eplugplay

Perhaps its due to the weight differences with the 2nd gen being a bit lighter as well as a 6 speed transmission vs the 8 speed, less gears to hit for faster take off?

As a side story, I have a friend who works at the Honda dealership and I asked him today if he could install the sway bar set in my IS350 over there. His reaction was that he gave a big laugh and was like, do you really need sway bars on your 350 (in a good way)?!? Wow talk about perspectives, lol. :P

chicagoblknazn

I currently own a 2011 IS350 AWD and I sold my IS250 AWD last week. This past Saturday I had a 2014 IS250 AWD and a few weeks ago I was given a 2014 IS350 AWD to drive for a week.

I love my 2011 and when the 2014 was released I couldn't stomach the new design. I hated the front and while sitting in the 2014, I hated the look of the interior. It looked cheap and felt there was too much flat plastic. One of the things I love about the interior of the 2IS is that everything is shaped nicely and organic. I love how simple and minimalistic the interiors are. I don't like clutter and I hate interiors with lights and buttons everywhere. I just want to DRIVE.

I wasn't really impressed with the 3IS until I took it on the road. The car feels so connected to the road. It's responsive and quick and feels solidly planted. The seats were supportive and hugged my frame and my mind began to change. I had a blast driving it. I'm still not sold on the interior but I have grown more fond of the exterior styling. And I like that there is more room in the 3IS. It still had a comfortable ride but definately felt more sportier and handled the way I want a car to handle.

I had my rear sway bar installed on Saturday, which is why I had the 3IS for the day. It handled better than it did before, but it was not the 3IS. So now I am planning on nabbing one within a year. That interior will grow on me I suppose.

eplugplay

I can understand about the exterior, after looking at the images over and over and seeing a few on the road daily, it does grow on you. I'm not upgrading my IS until at least 12 years from now, trying to squeeze 15 years out of this car until the next upgrade and will save cash to buy again but I'm sure the IS, IS-F(RC-F) or whatever version will look totally different by then.

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

I have test driven the 2014 IS350 F Sport in July 2013 when the car was first released to sale in US and I was also invited to the "Lexus fast lane change" event where I can drive multiple cars hard on the autocross including BMW 335i, Benz C, Audi and Lexus IS.

From my honest opinion, the handling is SIGNIFICANTLY improved. Not only does it improve, the handling of the 3rd gen IS SURPASS all other cars in its class, it is even BETTER than the BMW 335i which used to be the industry standard. The 3rd IS is VERY FUN to drive.

Technically, it has the following significant improvement over the 2nd IS:
1. REAL paddle shifter like the ISF, not the fake "gear limiter" in the 2nd gen.
2. Better chassis.
3. Stiffer suspension.
4. 8 speed for smoother cruising.
5. LFA digital cluster. This thing will WOW you!
6. Power ++ mode that stiffen up the suspension and more aggressive shifting. I tried this in autocross and WOWWWW!
7. Very very balanced, way less understeering than the 2nd IS.

The 2nd gen IS350 with F sport spring/shocks/sway bar upgrades probably comes close to the 3rd gen IS350 F Sport 2014.

However, the 3rd IS also has cons:
1. Feel slightly less powerful than the 2nd gen IS. They have same HP on paper but I don't know why the 2nd gen IS seems a bit faster lol.
2. I also feel that the 2nd gen is little bit lighter when accelerate.
May be the 2nd IS has better HP/Weight ratio? These are speculations from my experience.

I almost pull the trigger and trade in my 2nd gen for the 3rd gen IS as I received 1000 gift certificate from the Lexus event. However, they did not offer any discount on the new car back then so I just wait out. I'm saving money for the RCF instead now

On the look, damn, I like both. They are one of its kind in its own class. I prefer the 3rd gen IS for its LFA cluster. I would buy this car just for this feature alone lol. That LFA cluster is just damnnnnn awesome!!!

eplugplay

Man after reading your post, its making me regret my decision! LOL. I could have gotten the 14' IS350 for the same price and could have future proofed myself! Oh well, decisions are always made and alternatives are always compared against them. Still quite happy with the 2nd gen! I can't wait to get the sway bar set installed.

Its funny how things change within a short time span. A year ago the only thing I really wanted in a car is the luxury aspect of the car for comfort and not caring much about handling/performance side of the car. Fast forward a year and now even though I'm quite happy with the luxury aspect of the 350 (smooth comfortable ride), I'm starting to want better handling from a car.

I was recently looking at the Subaru WRX STI and wondered if I should have gotten this instead for the same HP and awesome handling for 10k less than what I paid for the IS350. But I already know that the STI doesn't have as good a reputation in reliability as well as the luxury features/ride quality as the IS 350. Plus I will be driving my car for a very long time and I know ultimately I made the right decision.

What I'm really glad is that my original car of choice was the GS350 (I love its looks and smoother ride) but I'm very glad that I took the IS350 since it was 10k less (comparing both brand new) and that it has the exact same engine.

