The Official "I'm Struggling with Lexus" Thread

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So far only a rumor but interesting for us:
2nd Generation RC (2024)
Lexus wants to compete with the GLS Maybach and G wagon...with V6? Yeah good luck with that. The V35A FTS is probably one of the worst turbocharged motors I have ever driven. Power is mediocre at best. Not smooth sounding at all. I'm not sure what everyone's opinion is but I think that motor is hot garbage.
 

nt01

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If there’s a new IS coming does that mean there’s a chance for a new GS? Since they were both on N platform, it makes sense to share the new platform with both model.
 

bogglo

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If there’s a new IS coming does that mean there’s a chance for a new GS? Since they were both on N platform, it makes sense to share the new platform with both model.
No GS. If Lexus surprise us with a GS it will be the biggest surprise of the decade. Right now the next ES will probably be taking the duties of the GS.
 

Ian Schmidt

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Lexus wants to compete with the GLS Maybach and G wagon...with V6? Yeah good luck with that. The V35A FTS is probably one of the worst turbocharged motors I have ever driven. Power is mediocre at best. Not smooth sounding at all. I'm not sure what everyone's opinion is but I think that motor is hot garbage.
It's not great in the 2018-2020 LS. The 2021 LS has new ECU and TCU software that greatly improves both the low-end power and the sound.
 
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Hmm... With the amount of suspense on LE, I think we need a TV show the podcast won't be enough 😂.

Well this is to Lexus bringing us exciting products this decade 🍻

LOL yeah remember when we were flaming Lexus like 2 years ago?

I'm happy for sure. I'd rather have this than just abject silence.
 

ssun30

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Surely after half a decade of almost nothing happening they are guaranteed to have a very exciting 2 years because all the products that are supposed to come out 2-3 years ago are now crammed into a shorter timeframe. Good for the hype but it remains to be seen how they are going to handle the transition. It's never a good strategy to launch a lot of new products together. The disruption to production lines could be bad (Nissan/Infiniti couldn't even handle transition of just one product). But this is TPS we are talking about so they should be quite smooth with that.
 
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Surely after half a decade of almost nothing happening they are guaranteed to have a very exciting 2 years because all the products that are supposed to come out 2-3 years ago are now crammed into a shorter timeframe. Good for the hype but it remains to be seen how they are going to handle the transition. It's never a good strategy to launch a lot of new products together. The disruption to production lines could be bad (Nissan/Infiniti couldn't even handle transition of just one product). But this is TPS we are talking about so they should be quite smooth with that.
I like how you mentioned how a problem could arise but immediately answered yourself with that last sentence.

This is Toyota and Lexus, we have nothing to worry about. And the hype is what's going to drive a ton of sales. With the lot of events and reveals happening as of recent, it has been leading to a ton of market interest and there are a lot of eyes looking at Toyota and Lexus at the moment and I fully expect them to shoot into the stratosphere in terms of sales.

All of their products are truly competitive, and if there is a buyer that likes or dislikes Toyota or Lexus vehicles, they can't deny that all of their cars will be really strong in their respective classes.
 
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Gecko

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Surely after half a decade of almost nothing happening they are guaranteed to have a very exciting 2 years because all the products that are supposed to come out 2-3 years ago are now crammed into a shorter timeframe. Good for the hype but it remains to be seen how they are going to handle the transition. It's never a good strategy to launch a lot of new products together. The disruption to production lines could be bad (Nissan/Infiniti couldn't even handle transition of just one product). But this is TPS we are talking about so they should be quite smooth with that.

Agreed. Lexus has struggled to keep the showroom fresh and brand interest high when they launch so many products in a short timeframe, and then have nothing new for years afterwards. Think 2006 - 2008 when we had all-new IS, ES, GS, LS, and LX over just a few months, then only had RX and GX over the years that followed. Then we entered into 2012-2014 with new IS, ES, GS, RC, NX and refreshed LS over ~2 years, and they are just now emerging from that slow period.

