Why did you choose the IS over the competition?
09-28-14, 02:54 PM
#31
Design, quality and drivetrain. The only luxury sports sedan with proper hybrid engine.
Sure, there's the BMW 3-series active hybrid, but seriously, that's a poor hybrid, running well below 25 MPG in real world traffic. Also, it's ridiculously priced.
The IS is a far better ride than the A4 or 3-series.
On a side note: Because of the more effective hybrid drivetrain, the IS is tax free for 5 years.
Sure, there's the BMW 3-series active hybrid, but seriously, that's a poor hybrid, running well below 25 MPG in real world traffic. Also, it's ridiculously priced.
The IS is a far better ride than the A4 or 3-series.
On a side note: Because of the more effective hybrid drivetrain, the IS is tax free for 5 years.
10-01-14, 08:12 AM
#32
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Toss up between a Q50S and the IS350 F-Sport... Decided with the Lexus after a test drive.
Better ride, more usable torque, and sitting in the car you feel as if you're driving a sportier vehicle.
Better ride, more usable torque, and sitting in the car you feel as if you're driving a sportier vehicle.
10-01-14, 10:19 PM
#34
I test drove the BMW 335i, to be honest the 335i got my attention and the wifey liked it but when we saw a USB IS350 Fsport at the dealership and tried it we were really shocked of the huge jump Lexus did in basically everything... the seats, the acceleration, the suspension, the amazing gear, the fun factor that BMW's "joy" missed, not to mention the eye catching design of the car and the sexy USB color and rioja interior that's only available in the 3IS.
When my cousin got the Q50 I tried it, the steering is just fake and didn't feel enjoyable, the interior is too congested felt more luxury than sporty.
The bunch of options "LDA, RES, BSM, VGRS, AVS, PCS etc etc.." that BMW and Infiniti lack or might have but for lot of $.
Best decision made.. ex 2IS owner and now a 3IS proud owner
When my cousin got the Q50 I tried it, the steering is just fake and didn't feel enjoyable, the interior is too congested felt more luxury than sporty.
The bunch of options "LDA, RES, BSM, VGRS, AVS, PCS etc etc.." that BMW and Infiniti lack or might have but for lot of $.
Best decision made.. ex 2IS owner and now a 3IS proud owner
10-02-14, 09:10 AM
#35
To add to other's comments, I've driven a lot of the competition:
IS350
Love the unique styling, inside and out. Unlike the Acura beak, the styling is polarizing in a good way. I hated it when I first saw it, but it grew on my. When I finally checked it out in person, I loved it. The interior is amazing. Power is adequate. I like the nice firm steering. It isn't a dead fish, but it's also not sending every little pebble to my hands either. The ride quality is fantastic. Firm and planted, yet very quiet over bumps and never harsh.
S4
Amazing car, but very expensive. Due to poor resale, lease number are quite high. I don't keep cars long, so I'm not too worried about reliability as long as I have a warranty. If I was to buy an S4, CPO would be the way to go. However, I find the styling, while classy, a bit bland - especially the interior. Just blah.
E90 335i (my old car)
Fantastic motor with gobs of low end torque. That car pulled like a freight train in all gears at any RPM. Great handling, but the ride quality was terrible. I even ditched the run flat tires for nice comfy Michelin Super Sports and got Koni FSD shocks, but I could still feel and hear almost every pavement imperfection. This was a great car on smooth, windy country roads. But riding through the crappy streets of center city Philly? Crash, boom, bang! Also, the manual transmission wasn't practical because I spend so much time in traffic jams.
New 335i
Same great engine as before and the ride quality has been improved somewhat. However, it's become quite a bit larger and feels disconnected. It's not as fun as it used to be. Also, I'm not feeling the interior as it lacks the cockpit feel of the IS. This car is pricey too.
