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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  Do not buy this car! - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By luckygesss - June 4 - 10:00 am

  After driving a 95 ES 300 for 115,000 miles & 7 years this car is a MAJOR disappointment! Severe hesitation & rough shifting at times, acceleration from a stop is jerky, POOR mpg and overall sluggish. The dealer told me 1) theyve had a lot of complaints about the ES330 2)its a computer problem & 3) there is "NO FIX" for the problems! The 1995 ES 300 drove just as beautifully when I traded it in as the day I bought it. I am so sorry I bought this car!

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  My Lexus - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By Timothy - May 30 - 10:03 am

  My wife and I purchased this vehicle for her, and since I must drive it periodically I feel free to comment on it. I am somewhat disappointed with the performance and handling aspects of this vehicle, it handles almost as badly as my Isuzu and no where near as well as my Benz. The transmission and the parts cost are my single major complaints, as well as the service intervals, which for a vehicle of this so called caliber should be less frequent. The transmission really feels like an old Yugo with a stick, too much jerky and choppy. I would not purchase another Lexus until they could assure me that this and the maintenance intervals are more rational.

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  Overrated! - 2005 Lexus RX 330
  By Michael - April 25 - 9:33 am

  This car is overrated. We got it loaded, and that was a big mistake. All of the extra technology features, such as the bluetooth, the nav, voice recognition, and the DVD are all total junk. The bluetooth sounds terrible and is unusable. The voice recognition does not function. The nav is nearly impossible to operate--my $125 Garmin is better. The AC is not nearly strong enough for the weather in Austin which is actually not that hot compared to other parts of the south.

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  Terrible gas mileage, no back seat room - 2004 Lexus IS 300
  By slow_jim - March 19 - 2:44 pm

  Surprisingly little room for a luxury car. My wifes 2010 Insight had more room. We bought this hoping that the gas mileage would be better than rated, as I had heard some owners were getting 30mpg highway. We did not find that to be the case. Even without the PWR button on, we were only getting ~22mpg highway on premium. Simply unacceptable for such a small car. Also the dash on these has a chronic melting issue on the passenger side airbag cover. Interior really does not hold up well over time. My car was an 04 but felt more like it was 15-20 years old. Got rid of it in less than 6 months and gladly took a loss on the sale. Maintenance at Lexus dealerships is expensive, take it to Toyota

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  car does not go at 20mph - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By susie q - March 6 - 10:00 am

  car has a terrible hesitation at 20 mph has completely ruined the fun of it

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  Somewhat disappointed - 2016 Lexus RX 350
  By J. Liu - February 27 - 11:46 am

  Like many of the loyal Lexus owners. This is my 3rd RX 350. This is the first time Ive written any review on the RX 350. The previous were 2011 and 2015 version. They both were great. Although I did read all the negative comments, but, I still went for this 3rd RX 350, thinking, it cant be that bad. Well, after one week in this vehicle, I can now see and feel all the complaints in the previous reviews. Pros: Sportier Look, mean looking Grill, Excellent Interior Finish, I just had it one week, could not comment on the Reliability. But, the same Lexus quality, is apparent in this vehicle. Great Warranty and Service of the Lexus dealership. Cons: 1. Navagation and Audio control function logics SUCKS ! ITS COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT, and operation very illogical. Dont even think about making changes, delete, during driving. The difficulty in operating the navigation system, makes it very hazardous during driving. Id give this a 1 star .... Very poor. What happened here ? Why didnt the Lexus design engineers adopt to the simple, mature, and logical operation commands of the current GPS in the market place ? This is a major disappointment. Although I love the 12" display. But, the operation and controls simply way too cumbersome and poorly designed. 2. Audio control, complicated and difficult to set and navigate during driving. And not responsive at all. there seemingly a few seconds delay, previous Lexus version, the response was swift and quick. Very poor design. It makes the operation very frustrating, and takes the enjoyment out of music. 3. The little mouse pointer.....You have to be EXACTLY AND PRECISELY dead-on, and the pointer is so so so so sensitive, very difficult to land exactly on the target. Very bad design. Very distracting, especially during driving. Dont attempt to operate this during driving, very hazardous. My other car is a BMW, the control is so much easier and accurate to operate. Lexus, Lexus, whats gotten into you ! ? 4. The doors are very heavy to open and close, comparing to previous models. 5. The gear shifting in all my previous RX 350 are smooth as silk. Although there were noise, it was more like the exhaust noise. But, in the 2016 RX 350, the noise. Especially during start-up acceleration , the humming sound from the engine seems louder, but, the worst part, is the gear shift are a bit rough, and no longer smooth. The 2015 RX350 and my BMW 5 series, the gear shifts very quiet, and so smooth, its hardly noticeable. But, this 2016 RX 350, it is very noticeable. Well, after all this is said, this is still a good SUV to have. Im just a bit disappointed and a bit anxious to finish the current lease of my RX 350, and move on to the next one. Hopefully a much better car in the future.

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  Rattle, Rattle, Rattle - 2009 Lexus RX 350
  By Disappointed Driver - February 16 - 5:13 am

  After years of driving practical SUVs I was looking forward to my first "luxury" vehicle but this has fallen far from my expectations. The next day after buying my RX350, I noticed a glass distortion in the windshield. I also started hearing a rattle at the top of the driver side window. There was also an air leak on the driver door which made it sound like the door was not closed all the way. Ever since the new windshield was put in there has been a ticking sound at the front right side near the dashboard that the dealership has not been able to fix correctly. The rattle above the window still exists even after having been at dealership 4 times for all the repairs. I am VERY disappointed!

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  Whos supposed to buy these things? - 2005 Lexus IS 300
  By Lmigliore - January 24 - 3:30 am

  The IS 300 seems conceptually confused. Its an imitation 3-series BMW but Lexus had to muffle its road feel and give it unreadable instruments. The instrument cluster on this car is the ugliest and least functional I have ever seen. The traction control cuts the power on city street corners. It burns much more premium gas than a car its size should. It beeps if I get out of the car wrong. I guess if I wanted a Toyota I should have gotten a Corolla.

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  Lexus blew it with the RX 330 - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By Indiana driver - January 10 - 7:50 pm

  This vehicle is a huge disappointment! We had an 01 RX 300 that was perfect. This vehicle has horrible wind noise. The seat heater switches are hard to use and poor quality. The tires are worn out with less than 25000 miles. I recently drove it to Oklahoma, 900 miles one way, and the seats were extremely uncomfortable. My passenger told me they would never ride in the Lexus again. The rear windshield wiper is lousy.

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  Warning Problem with Rotors - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By Wally - January 5 - 5:10 pm

  The rotors had to replaced at l4000 miles after the steering wheel began to shake. At 27000 miles I was driving down a 8 mile 7% grade in third gear and needed to brake because the traffic slowed, the steering wheel suddenly shook so badly that I had to pull over and let the rotors cool before proceeding. Rotors were replaced for a second time. If you have paint chip on the bumper do not take the RX330 through a high pressure car wash as the paint may peel off the bumper as it did in my case. Lexus will do nothing about. It is your problem even if the car is within warrentee. I feel the vehicle is unsafe because of the rotor problem. I would not suggest buying one.