MotorMouths

The 2013 Lexus GS 350 is an impressive redesign. It’s a Lexus that driving enthusiasts can get excited about. More than just promises, it’s actually fun to drive. It can do smooth and quiet, or serious and sporty: your choice.

The GS350 seems to revel in, rather than reject, the worst Lexus clichés: soft, swollen, grandly indifferent to the road.

Brakes feel responsive enough. Steering is firm.Styling, ugly in photos, is better in real life. All-in, the GS 350 is a strong start toward an admirable goal. Where you get cheated is space.

The GS 350 is best judged from the driver’s seat, or anywhere else in the excellent cabin. Yet step outside and view the car, and that coherence dissolves. Passion involves focus and risk, both of which the GS needs more of.

When you add performance bandwidth to a polished product such as the GS 350, allowing it to strafe a canyon road like a sports car as well as glide serenely to the office, it makes a fine argument for what Lexus has done here. All that’s left to debate is the controversial new styling.

The 2013 GS 350 AWD gives Lexus a new face, but the luxury brand’s soul remains the same: long on quiet and comfort, short on thrills. But the car’s looks, comfort and quiet remain strong attractions.

While the 2013 Lexus GS 350 is undeniably more capable and fun to drive, it still falls short of providing the absolute feedback of European and even American rivals. Engineering “feel” is a lot harder than engineering “performance.” So, Lexus, the new GS is a big step in the right direction. Now, let’s take a few more.

The 2013 GS F Sport is a large Lexus sedan claiming to burn up backroads like a 5 Series BMW. It does a remarkably good job of it.

The 2013 GS 350 isn’t ugly, just mildly odd and alien. But because I enjoyed driving the car so much, I declared a truce with the styling.

The new GS represents advancements in refinement, performance, fuel economy, technology, and luxury. Yet, with a standard V-6 that puts out mid-class power, a behind-the-curve six-speed, and a front end that some will deem scary, the GS is a sizeable step forward, not a huge leap.

The GS 350’s interior styling is fantastic, and technology is integrated brilliantly within the interior. But the catch is whether the Lexus offers enough improved performance to convince buyers not to go for the Mercedes or BMW. The jury’s still out on that one.

This four-door’s main goal is to carry passengers in comfort, with a dose of hop-to-it-ivness when desired. Lexus engineers knew they had to inject some shock-and-awe into the fourth generation of the midsize GS sedan.