JDR76

I opted for AWD specifically because of the rain. Frankly, I got tired of sitting at stop lights on hills, then spinning my tires when starting off. Same goes for a hard right turn I have to make every morning onto a busy road with a 50 mph speed limit. You don't have to go WOT, but you need to be pretty liberal with the gas and I was always spinning my tires there.

It all depends on your specific driving conditions. That's the great thing about choices.

viNz86

A bit late to reading your thread, but I just wanted to let you know that yesterday (March 31st) I found out that the incentives will carry forward to April which I confirmed when I logged into Lexus.ca this morning.

Good luck with your choice.

thegrey

thank you guys, great input. Those of you with AWD vehicles, what is your real life fuel consumption? Carderoni, do you know how RWD and AWD compare in terms of real fuel comsumption?

Thank you guys in advance.

carderoni

After 5,000 miles I was averaging 20.9mpg in the AWD car. After 1,700 miles in the RWD car I'm averaging 21.7mpg. Probably a 60/40 city/highway split with the caveat that some cars improve their mileage a bit after the first 2 or 3 thousand miles, which seemed to be true with the AWD car but has yet to be proven with the RWD car.

Edit - Same commute with both cars, of course. Same break-in practice as well (baby it until 1,000 then install fresh oil, RS-R Ran Up, Joe Z intake).

thegrey

Thank you, Carderoni. For some reason, i thought it would be more difference between the AWD and RWD car in terms of fuel consumption. That is not bad at all, it is well within the stated difference based on the EPA numbers.

thegrey

Hi Carderoni - are you happier with the RWD than the AWD you had before? Did you regret the switch at any time?

carderoni

I'm generally happier with the RWD model - it feels better off the line, manual shifting is crisper and, to be honest, it's really the most "pure" expression of a sporty 3IS. There are some things about the AWD car that I miss, though, primarily the fact that in Sport/Sport+ mode the transmission will shift into top gear on its own, which the 8 speed doesn't do. It was also nice to be able to drive a shiny new Lexus on snowy days instead of a Hyundai Tucson, but a set of winter tires should mostly fix that (but I don't have to deal with Canadian winters).

thegrey

Thank you, carderoni

thegrey

Thank you for the info, i checked too Tuesday afternoon and saw that things stayed the same for this month.

Newpatriot

had the worst winter here in Winnipeg. awd is a must have especially on icy roads and snowy roads. current setup is with Michelin x ice tires. had the stock tires on until December but decide to put winter tires on after stock tires failed to grip on lightly covered snow and ice roads.

Aeromotive

It all boils down to how quick your streets are cleared. In Montreal we just had our worst winters in years, literally. However streets and highways are cleared within hours. For someone who drives consistently in snow and ice, for example in rural regions, I would consider AWD. But in cities RWD + snow tires looks adequate.

thegrey

Hello everyone,

I have very much appreciated your advice on this topic. I had finally ordered yesterday an IS 350 F sport premium package in nebula grey pearl with the Rioja red interior RWD. The car is going to arrive in approx. 10-12 weeks. I should be ok with winter tires plus I live very close and usually walk to work, so I can avoid driving if I need to. Also, we have a Kia Rondo FWD as a family vehicle, so I can impose on my wife to use that if I need to.
Also, I am buying this car because of its handling and driving prowess and power (i.e. I am not an A to B type), so I figured go big or go home. I went with RWD. This is it

Alant514

I live in Utah and the snow can get pretty bad over here. I went ahead and got the AWD version. It would be nice to get the 8 speed RWD but I'd rather be safe than sorry.