200413lex

In 2012, the GS was launched in Malaysia with a 5 car line-up - the GS 250, the GS 250 Luxury, the GS 250 F Sport, the GS 350 Luxury, and the GS 350 F Sport. Later, the hybrid GS 450h also appeared in the line-up. Lexus Malaysia has since revised the GS line-up a little - let's look at what's changed.

First of all is the addition of a new model called the GS 300h, which shares the same hybrid system as the IS 300h. The more powerful GS450h is now gone. The GS 300h uses a 2.5 litre Atkinson Cycle combustion engine with D-4S injection, Dual VVT-i and a high 13.0:1 compression ratio to produce 178 horsepower and 221Nm on its own.

Combined with a Hybrid system, the car produces a combined system output of 220 horsepower and 300Nm. A conventional transmission is not employed, instead it uses an E-CVT system which uses multiple electric motors to emulate gear ratios. Power goes to the rear wheels and 0 to 100km/h takes 9.2 seconds. The steering is an EPS type instead of the usual GS rack and pinion.

Specs list include LED headlamps (the rest of the GS range uses bi-xenon), DRLs and fog lamps, 18 inch wheels wrapped with 235/45/R18, keyless entry and go, a moonroof, leather and wood interior, 12.3 inch Electronic Multi-Vision infotainment display, Lexus Remote Touch, heads up display, back monitor, a Mark Levinson 17 speaker system, 18 way adjustment for the front seats, a full suite of stability control systems, and 10 airbags.

The GS 350 also gets an update. It's 6-speed automatic gearbox has been upgraded to an 8-speed gearbox, which should lead to quicker and better shifts as well as better fuel efficiency.

As for pricing - here's what's interesting. The GS 300h has an estimated price of RM536,800, which is the most expensive GS in the range. This 'estimated' wording is also used for the GS 350 Luxury and the GS 350 F Sport, while the GS 250 range has no word estimated stated for its price tags. This leads us to believe these updated models haven't received their confirmed pricing yet.