2019 Lexus GS F

For all that Lexus's parent company, Toyota, has long been building cars with a focus on fuel economy, this upscale division has been strangely slow to adopt the turbocharging trend that so many other automakers use to squeeze more power out of smaller displacement engines.

Take the GS F, for example. Where this potent sport sedan's German competitors have switched to turbos, Lexus sticks a big, 5.0L V8 under the GS F's hood to lend the car 467 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque.

This is the largest Lexus sedan to get the full-on F treatment; the big LS luxury liner can be optioned with an F Sport package, but it doesn't bring a performance upgrade the way the GS F lords it over its GS 350 and 450h siblings, which are covered in a separate buyer's guide entry.

For 2019, the GS F carries over unchanged. Once again, it's too bad the GS F gets relatively little recognition in performance car circles, because its high-revving V8 is a joy to run to its redline in hard acceleration.

On the downside, the rear seat is snug and the Lexus's remote touch interface infotainment controller can be difficult to use. Get used to it and you'll like the ability to display a variety of information on the 12.3-inch screen.

There's little subtlety about the GS F's performance intentions. It's kitted out with a more aggressive front fascia sporting a larger grille and air intakes. Out back, there are stacked exhaust finishers and a carbon fibre spoiler, and the look is completed with 19-inch wheels and tires.

Brembo brakes with six-piston front calipers have the job of slowing things down as quickly as the big V8 gets the car up to speed. Also standard is an adaptive suspension and a torque-vectoring differential.

As impressive as the GS F is, it's handily outshone by the Mercedes-Benz E 63 and BMW M5, both of which boast more than 600 hp from their turbo V8 engines. This Lexus lines up better against lesser versions of the E-Class and 5 Series, and the 450-hp Audi S6.

Lexus is also in the minority in fitting the GS F with RWD; the Germans all ride on AWD platforms.

This is a luxury car first, so the GS F brings a long list of upscale features that includes a heated steering wheel, three-zone automatic climate control, 17-speaker stereo, navigation, eight-way power front seats with heat and ventilation functions, rear door sunshades, auto-dimming rearview and side mirrors and a power-adjustable steering column.

Standard safety kit includes a pre-collision system, automatic high beams, dynamic radar cruise control and lane departure alert with steering assist.

The GS F's fuel consumption estimates are 14.9/9.7 L/100 km (city/highway).