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Lexus Taste of Luxury Review
www.LexusTasteOfLuxury.com

Seattle, WA (at Alki in an empty parking lot)
August 7-8, 2004
8am to 6pm

This is a BIG event. You wouldn’t think it’s that big driving up, but the tents are absolutely huge. Definitely not your flyby affair. The entrance is pretty flashy, with the Lexus fleet outside the entrance. After signing in, getting my access pass, and signing my life away on a disclaimer form so I can’t sue Lexus, they did a little introduction on the whole event. The beginning short introduction by a Lexus orientation person made me feel like it was one of those timeshare pitches, but thankfully, it was a short introduction to the event, and at most took 5 minutes. It made me wonder what percentage of people here already had a Lexus vehicle or previously had one.

The event is one big sales pitch, but very elegant and everything is free. It’s all about selling the Lexus brand as luxurious, and I think they pull it off very well. Lexus promotes the ‘luxury’ of their brand nicely.

After the introduction, there’s a few display rooms, that showcase the Lexus technology and innovation. They had an RX400h, the soon-to-come Lexus Hybrid on display, as well as a room to showcase the Mark Levinson sound system that are available on Lexus models. There is a free buffet (apparently you are only supposed to go through once though?), as well as free golf instruction with a putting green and a net setup with a golf pro analyzing your swing. Tiger Woods, I am not. I whiffed a few times, but he gave me some good tips, mainly on form. Then again, I haven’t swung a club in 2 years now. There is a kid’s area as well and there were cooking demonstrations as well throughout the day. So they have the women and children covered. The main thing there, though, was of course, the test drive courses! One regular road course for all non-SUVs, and a SUV drive course for the SUVs. The food was good, not great, but still good, there was cheese, veggies with dip, Caesar salad, quiche, turkey, and some club sandwiches. Also, fruit and cookies for dessert. Free water, pop, and I believe coffee and espresso too.

I will be focusing most on handling and luxury, as that’s the main criteria the event allows me to critique. I also didn’t take too many pix, as I forgot to bring a second Smartmedia card with me. All shots taken with an Olympus D-40 4megapixel, then shrunk down with Photoshop.

First off, BMW’s iDrive absolutely sucks. I dunno what idiot came up with this interface, but they obviously never had user’s inputs or tested it out before it was implemented widely (in the 7 and 5 series). I had about 5 minutes in the car to wait before I could test drive the 745i, so I tried to fiddle with the radio. What did I want to do? All I wanted was to set the radio to C89.5 (local high school dance station). I COULDN’T FIGURE IT OUT. Lemme tell you this, if I can’t figure it out in 5 minutes, there’s not much hope for the middle-aged successful person to be able to use this interface easily on a
daily basis. (Did you ever see Ozzy Osbourne try to change stations in his 7 series on his MTV reality show? The words ’@#$#$% $@^&$#@$’ came to him rather quickly.

They had a lot of the Lexus vehicles on hand, so the lines were fairly short for any Lexus vehicle. They had 3 SC430 convertibles on hand. Luckily, the weather cooperated today, as it was a bit overcast when I first got there at 11am, then later it became sunny. The lower end Lexus cars were not that popular to test drive (IS300, ES330) as more people wanted to try the high end convertibles (Cadillac XLR, Jaguar XK8, Lexus SC430) and ultra luxury cars (Mercedes S430, BMW 745i, Lexus LS430.

My opinion of the SC430 beforehand wasn’t too favorable, as I never liked the styling too much. But, boy, it was a blast to drive. It’s fairly compact, but very sporty and has some power (300 hp). Though not as grippy as the German cars in general, it had quite a bit of punch and had good handling. The Mercedes SL500 was noticeably absent, that definitely would have given the SC430 a run for its money.

It helps to be a line manipulator during this kind of event, as if you are smart with lines, you wait a lot less and get a lot more ‘seat action’. The longest lines consistently were the Cadillac XLR, Jaguar XK8, and BMW 745i. Many times, there are no lines for a certain car, so whoever jumps out there first can just drive it on the course. The Lexus GS430 and ES330 very often had no wait times.

