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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  Second Time Around - 2000 Lexus RX 300
  By CTraylor - January 20 - 10:00 am

  The RX is my second Lexus. I owned an ES before. The RX interior is awsome, comfortable, well appointed and visually pleasing. Honestly, the exterior grows on you. In terms of performance, the turning radius really is bad and fuel economy dissapoints. But what I like least is the choppy acceleration. Lots of lag and downshifting at full acceleration. All in all though, a very nice compromise for someone who needs veratility.

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  Rough Ride - 2010 Lexus RX 350
  By ROUGH RIDE - January 17 - 1:43 am

  Bought Aug 2009 already having dissatisfaction. Hoping to have smooth ride, but its not. Wind noise on the frwy & gas mileage is not what they claim only 16.2MPG on the city. My nieces rx 330 2004 has a better & quiet ride thats why we got one for ourselves. Try at least 2 SUV before buying.

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  New Ride - 2018 Lexus ES 350
  By gkmnj2 - January 16 - 1:51 am

  Navigation very mixed. Hard to set and control. Dumb routes sometimes. Miss interprets voice commands frequently. Using own phone probably better.

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  The right car for me - 2002 Lexus IS 300
  By feendog - January 12 - 2:00 am

  I looked long and hard for a car. thought about the acura rsx - was too small. thought about a bmw - im sick of bmws, so i decided on the lexus is. i like it alot. its a pleasure on the highway. only complaint - its a bit of a gas guzzler, and the rear seats dont fold down, make storage small. but id buy/lease it again if i had to do it over...

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  Good car but transmission is lousy - 2002 Lexus ES 300
  By fredj - January 12 - 2:00 am

  Many positives about this car BUT, transmission is such an integral part of a car, and this one is lousy for a car of this price. The engine and transmission seem to have trouble communicating on a downshift, when you are cruising in the 40-55mph range, transmission seems to keep searching for the right car, up then down, then up etc..Spoke with Lexus customer service and they said they have a few complaints but have no intention for any fixes at this time... This is strange because my dealer told me he had more than 15 complaints on this issue..Not acceptable for a luxury crusier sedan

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  More problems since 8/13/07 review - 2006 Lexus RX 330
  By retired - January 10 - 5:13 am

  Toyota dealer advised @ 30k service that vehicle needs to go to Lexus (100 miles one way) for oil leak "back 1 cam seal leaking." If it were off warranty itd be about $500. This combined with problems stated 8/13/07 will force us to switch makes next trade - have NO confidence in running the vehicle past warranty. This is still a young vehicle for the problems weve had.

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  A good choice - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By tim - January 9 - 10:56 pm

  I use this for my job and drive it a lot. It is very reliable and offers a great deal of comfort

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  2010 Lexus RX 350 - 2010 Lexus RX 350
  By smscapital - January 2 - 5:13 am

  This is a nice car. Has a nice finish and great performance. The problem is wind noise. Once you get over 70 MPH it sounds like you have the windows down. I have taken it to Lexus in Ontario Ca twice for the problem the car has less than 1,000 Miles on it. They are telling me the noise is normal for this car. I have a Chevy 2500 with 100k miles and the wind noise is less. I am very disappointed in the car and will be trading it in for a different brand. I hope Lexus can improve the wind noise in the future but for now my $25,000 toyota has less ride noise than my $50,000 lexus. I would recommend staying away from this model unless wind noise is not a problem for you.

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  ES300 a true Lexus - 2003 Lexus ES 300
  By Caran - December 31 - 10:00 am

  A car with good ride, very confortable, Lexus quality is difficult to beat. If you like luxury and smooth ride, its a best car of is category. Not a sporty car, but a luxurious one. I choose the ES300 for is smoot ride and great quality construction.

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  Lighting Problem of Lexus RX330 - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By Perkins - December 28 - 10:00 am

  Due to exterior lighting problems, I cannot drive my new Lexus at night. The dealer seems unable or unwilling to fix the problem. I am told that I am not the only one with this problem. As of this date, I will sale my Lexus and purchase something without this problem.