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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  What a car! - 2006 Lexus RX 400H
  By Joanna - January 4 - 10:33 pm

  Ive never cared much for cars, but this one has changed my mind. It has such a solid, safe feel to it. It looks like a van that took steroids and not the typical monster SUV. It certainly drives better than any van or car Ive ever driven and it is actually fun to drive it!The ride is as smooth as glass. This car doesnt know it is going up steep hills either. It eats them. The gas engine cuts out at lights and in traffic, and while this took a bit of getting used to-the silence makes it seem as though it has stalled- I feel better about the car not spewing unecessary gas into the atmosphere.

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  Great Car - 2003 Lexus IS 300
  By CG - January 4 - 2:00 am

  The drive is fast, smooth and very comfortable on long trips. The sound system is great.

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  Perfect Car - 2006 Lexus RX 400H
  By Grace - January 3 - 7:33 pm

  My husband purchased the 400h and loves it, as do I. Its incredibly quick and is getting solid mpg -- about 26.5 mpg. He got side tubes and it looks great -- who said its a chicks car?

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  Its been 4 months - Still Happy! - 2005 Lexus RX 330
  By tony - January 3 - 12:26 pm

  Bought this new in January - 4 AWD, Love this car. You get used to the transmission lag, gas mileage is acceptable. Ive run the tank down to about 16 miles left in the tank and it only cost about $33 to fill it completely back up with CA gas prices- less than $10 bucks more than the Camry I used to own. Tried everything else but this is the category killer - Consumer Reports also names this their best pick. Braking is the best Ive ever seen and the navigation and rear back up camera are indespensible - they may seem like trivial expense items but are actually very very useful and helpful - youll use them everyday.

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  good - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By dazizzo - January 2 - 10:00 am

  better than my lincoln town car

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  Best upgrade ever - 2015 Lexus RX 350
  By Claudette - January 1 - 7:25 pm

  After owning this car for 18 months I am stll impressed. My one complaint is the dealership where I purchased the car. I dont understand why they charge more than 3 times the amount as other dealerships for the 15,000 miles service.

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  Lexus ES 330 - 2006 Lexus ES 330
  By Rich Hall - December 31 - 7:33 am

  Useless front cup holder, everything falls out and spills. The rear seat cup holder is fine. For tall drivers with long legs, need better/larger front seats, seat bottom from back to knees with more leg room front seats. The car needs to have its horsepower kicked up, as it stands now, its pretty gutless especially when passing. The trunk is so dark at night. Needs a brighter trunk lite or lights and different placement of the lights. It would be great to have more controls on the steering wheem so the driver doesnt have to take his/her hands off the wheel. I know these are petty little things, but its the little things that day in and day out that get to you. Overall, love the car !!!!

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  rippled windshield - 2014 Lexus RX 350
  By white0754 - December 30 - 11:21 pm

  we had just purchased our third Lexus plus our sixth Toyota. my husband was having dizzy spells and horrible headaches after thousands of dollars in medical bills we found out that there was a ripple in the windshield that was causing this! took car into lexus said they could not fix this and there was nothing more todo but when they had it in the shop that day they gave us a rental same make and model and same year and no ripple! they told us it was a 2013 when we brought it back a different car porter told us that it was a in fact a 2014. [non-permissible content removed]. customer service in lexus headquarters said they can not do anything either they are aware of the defect

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  Fantastic SUV - 2006 Lexus RX 400H
  By Elise - December 30 - 6:03 pm

  I love the handling, the quick pick-up and the strong mileage. This is a very solid car.

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  Body integrity is the issue - 2006 Lexus GS 300
  By used2lovelexo - December 29 - 8:16 pm

  The new GS 430 2006 has plenty of technical features, unfortunately this was my third lexus purchase but the worst. The body integrity is very poor I had a 18mph accident and the car damages $10,000, the other car had a minor fender bend.