Very positive article on 3IS 250
01-01-14, 02:29 PM
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
01-01-14, 04:37 PM
#2
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Very well written….for those that don't know TTAC is one HARDCORE site that will beat the crap out of a car. They don't hold back so this is amazing to read. They are fair too, their LFA behind the scenes write-up was amazing. The editor Jack Barruth is a great guy.
I then go to the comments and its like most places, I honestly don't think most people drive cars other than their own (if they even OWN a car) and bash based on preconceived notions. There are some really off the wall comments there about the IS and Lexus in general. I think a lot of sites would be better off with no Comments after the review.
Oh well, owners know the great car they have
This comment hit the nail on the head
It’s happened, all in a neat confluence of threes. By my decree, the third generation of the Lexus IS has surpassed the BMW 3 Series. While BMW has been busying itself creating niches for increasingly grotesque vehicle-type-things, Lexus has turned out a pair of legitimately great sports sedans, first in the GS and now in the new 2014 IS. This from a company who’s top sellers are Camry cousins.
After spending a week with the 2014 Lexus IS250 AWD it took me another couple weeks to shut up about it. That rarely happens, and when it does, it means that the car is simply fantastic. You’re probably all incredulous now, especially since this isn’t even the F Sport version with its stiffened suspension tune. This IS should be the least exciting of all, except it’s not.
There’s something about the way this car is pieced together and highly burnished that transcends the tiny 2.5 liter V6 and its equally-tiny 204 hp, not to mention the even-tinier 184 lb-ft of torque. A base-model Chevrolet Malibu has 10 more lb-ft and nearly as much horsepower from a four cylinder. A six-speed automatic, even with paddle shifters, pales in comparison to the eight- and nine-speed proliferation, and the IS has alway
After spending a week with the 2014 Lexus IS250 AWD it took me another couple weeks to shut up about it. That rarely happens, and when it does, it means that the car is simply fantastic. You’re probably all incredulous now, especially since this isn’t even the F Sport version with its stiffened suspension tune. This IS should be the least exciting of all, except it’s not.
There’s something about the way this car is pieced together and highly burnished that transcends the tiny 2.5 liter V6 and its equally-tiny 204 hp, not to mention the even-tinier 184 lb-ft of torque. A base-model Chevrolet Malibu has 10 more lb-ft and nearly as much horsepower from a four cylinder. A six-speed automatic, even with paddle shifters, pales in comparison to the eight- and nine-speed proliferation, and the IS has alway
Oh well, owners know the great car they have
This comment hit the nail on the head
Power6
January 1st, 2014 at 11:35 am
WOW, never has so much that is wrong with journalism and the Internet been rolled into one article and comments.
Journalists must toe the line. Lexus must be declared boring, BMW has the best suspension tuning on the planet. Lexus cannot possibly turn out a nice interior, or pick a nice suspension tuning for sporty driving. If such a thing is suggested, the author must clearly be some sort of fanboi.
Commenters have their conclusions already and are not open minded. I guess you learn from our political climate. Facts are cherry picked to support assumed conclusions.
This stuff is not really TTACs fault, just too bad this was a nicer commenting place before the religious pro-euro, anti-euro, anti-asian, etc factions formed. Some of you make the same comments all the time, you really have that much time? you know your repetitive drivel will just be forgotten tomorrow under the pile of new posts and you will still suck at critical thinking, rinse repeat etc.
Some of my friends have been privately trading rental car “reviews” since we drove the Maserati and a Camaro SS out of LAX and another one of us rented the GT-R out of Dulles among many others. Guess what, to us regular guys the GT-R is not “fast but clinical” or “like a video game” it’s just freaking bad-*** mechanical stuff that whoops a Ferrari motor C Sport Maser in just about every way though they are both awesome. But you can’t publish that on the Internet. The Journalists have decided the conclusions already and the lemming bench racers must follow else lose credibility.
I have owned a lot of comparison test “losers” and “boring” cars and “wrong wheel drive” ones, many of them very nice cars but the journalist wanna-be’s would never know it.
Anyways, interesting in the time of extra flabbiness being designed into the BMW and Audi, Lexus has tightened up the IS and the euro-boys can’t handle it. Looks like the enthusiasts choice these days is the Caddy or the Lex, whoulda thunk it? Matt Farah called the F-sport IS350 the best under 60k sport sedan he drove last year. Huge Lexus fanboi that Farah fella!
January 1st, 2014 at 11:35 am
WOW, never has so much that is wrong with journalism and the Internet been rolled into one article and comments.
