Lexus aim to make test drives of the Lexus range practically perfect

Lexus is aiming to make the test drive experience for potential buyers the perfect experience, with custom offerings to suit the buyer.

The whole car buying experience has changed hugely in recent years – and looks set to change further still in the next few years – and car manufacturers are looking for ways to deliver the perfect pre-sale experience to keep the metal shifting.

Flavour of the month is online buying, with more and more car makers offering a full online buying experience from ordering and optioning your new car to sorting trade-in values and finance.

But although there are some who treat acquiring a new car as an event the same as ordering a new Smartphone, most car buyers are a bit more involved in the process.

Research has shown that the biggest influence on the initial interest in a car comes from online research, checking out car reviews and looking for news on the model/s of interest to whittle down a short list. 

But then comes the ‘Dealer Experience’, and that’s not always quite what it should be.

But one car maker with a great reputation for the dealer experience is Lexus, and now they’re trying to make that even better for potential customers by bending over backwards to accommodate whatever sort of test drive they want.

The Lexus Test Drive Promise is designed to give the punter exactly the model of Lexus they want to test, do it at a time that suites – at the dealer, at home or at work – and be anything from a 30 minute spin to a full 48 hour loan. And you can choose whether or not you want a salesman with you.

It’s a very sensible promo by Lexus, especially as there are so many preconceptions around their cars, especially the driving experience with endless reviews over the years bemoaning the CVT driving experience and lack of dynamism.

But actually, the truth is that Lexus hybrids are now very, very good, and if you give them a chance – and read the right reviews – the new Lexus test drive experience will probably see you getting your cheque book out.