Details on Lexus Malaysia’s operation plans was revealed to the public on the 13th of December 2006. The Lexus brand is a young one, only 17 years old and despite being a division of Toyota, Lexus only made it’s appearance in Japan last year. Majority of sales remain in North America where it is the top selling luxury marque, and it has also expanded to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and now Asia – Singapore got an official Lexus presence last year.
Now it is our turn – Lexus Malaysia will operate from a sales, service and spare part 3S outlet in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. Lexus plans to sell 150 units in 2007, about 12 units a month of the Lexus LS460L long wheel base and the smaller but sportier Lexus GS300 sedan. The RX SUV (Harrier) and another model is expected to come in soon next year, but for the moment it is a two model line-up.
More details on the two Lexus cars after the jump.
The Lexus LS460L
Originally shown to the public as the LF-Sh concept vehicle, the fourth generation flagship full-sized Lexus LS460L offered here in Malaysia is the long wheel base version, offering greater comfort and space for the rear occupants over the standard wheelbase LS460, exactly . It is a front engined, rear wheel drive sedan.
Powered by a 4.6 litre V8 mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission producing 380hp at 6,400rpm and 498Nm of torque at 4,100rpm, the luxurious sedan goes for RM 864,458.50 on-the-road price with insurance. Refilling it’s 84 litre fuel tank at RM1.95 per litre RON97 gas prices should be RM163.80.
More photos below.
The Lexus GS300
Selling for RM 413,688.20 on the road with insurance, the other model in the new Lexus line-up, the Lexus GS300 is touted as a competitor to the BMW 5-series and the Mercedes Benz E-Class. You might find it familiar if you watched the recent remake of the classic movie The Omen shown in cinemas lately, the father of Damien drove a Lexus GS. It is positioned as a medium-sized luxury sports executive sedan, and was sold in Japan as the Toyota Aristo until 2005 where the Lexus marque officially entered the Japanese market.
The Lexus GS300 uses a 3.0 litre V6 engine with D4 gasoline direct injection – the 3GR-FSE making 245hp at 6,200rpm, and 309Nm of torque at 3,500rpm. This Dual VVT-i D4 engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox, two cogs less than it’s big brother the LS460L. The GS will cost you RM138.45 to fill up it’s 71 litre fuel tank.
More photos below.
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suave.dashing..LS460 would definitely stand out from other top marques……the rear has some 7 series genes tho.looks like this little brother has grown up!
hmm..CNY is just around the corner..now where is my secret stash of money…
Wow…i hope i can afford the IS250 if they bring it in… and if not, the GS will do just fine….
I was in Singapore almost bout 10 years ago when they did the coin start demo on the then LS400. Stand a coin on the dashboard, start the car and the coin is motionless, it never fell.
look like the BMW 5 sr…
The flagship model costs nearly a million, and the marque is new here, totally unfamiliar even among their target market. UMW is taking a risky investment here. Even the number of Audi A8 sold can be counted by fingers, I hardly see them on the road compared to Porches which price are similiar.
How can this car fight with the likes of 7 series & S class is yet to be seen. Americans take quite long time to accept the Lexus brand (and not to forget Acura & Infiniti) as a prestigious mark and they even regard the brand is better than BMW or Merc. Its different here I guess. The three star & propeler badges still resemble the ultimate luxury & recognition among Malaysians.
When the first "Bangled" butt appeared on the 7 series all the motor world was going ……..eeewwww that butt looks ugly and ungainly. fast forward today. Here you have Lexus copying that design. I wonder what have all the negative comments gone??
As for some here commenting that it looks like a BMW 5 sr…??? Urrrh which car are you referring to? Anyway neither one looks like a 5er other then they all have 4 wheels and 4 doors
aiyak this lexus copy beemer lar coz got 4 door and 4 tyre wakakakkaakaka…. this lexus oso copy merc coz got front lamp and rear lamp lol…
Thick-wallet-rich-people's car heheh.
My wallet is thick too but hmm alot of ATM's receipts in there lmao. Can't comment much on this kind of luxury marque. Let your money do the talking.