Journalists must toe the line. Lexus must be declared boring, BMW has the best suspension tuning on the planet. Lexus cannot possibly turn out a nice interior, or pick a nice suspension tuning for sporty driving. If such a thing is suggested, the author must clearly be some sort of fanboi.
Commenters have their conclusions already and are not open minded. I guess you learn from our political climate. Facts are cherry picked to support assumed conclusions.
This stuff is not really TTACs fault, just too bad this was a nicer commenting place before the religious pro-euro, anti-euro, anti-asian, etc factions formed. Some of you make the same comments all the time, you really have that much time? you know your repetitive drivel will just be forgotten tomorrow under the pile of new posts and you will still suck at critical thinking, rinse repeat etc.
Some of my friends have been privately trading rental car “reviews” since we drove the Maserati and a Camaro SS out of LAX and another one of us rented the GT-R out of Dulles among many others. Guess what, to us regular guys the GT-R is not “fast but clinical” or “like a video game” it’s just freaking bad-*** mechanical stuff that whoops a Ferrari motor C Sport Maser in just about every way though they are both awesome. But you can’t publish that on the Internet. The Journalists have decided the conclusions already and the lemming bench racers must follow else lose credibility.
I have owned a lot of comparison test “losers” and “boring” cars and “wrong wheel drive” ones, many of them very nice cars but the journalist wanna-be’s would never know it.
Anyways, interesting in the time of extra flabbiness being designed into the BMW and Audi, Lexus has tightened up the IS and the euro-boys can’t handle it. Looks like the enthusiasts choice these days is the Caddy or the Lex, whoulda thunk it? Matt Farah called the F-sport IS350 the best under 60k sport sedan he drove last year. Huge Lexus fanboi that Farah fella!
Last edited by LexFather; 01-01-14 at 04:42 PM.
01-01-14, 04:53 PM
#3
The pursuit of F
Thanks for the TTAC article. Great comments above.
This excerpt sums up precisely my sentiments on my 250 AWD.
"If you’re looking to be astounded in 2014, take a 2014 Lexus IS for a spin. Start with the 250. I promise it’s all I’ve cracked it up to be. To use another tired-*** hack autowriter phrase, the 2014 IS 250 AWD is truly a Goldilocks car. It’s always entertaining, it has AWD for crappy weather (probably only actually useful when paired with winter tires), it’s a high-quality car that’s very comfortable and highly composed, and even with the small V6, it’s confident and assertive on the road, if not outright speedy.
Here’s the highest praise I can give a car: I would buy this. That’s right. If I had $45K to spend on a car, the 2014 Lexus IS 250 AWD would be a purchase I’d happily make. Now you know the secret of what the car pundit would drive if this industry paid as handsomely as we wish it did."
This excerpt sums up precisely my sentiments on my 250 AWD.
"If you’re looking to be astounded in 2014, take a 2014 Lexus IS for a spin. Start with the 250. I promise it’s all I’ve cracked it up to be. To use another tired-*** hack autowriter phrase, the 2014 IS 250 AWD is truly a Goldilocks car. It’s always entertaining, it has AWD for crappy weather (probably only actually useful when paired with winter tires), it’s a high-quality car that’s very comfortable and highly composed, and even with the small V6, it’s confident and assertive on the road, if not outright speedy.
Here’s the highest praise I can give a car: I would buy this. That’s right. If I had $45K to spend on a car, the 2014 Lexus IS 250 AWD would be a purchase I’d happily make. Now you know the secret of what the car pundit would drive if this industry paid as handsomely as we wish it did."
01-01-14, 06:40 PM
#4
TTAC totally gets why we love the 3IS. Matt Farah and TST understand market realities -
"I don’t know what you’d have to do to an IS to hit $60,000, but I wouldn’t do any of that. $60,000 is way too much for any car in this class, including the BMW 335i and Audi S4."
"I think it’s better to drive than a 335i, which I didn’t like very much. I also am not a huge fan of the non-AMG C-Class. Assuming it comes out to around $52,000, it’s a better performance value than a 335i, and faster than a 328i, which I did like very much. It has its own style, that straddles the line in between C-Class comfort and 3-series performance, and if it undercuts the 335i’s price, then it’s a winner."
http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2013/e...is350-f-sport/
In his video he says that if it comes in under 50K it'll be a winner. Lexus came in under 50K for the IS.
Hence missing options here in America.. All the money went into the driving, welding, and extra length material. Americans will not pay 60K for an IS. I was at my dealership yesterday and saw the GS F-sport with the missing options came in at 58K. Americans equate the size of the car with status. The IS is not a status size. Sat in the GS, IS-F, and ES. The GS interior has all of the soft touch plastic anyone would want. However, the seats felt really wide -- like they're designed for spreading middle age fannies. After owning a 3IS for 7 months -- I don't think I'd like to have to lean and reach for buttons, etc. But everyone has preferences and each car is designed for a specific psychographic.