Q50S
I sat in one at the car show and really liked it. But after a test drive, I had no interest whatsoever. The steering felt like a video game. Nothing about the car made me want to drive fast. The ride was a bit harsh, but not quite as bad as my previous BMW. The engine was similar to the IS in that it lacked low-end torque, but the paddle shifters were slow to respond. As for the interior, I'm not feeling the dual-screen layout. Acura is doing this as well and I really hope it's a fad and not a trend.
Acura TL
I gave this a look after they minimized the beak in 2012. It was big and drove big. The steering was way too light, thus the ride felt floaty on the highway. And 280 hp (or whatever it has) wasn't nearly enough for such a large car. The SH-AWD helped it handle a little better, I guess, but it also felt fake and gimmicky. I would put this car at the bottom of the list.
Acura TLX
I loved the prototype when I first saw it, but the production model just falls flat. I can't get over the bland styling, small wheels and skinny tires. They market this car is being "thrilling" but everything about it says bland sedan. I never even bothered to test drive it. If anything, I'd consider this car to be a competitor to the GS, definitely not the IS350 F-Sport. Maybe Acura will get their poo s$#@ together and come out with a Type-S someday.
IS350
Love the unique styling, inside and out. Unlike the Acura beak, the styling is polarizing in a good way. I hated it when I first saw it, but it grew on my. When I finally checked it out in person, I loved it. The interior is amazing. Power is adequate. I like the nice firm steering. It isn't a dead fish, but it's also not sending every little pebble to my hands either. The ride quality is fantastic. Firm and planted, yet very quiet over bumps and never harsh.
S4
Amazing car, but very expensive. Due to poor resale, lease number are quite high. I don't keep cars long, so I'm not too worried about reliability as long as I have a warranty. If I was to buy an S4, CPO would be the way to go. However, I find the styling, while classy, a bit bland - especially the interior. Just blah.
E90 335i (my old car)
Fantastic motor with gobs of low end torque. That car pulled like a freight train in all gears at any RPM. Great handling, but the ride quality was terrible. I even ditched the run flat tires for nice comfy Michelin Super Sports and got Koni FSD shocks, but I could still feel and hear almost every pavement imperfection. This was a great car on smooth, windy country roads. But riding through the crappy streets of center city Philly? Crash, boom, bang! Also, the manual transmission wasn't practical because I spend so much time in traffic jams.
New 335i
Same great engine as before and the ride quality has been improved somewhat. However, it's become quite a bit larger and feels disconnected. It's not as fun as it used to be. Also, I'm not feeling the interior as it lacks the cockpit feel of the IS. This car is pricey too.
Q50S
I sat in one at the car show and really liked it. But after a test drive, I had no interest whatsoever. The steering felt like a video game. Nothing about the car made me want to drive fast. The ride was a bit harsh, but not quite as bad as my previous BMW. The engine was similar to the IS in that it lacked low-end torque, but the paddle shifters were slow to respond. As for the interior, I'm not feeling the dual-screen layout. Acura is doing this as well and I really hope it's a fad and not a trend.
Acura TL
I gave this a look after they minimized the beak in 2012. It was big and drove big. The steering was way too light, thus the ride felt floaty on the highway. And 280 hp (or whatever it has) wasn't nearly enough for such a large car. The SH-AWD helped it handle a little better, I guess, but it also felt fake and gimmicky. I would put this car at the bottom of the list.
Acura TLX
I loved the prototype when I first saw it, but the production model just falls flat. I can't get over the bland styling, small wheels and skinny tires. They market this car is being "thrilling" but everything about it says bland sedan. I never even bothered to test drive it. If anything, I'd consider this car to be a competitor to the GS, definitely not the IS350 F-Sport. Maybe Acura will get their poo s$#@ together and come out with a Type-S someday.
10-24-14, 12:27 PM
#37
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I test drove the TLX before I picked up the Lexus. I was disappointed in the ride/handling of the FWD V6 model as it was floaty in any IDS setting. It was either the tires or the suspension bor the combination of both, but there was NOTHING sporty in how it drove. I was stunned considering that the previous TL's exhibited a more playful nature.
