salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

Hi Lexus forum members,

This is my first post and I hope that I will become an active member in the near future and will share my experience regarding the newly purchased 2014 IS 350 F Sport RWD. Now let me give a bit of background about my situation.

I am a very active member at audi world forum as I currently own 2012 Audi A6 3.0T with prestige package. The car is a blast to drive. It has perhaps the best power train in the class. The exterior styling and LED headlights as well as interior are top notch. The problem with Audi, or may be I am not lucky, is I have had a lot of problems in two just years of ownership. Too many electrical issues (e.g. back up camera, some modules, etc), thermostat etc. So Audi of America has agreed to repurchase it back under lemon law. Despite my genuine love toward this brand I just seriously doubt about the long term reliability and as a result I want to jump to Lexus.

I recently test drove 2014 GS 350 F Sport and IS 350 F Sport. I found GS over to be a better car overall but IS is being a lot more nimble and toss able. Even though GS is in the same class as A6 I am leaning toward IS for two reasons. 1 - more nimble and has better handling. 2 - noticeably cheaper.

Now after Audi the power and torque of Lexus seems a bit disappointing. The powers comes at higher range of RPM so the low end torque is just not enough. Only this for now is the drawback that I noticed. Otherwise the chassis, the handling, the exhaust note (even if it comes via acoustics) are awesome. Most importantly the overall value of Lexus (price, quality and reliability) seems to be unbeatable in the current market.

I understand that this a Lexus forum but I would really prefer to hear more unbiased opinions, experiences of Lexus 3rd generation IS 350 F-Sport. What made you choose this car? Why not Audi S4 or BMW 335? Other than indisputable reliability advantage of Lexus, were there other reasons why you chose IS 350?

Thanks in advance,
Sal

hushero

Welcome to the forum Sal. I'm new too here :-) I liked your post a lot since am in the same situation. I was driving 2012 BMW 335 Xdrive, 535Xdrive and the new 2014 MercedesBenz E350 4Matic. Then I saw this aggressive looking and high tech Lexus IS. So I have put my deposit for it and still waiting to be available in my local dealer.

I still feel weak whenever I see a BMW 3 series, 5 series or the new MercedesBenz E350. Then I remind my self about the reputation of Lexus as it will be good for money to sell any time, peace of mind in terms of any unexpected issues, reliability, patient on rough driving on one of those bad days we may have hahaha etc...all about quality, quality and quality (quality=reliability)

I want to shut BMW and Mercedes owners mouth up whenever they underestimate Lexus cars too

I'm sharing my thoughts and want more answers for the same brilliant question you just asked

Thanks,

Al

Celsius

iTrader: (1)

I love the IS350 Fsport, get it! except fot the mouse controller **** thingy and cup holder placement....lol

splat0023

I can live with the mouse and the cup holder i just really hate there is no sun glass holder by the sunroof lol .

Slust

Really hate how this forum times out. Will have to re-type what I said now though I'm sure I will forget some things.


I test drove quite a few cars that I loved before deciding to go with the IS 350 F-Sport (though mine is on order) such as the BMW 335i, the BMW 328i the Audi S4 as well as the Mercedes E350. I really wanted to test drive a C350 but none here locally. I also wanted to test drive the Cadillac ATS but didn't get around to it. Though I still plan to.


AUDI S4
Two words - SPEED BEAST! No other car in my test drives WOW'd me as much as the S4 in pure raw speed. Nothing. I don't believe its rated horse power. I might be seeing power loss on the other cars due to the thin air of the mile high elevation giving cars with superchargers an edge. Whatever, this car is lightning fast. In this area there wouldn't be many things faster and if they were, they would be few. I also loved how the car felt like it was giving me its all. It just seemed to say, "Here, have all of me."

I liked the interior too. It just screamed "single man out on the town experiencing the night life". It wasn't best interior but I liked it. There was wonkyness with how you work the displays and settings as such ...a lot of those buttons could be reduced to reduce clutter. Overall that is a minor gripe and not one I spent much thought on.

What I didn't like was the handling. It wasn't tight at all. Too much play. With that kind of speed I wanted something I could rely on and this car felt like it could get me into trouble the second I don't give it enough attention. I really did not like the weight distribution of the car.

The other big thing I didn't like was the price. So expensive and there is just no way I'm settling with a base model. I also hear the maintenance costs are expensive but I suppose it is unfair of me to whine about that without knowing first hand. It is probably also unfair of me to say this but to go along with your story I hear electronics are just not reliable. I commonly hear Germans are great with mechanics but suck with electronics. Placement of many of the settings in the S4's UI also seemed a little wonky for me, almost like it felt as if it were an after thought ...but I'm also more of a tech nerd than a gearhead.

