Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

How is F a gimmick if they are the most powerful models of the Lexus stable compared to the same models with less powerful engines? That statement sounds downright ignorant.

Htony

That is trade off for driving a car like M3, V8. Extra cost is like a penalty you have to bear owning a car like that, LOL! Same for Porsche. If you keep up the scheduled maintenance, usually nothing happens in between service but everything costs so much. Brakes wear down so fast, costs like 1.5G CAD per wheel for brake service. In
our city there are few well equipped private garage operated by European trained/experienced technicians. Their service is as good as dealerships for lesser $$$.

BrownPride

Save for a couple cars like the LFA, original ISF, GSF, and RCF it is indeed a complete marketing gimmick.

BrownPride

BTW, the Cadillac trolls here don't realize that the CTS-V is and was 100% irrelevant. Nobody buys Cadillacs, nobody remembers they exist. The 2nd gen CTS-V was an ugly turd with an equally turd interior to match.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

guess you haven't seen a new one, which looks FREAKING AWESOME

arentz07

You could say the same thing about the plethora of M or AMG cars, but I won't because I know that the M and AMG do mean something, even if they don't mean what they would have meant 20 years ago. You can't deny the F cars are more high-performing than their non-F versions. Are they halo cars designed to bring in more buyers? Sure, but every automaker does that.

Htony

Strictly my own opinion. F sports won't handle like M3 for an example. Maybe RC F sports? If I want a sports car I'll go for Porsche turbo S, BMW M-series, Audi S-series,
etc. Drove all of them when I was young. Approaching age of 80, my vision, reflection are not as good as they used to be. Time to slow down, LOL! Getting old is not fun!
Sky diving, motor cycle riding are long gone. I had to make a solemn promise to my wife when we got married. Enjoy whatever it is now while you can.

arentz07

F Sport != F. Actually, this is good timing - I let a coworker who had a BMW 330i ZHP before, who has driven lots of sporty cars, drive my IS F Sport this week, since he hasn't had such a car in a while and has been itching to try something out before he starts really shopping to get a feel for what modern compact luxury sedans are like, apart from the 3-series which he tried already. After the brief test drive we did, he said he thought it would be a fun daily but has no place on a track - he said it felt more like an older 5-series than a 3-series. Even though the steering is good, and turn in is fine, he noted some body roll and just a general feeling of weight. OTOH, he said he feels the same way about the 3-series, even with the M Sport package, that they just don't handle like he would like. (As such, he thinks he might look at a 230i, since it's smaller.)

I realize that this story is just anecdotal, but the point is, if you have driven F Sport models, you haven't necessarily driven an "F" car. I haven't either, to be fair, but here's the thing - it all depends on what you want to do with the car. If you plan to track it, there are few cars that will be track-ready from the factory anyway. The F Sport/M Sport models are designed to be a slightly more fun package for a daily driver, but not all-out performance. TBH the F cars kinda strike me as being somewhere between M Sport and full-on M, but I don't think they are faking anything.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

... so it just sounds like you're misinformed. Let me enlighten you a bit. There is a big difference between F and F-Sport. The former is a full fledged performance version of a Lexus model whereas F-Sport is aggressive cosmetic changes, slightly larger brakes, firmer suspensions (usually with an adaptive mode), and more aggressive bolstered seats of normal trimmed Lexus's.

So of course an RC350 F-Sport won't handle like an M4. An RC F is more akin to the M4 than its F-Sport sibling. Audi S-Line, BMW M-Sport, Lexus F-Sport are all sport trims. RS, M, and F are the full fledged models.

Aron9000

I thought it was a great looking car, especially in coupe and wagon form. Polarizing design, yes, you either love it or hate it. Interior, yeah it wasn't all that great, nor all that horrible either(see 1st gen CTS interior), still better than current Cadillac interiors though with the stupid CUE setup. Gauges looked cool, better than most of Cadillac's gauge setups on their current cars.

As for it being irrelevant, it did blow the doors off the competition when it came out in 2009, 562hp vs 414hp in the M3, 416hp in the IS-F. I will agree it didn't sell as well as the BMW M3, but then again nobody bought the IS-F either, and people always do forget that Cadillac makes some serious sports sedans/muscle cars. Also what I think is even more relevant with the Cadillac is its very easy to tune. No standalone ECU, just a $300 software suite is all you need, put a smaller supercharger pulley on it, do some exhaust work, you have 100-200 more hp than stock for less than $2,000.

RNM GS3

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

All these cars have their ups and downs. There is no perfect car.

Lexus IS-F is clearly the reliable choose. Would not touch a BMW if you paid me to.

RNM GS3

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I prefer the IS-F over the E90 M3. I always thought the IS-F looked better.

The E92 and E93 M3's look way better than the sedan. It's one of my favorite modern car designs. I own an E92 328i Sport and it's had a lot of problems but it's one of the best looking cars are the road. I bought it since I heard that E92 M3's and 335i's were drastically more expensive to maintain. For a lower end model it is a blast to drive. The M3 would be a ton of fun.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

One of my best friends is a BMW fanatic and his buddy runs a popular BMW shop in our area. Let's just say I have been around them enough to NEVER want to get near one.

BMW M cars have been historically reliable? That has got to be some kind of joke, right?

Let's give credit where credit is due....they are great when they are running right, but even BMW fanboys would need to be drunk or really high on some sht to claim their M car is reliable.