[V.Narayan]

I eagerly look forward to Lexus coming to India. I only hope they implement the media management right to remind & educate folks that this is a luxury brand as much as the 3 Germans. I don't know what the quality and finish of the interiors is like though. I hope they get it right on price, rear leg space and ground clearance. In my opinion hybrids will (and gradually are) catch on in India.

[Hayek]

People of a certain generation certainly view Lexus as the ultimate luxury brand, courtesy the car owned by a high profile broker from the 1990s. But the bigger issue is the looks that alternate between super bland and super quirky from generation to generation, and the lack of Diesel engines in the Lexus line up. A quick sample of the luxury cars in my building shows that more than 90% of them are diesels - only some of the older 3 series and Audis are petrols.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Hayek

But the bigger issue is the looks that alternate between super bland and super quirky from generation to generation, and the lack of Diesel engines in the Lexus line up.

Precisely my point Hayek.

The Lexus of today fails to evoke the kind of emotion/sentiment/excitement that is used to, in the "Harshad Mehta" days, for example. Also, the fact that today's customer is far more discerning will make it tough for the Lexus to outsell the Germans.

However, being a Toyota, it will sell, the INR 15 lac Innova sells...

[D4D]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

Well, I'll be happy if they come. Finally you can get luxury and reliability on one package!

It may not be as fun as a German, but I'd like knowing that my Lexus will last me many more years to come with a lot less headache.

I agree with that. Reliability is one factor Lexus cars have going for them.

Heard a lot about Lexus cars not being fun to drive, but honestly who cares?

I would say ~95% of the people who own a Merc, Audi, BMW are chauffeur driven. These people don't want to go to a service center every month or don't want a breakdown.

About not having a diesel engine, it will not go easily with the premium buyer. German turbodiesel engines are brilliant (you just need to give to them ) so owners of premium cars don't spend too much running them.

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by D4D

Heard a lot about Lexus cars not being fun to drive, but honestly who cares?

I would say ~95% of the people who own a Merc, Audi, BMW are chauffeur driven. These people don't want to go to a service center every month or don't want a breakdown.

About not having a diesel engine, it will not go easily with the premium buyer. German turbodiesel engines are brilliant (you just need to give to them ) so owners of premium cars don't spend too much running them.

Lexus may not be as "fun" to drive, but when you pay 30+ lakh, there are other factors to consider. Lexus are not boring, and they're excellent all rounders.

More competition in the market is always good for consumers.

[prashanthyr]

I really cant see how Lexus can succeed in the market - they provide a fuss free ownership experience, but that positive is outweighed by other factors - two key ones being the lack of a decent diesel engine range and more importantly Prestige.
Remember, Prestige is very important when you are spending upwards of 30L for a car - last thing you want is for someone to ask you - what car is that? No one will ask you that when you arrive in a Mercedes/Audi/BMW.
Also, IMHO, current Lexus designs are no match for the Germans or the Jags. In fact, Lexus lost the luxury sales crown in the US to the Germans this year or in 2013...

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by prashanthyr

I really cant see how Lexus can succeed in the market - they provide a fuss free ownership experience, but that positive is outweighed by other factors - two key ones being the lack of a decent diesel engine range and more importantly Prestige.
Remember, Prestige is very important when you are spending upwards of 30L for a car - last thing you want is for someone to ask you - what car is that? No one will ask you that when you arrive in a Mercedes/Audi/BMW.
Also, IMHO, current Lexus designs are no match for the Germans or the Jags. In fact, Lexus lost the luxury sales crown in the US to the Germans this year or in 2013...

I really doubt if not having a diesel engine is a major disadvantage considering the current trend of price increase for diesel fuel and the price difference being almost negligible between it and petrol.

I also disagree with the fact that Lexus is not as prestigious. Anyone who would consider a German trio and knows about Toyota will definitely know about Lexus too.Its got its fair share of media attention over the years.

Lexus apart from good reliability are really good all round cars with good power and very efficient engines.

If I have to talk about their negatives ,it has to be their design which is pretty controversial and that they are very difficult to mod.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by prashanthyr

Remember, Prestige is very important when you are spending upwards of 30L for a car - last thing you want is for someone to ask you - what car is that? No one will ask you that when you arrive in a Mercedes/Audi/BMW.
Also, IMHO, current Lexus designs are no match for the Germans or the Jags. In fact, Lexus lost the luxury sales crown in the US to the Germans this year or in 2013...