"I don’t know what you’d have to do to an IS to hit $60,000, but I wouldn’t do any of that. $60,000 is way too much for any car in this class, including the BMW 335i and Audi S4."
"I think it’s better to drive than a 335i, which I didn’t like very much. I also am not a huge fan of the non-AMG C-Class. Assuming it comes out to around $52,000, it’s a better performance value than a 335i, and faster than a 328i, which I did like very much. It has its own style, that straddles the line in between C-Class comfort and 3-series performance, and if it undercuts the 335i’s price, then it’s a winner."
http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2013/e...is350-f-sport/
In his video he says that if it comes in under 50K it'll be a winner. Lexus came in under 50K for the IS.
Hence missing options here in America.. All the money went into the driving, welding, and extra length material. Americans will not pay 60K for an IS. I was at my dealership yesterday and saw the GS F-sport with the missing options came in at 58K. Americans equate the size of the car with status. The IS is not a status size. Sat in the GS, IS-F, and ES. The GS interior has all of the soft touch plastic anyone would want. However, the seats felt really wide -- like they're designed for spreading middle age fannies. After owning a 3IS for 7 months -- I don't think I'd like to have to lean and reach for buttons, etc. But everyone has preferences and each car is designed for a specific psychographic.
Last edited by Glashub; 01-01-14 at 06:51 PM.
01-02-14, 02:55 AM
#6
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
TTAC totally gets why we love the 3IS. Matt Farah and TST understand market realities -
"I don’t know what you’d have to do to an IS to hit $60,000, but I wouldn’t do any of that. $60,000 is way too much for any car in this class, including the BMW 335i and Audi S4."
"I think it’s better to drive than a 335i, which I didn’t like very much. I also am not a huge fan of the non-AMG C-Class. Assuming it comes out to around $52,000, it’s a better performance value than a 335i, and faster than a 328i, which I did like very much. It has its own style, that straddles the line in between C-Class comfort and 3-series performance, and if it undercuts the 335i’s price, then it’s a winner."
http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2013/e...is350-f-sport/
In his video he says that if it comes in under 50K it'll be a winner. Lexus came in under 50K for the IS.
Hence missing options here in America.. All the money went into the driving, welding, and extra length material. Americans will not pay 60K for an IS. I was at my dealership yesterday and saw the GS F-sport with the missing options came in at 58K. Americans equate the size of the car with status. The IS is not a status size. Sat in the GS, IS-F, and ES. The GS interior has all of the soft touch plastic anyone would want. However, the seats felt really wide -- like they're designed for spreading middle age fannies. After owning a 3IS for 7 months -- I don't think I'd like to have to lean and reach for buttons, etc. But everyone has preferences and each car is designed for a specific psychographic.
"I don’t know what you’d have to do to an IS to hit $60,000, but I wouldn’t do any of that. $60,000 is way too much for any car in this class, including the BMW 335i and Audi S4."
"I think it’s better to drive than a 335i, which I didn’t like very much. I also am not a huge fan of the non-AMG C-Class. Assuming it comes out to around $52,000, it’s a better performance value than a 335i, and faster than a 328i, which I did like very much. It has its own style, that straddles the line in between C-Class comfort and 3-series performance, and if it undercuts the 335i’s price, then it’s a winner."
http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2013/e...is350-f-sport/
In his video he says that if it comes in under 50K it'll be a winner. Lexus came in under 50K for the IS.
Hence missing options here in America.. All the money went into the driving, welding, and extra length material. Americans will not pay 60K for an IS. I was at my dealership yesterday and saw the GS F-sport with the missing options came in at 58K. Americans equate the size of the car with status. The IS is not a status size. Sat in the GS, IS-F, and ES. The GS interior has all of the soft touch plastic anyone would want. However, the seats felt really wide -- like they're designed for spreading middle age fannies. After owning a 3IS for 7 months -- I don't think I'd like to have to lean and reach for buttons, etc. But everyone has preferences and each car is designed for a specific psychographic.
01-02-14, 06:07 AM
#7
Power6's comments are right on point, and thanks for sharing that LexFather. What boggles my mind is 99.9% of the general public and car enthusiasts alike may have owned a few cars in their lifetime, test driven a couple when the time came to purchase a new vehicle, but as soon as they find something they like, the consumer will research as much info about their potential new car, hold the positives under their belt, and start firing negativity about other models and brands just to reassure themselves that the car they preferred is the powerhouse, the *****, the BLT w/ the cheese please!
