Like that pesky honor student who always sat in the front row, was first to raise his or her hand to answer a question and never seemed to score below an A on an exam, Lexus has managed to become teacher’s pet in nearly every segment in which it competes. Its luxury cars have been a hit with consumers for more than 20 years, but there’s one crucial segment where Lexus hasn’t made much of a dent: Midsize luxury cars. Ads by Google Heraklion Rent A Car Cheap Rent a Car Heraklion Airport Excellent Service - Great Prices www.thebestcars.gr/ People & Vehicle Counting Basic to fully data managed systems Reliable, accurate and consistent www.pfm-counts.com

It’s a tough class that spans the globe from Detroit to Sweden to England to Japan and, of course, to Germany.

Lexus’ GS range has promised everything from Italian design to a tantalizing demeanor, but it has never been a major player. To figure out why, we borrowed a shiny new 2011 Lexus GS 460 sedan from one of the automaker’s regional distributors, Gulf States Toyota.

• What is it?
• What’s it up against?
• Any breakthroughs?
• What’s it look like?
• And on the inside?
• But does it go?
• Leftlane’s bottom line