al503

Tsuchiya (driver of the TL) is considered to be the best driver out of the guys from Japan. He was the driver in the G sedan when it was the fastest around the track out of the IS, G35, 335, Subie a couple of months ago.

If you put him in any car that is competitive with the others, he will most likely win. If he was in the G, it would have probably been the fastest. If he was in the IS, it would have probably been the fastest.

F1Driver

So it seems that with different drivers in different cars, the TL-S came out on top. Funny, how in the February 2007 issue of Road & Track the 2007 IS350 beat out the TL-S.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d...d/02073car.pdf

AM1

iTrader: (6)

any of you people actually driven the type-s? the car is a whole different car compared to the regular TL. if the car was rear wheel drive it would be hands down the best car in its class

DrUnBiased

I was under the impression that all three cars were driven by the same person. Same driver, same track, same day, same conditions=a very valid test.

OC 335d

Hey let's compare apples and oranges.

Tekknikal

wow
the IS and G got spanked
by a lot

picus

AFAIK they have them race on a track with different drivers. It's similar to the G35/IS350/335i/LGT race they had last month where the 335i won. In that one Tsuchiya was driving the G35.

speedflex

Who saw this one coming? A FWD TL-S whipping the latest two RWD cars from Japan.

There seems to be no concensus among these three as for pure performance. They've all come out on top in various comparisons. I'd be hard pressed to pick a clear favorite. They all have something I'd want.

F1Driver

I don't know about hypothetical scenarios. But I know for a fact that the Lexus SC430 slaughters the poor old NSX in the Super GT race circuit.

Threxx

I've driven the TL-S and am at a loss as to how it beat out the IS350 or the G35. It's certainly not a pushover car but it really failed to impress me in terms of driving dynamics. Definitely feels less impressive, to me, than the other two.

Faraaz23

Obviously, as you know, the NSX will outhandle many of todays SPORTS CARS. A 17 year old Ferrari F40 will wipe the floor with the upcoming IS-F as well.... as it should being a true mid-engined sports car vs. a luxury sport SEDAN. I fail to see the comparison here. I'm sure a Ford Focus would wipe the floor with a School Bus as well.

I have to say... whether you like the looks or not, this is a very impressive showing from Honda with this TL-S.

xpditor

OK. Who are you and what have you done with our Mike?

I really appreciate your objective reporting of this comparo. A couple of posters must have missed the part that said the TL-S and G35 were manual transmission. The IS, of course, is not available with a stick.... yet. I hope that the IS-F will be offered with a manual but the preliminary info only shows the 8 speed auto (which is not a bad thing).

I believe that the same driver was used. Why have him there if you're not going to use him? That would skew the results and the mag would lose cred. Also, the "Drift King" driver is pictured in the IS and standing next to the G. (Green jump suit)

Also, in response to another poster, all TL's with manual transmission come standard with LSD (limited slip differential).

As to US or Japanese spec? TLs are all made in Marysville, Ohio. If they are even sold in Japan, this is only recently. Originally, they were not.

Base TLs come two ways: 1) loaded and 2) loaded with navi. You can pick auto or manual on the TL at the same price. Navi is standard on the TL-S. The only option is high performance tires ($200) which improve handling somewhat.

I currently have a 2004 TL but will be standing in line for the IS-F when it is available. I hope the price is reasonable.

Besides, the Capuccino at the Lexus showroom is better than the coffee at the Acura dealer. AND, they have cookies.

Incendiary

I think you should.

MSMLexIS

Im the worlds biggest Lexus fan but i really like the TL-S for some reason im even more suprised its a FWD and the other two are RWD. Kudos to Acura.

DrUnBiased

OKay did some research.... Turns out that the difference in times between the article and the video has to do because of the track configuration. The track configuration in the video is setup with less curves and more opportunity to accelerate to a higher speed. Hence the much lower time for the TL-S. Although we do not know the times for the other cars with this configuration, I am sure the IS and G were much closer to the TL-S than 2 seconds. The track configuration that is in the article is set-up with more curves than the track configuration in the video. So where the RWD IS and G have the advantage in the straight-line, it seems the FWD TL-S scrubs it off with its capabilities through the turns.

Further more, the driver of all three cars is the same. Each car was driven on the track independently by the same driver and was tested for best-lap time. This does not appear to be a 'race' where all three cars where on the track at the same time with different drivers like those Best Motoring videos.