CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 05/11/2005
Onboard tech
The GS series uses a wireless key to unlock the door as you approach the car. This slick extra is becoming common on luxury cars, but we wish this car included a place to store the thing--you end up tossing the key fob in the cup holder or the ashtray, which seems sloppy in an otherwise precisely thought-out car.
The first thing you're likely to notice in any high-tech car is the LCD, and the Lexus GS's display screen is a seven-inch model mounted high in the center console. Unfortunately, the very next thing you notice on the GS's display is its pixelation. The screen shows grainy text and mottled maps, complete with blocky picture elements. And that's not the only LCD problem; on our test-drives, the LCD seemed uncannily well angled to catch light from the sunroof as well as the side and rear windows, making the display look washed out. In an era when even affordable cell phones have smooth, high-resolution color screens, a $58,000 car needs to do better.
A widely reported feature of the 2006 Lexus GS is its drop-down control panel to the left of the steering column. I agree with hiding what Lexus tucks away in the panel--mirror adjustment controls, a trunk-latch button, an instrument dimmer, and so on--but it's difficult to see what button you're pressing since the rim of steering wheel sits right in the way, and you end up craning your neck to look way over to the left. Worse, if you forget to put the thing up when you're done, woe to your knee during the ensuing collision.
Setting up the Bluetooth hands-free link between the car and the PalmOne Treo 650 took less than 15 seconds in our tests, but debugging required about 15 minutes. It turns out that there's a well-known problem with the GS Bluetooth firmware that keeps it from recognizing a Treo 650, even after you go through all the specified steps. A few minutes on Google brought a simple workaround, and the Treo finally interacted with the GS. We found the performance of the hands-free system generally good, though we noticed a lag of a second or two when putting a call up on the audio system. Net result: You may miss the first couple of syllables of each hands-free call. In any event, check to see if your Bluetooth phone is compatible with the GS 430's Bluetooth hardware by trying your mobile during a test-drive or talking to the service department at the dealership.
Entering a destination in the navigation system is a joy; just press the Dest button, and type on the touch-screen keyboard, which is arranged alphabetically, not in the traditional QWERTY layout. The system is about as smart as any on the road today, which is to say almost smart enough. Getting a car nav system to understand CNET's 235 Second Street address, for example, is always an adventure since you never quite know if the DVD map database wants to see it spelled 2nd St. or Second St. But the Lexus computer recognized other destinations quickly with its fast-moving, predictive text engine.
The GS 430 offers no integrated connection for an iPod or other MP3 player, so you'll have to supply your own connection device such as an FM transmitter or a cassette adapter. The car comes prewired for XM Radio, though it's a dealer-installed option. The Mark Levinson 7.1 audio system handles 5.1 DVD-Audio discs and plays DVD movies on the dashboard screen--but only if the car is parked, of course. The system sounds as good as you'd expect of the vaunted Mark Levinson brand, with the exception of AM radio, which came through muddy in spite of all the tone adjustments we made.
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Where to buy
2005 Lexus GS 430:
$48,625.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price From Edmunds.com
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$48,625.00 |
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