The test course is a bit short, it starts with a little straightaway with a speedgun telling you speed through the section in mph. Then there is a sharp turn before a short series of slalom series (left right left right turns). Some nice left turns, then you come into an area where a Lexus representative throws foam blocks at you and you try to avoid it. Pretty pointless in my opinion. Then there is a few more sweeping turns, but nothing major. The course is pretty good and does help you get a feel of the handling of every car. I got used to the course after my first run, which was in a GS430. I pushed each and every car to its limits, but didn’t hit a cone at all. I almost always managed to catch up to the person in front of me, so I started to resort to fully stopping after the first real left turn, after the slalom and before the foam blocks. That allowed me to go full throttle without havint to wait for the person in front of me.

I’m disappointed the initial straightaway isn’t a bit longer, but I’m sure Lexus didn’t want people driving 50 or 60 mph in their $60-80k cars on such a course. The course overall is shorter than I would have liked, but you can just drive the cars over and over again if you like. I drove the SC430 three times, as the lines for it were never long. Whenever I had a passenger (friend or family member) while I was driving, I would sufficiently freak them out by driving all out on the course. I’m pretty sure they knew I was in control of the car at all times, but generally, most people don’t drive the course as if they were racing and most take their sweet time, which is their right.

It’s a very fun event, as the comparison driving can help you decide which car is right for you. It’s nice to be able to drive a BMW 745i, Mercedes S430 and Lexus LS430 in succession on the same track. Did I mention iDrive sucks? The Mercedes S430 is really old school and outclassed at this point, as it seriously can’t compete with the 7 or LS430. Gotta wait for the next generation S-series to see what Mercedes-Benz can bring to the table. They also had a Mercedes E500 on hand, and it shows what Mercedes can do. I liked the E500 a lot, too bad they didn’t have the AMG E55 beast on hand. I still think the Bimmer 7 handled the best out of all the luxury sedans. Though I may be a bit BMW-biased (we have a 2002 325i), I still hate the Chris Bangle design of the 7 and the new 5. The LS430 definitely wins for luxury, but even in the sport model I drove, the LS430 felt a bit floaty and wasn’t as gripping to the ground as the German engineered sedans. It’s luxury defined and has the best audio. The GPS screen is pretty nice and isn’t small like some other models. The Lexus LS430 has the great Mark Levinson sound system and is great for an overall ‘cruising’ vehicle. Perfect for long trips, it can heat up your butt with the heat warmers, or cool it down as well with cool air flowing through the seat. The BMW and Mercedes felt more balanced and handling felt tighter as a result. I’m very impressed by the 7’s driving capabilities (it’s a huge sucker!), but I’d never buy it because of iDrive… NEVER! Though if someone were to give me a 7 series, I guess I would take it. The 745i definitely felt more like a driver’s car then the other two, but that’s what all Bimmer fanatics say, eh? The tight handling was awesome for such a large car.

As I went through the course with practically all the cars, I did go through some tire squeal and wheel spin, especially with traction control off. As I came around after finishing the course with an Acura TL 3.2, a Lexus representative asked me, “Can I ask a favor of you? Can you just tone it down a notch?” They are even nice when telling you to chill. That’s the only warning I got throughout the whole day. I definitely drove harder with many other models, but the TL definitely gave me the most tire squealing and wheel spin. I wasn’t too fond of the TL at all, definitely would prefer a Lexus or a BMW to one.

There’s me in the GS430 behind a BMW 545i. For sporty lower end market, I’m glad they had the BMW 330i there as a comparison to the Lexus IS300, as many car mags compare the IS300 to the smaller engined 325i. I felt very comfortable on the course with the 330i and felt it handled better than either the IS300 or the Infiniti G35. Though of course, my modded 325i’s handling beats the 330i’s stock hands-down. The IS300 was good, it’s definitely a better bargain when you compare it to the 330i (probably close to $10k), but I just don’t feel it handles as well as the 330i. That’s just my personal opinion, of course. The G35 was decent, but I had higher hopes of it before I drove it and it was sort of a let down. I’d definitely choose a IS300 over a G35, though I haven’t driven the G35 coupe yet. Or the Nissan 350Z.

