up in the politcal games against foreign owned companies. Interesting how media underreports recent GM/Ford Recalls but over medias minor issue with a computer glitch that caused no damage or accidents.

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  Lexus Delivers - 2008 Lexus ES 350
  By nelson - October 7 - 2:23 am

  After looking at many competing vehicles, including Mercedes E-Class, we settled on the ES 350 Pebble Beach edition, with nav and the usual amenities. The Lexus is quite reminiscent of the Benz E Class in power, room and fun to drive. The stats are quite close. Lexus keeps surprising us. We had one of the first RX 300s, and have had the ES 300. This new vehicle blows the predecessors away, with power, quiet and technology (as expected). On the minus side, the visibility could be improved with a higher windshield and back window. On the plus side is the ride quality, which is why we went back to Lexus.

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  Outstanding - 2004 Lexus LX 470
  By Love my LX470 - October 7 - 2:00 am

  I have the 2004 LX470 and it is wonderful. The ride is so smooth I feel like I am driving in a car. It is by far the best of all SUVs on the market. Total luxury!