10-24-14, 02:20 PM
#38
^^^^^
It's interesting because they sold about 5000 last month which for them is very good. Hopefully it'll save the brand. The more brands the better. Maybe an S type is coming. I saw the NXS v2 -- beautiful. I chose the IS because it looks like a car designed from the ground up with a specific vision and for a specific performance direction i.e. drivers car. I looked at the GS and couldn't pull the trigger after looking at the IS. The GS look is dated and it looks like a full sized family sedan with a new daring grill and a few other tweaks. And I wanted more of a cockpit feel. Look, when a Lotus or Vette or some other low slung hot car pulls up next to me I at least feel like I'm in a car that looks as aggressive and cutting edge as theirs. I like that. The car looks very 21st century. I was looking at the new Maserati and damn if they didn't copy the side styling swoops of the IS.
It's interesting because they sold about 5000 last month which for them is very good. Hopefully it'll save the brand. The more brands the better. Maybe an S type is coming. I saw the NXS v2 -- beautiful. I chose the IS because it looks like a car designed from the ground up with a specific vision and for a specific performance direction i.e. drivers car. I looked at the GS and couldn't pull the trigger after looking at the IS. The GS look is dated and it looks like a full sized family sedan with a new daring grill and a few other tweaks. And I wanted more of a cockpit feel. Look, when a Lotus or Vette or some other low slung hot car pulls up next to me I at least feel like I'm in a car that looks as aggressive and cutting edge as theirs. I like that. The car looks very 21st century. I was looking at the new Maserati and damn if they didn't copy the side styling swoops of the IS.
Last edited by Glashub; 10-24-14 at 02:23 PM.
03-15-15, 10:31 PM
#39
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To finally have a euro performing car without the poor reliability. Was thrilled when I found and drove this car, I keep mine to 100k miles usually. It'll be nice not to have all those issues past 50k miles, and all those other regular dealer visits for other maint/repairs.
Only hope the next IS is just as nice or nicer without any backtracking, worries me because out of the entire Lexus fleet of cars, this is the only model I actually like.
Wish euro cars could copy lexus now and become reliable.
Only hope the next IS is just as nice or nicer without any backtracking, worries me because out of the entire Lexus fleet of cars, this is the only model I actually like.
Wish euro cars could copy lexus now and become reliable.
03-18-15, 12:05 PM
#40
To finally have a euro performing car without the poor reliability. Was thrilled when I found and drove this car, I keep mine to 100k miles usually. It'll be nice not to have all those issues past 50k miles, and all those other regular dealer visits for other maint/repairs.
Only hope the next IS is just as nice or nicer without any backtracking, worries me because out of the entire Lexus fleet of cars, this is the only model I actually like.
Wish euro cars could copy lexus now and become reliable.
Only hope the next IS is just as nice or nicer without any backtracking, worries me because out of the entire Lexus fleet of cars, this is the only model I actually like.
Wish euro cars could copy lexus now and become reliable.
03-18-15, 01:37 PM
#41
1) Reliability (naturally aspirated engine vs turbo/supercharged engine)
2) Compact size - easy for parallel parking
3) AWD for winter
4) Cost - because the S4 I wanted would run 60k
2) Compact size - easy for parallel parking
3) AWD for winter
4) Cost - because the S4 I wanted would run 60k
Last edited by theoryguy3; 03-18-15 at 01:40 PM.
03-18-15, 06:14 PM
#42
Lexus Champion
I chose Lexus because of:
a. Unquestionable Reliability
b. Different look that stands out from the crowd (still get people's looks!)
c. Maintenance costs
d. Within my budget
a. Unquestionable Reliability
b. Different look that stands out from the crowd (still get people's looks!)
c. Maintenance costs
d. Within my budget
03-19-15, 07:46 AM
#45
Lexus Champion