For the convertibles there, I was pleasantly surprised by the Jaguar XK8 Cabriolet. Though it didn’t have as many luxuries inside as the SC430, it was a good driving experience. I’ve always heard horror stories about the durability of Jag, and probably wouldn’t ever choose to own one. The Cadillac XLR was one of the rides I most wanted to test drive. Too bad it was quite a let down. The XLR looks very slick, but the 320hp in it felt underpowered for such a car. I thought they were going to have the Corvette engine in the XLR? I guess the XLR-V will have that engine, with 400hp. The XLR seems way overpriced for $76k or so, as the SC430 is only around $55k invoice to start. The SC430 really got me. It’s very compact, and felt very quick and zoomy. The 300hp V8 in it powers the car perfectly, and turns were tight. Definitely my favorite Lexus car to date. I liked it so much I gave it a spin three times, although part of that is because the lines for it were so short).

The sporty luxury class featured the Lexus GS430, BMW 545i, and the Mercedes E500. My favorite out of these were the E500 by far. The GS430 definitely needs the upgrade that is coming, as it really didn’t feel too ‘sporty’. It still feels a bit floaty. The 545i is marred by the stupid, annoying iDrive (though I finally did get the radio to work), but felt good to drive. I still don’t like the boxy design of the 5. The E500’s 302hp V8 felt very smooth, and I liked it’s handling. The next gen Mercedes are ones to watch, especially the AMG versions.

Since there were higher end similar models available, I didn’t test drive the Lexus GS300, BMW 530i, or the Mercedes Benz E320 at all. I’m pretty sure that they are similar to their big brothers except for engine size.

There is an offroad track as well, which was interesting. But, really, who’s gonna take their $60k SUVs out into the wildnerness to trash about and offroad? I’m pretty disappointed by the Cadillac Escalade, as you’d think it’d be better because all the stars and wannabe stars have them. It’s very sparse, and doesn’t compare in terms of luxury to the Lexus LX470 or BMW X5 4.4i or the Range Rover HSE. After driving the X5 and Range, the Caddy doesn’t even feel like it’s in the same class. That’s how big of a difference it felt to me. The LX470 surprised me on the offroad course, as it was very, very capable climbing the large hill as well as the small bumps and the side to side bump. I have no idea what to call such a course, as I’d never done offroading at all before. My favorites were definitely the X5 for pure driving, as it did feel more like a car when you are driving it, rather than a big SUV. The Range Rover really impressed me as well, it has a good BMW-designed engine inside (with 282hp), and felt very luxurious as well. I felt it did best on the offroad course. The Lexus wins again in my opinion for overall luxury, as it has the options for the best sound (Mark Levinson system), and just makes you feel very dignified when driving it. The LX470 does make you feel like you are floating on air, as it’s very quiet inside.

Anyways, the offroading bored me after two runs through the course. I didn’t dare drive too fast through any of the sections, as it really does feel like you can ‘break’ the SUV by pushing it too hard. I guess the SUVs are built pretty well, as I’m sure each SUV has already been taken through the course hundreds and hundreds of times. I started driving with just one hand, and the last run I just took pictures while driving. The best part of the offroading course is the side to side hills (see above picture) where you really feel like your car can tilt.

For the mini SUVs (Lexus RX330, Acura MDX, Volvo XC90, and BMW X3) there is a smaller offroading course, with bumps and smaller hills. They were a bore to drive, all of them. I wasn’t impressed with any of those SUVs at all, though if they were on the regular road course, it would have been a lot more fun. I would have liked to take the Range and X5 to other course, or at least have a chance to get more of a feel of the car, as like I said above, who really is going to be going offroading with one of these? .01% of the buyers?

