lexi90

Yes sir! And for the record, my favorite car of all times was the e46 M3. Felt in love with it when they came out in 2001!

IS1911

True but BMW invented the category of "sports sedan". It's difficult to unseat the original although it looks like Lexus finally has . . . at least for now.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

they benchmarked the E90, thankfully not the F80

electrohou

Most of us here as it shows, are previous BMW owners. Doubtful anyone here is insecure about their current Lexus 3IS. Had much more insecurity with the 335i BMW, with the embarrassment of the weekly engine malfunctions, tow trucks, and trips to the dealer. Couldn't even take the e90 on a road trip ever due to fear of it breaking down.

And Audi then is just a slightly upgraded Volkswagen.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

I am glad that you confident in your 3IS. Me too. You know I never said that I don't like my IS350 or spoke for anyone on this forum. All I wanted to say that the frequent comparison to 3 series trying to show how 3IS has overtaken 3 series in each and every conceivable way is a the reason to believe that clublexus members are trying hard to convince public that a new benchmark came in from Lexus. You do it once it is all good but when it keeps happening over and over again and in particular 3 series is being the sole target for comparison people tend to get skeptical. It is like in everywhere - you don't need keep repeating that the product is good - let the market judge it and have their own opinion. Just go to bimmerfest and try to search any threads where any of bimmerfest loyal members initiated a talk about 3IS. They don't do that cause they don't care about 3IS. You know why? There really believe 3IS is not a worthy contender for 3 series. I hate to say that but I agree with them. If you properly option 335i (M Sport and Dynamic Handling package) it becomes a joy to drive. No other compact luxury sport cars come close to it. It is not only my opinion - 3 series is still a benchmark you want or not. I propose to respect and learn from competition not bash it whenever you have a chance.

By the way it is cheaper to lease 3 series than 3IS. BMW has great lease rates and does not charge you a penny to maintain your car. Again the advantage of 3IS only comes when you get out of warranty. A lot of luxury car buyers don't keep their vehicles more than 3 years so the most rationale decision becomes to lease a bimmer.

I would not say the Audi is just a slightly upgraded Volkswagen as I would not say Lexus is an upgraded Toyota. Any person who has decent knowledge in car manufacturing knows that this is not true. Enough said.

Loe

For comparison sakes.

My other half's F30 328i sport line (which has a very under damped/oversprung suspension that manages to crash over bumps and still float 2-3 cycles after the bump?!) has 25K miles and has only scheduled maintenance.

My Lexus has 5,000 miles and I have had 5 unscheduled visits, 3 regarding brake issues, 2 regarding Encore issues, and soon another one regarding brake issues (warped rotors, seriously, what's wrong with this car's brakes ) and that the car's ECU sometimes does not shut the car off completely (confirmed by parking lights remaining on after locking the car when it should shut off, or the mileage indicator remains on, it happens sporadically, which I think is linked to our battery drain issue). This is not the care-free car that I was hoping for..but I am enjoying the free car washes weekly that the dealer offers lol

I agree with Salvadorik, many here are touting long-term reliability, but how many actually keep this car beyond 3/36K miles? I'd like to see the lease versus purchase rate for this car, which I suspect is around the 3/4series take rate of 50/50.

electrohou

Actually read through several forums on bimmerpost (f3x) about IS comparisons to the 3 series, and there's lots of love and respect for the 3IS there. Had Lexus offered a MT, nearly half the posts on bimmerpost would have been in favor of the Lexus IS350, granted most are comparing it to the 328 which is proper in terms of pricing and performance.

It's true though Lexus and Toyota are more similar than Audi to VW, though in cheaper Audi models you really feel that VW resemblance.

Also, quite happy Lexus doesn't put run flat tires on their cars like BMW nowadays.

dizlex

Every conceivable way?? Funny, I've seen no one trying to show any such thing. I've seen people say it's a better choice for us.

The 3 is the class "benchmark", the F30's issues notwithstanding, so it gets talked-about and compared-to. I don't see why you have a problem with that.

Former E46 owner, here.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

When you qoute my post pls qoute the entire context not just the sentence that seems a bit controversial. Again please read carefully my post and I think it makes it very clear what I wanted to say. No further clarification is needed.

I have no problem comparing to 3 series or any other car for that matter. Just lets make fair and unbiased comments.

Honestly, if I had an option I would ban any Lexus/Toyota and its affiliates and/or any party(s) that have economic interest from posting any comments on public forums that pertain to Lexus/Toyotas vehicles. That way I would ensure that only true owner experiences be shared to public. I am not pointing to anyone specific member. Just sharing my opinion here.

Spagolli94

I had a 2009 E90 335i. From everything I've read they actually improved the suspension in the F30. If you think the F30 is crashy, be glad you didn't have the E90. Worst suspension I've ever experienced. Ditching the run flat tires helped a bit, but it was still very loud and crashy over bumps. It felt like the suspension bushings were made of petrified wood. The ride in the IS350 is worlds better. Firm enough to feel planted and responsive, yet bumps just feel like quiet, muted, solid thumps.

Other than that, however, my E90 was actually quite reliable. I bought it with 30k miles and kept it just over two years with no issues other than regular maintenance.