bam

Maybe when Lexus does a refresh, I'd like to see a couple of changes.

The first one being to the engines. Although they are proven, they're behind the times. Plain and simply, Lexus needs to go turbo. I'd love to see Lexus keep the 3.5L configuration v-6 but add a small turbo to help with low rpm torque. The torque now is achieved relatively high on the rev range whereas all of the car's competitors are going turbo. BMW will soon introduce the 340 sedans and coupes. I believe MB will soon introduce the C400. I don't follow Audi but their cars have practically always been turbo charged for the A4 series. I believe Infiniti entered some partnership with MB so I'm sure we'll be seeing some cross platform sharing of engines/engine design/etc. Even Cadi has turbo engines. I don't ever see the IS going back to an inline configuration especially during a current model year. Maybe when they redesign it but that's a long shot. If not a 3.5L turbo how about a 3.2L twin turbo? Something to get the car to about 350hp and about the same torque but much lower in the rev range and much flatter as well. A turbo can help with that. Call it an IS350T.

I'd also like to Lexus expand the F Sport brand a little more. Offer a body kit and more chassis tuning like springs and sway bars. It looks like they just released the shocks. I like the F Sport forged wheels but those have been around for a while now as well. Either change them up or add a 3rd choice to the line up.

Lexus should also add a 19" wheel option that has a little more aggressive fitment than the current 18" wheel offerings. The F Sport forged wheels are quite expensive and some people don't want to spend $4k just on wheels so maybe 19" wheel options in the range of about $1500 would be nice.

Lastly, add a bright blue color to the exterior choices. Tired of the basic black, white, silver, grey, tan, and red. Add a bright blue to liven things up. Maybe not necessarily the Ultrasonic blue but maybe have that as a "regular" option and then offer a new bright blue color for the F Sport only.

a790

All valid points. Let's not forget that both Car and Driver AND Motor Trend rated the 350 over the BMW, Cadillac, and Infinity. A lot of what you're asking for is obviously personal preference and isn't something that would make sense for Lexus to offer. Thankfully, the aftermarket is here

That being said, I'd love to see an IS 350 with a supercharger or turbo on it. This car with 375 hp would be incredible.

That said, after driving the 335/Q50 hybrid/S4/C350, the IS350 is definitely the leading car in the segment.... for now.

a790

Well, first, the IS 350 certainly isn't "top dollar" for the class. The Merecedes, Audi, and BMW all come out higher for comparable equipment levels.

Second, the engineering into the car today can't really be compared with 20 years ago. The AWD system alone is fantastic.

The suspension in the IS 350 also can't be compared to what existed 5 years ago, let alone 20. In normal mode it's compliant but confident, in sport+ mode it like riding on rails, yet you still don't feel the harshness in the road.

It also goes without mention that the technology offered, interior quality, and overall build qualtiy is lightyears ahead.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

supposedly engine refreshes coming in 2016 to add the atkinson cycle to the V6s like what the RCF is getting

bam

That's still pretty lame. It seems that Lexus has been resting on their laurels of hybrid tech for far too long and is now being left behind in the engine and mpg race. Their hybrids cars are certainly doing better than the conventionally cars in the mpg area but look at the cars that have hybrid engines and compare the performance to other cars with high mpg. There's no comparison. Even the 328 is getting high mpg at a much higher luxury level than a camry. I would much rather drive the 328 and get a little bit less mpg than drive a hybrid camry and get much more mpg.

The Lexus engines are getting left behind and it's almost like they don't care because they're just relying on the camry and tacoma to carry them into the black. Practically all car manufacturers are incorporating turbo tech into their engine designs. The benefit of turbos is higher hp, potentially better tuned for more useable torque, and because you can reduce the engine size to achieve the same hp/torque figures, mpg increases. Lexus is now just introducing a turbo engine in the new NX small suv. I guess better late than never.

Come on IS350T!

FinaLpeace

Lexus would not risk their reliability reputation for demanding turbo engine. They're testing turbo engine with the new NX and maybe the 2016 IS. Turbo is nothing beneficial besides the instant power and trouble for repair. Lexus should rather develop with something that gives instant power and would not be harmful to the engine. Would you rather have the M4 V6 Turbo versus the RCF V8?

FinaLpeace

Cant blame Lexus, their attractiveness comes from their reputation of reliable.

CJW

iTrader: (1)

A turbo isn't a damaging thing and they've been around and reliable for a long time. That said, I don't really care how they improve the engine, just that they do improve it with another 30+hp or so. Adding in the 8 speed for AWD wouldn't hurt either.

The rest of the car just needs the options to be available on the F-Sport models and updating the infotainment to be better. I'm guessing this happens in 2016 and I'll re-up at that time.

FinaLpeace

When you turbocharge an engine, the increased pressure produced by force-feeding extra air into it raises the temperature and pressure in the combustion chamber to the point where the engine wants to self-destruct. This is almost the same concept as to flooring your gas pedal every time you drive it.

bam

Lexus, rather Toyota, was able to make reliable turbo engines. Look back at the MR2 Turbo and the Supra Twin Sequential Turbo. Those are both reliable cars with over engineered engines. Yes, Turbo engines run hotter and are more expensive to repair but that's because there are more parts and therefore more complications. To say that a turbo is harmful is not accurate. You just have to develop a turbo engine with proper cooling. The benefits of a turbo engine outweigh the negatives if done right.

To answer your question about the v6 or v8, I would rather have the v6 because of the low end torque and better mpg.

FinaLpeace

The engine can survive of course otherwise there would be no turbo engines, but it will not do as well in the long run compare to naturally aspirated. Lexus does not want their reputation of building reliable cars that can run as far as 300k mileage on the odometer without ever repairing it's engine to be a downfall by turbo engines. If what I said isn't what Lexus is concern about, then explain to me why Lexus doesn't want to make more "temporarily customers" by replacing all their NA engines with turbos? Why do we like Lexus in the first place?