If Lexus is launching all-new NX, RX, TX, GX, LX and RZ over ~24 months, I hope they have some other tricks up their sleeve around 2025-2028 or we will be right back here talking about how the brand is stale and doesn't have any new product. Keep in mind UX, LS and ES should also be redesigned over this time period as well - maybe IS too. Right now it feels exciting with so much new product ahead of us but I have been around long enough to look at the ~4-5 years after this next 2 year blitz and be a little worried about the bust after this "boom."

It's cyclical where product becomes so stale that Lexus has to redesign everything in a very short amount of time to try to keep up. One new CUV/SUV and sedan/coupe per year would help keep showroom traffic steady and maintain momentum for the brand, but I know sometimes it is easier to retool and accommodate for multiple models in a short amount of time, especially with TNGA. Still... the product cadence seems like feast or famine, and could definitely be smoothed out a bit.
 

Will1991

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Maybe all of this production problems might help Lexus, delaying some products and naturally achieve a more constant stream of new products over the next few years.
 

internalaudit

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Agreed. Lexus has struggled to keep the showroom fresh and brand interest high when they launch so many products in a short timeframe, and then have nothing new for years afterwards. Think 2006 - 2008 when we had all-new IS, ES, GS, LS, and LX over just a few months, then only had RX and GX over the years that followed. Then we entered into 2012-2014 with new IS, ES, GS, RC, NX and refreshed LS over ~2 years, and they are just now emerging from that slow period.

If Lexus is launching all-new NX, RX, TX, GX, LX and RZ over ~24 months, I hope they have some other tricks up their sleeve around 2025-2028 or we will be right back here talking about how the brand is stale and doesn't have any new product. Keep in mind UX, LS and ES should also be redesigned over this time period as well - maybe IS too. Right now it feels exciting with so much new product ahead of us but I have been around long enough to look at the ~4-5 years after this next 2 year blitz and be a little worried about the bust after this "boom."

It's cyclical where product becomes so stale that Lexus has to redesign everything in a very short amount of time to try to keep up. One new CUV/SUV and sedan/coupe per year would help keep showroom traffic steady and maintain momentum for the brand, but I know sometimes it is easier to retool and accommodate for multiple models in a short amount of time, especially with TNGA. Still... the product cadence seems like feast or famine, and could definitely be smoothed out a bit.

I think it's less so the product peaks and throughs but more importantly, how Lexus vehicles compare to the competition and high how they are well regarded. On this forum and many elsewhere, we all know the build quality of Toyota/Lexus but in its line up, which ones can we really call a driver's car or driver's SUV? For cars, the RC, the IS and the defunct GS?

The 3.5IS is being called long in the tooth when it debuted in 2014. The Macan also debuted in 2014 but I have not come across any article that complained it was time for an overhaul, well maybe because Porsche was nice to tip off that an offshoot, the Macan EV, will be coming out as a 2023 model.

I am not really sure how Lexus can alienate its customer base by being both sporty and reliable, I mean people can drive a sporty enough vehicle like a grandpa or grandma and that's fine with most of us. I think that's the hallmark of some brands like Porsche, where its cars can be daily driven for comfort, low NVH, but can also be pushed close to its limits, when the driver wants to.

Even BMW has kinda lost that self-claimed "ultimate driving machine" and the looks of anything other than the 3 Series or the 8 Grand Coupe doesn't interest me at all. I think many automotive journalists even prefer the Lexus, Acura, or Audi steering feel over BMW's but I probably wouldn't notice haha.

To be honest, in the next five years, I think I will only be interest in the 4IS (4-door, RWD-biased, sporty enough, reasonable entry-price) hybrid or BEV and maybe the RZ450e, just because it looks like a CUV and my wife prefers those. Anything else, is either too expensive or just doesn't hold a candle to some of the European offerings.
 

bogglo

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I think we will be okay even if they keep to the timeline they have currently. Right now, only the trucks and SUVs are positioned for a debut in the rest of this year and next year that will also make it to the showroom. The cars LS ES RC IS will probably be coming later down the road closer to the 2025 time frame. Around this time the SUV/CUV/Trucks should be getting a refresh, and maybe we will start to see the full EV models around that time also. Towards the end of the decade, we should get a refresh of the cars and start seeing the redesigns for the SUV/CUV. So, IMO I think they will be ok. And that's not including all the special editions and maybe some other debuts we don't even know about right now.

Just guessing I could be wrong.