2016 Lexus GS 200t Review By Square Car

Dear Square Car Fans! The Lexus GS (Japanese: レクサス・GS, Rekusasu GS) is an executive car sold by Lexus, the premium division of Toyota. The same car had been launched in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo in Japan, while the Lexus-badged model did not appear until 1993. Now in its fourth generation, the GS was sold only with the Toyota Aristo name in Japan until the release of the third generation model in 2005. Designed as a performance sedan competing in the mid-luxury class, the GS slots between the compact executive IS and large/flagship LS, and shared its chassis with one of Toyota's longest-running nameplates, the Toyota Crown premium sedans until 2011. Four generations of the GS have been produced since 1993, each available with six-cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive. V8 engines were also offered in all generations, and all-wheel drive and hybrid versions debuted in 2005. Previously, all-wheel drive versions were already made available in the Japanese-market S140 series Aristo. The first two generations had a Japanese domestic market equivalent, the Toyota Aristo (aristo is Greek for "the best"), which was sold from 1991 until the Lexus marque's domestic debut in 2005. Though largely identical in exterior and interior design, the GS and the Aristo differed in their engine and transmission combinations as well as equipment packages. The GS name stands for Grand Sedan. However, some Lexus importers use the backronymic name, Grand Sport. The first generation Lexus GS began sales in the United States, Europe and selected markets in Asia in 1993, where it was introduced with an inline-6 engine and exterior bodywork designed by Italdesign Giugiaro. The second generation model premiered in 1997, using a new platform,[6] in-house styling, and adding a V8 version for the first time outside Japan. The third generation GS, which premiered globally for the 2006 model year, was produced in V6, V8, and hybrid versions, the latter known as the GS 450h. The third generation models were the first GS sedans to be badged as such in the Japanese domestic market. The fourth generation Lexus GS premiered in August 2011 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where models introduced included the V6-powered GS 350, hybrid GS 450h, and performance-tuned F Sport variants. A lower-displacement V6 model, the GS 250, premiered at the Auto Guangzhou Exhibition in November 2011, targeted at Asian and European markets.[7] In some markets such as North America, the GS shares the mid-size sedan category in the Lexus lineup with the front-wheel drive ES. The GS was replaced in Europe by the Lexus ES from December 2018. The seventh generation ES is the first to be sold in Europe, replacing the GS in spite of being a front-wheel drive car. It went on sale from September 2018 in Russia, Turkey and other CIS markets and from December 2018 in Western and Central Europe. Production ended in August 2020.