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Lexus GS vs Tesla Model S

What's the difference?

VS
Lexus GS
Lexus GS

$119,888 - $119,888

2018 price

Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S

$54,990 - $65,981

2017 price

Summary

2018 Lexus GS
2017 Tesla Model S
Safety Rating

Engine Type
V6, 3.5L

0.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Electric
Fuel Efficiency
9.3L/100km (combined)

0.0L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Thirst
  • Media system
  • No Apple CarPlay/Android Auto

  • Sadly, it's not a sports car
  • It's a lot of money
  • Lack of convenient charging
2018 Lexus GS Summary

Ah, yes, the Lexus GS. Toyota's luxury off-shoot had high hopes for the new big boy when I first saw it a few years ago. Not thousands-of-sales high hopes, but the company thought a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan stacked with gear you didn't even know you wanted would be a dead-set winner.

And to be fair, they were right. I ran a GS as a long-termer and it was impeccably-mannered. In hybrid form. It wasn't sparkling, but my goodness, it used barely any fuel; especially impressive given its size.

As the sun is surely setting on the GS, it's time to have a look and see if it's a match for the BMW 5 Series or the Mercedes E.

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2017 Tesla Model S Summary

If you have even a passing interest in the Tesla Model S, you'll have seen the endless internet videos where someone has lined up a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or another fast exotic car you could name, to race against it.

There's a long build-up, usually involving men who can't operate a baseball cap, a drag strip and idiotic words in the headline like "destroys" or "rips", or whatever. There's usually a bunch of honking bros with bad haircuts watching on, already planning their next viral video where they set a perfectly good mobile phone on fire.

It's facile and idiotic and doesn't give you any real clue as to the depth of whatever supercar it has "humiliated" or, just as importantly, the depth of the Model S and its spectacular engineering.

So, I won't be spending the next thousand words building up to the conclusion that the Model S P100D with Ludicrous Mode is up there with the world's fastest production cars from 0-100km/h, because I'll tell you now that it is, and it does it in a claimed 2.7 seconds.

Now that's out of the way, there's quite a bit more to the Model S than a "broken" Nissan GT-R owner weeping into their bento box.

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Deep dive comparison

2018 Lexus GS 2017 Tesla Model S

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