DALLAS, June 7, 2012 — Completely redesigned for 2013, the folks at Lexus are staying on their toes with the Lexus GS 350. Some of the more mentionable changes include more room on the inside, wider and taller overall, and an even more impressive hug-the-road handling than before.
A midsize luxury sports sedan, the GS 350 has found its calling.
Competition can be found in the likely candidates: the Audi A6, BMW535i and the Infiniti M37.
There is only one trim offered in the 2013 Lexus GS350 so no hard choices there. You get the standards like 17-inch alloy wheels, xenon headlights, fog lights, sunroof, a power-closing trunk lid, auto-dimming mirrors, keyless ignition/entry, leather upholstery, dual automatic climate control, power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, and 10-way power front seats with driver memory.
Electronics that come standard include a Bluetooth phone and audio-connect and an eight-inch control display with touchpad interface.
You can also up the goodies with the Luxury package, giving you 18-inch wheels, adaptive headlamps and suspension dampers, better leather, and an 18-way power driver seat. There is also a wood-trimmed steering wheel and rear climate and audio controls.
Opting for a Premium package will get you the Luxury Package and add to that heated and ventilated front seats, rain-sensing wipers, and a power rear sunshade.
The Cold Weather package adds a heated steering wheel, headlamp washers and a wiper de-icer. Also take note of the F Sport package as this is the best of the best and you get 19-inch wheels, a rear spoiler, a 16-way power sport driver seat and some cool interior and exterior styling for an added look of luxury and cool.
Lexus GS 350 head on
There are also some options that you can opt for stand-alone, including 18-inch wheels, blind-spot detection, heated rear seats, parking assist, a lane departure warning and lane keeping assist, night vision camera, adaptive cruise control, and a Mark Levinson 17-speaker surround-sound audio system.
The engine is the same as in previous years, but in the 2013 redo there is more power to be had and better fuel economy with the 3.5-liter V6. There is 306 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque with a six-speed automatic manual shift paddle control and you also get your choice of rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.
For safety, the 2013 Lexus GS 350 has antilock brakes, traction and stability control, front and rear side-impact, front knee and side curtain airbags, active front head restraints, and a rearview camera.
Keep in mind too that the optional safety choices like the adaptive cruise control with the pre-collision system that detects collisions and responds by pre-tensioning the seatbelts and activating brake assist ups the safety ante even more.
Inside, the interior of this Lexus also received a major beauty facelift. Expect soft leather and expensive wood along with aluminum trim.
Since there is more space in the 2013, that means more head and shoulder room and the back-seat passengers get about three more inches of room for their hips too.
The trunk will give you 14.3 cubic feet, enabling you to haul just about anything you need.
One other interior note is the Remote Touch multimedia controller, working like a mouse and located next to the gear selector. Probably one of my least favorite pieces to fiddle with on this Lexus, the Remote Touch does get kudos by most as it helps navigate the menus and applications for all the information available.
Of course, overall, handling in a Lexus was already a no-brainer, but now it’s even a sharper ride. It takes the road and you with it and you feel like you’re in charge. The F Sport Package takes it up even another notch of performance.
Should You Need to Know: Notice the new sport seats with multiple adjustments in this 2013 redesign.
Miles Per Gallon: It came in at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 28 miles per gallon on the highway.
Cost: The 2013 Lexus GS 350 I drove had a price tag of $62,789 with all the appropriate bells and whistles plus the Luxury and Convenience features.
Rita Cook is a writer/editor with has over 1000 articles to her credit in the past 13-plus years. She is a frequent auto and travel contributor on a radio show in Los Angeles called Insider Mag Radio at KPRO 1570 am on from midnight to 12:30 a.m. Monday mornings.
She also contributes travel and auto to the Anthony Duva show, which can be heard live from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST every Sunday at www.unregularradio.com.
Cook is a member of the Texas Auto Writer’s Association, writes for the Dallas Morning News Green Living Section as well as artist profiles and www.greensourceDFW and spends much of her time on the road traveling or working on books.
Her latest book releases are both “Haunted Dallas” and “Haunted Fort Worth” from www.historypress.net. You can also follow Cook at Twitter at @ritacook13.
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