Not many individual cars are still fresh in the memory after ten years, but my, the first Lexus I drove definitely is. There were three things about it in particular which made an impression on me, and here they are, in ascending order of splendidness.First, it was possibly the most boring-looking luxury car in existence (not helped by the fact that the exact vehicle in question was painted brown). Second, it had the best sound system I had ever come across. And third, it had an unbelievable level of mechanical refinement. I remember chatting to a friend - me in the car, him outside - and then, after a few minutes, starting to negotiate a three-point turn. "Shouldn't you switch the engine on first?" my friend said, halfway through the manoeuvre. Actually the engine had been running the whole time, but despite the fact that he had been standing right next to the car, he hadn't noticed.The Lexus I drove most recently was this here GS 430, and the balance has shifted somewhat. It is still peaceful, but perhaps not quite as silent as that car I drove a decade ago. You are always aware that the engine is humming away, though admittedly we're not talking taxi-like noise levels here. The hum turns into a whoosh when you floor the throttle and 270-odd bhp starts surging towards the rear tyres, but the sound is never even remotely strained. It's just that there seems to be more of it.As for the sound system, it's still pretty good, but again somehow not up to previous levels. The test car had the optional Navigator system, which includes a brilliant LCD touch-screen display, linked not only to the navigational aid but also to the climate control and the radio/CD unit. An excellent toy, and one that has wisely been programmed to go blank in most modes after a few seconds, so that your eyes are not continually drawn to it.The only problem is the speakers, which could not cope - in a single setting, anyway - with the extreme high and low volumes of, for example, the National Youth Choir of Scotland (this week's CD of choice). The NYCoS folk are spectacularly good, admittedly, but I'd have thought any sound system fitted to a Lexus should be able to deal with them. From what I remember, the ones in the older car would have done so with ease.Better news is the fact that the GS 430 looks nothing like as boring as its ancestor. In fact it's moderately attractive, though there is one glaring error of design. Make that four glaring errors: the 17" alloy wheels and their 45-profile tyres, optional on the lesser GS 300 but standard on this car, do not come close to filling the wheelarches, with the result that the car looks like it (a) sits too far off the ground or (b) has had a set of Mini wheels fitted by mistake. Which leads to the assumption that, despite a long time to practise it, Lexus still can't Do Design.But it can Do That better than it can Do Suspension. Problem number two about those tyres is that they do not soak up as many road irregularities as ones with larger sidewalls would, and there appears to have been no attempt to compensate for this in the damping. Ride quality is, as a result, not just quite as good as it should be.If I were to put this to the Lexus PR people, the answer would no doubt be that the GS is a more sporty car than the LS saloon. Well, pooh to that. It certainly makes up ground pretty smartly along swooping country roads, but that would still happen even if the suspension were set up just a tad softer. The tiny amount of extra roll would have very little effect on the handling compared with the considerable improvement on ride quality. So says me, anyway.For general interior comfort, and for the behaviour of the "intelligent" five-speed automatic transmission, the Lexus can hardly be faulted. Overall, it's a good mixture of serenity in town, ease over long distances and enthusiasm round corners. There are a few issues which still need attention, but it definitely should not be overlooked by anyone looking at the various possibilities in this class.Second opinion: I did some longer-distance motoring in the Lexus, and this is where it shows up best. There are great reserves of both power and refinement in the V8 engine borrowed from the LS 430, and when you combine that with its long-striding motorway gait, the GS 430 is a fine car for long days at the wheel, letting the miles sweep by. The interior, with plenty of high-quality leather, is better-presented than is the case with many luxury Japanese cars. For its price (highly competitive against the best European rivals) the GS 430 is very well-equipped, in both creature comforts and all the latest electronic gadgets. I feel this is where Toyota's luxury marque should be, instead of dipping down into the two-litre class as the IS does. But then, I'm not responsible for increasing its turnover. Ross Finlay. Engine 4293cc, 8 cylinders Power 277bhp Transmission 5-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 23.0mpg / 296g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 6.3 seconds Top speed 155mph Price £36,995 Details correct at publication date
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