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Two non-German mid-size luxury sedans are evaluated by two of our journos. Each vehicle may receive a maximum of five (5 = excellent) and a minimum of one (1=terrible) stars per category from each tester. Both added their opinions below these ratings; tester two in italics.
I enjoy driving a Lexus sedan. There’s something about the executive bulk of their cars that inspires me. I feel like somebody, and they are just that much different from the other luxury brands to satisfy my desire to be somewhat alternative. So it was with great anticipation that I awaited my turn to drive the Lexus IS 350 E.
Do you still remember your first time? I do. It was a sunny afternoon in Strand, probably mid-2007 and I was a little bit nervous when I met the Lexus IS for the first time. Over the years I’ve driven various iterations of the compact Japanese luxury sedan, including the bonkers IS-F and brilliant IS350.
Lovers of all things motoring are frequently not as concerned about environmental impact as they ought to be – just as you won’t find a tree-hugging hippie extolling the virtues of their gas guzzling V8 Chevy, so too are hardened petrolheads unlikely to leap at the idea of an electrically powered vehicle. The Lexus GS450h (for hybrid) seems about to shake up some previous (mis)perceptions.
Despite fluctuating sales the motoring industry has never offered more diversity and consumers are absolutely spoilt rotten for choice when it comes to selecting their next set of wheels. We at NamWheels have compiled a wee list of cars which we believe to be hidden gems.
I once participated in a casual conversation where it was said that women don’t form an attachment to the car they drive. At the time, I argued vehemently to the contrary but upon later reflection, I realised that maybe there was some truth in the statement and that women are far less inclined to lavish the same amount of love, care and attention on their cars as men do and likewise, myself certainly, will happily move on from one to the next without regret. That was until I had the privilege of driving a Lexus GS350 for a week.
Om met só ‘n nuwe kraakvars maar feitlik onbekende motor soos die Infiniti FX langpad te ry, het sy verrassings. Op die vakansierit na die Oos-Kaap was ons dikwels deur verbygangers gestop, een man het spesiaal omgedraai en my agternagesit om te kom vra: Nou wat se ryding is dit dié! Dan elke keer dieselfde antwoord: Dis Nissan se vlagskip, soos Lexus die vlagskip van Toyota is!
Heel toevallig bel ‘n neef uit die Noordkaap om my mening te hoor oor ‘n motor wat vervang moet word twee aande vóór die bekendstelling van die nuwe Lexus op Franschhoek. My advies aan Neef Gert was dat hy, wat lang en ver paaie teen ongeoorloofde hoë snelhede aflê, maar na een van die Beierse renperde kan kyk wat ek oor die jare baie goed leer ken het. Dit was ‘n ligte foutjie!
Performance sedans have become a bit of a rarity and especially entry-level candidates like the Jetta CLi and Corolla RXi were callously shoved off the scene by their popular hot hatch equivalents. The new entry now starts with hasty mid-size luxury saloons; like the Lexus IS350.
Dit voel soos nou-die-dag wat ek die bekendstelling van die eerste Lexus RX-modelle ‘n hele paar jaar gelede in die Kaap bygewoon het. Die eerste indruk van die RX was dat hy ‘n nuwe mode stelling gemaak het met sy vaartbelynde voorkoms en die toonbeeld van krag wat hy uitgestraal het, heeltemal in kontras met die 4×4 voertuie van die tyd.