It annoys the hell out of me that these people cannot be open minded, and with that regard, they have no right to say anything because they don't want to drive anything else beyond their "fanboi" heritage in one specific brand. how can you knock on a car when you haven't even driven it??? when you haven't even test driven enough other cars to call yourself a real critic? that's why i respect the reviews and writeups, good or bad, of credible organizations, C&D, R&T, MT, AM, just to name a few. that recent article from CR was plain bs.. nothing more than a database compilation of the general public's complaints and comments stirred in with some editor's bad day rants. in a magazine forum, one member said it best when stating "Consumer Reports is trash. I wouldn't recommend their advice even to my worst enemy. That magazine isn't worthy of wiping the crap off my ***."
It annoys the hell out of me that these people cannot be open minded, and with that regard, they have no right to say anything because they don't want to drive anything else beyond their "fanboi" heritage in one specific brand. how can you knock on a car when you haven't even driven it??? when you haven't even test driven enough other cars to call yourself a real critic? that's why i respect the reviews and writeups, good or bad, of credible organizations, C&D, R&T, MT, AM, just to name a few. that recent article from CR was plain bs.. nothing more than a database compilation of the general public's complaints and comments stirred in with some editor's bad day rants. in a magazine forum, one member said it best when stating "Consumer Reports is trash. I wouldn't recommend their advice even to my worst enemy. That magazine isn't worthy of wiping the crap off my ***."
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01-02-14, 06:45 AM
#8
Auto manufacturers = 8% average margin.
Electronics = 10%-15% average margin.
Shoes, clothes = 33%-40% average margin.
Some industries realize a 50% + average margin.
8% margin doesn't give a manufacturer much wiggle room as each bolt, nut, switch, wire, etc. costs money that would be cut from the margin or passed on to the consumer. So with 8% margin and with a full awareness that the car will on be a "value" if less than 50K -- Lexus is between a rock and a hard place. Hence missing options -- or the alternative might be to do what MB did in the 90's -- use cheaper glues, welding material i.e. cheapen what can't be seen so that it can maintain a margin and price point. But that wouldn't make sense because most of the Lexus brand equity is invested in reliability.
I know there are those who say they'd pay 55K to 60K for an IS but when push comes to shove -- really? And most Americans won't as my experience as a businessman is that most Americans look for value. The 3IS is an outstanding value as a 250 or a 350 when one looks at the car the way TTAC did.
Last edited by Glashub; 01-02-14 at 06:55 AM.
01-02-14, 03:22 PM
#9
Thanks! I invested too much time over the months trying to get some people to understand why the IS is what it is from an economic and targeted audience perspective. Bottom line:
Auto manufacturers = 8% average margin.
Electronics = 10%-15% average margin.
Shoes, clothes = 33%-40% average margin.
Some industries realize a 50% + average margin.
8% margin doesn't give a manufacturer much wiggle room as each bolt, nut, switch, wire, etc. costs money that would be cut from the margin or passed on to the consumer. So with 8% margin and with a full awareness that the car will on be a "value" if less than 50K -- Lexus is between a rock and a hard place. Hence missing options -- or the alternative might be to do what MB did in the 90's -- use cheaper glues, welding material i.e. cheapen what can't be seen so that it can maintain a margin and price point. But that wouldn't make sense because most of the Lexus brand equity is invested in reliability.
I know there are those who say they'd pay 55K to 60K for an IS but when push comes to shove -- really? And most Americans won't as my experience as a businessman is that most Americans look for value. The 3IS is an outstanding value as a 250 or a 350 when one looks at the car the way TTAC did.
Auto manufacturers = 8% average margin.
Electronics = 10%-15% average margin.
Shoes, clothes = 33%-40% average margin.
Some industries realize a 50% + average margin.
8% margin doesn't give a manufacturer much wiggle room as each bolt, nut, switch, wire, etc. costs money that would be cut from the margin or passed on to the consumer. So with 8% margin and with a full awareness that the car will on be a "value" if less than 50K -- Lexus is between a rock and a hard place. Hence missing options -- or the alternative might be to do what MB did in the 90's -- use cheaper glues, welding material i.e. cheapen what can't be seen so that it can maintain a margin and price point. But that wouldn't make sense because most of the Lexus brand equity is invested in reliability.
I know there are those who say they'd pay 55K to 60K for an IS but when push comes to shove -- really? And most Americans won't as my experience as a businessman is that most Americans look for value. The 3IS is an outstanding value as a 250 or a 350 when one looks at the car the way TTAC did.
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