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

As FSport IS mentioned, look into getting the F-Sport Suspension Accessories package or something equivalent for your 2IS (Shocks, Springs, F&R Sways, Chassis Brace). I've yet to see any 3rd Gen ISx50 F-Sport reviews match the skidpad and slalom recorded from a 2IS equipped with the F-Sport Suspension Accessories package (71 mph for the slalom and 0.89 or 0.90 for lateral grip).

Stock for stock, the 3IS is tuned much better from the factory for confidence inspiring handling than the understeering stock tune of the 2IS.

shadowman

iTrader: (2)

straight line... 2IS is slightly faster because of the weight advantage.

stock vs stock...

But on the race track/ autocross track.... nope. 3IS F-Sport will own a 2IS all day with its dynamic shocks, advanced traction control... it's like the first and only Japanese car that will own a BMW 3 Series on a race track/autocross.

Car & Driver, Road & Track and Automobile Magazines had countless of G37, IS350 vs BMW 335.... all the time BMW 335 won until 3IS shown up to take that crown from BMW. 3IS is that awesome... I think even a non-car magazine, Esquire picked 3IS as the Best Car of The Year which not many Japanese car has that honor.

eplugplay

I just have to remind myself never to drive a 14' IS350 as a loaner! Lol. Well I'm just glad that I've never drove the 14' to know the difference but will eventually end up upgrading to the F-Sport accessories. Plus I'm never tracking my car and its just a daily driver, although I'm sure it is a lot more fun driving the 14' for the handling. At least I have something to look forward to in upgrading for the future!

Mike_1GO

iTrader: (2)

I prefer the 2nd gen for looks and the quality of the materials. the dash and center stack in the 3rd gen looks cheap. the front end of the 3rd gen looks good but the rear end (bumper and tail lights) looks hideous. if the black plastic lower portion of the 3rd gen rear bumper were painted body color, that would look more appealing imo.

eplugplay

This! I have the exact same feeling. The front grill is what I disliked the most from the car initially due to the giant Nike led lights that they've moved down but it does grow on you after a while.

But I feel exactly the same about the back black plastic portion for the rear bumper, it makes it look so cheap and not nearly as clean as the 2nd gen IS! Especially the exhaust tips positioning under the black piece of plastic in the back doesn't give me that same happy feeling factor as well. I guess you could always get a new rear bumper from aftermarket kits?

Mike_1GO

iTrader: (2)

Yup, I didn't like the front bumper when it first came out either but it did grow on me especially seeing it grafted onto a 2nd gen IS makes it look even better

IS350AWD

Though the exterior of the 3IS has grown on me a little bit and handling is the primary improvement over the 2IS, my main gripes of the 3IS are:

The interior is still far inferior to the 2IS and the competition. It looks like 3 different engineers made separate plans, then decided to mix them together...resulting in a very disorganized and blocky look. Fail.

Also, the new mouse vs. the touchscreen. Why get rid of an control device that allows faster and more precise command of the NAV screen? The iDrive and MMI are easier to use since there is no "gap space" when navigating from one command to another. Fail.

Plus, the lack of a new powertrain as everybody else has mentioned is interesting. The 3.5L is very good, but in a complete refresh into the 3IS, it should be obvious to at least improve the current engine to give a bit more power from the previous generation. 3IS went backwards due to the higher weight, making it slower than the 2IS.

My 2 cents.

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

No matter what the offset is, the LFA digital cluster, the significant improvement in suspension, the real paddle shifter, the FUN TO DRIVE factor will outweigh many other factors. This 3rd gen IS really deserves some props, seriously. They have done it right especially the handling improvement!

Many of the cons are very very minor.
1. Dislike of the front bumper. Hey, this is purely subjective. As much as some of you hate it, there are also a lot who LIKE it sooooo muchhhhhh. Look at some of the members convert their 2nd IS front bumper into the 3rd IS front bumper. Result: ILLESTLYYYYY SICKKKK as hell. Lexus goes unconventionally aggressive here on the look and I personally like it.

2. Interior design. Some hates while some like. Even though I prefer the 2nd gen interior but the 3rd gen IS interior is still better than some other cars. Now this is very subjective and all based on personal preference.

3. Straight line acceleration is slightly slower. This is very very minor. May be just 0.01-0.05 second difference in 1/4 mile drag race. However, if you put the 2nd IS and the 3rd IS on the track/autocross, the 3rd IS will KILLLLLLL it, period just like shadowman has mentioned

Note: all comparison is directly between 2nd IS350 F Sport and 3rd IS350 F Sport.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

rear diff gearing is less aggressive than the 2IS one reason its slower than the 2IS. In spite of this the 3IS is far superior, handling, chassic stiffness, interior, F Sport gauges, seating, steering backseat space, F sport seats, 8 speed transmission, transmission logic, steering feel, ride quality, lower road noise, are all better in the 3IS. I had the 06 and its way more nanny and horrid transmission logic, seats feel 2" higher, no support, stiffer ride and handles worse.

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

Lexus had the perfect storm going for them with the handling improvements made to the 3IS F-Sport over the factory 2IS F-Sport (which was mostly a cosmetic upgrade rather than a performance handling upgrade) as well as BMW royally screwing up the handling and steering feel of their latest generation 3 series (newer F30 compared to the previous E90).