Look around the interior and you might find that it's cleaner than the usual luxury car, lacking the gigantic array of buttons, switches and knobs.
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| Lexus has grouped often unused controls into a fold-down pod left of the steering column. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
Without resorting to a cryptic, all-in-one unit system like BMW's iDrive, or Audi's MMI, has a sort of Japanese cleverness which the innovative Germans would never have thought of. Lexus has grouped often unused controls, including the folding power mirrors, adaptive headlight-off switch, headlight washers and more into a fold-down pod left of the steering column. It tipped me off the first time, being unable to find the side-view mirror controls and being unable to reset the trip odometer. Unfortunately, the low positing of the pod makes it difficult to see while driving, meaning you'll have to commit its layout to memory
On the complete other hand, you have the phenomenal centre console layout system, which uses a gigantic vertical rectangular touchscreen LCD to operate the stereo, climate, trip computer and park sensor functions as well as a few other functions. The learning curve for this system is nearly nonexistent; you don't need to flip through the brick-sized manual to operate this one. Though it's got oversized LCD display, navigation is not standard; it's grouped together with the phenomenal Mark Levinson
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| Large LCD screen displays the Park Assist feature, preventing accidental knocks and scrapes. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
stereo system and countless other excessive luxuries in the $9,300 Premium package. The display is also hooked up to the optional reverse camera, and can also be used to play DVD-Video, provided the vehicle's gearshift is in park.
While more and more vehicles are becoming 'intelligent', with sensors and automatic operation of features, the GS is one of those cars that simply does it all for you. Take for example, parking. Where some cars have millimeter-wave sensors on their rear bumpers that beep, the GS features them up front and in back, and shows you how close an object is on its display, even suggesting which way to turn the steering wheel. I like technology that prevents unsightly scrapes and scratches, so this is a definite plus for me. It also makes for short work of parallel parking, too. Most everything else is automatic, from the windshield wipers to the active xenon headlamps which swivel according to the steering wheel angle. The doors also lock and unlock via a proximity sensor so you never have to take the fob out of your pocket. Call me lazy, or spoiled, but the modern luxury found in the $1,800 'Touring' package rocks!