Wow, almost 1 million for this car & 1/2 mill for the other one… mari2 who want to make a very huge patriotic contribution??.. ur money will use to make the stupid sport complex & etc.. btw, i hope someone wud buy this car.. so i can see it one road… tgk saja cukuplah….
hey…y they didnt bring d IS too…dat one sure very hot one…can compete wit d sale of 3 er and c class aite…4 me…lexus is one of my fav after alfa and audi…cheers…
v8 -> engine must be 4.6 litre – 6 litre
melahap minyak wooo!!!
Lexus coming into Malaysia is now almost irrelevant because the pricing for these two cars are not competitive at all. A competitor for BM ? The price must be right. An alternative for the 5 series, I'll take the 5 any other day. With the price set so high for a camry in a night gown…Please….
Bring the IS250, and keep the price lower or atleast near the lowest 3 series. I don't to hear the engine high specs talk, Lexus doesn't have BM's over 30 years of technical experience (excluding Toyota's of course).
remember the old LS400 , that one copying mercedes,
this one bmw.
well…….. what a good track record of 'copying'
next what to copy,,,,,
shameee……
Wei! Lexus has its own design philosophy la, L-Finesse i think. Thumb up for Lexus for making a car that truly refine. And if you concern about fuel consumption and price for this car, then its not for you la.
So shut up la making noise about copying here copying there. What a shameeee… (copying protonGL)
"The flagship model costs nearly a million, and the marque is new here, totally unfamiliar even among their target market. UMW is taking a risky investment here."
The LS and GS were brought in solely as halo models to build the brand image among Malaysians. Not to post record sales figures. UMW themselves admit as much – they only plan to sell 150 units by the end of next year.
By the way, if you really think the LS460L is overpriced, look at its rivals. For about the same price the only proper rival it has is the Audi A8 4.2. For other V8-powered limos, you either have to pay an extra RM100k for the 750Li, or shell out close to one-and-a-half million for the S 500 L.
750i is abt 8xx oso…abit of a pointless car here…
Don't cry abt the price!! CBU tax 125% remember? more than half of the money goes to the gov., if can sell 150, enuf for another mega projects for their family. u shud be thankful tak sampai 1 million pun.. hehehe
People that can afford cars that cost close to 1 mill, can technically afford cars which cost 2 million as well. To them money is not the issue.
Flagships are here to promote brand image, not sell well.
Reason why Lexus sells well in North America is by the FACT it IS a Toyota. This is a complement. Toyotas 'never' quite break down unlike the electrical gremlins you might encounter with its german competition.
Look at it this way, the original 199x copycat LS400 made Mercedes go back to thier drawing boards and try to design a better car…….just as thier ratings on the JD Powers charts took a hammering. Not sure if many of us where around to see that happen. At that time the LS400 came in at E-class (W124)money challenging the top dog S-class. Basically killed the W124.
Dont underestimate Toyota.
there is nothing wrong with copying …and then make it better. Much better than copying and making it much worst than the original…..
"People that can afford cars that cost close to 1 mill, can technically afford cars which cost 2 million as well. To them money is not the issue."
I agree with u, but let me add some spices… for some people out there, money x ada hal punya, project gerenti masuk punya, their uncle, auntie or father can kauthim for them, pay cash oso tak ada hal, or at least can get special AP (no tax) for the cars.. the MPs of coz…. subjects like us can pay near 1 mill!
legacy88 said,
December 14, 2006 @ 1:37 pm
Wei! Lexus has its own design philosophy la, L-Finesse i think. Thumb up for Lexus for making a car that truly refine. And if you concern about fuel consumption and price for this car, then its not for you la.
So shut up la making noise about copying here copying there. What a shameeee… (copying protonGL)
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well legacy i respect your comment,
any way i just hate wearing asadi sliper, or adibas sliper,
i would rather wearing fung keong, or bata sliper,
more original than wannabe..
if Lexus copy BMW then i aso say la… all those tht made cars last time copy Ford T-Model…. and C-Class is just a copy of 3-series… and lambo copy ferrari.. summore… koennissegg copy zonda… wah the list goes on…… ppl shld stop making cars la.. jsut sell current model… 1 model enough…. then next evolution make hovering cars like Back to the Future…..