Great car but it felt as though if I were picking this car it would be for its pure raw speed and I wanted more.



BMW 335i (2011 and 2013) and 2014 328i

The 335i was fast but no where near as thrilling as the S4. It was firmly in between the S4 and the 350 F-Sport with it being closer to the S4. So the engine didn't wow but was very solid, just like what I expected of a BMW.

So I expected the BMWs to lead the pack in handling. The 2011 335i I believe was the last year the 335i used a hydraulic steering wheel because it was very stiff especially at low speeds. I'm not a purist so to be honest it kind of drove me nuts, especially in the parking lot. Was great at higher speeds though as I felt more connected to the road. Buuut, it was a base model so that is literally all this 335i had going for it. I test drove a 2013 335i (premium package) since there were no 2014s on the lot - next one comes on the 11th. It felt firm and technical but it was quite clear of a departure from the 2011. Outside of the firm and technical feeling it didn't really impress me. It was almost like a Uni professor. What he says is correct but most likely he isn't making you excited. That is how the handling felt to me

The 2014 328i felt more numb than the 2013 335i but at least it felt very nimble and precise. I actually found it more fun because of this. It had the Sport Package so the interior spoke more to me and looked like something I could call home. It wasn't impressive but what it did it did right. This car ranked pretty high on my list surprisingly enough. The problem I had with this car was the price. It had almost all the same features as the Lexus IS 350 F-Sport though still lacked a couple like Blind Spot Monitoring. The parking assist is far nicer in the BMW though! This 328i had an MSRP of $46+k and despite not wanting to haggle they said they could let it go for 1.2-1.5k less ...so $45k. The first F-Sport price I got (no ML sound system) was $44.4k. So when you compare the powertrain and features the BMW 328i all of sudden lost ground. What really messed with my head is that the 328i should be competing with the IS 250, not the IS 350 F-Sport.

And that was the biggest problem I had with BMW in general. Their stuff is just too expensive. Supposedly the IS 350 should be competing with a 335i but a comparable 335i would cost you around $58-61k. On top of that the ONLY 335i this dealership is planning to see in their system is Silver with some features I don't want to pay for and missing other features I want. Shipping is not cheap nor very timely. On top of that they do not offer a loaner car while you wait for your car to come in. The Lexus dealership offered a loaner before I even asked.

There were too many give and takes with BMW. It felt like they rely too much on their name. Many companies get branded for charging too much for their name. BMW is up there.



Lexus IS 350 F-Sport

The speed is nice. I think it's what I've always wanted and good for day to day use though it's obviously a let down after driving an Audi S4 and even the 335i. Though the 335i wasn't fast enough to make me think the Lexus was "too slow". It was just faster than the Lexus, that's it.

The handling is great. Now I hear the Cadillac gets all the glowing reviews but since I did not drive that yet I will say the F-Sport was the best in the cars I drove. It felt nimble and well planted. It was firm but still had that cush factor you expect of a Lexus. It didn't communicate with me but it became more alive switching to Sport and even more so going to Sport + mode. So while it didn't have that telepathic bond a German car driver would probably want it had lot of personality. And quite frankly the newer 2013/2014 BMWs didn't talk nor have personality. So the Lexus won me over here.

I can't say the handling "wow'd" me but I can absolutely say the interior WOW'd me! I love the interior. It's a technological beast. Sure it doesn't have the two screen display the Infiniti Q50 has or that posh manly look the Audi and BMW have it places the menu options in easier to find places. I found more things to customize in the Lexus than the other cars as I got pretty bored with their systems fairly quickly. Also that LFA tachometer is just pure awesomeness. And the seats were so welcoming. That is what I want from a Sports Sedan seat. The cockpit isn't without some gripes though. Not a fan of the analog clock. In fact I hate it. The rest of the cockpit is so futuristic looking compared to the competition they really shouldn't have pushed for the luxury feel with an analog clock. At the very least they should have included a digital clock on at least one display. Why they couldn't have done that just drives me up the wall. Also I think the BMW does that slight touch turn signal stalk thing better. The Lexus one feels like I could inadvertently tell it to go the wrong direction when trying to turn it off. I've heard a lot complain about the cupholders but I didn't notice that in my test drive so that may bug me when I actually own it. Also no sunglass holder but I only kept my spare in that thing. I like to keep the ones I care about in a case. Outside of those gripes the interior of the Lexus wins me over with the Mercedes E350 being an easy but not as cool 2nd.

