AMIRZA786

Today I got to drive a 2020 IS350 F-Sport rwd. I'm pretty impressed by it, it's a huge evolution over my 2010 IS350. It has a much more comfortable interior, better looking dash and gages, and a very refined ride. The engine and transmission feel is so smooth, and power delivery is very seamless. The adaptive dampers are pretty awesome, and you feel the change in the S+ mode. Infotainment system is overly complicated and sucks, but you can see that's not where they are putting their money on.

All that being said, I feel my 2nd Gen is faster, even though this has 5 more hp, S+ mode and revs out to 7K. The reasons are this: the 2020 feels heavier, and the 8 speed auto. You can really tell Lexus tuned this to be more efficient. Reviewers are always complaining that it's not happy unless it's in the 5K rpm range, and I know what they are talking about now. It shifts through all it's gears quickly, at 50 mph your barely above 1K rpms. That's awesome for a smooth quiet cruise on the hwy, but when you need power you have to get it way up there quickly, and this transmission is always thinking "smooth" and "efficient". I really prefer the 6 speed auto, which is way more aggressive. Or I wish they tuned the trans to stay in the first 6 gears up to 60 mph, the extra 2 gears are fine for highway driving. But efficiency is the name of the game, and until they officially downsize and turbocharge the IS350 so it has low end torque (actually they have with the IS300), it is what it is.

So would I own or buy one? Hell yeah, it's still an awesome car and it's refinements are all welcome. I just wouldn't buy one new, I would wait for it to reach 6 to 10 years in its lifecycle. I drive a lot from Northern Cal to SoCal to visit my family, and this would definitely be a more comfortable car to do a long drive. But if I were move from my IS350, I would probably replace it with an LS460. I saw a clean 2014 with 60K, fully loaded for $20K. Especially now that the V8 is gone. Sigh...

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

Now that you've driven the 'older' 2020 IS350 F-Sport, see if you can test drive the refreshed 2021 IS350 F-Sport with the Dynamic handling package. The wider track width, fatter tires, and revised suspension tuning should be a noticeable difference from the previous year model.

AMIRZA786

I definitely will test drive one. The 2020 is a friend's so I had free reign on it. I've seen a few reviews on the 2021 and They all praise the handling and revised looks but still complain about Lexus not upping the power

Zmon

iTrader: (2)

I couldn't really fault them on the power note. We've essentially had the same engine going for 3 generations now, with a minor revision to the FKS in 2018. It would have been nice if the twin turbo V35 from the LS would have made it into the IS, and it's new 10 speed, but they probably would have sold it as an F due to the HP. Sure, I love the 2GR motors because of how stupid simple they are to work on, but they're definitely lagging in this department compared to the competition.

AMIRZA786

For me, it has plenty power. I barely use what it currently has. I've driven a ton of cars with more power and much faster, and frankly I would rather have the reliability. Turbocharging is great, but it feels so artificial to me. BTW, I heard a few reviewers complain that the twin turbo V35 in the new LS is nowhere as good as the 4.6L V8 LOL. Throttle House does a comparison of the 2021 and a 2009 and they love the V8 way over the twin turbo V6