IS350AWD

This popped up on my YouTube feed today. Interesting comparison.

What do you guys think? Agree...disagree?

euro.r

Interesting. As much as I don't care for the F-Sport looks, I think the Q50 is even uglier. Intriguing though about how 1 button shuts off 90% of the nannies on the Q50. Looks like it'd be a fun car to toss around.

Glashub

All I know is that everything on my 3Is worked as advertised from Day 1. Q50 forum is heavy with frustration and sadness over all of the in touch glitches. And now they're discussing that the pre-collision system is sometimes applying the brakes for no apparent reason.

Turning off 90% of the nannies defeats the purpose of paying 4K more just to get them imo.

EZZ

Interesting comparison. The Q50S is a better athlete at 10/10ths while the IS350 is better everywhere else. The Q is also noticeably faster...traps 3mph higher in the quarter. The tester's biggest gripe besides the looks is that it needs about 50 more hp to compete better. Here's hoping that a mid cycle refresh brings a better engine

Glashub

Want to see what's really going on with the Q50? People are not getting what was advertised it seems and even the people who have been the most patient are beginning to sour. There's a difference between a comparo for a day and then living with a car for a week, http://www.infinitiq50.org/forum/new...cussion-forum/

EZZ

True but software updates can be remedied easily through updates. Seems like Infiniti released a Beta like interface with a fair share of bugs. Also, the biggest gripe with the Infiniti was the electronic steering which is an option. From people that have driven both, the one with the steering column drives waaay better.

Plus that mouse thingy in the IS350 looks cumbersome.... I like Audi's implementation

IS350AWD

Absolutely. 50HP extra in the IS would be awesome. Hopefully this is true in a few years with a refresh...though I wonder why Lexus didn't change this in the new generation (even though the 3.5L has proven excellent).

I do agree, partly, about the looks. I've seen the car several times in person now: the front looks pretty good and aggressive (F-Sport; the non-Sport looks weird with the two different grills). The rear, however, throws the entire car off IMO. It just "doesn't look right." Looking at different angles hasn't helped. I also gave the interior a chance, but I can't get myself to like it. The center stack appears too "blocky" and the lack of touchscreen really kills it. There is nothing easier to "point and shoot" the action you desire. This was one of the reasons I preferred Lexus over the Germans (and turned down the 2013 GS)with the iDrive systems, etc. It's a shame it has been done away with.

As for the Q50S, I believe it looks better overall and the interior presenting a simpler setup, though it stops there. The reason for 2 screens I have no idea and the complexity of the system itself is disconcerting. However, I believe these are new model quirks which should be streamlined in the next few years. Oh, and steer-by-wire? No thanks.

Overall, the IS wins for me given the better chassis, but for anything else they both stand in a very similar boat.

Glashub

And now they're discussing that the pre-collision system is sometimes applying the brakes for no apparent reason. And the key forgets settings every time you turn the car off and on and on. This is beyond simple updates like a Blu-ray player or a receiver imo.

I like the mouse now -- it allows for the screen to be at about eye level -- where it belongs -- but it could be better. Hated it on GS because the screen is so much bigger and then the mouse is really burdensome.

wednesday

He lost me when he said the Q50 looks better... I think it looks very bland and like something plastic left in the microwave too long and melted, but that is just my opinion.

LGSFS2012

IS350 F Sport FTW!!

unc879wins

Yeah, I did the Infiniti/Nissan thing. It was ok. Lexus/Toyota just has more "pop" to me.

corradoMR2

It's amazing how automotive journalists either love or hate the front styling. All the "real-world" people who have seen my 3IS cannot stop praising how beautifully aggressive the front-end looks. He hates it so I can only assume it's a small percentage but overall he chooses the IS as the head-to-head winner thanks to the IS' overall chassis control and driveability. I'd have been worried if the Q won since the IS beats the 3-series, but that 's obviously not the case!

corsjr28

Couldn't agree more... Infiniti cars have always had that ugly bubbly body style.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

That's good, but don't think the 3IS is without flaw. Just the other day during a test drive the navigation restarted mid drive. Another IS, the voice command was non functional, and then of course a good number of them have a laggy application when using Remote Touch.

And 90% of drivers won't even turn them off. This is a win for enthusiasts who can use the Personalized setting in InTouch and tailor the Q50 to the drivers needs. Not offering a feature that disables things like traction and stability control would be the real travesty. 2006 IS is evidence of that hence 2007 allowed for pressing and holding the trac off button to disable traction and stability without some ridiculous pedal dance

Why is it amazing? Styling is subjective and people simply like it or they don't - just like any other car.. Lexus is not the first to make a polarizing design.

Well this is a test of the better "driving" car, so yeah it won. But the bigger engine wins in a straight, the cabin materials are 10 fold better, AND the Q50 offers a sunglass holder. These two cars may be in the same segment, but their goals couldn't be more different. Lexus set out with one goal in mind which was make the "most fun" car to drive, whereas everything from the G could have been improved which it has. Different strokes for different folks

G8rGirl

I am confused every single time someone says the 3IS is "ugly". I absolutely love the styling. It's 90% of the reason I bought the car. I had little interest in Lexus prior to the debut of the 3IS.