Taste of Lexus (2004): My Experience

Novie & I by the Model Lineup

I setup this page to share my experience attending the Taste of Lexus event in Dallas in 2004 with my girlfriend, Novie. It was a very fun day in Fort Worth, TX at Texas Motor Speedway. After a brief orientation and registration, you are released to go experience various events. Within the event were displays of new Lexus Technology, food/drink, an offroad event, a speed course, and a luxury course.

My favorite course was the offroad course. This course allowed you to drive Lexus SUV's along with SUV's from the competition (Range Rover, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, Acura, and more) on both a small and a large off road course.

Escalade Ascending the Large Incline
Lexus Vehicles Ascending the Incline: 1, 2

View of Both Inclines, Another Shot of Inclines, Head On Shot of Big Incline
X5 Struggling Over Inital Incline

After the initial inclines, the smaller SUV's just went through some twists and curves on various dirt/ropes and such. However, the large SUV's went through various ditches, over rope, and over a section with alternating elevated surfaces that was too taxing for some of the SUV's to handle.

Escalade and Range Rover Approaching These Obstacles; More Rocky Path Shots: 1, 2; SUV's Traveling The Rocky Path

X5 Struggling Through Staggered Section (More Shots: 1, 2)
Range Rover Going Through the Stagger: Beginning, Finishing
Various Other Stagger Section Shots: Range Rover Following Lexus, Various Vehicles, Stagger Section Alone
More SUV's Standing

Lexus Ascending the Large Incline (Imagine What Driver's View Is) (Descending Shot: 1, 2)

Most of the vehicles performed as expected . . . obviously since the event was a Lexus event, all the Lexus events performed flawlessly. The Range Rover was incredible at everything, as well, especially on the staggered section. The BMW X5 was unfairly placed with the large SUV's, even though it is far more street tuned than the rest, so it performed very poorly and often sustained damage on the course. The Cadillac Escalade performed surprisingly well, but the interior was an order of magnitude below the competition. The Mercedes performed very well, as well.

We took some pictures of Novie and I behind the wheel (right before driving) of many of these cars . . .

I liked the Off Road portion of the course more than any of the others because this is something I do not get to do that often.

They also had a sporting course where you were able to drive many cars from Lexus, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac (including the new XLR), Jaguar, Infiniti, and many more . . .

Novie Driving an E500

This was just like a test drive where you got to get a slightly better feel for the cars by taking a couple sharp turns and accelerating very quickly on some parts.

Some of the Convertible Contenders

It was relatively neat to get a feel for these cars, their fit and finish, etc. The one that was hyped up the most that was the most disappointing in my eyes was the Cadillac XLR. It was just a Corvette in luxury skin . . . but the exact same thing. I expected the E500 to have a lot more wood trim in it, and the 545i's i-Drive system drove me insane in just a couple minutes. Below are some shots of the cars and us driving them . . .

There was a section for driving the high end luxury cars like the LS, the S-Class, and the 7-Series around the race track . . . but we didn't feel like waiting in line . . . and we had already driven an LS, and I owned an S500, so we decided we could test drive a 7-Series another time . . . I am sure the i-Drive would've been the same as it was in the 5-Series.

There was also a lunch buffet, see picture.

Novie by the Hybrid Display

One neat thing was an explanation in a modernized museum of sorts . . . displaying new technologies, etc. They had a hybrid car displayed with the path of power lighting up as it displayed how it works. There were videos and demonstrations of hybrid technology all over, as well.

That basically sums up my experience at Taste of Lexus 2004, I hope to attend another one in the future!

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to send me an E-Mail by clicking here!

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This page was last updated March 20, 2005.

ŠVivek K. G.; 2004 - 2005.