Actually my point is this, people who have money wouldn't even choose Lexus because it's just not on par with European cars yet. Still they priced it like they are one. What's the point? Be a bit realistic, price it competitively, you will still remain as a flagship car but u make money in the process. Don't tell me they think the exercise of "tarik harga" is more profitable than selling more cars? If it is genuinely because of the tax tariff, then i rest my case.
Seriously, if i do happen to find 1 billion dollars under my couch (much like the gov these days) i wouldn't buy a Lexus even if it's my tenth car. I rather spend the near million on a porsche boxster or old 996 turbo (sold as unsold "new" stock in M'sia). Or better just get BM/Merc.
I am sure Lexus don't sell at the same price as a Merc/BM/Audi in America right? If so of course they will sell well, so why not the same in Malaysia? What happened to affordable luxury cars? Me tenner is on Lexus not being able to sell 150 next year, unless they do what Merc does, register the car first then in their account book it looks as if it is sold, then later sell it at a discount as a "2nd Hand" car. Now i am listening.
Bring the IS250…purleeessseeeee………..
I think it would have been wiser of Lexus to bring in the IS250/350 instead of the GS. The IS looks mouth wateringly good plus its good value for money.
RM864K for the LS460L is a little ludicrous. Toss in another 120K and they can drive home in a BMW M5 with 3 years warranty ;)
those who buy wil probably get it by company leasing rather than own money…
It is not true that Lexus sells in Amrica because it is a cheaper alternative. If you do a MSN auto comparison, The Lexus LS 460 costs the same as a BMW 750!(not even 735)It is of course cheaper than a S 500 (unable to get the price of S 350 in US).
I am also looking forward to the IS 250. Was told by a reliable source that it may be in by mid 2007. Expect the price to be high. In the US this car costs more than a c 230 sports edition and is only slightly cheaper than the 328!
The benefit of buying this car would be the quality and reliability especially since it is CBU from Japan vs our CKD 3 series and C class. If you are looking for a car to thrash around corners and out run others, buy a BMW If you want to have good resale value and other people to acknowledge that you have "arrived" buy the Merc.
Too bad in Malaysia the other premium brands are difficult to maintain cos it would be so much nicer if we had more variety of cars running around our streets.
Incidently I drive a Volvo S 60 T for safety.
what toyota's the LS460L should be haa..??..is it a crown..??
“People that can afford cars that cost close to 1 mill, can technically afford cars which cost 2 million as well. To them money is not the issue.â€
Do not agree. And that is just such a naive and silly statement, Do not overestimate rich people. Even to rich people, 1M is a lot of money.
btw…agree to ergo_etc…for a rich ppl…1m is quite a lot…but 4 super rich ppl…dat shud b no prob 4 them…
no LS series for toyota…jz LX,RX,IS,GS,ES and SC which 4 toyota…cygnus,harrier,altezza,aristo,camry and soarer…
they shud bring the IS…alongside IS250…they shud bring d diesel model which is IS220d too…still ok wut…
agree with some of ur statement s60t…but 4 me…im not looking a car 4 a certain package like 3 er-its driving dynamic but dsg really2 disgusting…c-class-same like beemer…not fun…n looks like org tua car…4 me…my choice are audi a4,alfa 159 and lexus is…coz 4 me both of d cars hd a whole packages…in term of driving dynamic,dsg,tech and etc…btw…important thing 4 me is d dsg…no matter how good is d car but the dsg is such a rubbish(like 3 er and c-class),i will not choose it…4 me audi a4,alfa 159 and lexus IS…still acceptable eventho thier tech or driving dynamic etc still bhd dat both of 2 giants(3 er n c-class) but in term of dsg are far better than d both of 2…so…3 er n c-class 4 me,still not satisfy me 4 d whole packages coz thier lack of dsg…but both 3 i did mentioned above…acceptable n satisfy me…
btw…resale value is not including in my packages dat i need coz 4 me dats not d important thing at all…if u alwiz think abt resale value…dats wut happen tday…weve seen many typical richman own beemer and merc…bcoz of dat…i didnt c its xclusiveness n WOW thing on merc n beemer…conclusion didnt catch my eyela when they in front of me..ok…dats jz my opinion…no heart feeling to merc n beemer owner…cheers…
I will get a camry and save the extra 250K in the bank.