The event is VERY well run, and did represent the image Lexus wants to project. I’d be happy to ever attend any Lexus event at anytime. I’m glad that they never had a Lexus rep babysit you and sit with you while driving any of the vehicles. A friend told me that at a car show where they let you test drive cars, there was a rep that bossed you around when you drove the Chevrolet Corvette z06. Unfortunately, there were no real sports cars on display to test drive, nor were there any models with stick-shift. There were plenty with the pseudo manual-matic (like BMW 330i), but it’s definitely still not the same as a manual. The funny thing is, they let you turn off the Traction Control. Well, that or they don’t know or care. At the auto show my pal went to, they put tape over the Traction Control buttons so people couldn’t turn it off. Since many, many people aren’t too familiar with the cars to begin with, I’m sure many a person went through the course with Traction Control off. I didn’t mind, as it was definitely more fun to push a 330i through the course with TC off. (Just hold the DSC button down for 8-10 seconds). It’s a bit surprising that some of the Lexus people working weren’t too familiar with the cars (for example, they weren’t sure when a 545i or the 745i pulled up). Not really much of a gripe, as they handled the lines very well. Thankfully Lexus doesn’t make minivans, or I’d still be there waiting for people to finish the course. Heh heh.

I also wished they would have the speed reading a bit further back, perhaps before the first sharp left turn. The way it’s setup, it’s about in the middle of the first straightaway. I spoke with the person that manned the car queue, and he said that the fastest he’s seen on the reading was 33mph. And it was in a SC430. Though he said it was the driver, there’s really not much you can do with a automatic to make it go faster than the next guy. He said the SC430 was consistently getting figures close to that as well. I didn’t really pay attention to the reading much, but I know I got 30 or 31 more than a few times.

I’d suggest getting there early or late, as the lines seemed to be longest between noon and 2pm. I stayed from 11am to about 3:30pm. It was very entertaining, and definitely one of the best free events I have been to. Everything is first-rate, from the cars, to the presentation, to the displays, to even the bathroom. Yes, I’m weird, but I took pix of the bathroom trailer. I’ve never seen such a luxurious bathroom on wheels. I’d be interested to see how much Lexus spent for these two days on this event. Perhaps $500k or so (not including the price of the cars)? There’s a LOT of staff and food and free gifts can’t be all that cheap. There was probably a few hundred people there during the time I was there. My parents had such a fun time, they wanted their friends to come and enjoy the experience. Lexus was very nice about it, and allowed anyone that didn’t RSVP to just sign up if they came in. But, since you just read this review, go RSVP for free at the Lexus site. I can see future events being very busy if everyone finds out about this. I believe this was the fourth year of the Taste of Luxury event, but the first in Seattle. There’s some time for all you Seattleites to go for Sunday, which should be a great day, weather-wise, a nice 80 to 85 and sunny for Seafair and the hydroplanes.

I definitely look forward to the Lexus Taste of Luxury in 2005! I highly suggest going to such an event if one comes to an area near you, as long as you like cars, you should have a good time. Even my Mom, who isn’t much of a car fan at all, had a great time. Oh, did I mention I met the Michelin Man? He or she didn’t talk though, so it mighta been a woman inside! That alone is worth going for! After you leave, they give you a free gift if you fill out a questionnaire regarding your experience there. Very nicely packaged in a Lexus vinyl-ish bag, you get a nice Lexus brochure along with a leather or pleather) case where you can store some photos. It comes with a $25 MSRP book Road Trip USA by Jamie Jensen. Very nice freebie, although my friend lamented it would have been nice if Lexus gave out an organizer with a Lexus logo on it. That way, people would actually use it, and when using it, it would further expose and enhance the Lexus brand. while this is a nice free souvenir, it’s just going to end up on one of my bookshelves somewhere.

Here’s the below upcoming Lexus Taste of Luxury events for the rest of 2004.

Seattle, WA: August 7-8, 2004
Detroit, MI: August 14-15, 2004
Chicago, IL: August 28-29, 2004
Columbus, OH: September 4-5, 2004
Englishtown, NJ: September 11-12, 2004
Atlanta, GA: October 9-10, 2004
Washington, D.C.: October 16-17, 2004
Fort Lauderdale, FL: October 30-31, 2004
Houston, TX: November 6-7, 2004
Dallas, TX: November 20-21, 2004

www.LexusTasteOfLuxury.com