Check this link out:

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...-problems.html

Quote by the website "Third-generation turbocharged Toyota Supras were known to blow head-gaskets too"

Sure at the end it says the new generation turbos is starting to prove reliability, but Lexus is not entirely buying it. I wouldn't buy it until I see it in the long run, which would take at least a decade to proof.

a790

Wait, what? The impression I'm getting from your post is that you aren't well-read on modern turbo technology.

When an engine is DESIGNED to be force-fed it doesn't take it to the point of "self-destruction". The engine components, compression ratio, etc. are designed with boost in mind. This is how you have turbo motors with 150,000+ km on them that are still running fine.

Toyota has done this multiple times in the past, with excellent examples being the 3SGTE (255hp 2.0L) and 2JZGTE (320hp 3.0L). Both engines are known for both their performance potential and reliability.

Turbo technology, when applied properly, can be hugely beneficial for both power and fuel economy reasons. Ford has demonstrated this with their EcoBoost engines, and taken it to the "T" with the twin-turbo setup used in many of their trucks.

There's absolutely no reason Lexus couldn't design a turbo engine that was reliable and powerful. Others are doing it, so can they.

CJW

iTrader: (1)

Lexus not going turbo for reliabiltiy reasons does not compute when they are already coming out with a turbo engine. Plenty of reliable turbo engines out there.

Im2bz2p345

Great points bam and I've been on the fence about purchasing (not leasing) an IS350 for the various reasons you stated. I pretty much agree with all of them, except the 19" wheels - I couldn't care less for that, maybe because I love the current 18" F-Sport rims (the stock tires - Bridgestone Turanza ER33 - just suck). Making the rims a bit more durable would be my only improvement for Lexus there.

Here are my very humble desires:

• IS350T or IS350TT -> Make it happen for the 2016 model!! Don't drop the ball on this Lexus. I want Lexus to be able to compete with the 335i in terms of power/torque. I could care less about how much HP the car makes; the most important thing here to bring the torque up to at least 300 ft/lbs at low rpm. Almost everyone here agrees that the current engine is outdated (reliable? sure, but definitely outdated). Bring on a RELIABLE turbo or better yet, two smaller turbo similar to the 335i with lower PSI of boost to reduce turbo lag. Despite what some have stated, there are plenty of reliable turbo engines out there. Hopefully adding a turbo (even if that means going to a smaller liter engine as bam mentioned) would make the engine a bit more efficient and increase mpg.
• Fix the pending BIG issues -> So this may be fixed in the 2015 model due to different hardware (from what I read), but having constant reboot issues is a pain in the a$$. This should be addressed ASAP if it hasn't been already. There are also BIG issues about battery draining on many vehicles. I consider all of these BIG issues because we've had very long threads on this forum about them.
• Fog Lights & Other vehicle options -> This is of lesser priority compared to my other two points above, but STOP restricting the F-Sport from having options. You can currently equip a non-Fsport so much more than a F-Sport model. Why? Let the buyer decide how to customize their car with everything the car can be equipped with - buyers are willing to pay extra, just make it an OPTION for us to add more options straight from the factory. LED fog lights on the F-Sport should be standard, but that's just my opinion. At least make it an option to add in fog lights on the F-Sport - good thing we can go aftermarket, even though it's another headache to deal with.
• More "unique" exterior colors -> The least priority item, but offering unique exterior colors like Ultrasonic Blue Mica aka USB, would be a fantastic addition.

4TehNguyen - have you heard about a turbo being added to IS350 V6 (2GR-FSE) engine? I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere.

Regarding the new 200T that's going to be carried over from the Lexus NX and replace the current IS250 engine (4GR-FSE), it's had luck luster reviews thus far. Read point 2: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-revi...rt-first-drive

Not sure how it directly compares with the 4GR-FSE, but maybe I sure hope it can't be much worse. We can only go up from here.

Here's to dreaming for my ideal 2016 IS350 F-Sport!

~ Im2bz2p345

bam

The reason why I mention a 19" wheel option that's more aggressive is because IMO, the 18" wheels don't fit quite right. They seem way to small for the car and the rear wheels seem like they're way to tucked into the fender. Again, I think it's the fitment/offset. Every other car manufacturer out there has 19" option. Again, Lexus/Toyota is falling behind their competitors.

They may say that they're not building or offering those options because so few people are choosing them. Let's not forget that BMW didn't originally create the e30 M3 to sell and make a profit. They built it because they had to in order to meet homologation requirements to go racing. Only after the car was a success because they design it right (basically a street legal race car), did it sell and people caught on to the idea of transferring race to road.

Lexus and Toyota aren't really involved in much racing these days and where they are involved, they're not necessarily winning (f1, le mans) so they don't have that to help them sell. They need to just build the cars the way that the enthusiasts wants and let the losses be carried by the profits of their Camrys and trucks. I don't follow nascar and let's be real about it anyways. Nothing in the Nascar series is remotely related to what's sold in the show room except for the sticker that says they're racing a Camry. It's just a sticker on a racing chasis. Nothing to translate from race to road there.

An example would be the Landcruiser/LX570. The Landcruiser has such a storied history and much respect within the true off roading crowd but yet they're still keeping it around even when they're not selling very high volume. It's a halo car and the losses they take by keeping that truck around is covered by the profits in their other cars.

Do the same the the Supra, bring back the MR2 Turbo, make the IS-F alongside the RS-F, bring back the SC (in the form of the newly rumored car with BMW), make a convertible 2 seater. Toyota/Lexus really needs to broaden their horizons instead of selling camrys and hybrids all day long.