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| S140 Toyota Aristo |
We begin with the S140, which is of course the first generation Toyota Aristo or Lexus GS known to many from the rest of the globe. First released in Japan since October 1991, the Aristo uses the platform derived from the Crown Majesta and the design was penned by Italdesign Giugiaro. Variants include the 3.0V, which has a 2JZ-GTE engine, and the 3.0Q, which has a 2JZ-GE natural aspiration engine. Later on, they even offered the 4.0Z i-Four, which comes with the 1UZ-FE engine from a Toyota Celsior or Lexus LS400.
This car was produced at Toyota's Tahara plant at Aichi Prefecture and either men or robots were responsible for assembling the packaging. This car was sold at the Toyota Vista dealership back then and it bridged the gap between the Cresta and the Chaser.
What I think about this generation though is rather a bit disappointing. You see, this car was made for those who are senior enough to play golf, go out at a country club, or your professor's driving one of these. Because it has a 4-speed automatic transmission that...doesn't make any sense, this car is sensibly quiet, comfortable, and bored. Yep, I am that bored because every time I drove the S140 Aristo, it feels like I was a passenger on this car. I didn't like the S140-type Aristo because...it's a bit dull, it's a bit ugly, and overall, too bland.
Because of that, in 1997, Toyota quickly responded about that and then they made the Aristo even better with this...
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| S160 Toyota Aristo |
This is the S160 Toyota Aristo, the second-generation model, which today, it remains coveted by JDM enthusiasts because of its unique handling, unique style, and overall, high possibility of tuning this car into a shouty drifting machine or some sort of VIP STYLE car with lowered suspension, aero kits, oversized rims, and so much bling bling, which is a bit of a nuisance to me.
For this generation, the V8 engine and the 4WD layout has been dumped. Well, the V8 engines can be seen on the world market Lexus GS via GS400 or GS430 perhaps. The enthusiast's favorite, the V300, comes with the turbocharged 2JZ-GTE engine, while the simpler S300 comes with the natural aspiration 2JZ-GE engine. The VERTEX EDITION though, it comes with 17-inch rims and a rear spoiler to add some sportiness. Of course, the VERTEX EDITION is the pick for every boy in baseball hats reversed because of all those features may wish to pump up this executive saloon. Even with the 4-speed AT, they do come with a 5-speed Auto with manual mode in a form of buttons on the steering wheel. Cool, shifting gears via some buttons on the steering wheel? Who would have thought of that? Oh yes! Paddle shifters hadn't been invented yet until the 2000's!
It's really a brilliant car. Fast, agile, bulky, precise, and in terms of bangs for your buck, valuable. You might imagine that it's very sad that Toyota don't make these anymore. Those kind of cars you want to take it out to the Shutokou, that's what make the S160 Aristo cool. Sadly though, this is the last Aristo offered in Japan because production ended in November 2004 and it was replaced by the Lexus GS because in 2005, Toyota began selling Lexus-branded cars in Japan. Too bad that the GRS190 Lexus GS wasn't present on the game and neither is the latest GRL10 Lexus GS that a rival video game's going to feature it.
It's a shame that we don't get the 2013 Lexus GS on Gran Turismo 5 because Kazunori Yamauchi's been very busy sorting out for more but if I have to choose which of these Aristos will be, I would go for the shouty S160 Aristo because it's a favorite among JDM enthusiasts and it's the type of executive saloon common for the VIP STYLE scene.
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