2017 Lexus GS F – The Everyday Family Hot Rod

With four doors, room for five, and a big trunk for everything a family needs, the 467-HP Lexus GS F is an enthusiast’s best friend.

Whether you’re married, single, have kids, or just a couple of fur babies, having room in your everyday vehicle is very important. While everyone is rushing into crossover SUVs, it’s safe to say that although convenient and utilitarian, smaller-sized SUVs aren’t the right fit or answer to everyone’s needs and desires.

In fact, there are plenty of smokin’ sedans out there being discounted through the roof just because people aren’t buying them. I recently had the chance to drive the stunning 2017 Lexus GS F, which is as far from mainstream and run-of-the-mill as it can get. More importantly, I had the opportunity to enjoy ing during everyday life for a total of seven days. As a result, I learned about its pros and cons, and whether it’s the right choice for a middle-aged bank executive, senior manager, or a young entrepreneur daring to be different.

The GS F is the high-performance version of the already popular and best-selling Lexus GS sedan. The GS F differentiates itself with an amped-up 5.0-liter V8 engine, Brembo brakes, and an 8-speed automatic transmission. In the looks department, it gains a bolder and more aggressive body kit all around, gorgeous 19-inch wheels, gold-painted brake calipers, and a plethora of carbon fiber bits. Inside, F-Sport leather seats adorn the cabin, as does a beefy steering wheel, Alcantara-wrapped dashboard, and F-Sport badging throughout.

The end results is a 467-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive, naturally aspirated hot rod sedan that goes like hell. And did I mention it has two sets of LATCH anchors in the rear, and a trunk big enough for a full-size stroller and a week’s worth of groceries?

Livin’ It Up

It’s one thing to enjoy a car like the GS F during a traditional dealership test drive than to experience one for a full week. Why? It’s easy to allow hype to overcome rationale and influence us into making the wrong decisions. That’s why I always refrain from arriving to conclusions until the end of my testing period.

You might think that driving such a high-performance sedan might be uncomfortable, or not too family-friendly. Well, the truth is that the GS F truly surprised me in almost every way. Like the RC F we drove before, the one-setting suspension is well balanced and provides enough amount of stiffness for spirited driving, but otherwise, it’s comfortable and plush enough for the kids to not throw up on their way to school.

Thanks to its four programmable driving modes (Eco, Normal, Sport, and Sport +), the GS F is well behaved under all circumstances. Choose Eco to get a relaxed and even “tame” throttle response and silky smooth shifts, Normal for a slightly more agile response and handling, and the last two sport modes for lightning-quick acceleration, loud gear changes, and a brash overall attitude.

In my experience, the GS F felt perfectly at ease while taking the scenic route home through twisty back roads, as well as on trips to the grocery store or the school pick-up line.

Family Friendly

Just because a vehicle has four doors and rear seats it doesn’t mean it’s family-friendly. Aside from spacious and comfortable rear accommodations, the GS F deploys ac/heater vents and an electrical outlet in the backseat’s center console. This way, your little occupants won’t have to worry about being too cold or hot as the seasons change, and they’ll have the necessary power supply to keep their devices charged during road trips.

When it comes to mom and dad up front, the heated and cooled seats are the business, as is the heated steering wheel. During our test of the Lexus GS F temperatures hovered in the sixties, but we encountered a couple of 40-degree mornings, which prompted us to utilize the various heated functions.

Safety

When there’s big horsepower under the hood, safety becomes even a bigger concern. That’s exactly why Lexus equipped the GS F with a plethora of airbags (including knee and curtain), blind-spot monitoring, a rearview camera with rear-cross traffic alert, triple-beam LED headlights and other advanced safety systems.

In addition, this particular unit was equipped with the Pre-Collision System with pedestrian detection, full-range smart cruise control, lane-departure warning with steering assist, and keeping assist.

Overall

For most folks, there’s nothing easy about swallowing an $87,310 wind0w sticker price, especially when that’s about what it takes to buy a first-class SUV with any premium manufacturer out there. But as I said at the beginning, a crossover or even full-size SUV isn’t for everyone.

If you desire to be involved as a driver, look good at the Starbucks drive-thru line, and own a relatively low-availability vehicle, the 2017 Lexus GS F is bound to serve you and your family (if existent) pretty darn good.

Pros:

• Killer looks
• Mind-blowing performance
• Comfortable under most circumstances
• Unique

Cons:

• Outdated infotainment system
• Infotainment system is frustrating to operate
• You will probably rack up speeding tickets
• Inflated price tag

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