What really won me over with the Lexus is how many things it does right in addition to great options for a very affordable price. It just simply blows BMW, Mercedes and Audi out of the water in terms of what you get for the price. A lot of cheaper car companies are becoming very attractive with their option package for even cheaper price, but when you step into a Lexus and see the high quality material, nice stitch work, great handling and high level of craftsmanship you know you got something tangible for your money. You would have to find a bitter fanboy or someone used to $80k cars to not be impressed with the new F-Sport interior ...even with the gripes I listed above.


Sadly people will still look down on it because many are stuck in the 90s and still think a Lexus is a re-badged Toyota and it doesn't have that straight line speed many expect for the sports sedan. Audi had to fight that image a long time ago and look at it now. Right now that viewpoint actually helps us consumers out. It's making Lexus be competitive.

drizzo77

Here is a comparison by Road & Track comparing the cars in this class. I mostly went with Lexus for the reliability and the fact that they have completely outdone themselves with this new model, whereas Audi and BMW just keep doing more of the same. I love Audi for one but I've seen the same kind of styling on their car models for like a decade now.

Edit: forgot to post the link: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-revi...n-65-3-roa1013

po1qw

iTrader: (2)

^ hella good review post here more often man!

CtSFox

OP, the post by SLUST is all you need to read. SLUST did such a thorough and, IMHO, accurate compare and contrast among the vehicles that I really don't have much to add. I will just say that the IS 350 F Sport is just much more fun to drive than the current (f30) BMW 335i. I am coming from a previous generation 3 series (e46) and find the Lexus provides a driving experience much closer to that car than BMW's current offering. Also, I prefer the power delivery provided by the normally aspirated 3IS to that experienced driving a turbocharged vehicle.

WWM

I went with the IS350 for a few reasons. The F-Sport interior and especially the digital instrument cluster was the thing that first attracted me to the car. The Lexus reliability made it a good candidate for a long term keeper car. The typically high resale value also makes it a good candidate to trade in should something else catch my eye. And what really sold me on it was the handling that so much of the car press was raving about.

So the car was attractive on its own, but the resale value and reliability gives flexibility for the future. I'm probably going to get a BMW M235i next year or the year after, and the strong resale value makes that a reasonable option. But it's nice knowing I have something I can reliably keep forever if I don't decide to get something else.

JDR76

Agree with what the others have posted. I opted for a 350 AWD non-F Sport. I chose it over the 3 series because I hated the run flats and was worried about durability/reliability. Mostly, though, I've always been a huge fan of Lexus. I've wanted an IS for years, but always found the rear seat to be too small (I have a kid). With the current redesign, my one issue with the car was resolved. I freaking love this car.

KumaF

I agree with all your comments and observations. The single most important thing that made me go for IS350 over 335i was the feeling when I am behind the wheel. In the 3IS I felt that I know a lot more of what the car is doing, and the car responds to my driving inputs in a clear and crisp way where the 335i simply lacks.

redcupr

I was about to place an order on a 2014 Audi S4 in July. Loved the car, still love it. But the local Lexus dealer had just received a couple IS350 F-Sports, so I figured I'd go see the car in person (didn't really like the car in the photos).

Once I saw the IS in person I started changing my mind. Sitting in the car convinced me it was the right one to buy. The interior is so much better than the S4 for me. The seats are absolutely perfect, the instrument cluster is the greatest gadget in any car, and I love how the care wraps around you.

The S4 has more power, but where are you going to use it? The IS has the power, but it takes some time in the car to learn where the power is and how to get to it. I've had the car five months and can make the car do just about anything I want, both acceleration-wise and handling-wise. The S4 felt like too much car on the occasions that I drove it.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

the 3IS does look a lot better in person, real aggressive

CtSFox

REDCUPR, what have you learned about how to get the power on the 3IS?

redcupr

Primarily it's the rate at which you move the accelerator. If I want just smooth acceleration, such as coming out of a corner, pushing it to the floor at an even rate will get you going without any dramatics. It will drop one gear (usually) and pull all the way up to redline.

Moving the accelerator quickly (not even flooring it) will drop the tranny two gears where you get the "acceleration hit" on the six speed cars. This morning on the way in to work for example, on the freeway moving about 50 mph, the traffic in front of me cleared out, quickly put the pedal down about 3/4 of the way, the car immediately dropped to third gear and I was up to 80 in no time.

Doing that in a corner would kick in the stability control (I assume), hence moving the accelerator at a smoother rate in a corner allows you to get the power you want without the need to change your pants.

One other thing I've noticed compared to the S4. The IS seems happiest up above 4000rpm, the S4 has the grunt in a wider range of engine speeds, so keeping the revs up on the IS is more important.