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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  Not the advertised MPG! - 2006 Lexus RX 400H
  By jeneaneball - February 19 - 11:40 pm

  The only reason I purchsed the 400h was because of the so called "great gas mileage." A joke at best. I live in Texas, it cant get any flatter, I am a very conservative driver and my MPG is at 21.2. I guess the only way to get the 29-33 mpg they claim is to drive under 40 mph, never run the air conditioner and live where the air temperature is always in the 70s.

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  Actual gas mileage = false advertising - 2006 Lexus RX 400H
  By phsandiego - February 17 - 1:32 pm

  Our gas mileage has never been as advertised. We bought our RX400h with 8000 miles on it in Sept 2006. It was 1 yr old, the prior owner traded it in fast and took a $20k loss on the trade in. We have always averaged 26.2 mpg in a mix of city/hiway driving. We had the hybid inverter module replaced in Feb 2012. $10k+ repair! Our gas mileage then plummeted from 26.2 to 23.4 mpg. We suspect that Lexus reprogrammed the engine management computer to use the gas engine more and the hybrid less so as to extend the life of the batteries and inverter. This way, they wont have to make so many expensive warranty repairs. Please let us know if you saw the same thing with your mileage.

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  Class Action Needed for Trans - 2004 Lexus ES 330
  By JGawrysiak - February 8 - 10:00 am

  Ive written Lexus Customer (NON) Satisfaction 3 times--theyve called me back twice only to tell me the transmission is "operating as designed". Funny they would say that automatically without driving the car. Service writers and salespeople at the dealership know theres a problem and say there is no fix. SM told me that Lexus said to use premium gas and it may help--so they KNOW theres a problem. Ive counted 21 complaints on this site. Is anyone working a Class Action, or had any luck getting some compensation in the way of a buy-back? Please e-mail me your experiences and the actions youve taken and maybe we can get something done. JGawry@aol.com

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  A disaster for Lexus and for your $$ - 2010 Lexus HS 250H
  By Gubbins - January 23 - 3:13 am

  For this kind of $$ this car lacks a lot: -Practical cabin storage (the Prius is better) -Seat back pockets -Decent brakes -Engine noise refinement -REAL fuel economy that can actually be amortized over the life of the car (unlike the delusional types who are so happy with mid 30s in a $40K car) -Driver engagement (can you say Novocain?) -Steering feel -More effective cooled seats -Drive line refinement (the surging can drive you nuts) Lets see, anything else? Oh yes, styling befitting a Lexus instead of a Corolla w/Premium package. And yes, Ive put over 1000 miles on one in a variety of traffic conditions. Lexus sold a grand total of 165 HS250Hs last month; that tell you something?

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  2000 Lexus RX 300 4WD - 2000 Lexus RX 300
  By Tim - January 17 - 11:50 pm

  Not too impressed by this car. Has lots of problems. Sensors go all the time, the ignition coils go a lot and they cost $95 a piece (6 of them will cost you close to $600 not including labor costs), if the check engine light comes on (which comes on all the time) the car will usually not shift into overdrive, the back spark plugs are almost impossible to change because the manifold is in the way and many many more. I thought Toyotas were reliable but I was wrong. I wont buy a Lexus or Toyota again.

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  Who makes up these changes? - 2010 Lexus RX 350
  By robertintpa - January 8 - 11:00 am

  I just dont understand how some of these changes make it out of engineering. Coming from 2005RX, the two buttons I press the most everyday are now 5 times smaller. The temperature buttons are like little pin size buttons compared to what was normal in RX. The stereo volume knob is 3 times smaller. Is bigger always better? The auto-close button on the hatch, smaller. Glovebox - smaller. I noticed in the 2005, the felt was "plusher" than in the 2010. The rack on the roof - GRAY on a black car? It should be the same color. Who makes these decisions? Joystick control on NAV systems is not as easy to use as just pressing your finger exactly what you want - especially the keyboard.

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  Wish I had my old one - 2010 Lexus RX 350
  By Lexusreview - January 8 - 10:33 am

  Traded my 2000 for this one. The 2010 has a very stiff truck like ride. The seats are hard and uncomfortable and there are many rattles all around. I prefer my 2010 Tundra, the ride and quiet exceed this Canadian attempt at a Lexus.

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  Forget it take the lost - 2004 Lexus RX 330
  By Lawrence Liew - January 7 - 2:00 am

  Paid $46,000. Dealership should makes enough profit to cover all services cost. Five times within 9 months return for the same porblem. I guess this is why you drive or own a luxury car. Becasue you dont need to go to work got too much extra time to kill. I am very disappointed with this new world class lexus RX330. It does cost too much for a bag of LEMONS. Dealer no help or not even try to help at all. What a service means?

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  Disappointed - 2007 Lexus ES 350
  By Unhappy - December 22 - 10:30 pm

  Hash ride over bumps. Rear end will leave the ground after hitting bumps on curved highway ramps. Poor interior quality: some defects that Lexus wont fix. Transmission problems - misses gears usually between 3rd and 4th. Poor interior lighting. Limited storage and cup holders. Absolutely horrible seat cushioning. Cant see the wiper stalk while driving. Fair stereo. Car has rattles from day one.

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  Had enough with noise in the cabin :( - 2013 Lexus RX 350
  By fs77 - December 17 - 12:52 am

  First, let me be clear that I have nothing against the Lexus brand, they make great cars and my family love their cars. That past experience has holded me back till now to write anything negative about Lexus but here is what has happened. I replaced my two year old 3 series bmw with a 2013 Lexus RX350. Loved the vehicle, still do BUT I started hearing this very hard to notice (for anyone not sitting on the driver seat) noise, it was coming from the left drive side seat belt column. On long trips and even shorter ones, a tiny bump or little wind will make the noise to be more constant and annoying. Long story short, I have taken the vehicle to Lexus service three times as of June 1st..