AFAIK, till the Q7 was bought by the bollywood crowd, no one had an idea of what Audi was in India. Heck. even today in interior parts, a villager can't identify an Audi. Mercedes Benz yes, Rolls Royce maybe...Bentley what???

In fact till Audi came Lexus had more brand recall than Audi in India, especially among the NRIs and the well travelled and continue to even today.

But the bland styling and lack of diesel engines coupled with Lexus reluctance to assemble the flagship models outside Japan will hurt sales, though it will surely put up a fight and show interesting times in the indian luxury market.

[car_crazy1400]

Sir, even if Toyota decides to introduce Lexus to India , I doubt it would be priced sanely.

Just look at the pricing for Camry or Prado or even the ultra reliable Mighty XXL Landcruiser.

Landcruiser costs about 1.30 Cr on road in Delhi. 99% of the owners are not going off roading with it. The similar sized Mercedes GL350 is about 88L on road Delhi. I can easily manage the Merc (even though it may be unreliable) with the 40lac plus saved. Plus Merc has more brand recognition image.

Lexus has always been priced over and above Toyota models. So even if Lexus launches in India, it just won't get the sales numbers.

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by car_crazy1400

Sir, even if Toyota decides to introduce Lexus to India , I doubt it would be priced sanely.

Just look at the pricing for Camry or Prado or even the ultra reliable Mighty XXL Landcruiser

That's true. Pricing is absolutely key, and if they overprice the Lexus brand, it will most likely flop.

As much as I like Lexus cars, I wouldn't pay any premium for them over the big Germans. In fact, they would probably have to be priced slightly lower considering the lack of diesels.

[bikertillidie]

Mods, please feel free to merge this thread with an existing one if it doesn't merit a separate discussion.

Chanced upon a some interesting practices followed by Toyota while manufacturing the Lexus.

From having skilled technicians (Takumi's) inspect the car at every step of assembly to using bamboo steering wheels, the list is endless.

Hope everyone enjoys browsing through the following links as much as I have.

http://www.lexus-int.com/design/sust...-steering.html
http://www.lexus-int.com/design/monocle-01.html
http://www.lexus-int.com/design/mono...ampaign=design
http://www.lexus-int.com/design/monocle-03.html

P.S. I believe even Nissan follows similar practices with the GTR. Would Indian manufacturers be willing to follow suit?

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

As much as I like Lexus cars, I wouldn't pay any premium for them over the big Germans. In fact, they would probably have to be priced slightly lower considering the lack of diesels.

I'm not one to bump up old threads, but this thread was already bumped up by the post before mine and I felt the need to mention about a possible diesel option.

The Lexus GX is essentially a souped up Toyota LandCruiser Prado - it has the same body and chassis but it has a different grille and an upsized engine, along with some in-vehicle entertainment niceties, and thicker sound-proofing. If they wanted to, they could mate the Lexus GX to the diesel engine available with the Toyota LandCruiser Prado internationally to offer a diesel option.

[599gto]

I happened to spot a spanking new Lexus LS 600h L a few days back, in a very dark shade of blue, the car is huge, even by luxo-barge standards and has decent road presence, I would say it would turn more heads than a 7 series any given day! But looks are subjective, they say so! The car, MH 12 registered seems to be a private import(had a huge garland on it).

I think this is a good time for Lexus to enter India or rather for Toyota to bring in Lexus, because the awareness about German cars being unreliable and high service costs is spreading heaps and bounds in our country(I do think that its over exaggerated at times!), people will definitely give a Lexus a good glance and a fair chance.

Having driven few German cars over the years, right from a Volkswagen Polo to a BMW 5 and most cars in between, I am a fan for sure, for the way these cars feel and drive, but they are not the easiest to maintain and cases of these cars giving up on owners are many.

If I ever consider plonking my hard earned crore(or that of my dad's!) or even half of it, I would definitely give reliability some serious weightage.

For example, I would put my money on the Toyota Landcruiser or a Lexus LX, if I ever have that kind of money to buy myself an SUV in that segment, other options being the Porsche Cayenne and the Range Rover Sport, and of course the Land Rover Discovery, the latter two being known to be anything but long termers!

Because, I can't imagine how it feels to be stranded with your crore rupee car in the midst of nowhere!

I don't have too much information about the Porsche, so would refrain from commenting on it, but to me, it doesn't quite look like an SUV!

[ST7677]

Any further update on this?

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by ST7677

Any further update on this?

Don't think they are coming mate. When Toyota goes crazy with their pricing itself , there is no chance Lexus can be priced reasonably. Worldwide they are much more expensive than Toyota , so not sure how they can price Lexus car's here competitively.