... is heating up.

Audi S3 is coming to the states, starting at $40K.

ATS V is in the works.

CLA45 AMG has been announced, starting at $48K (a little pricey).

A45 AMG is coming to Europe, probably not US, but who knows.

Infinity announced Sebastian Vettel, superstar F1 driver, as director of performance. He has supposedly been heavily involved with Q50 development, and the Q50 pricing starts at $37K.

I can't imagine it will be really competitive, but Volvo is making R versions of some of its models.

plus the existing players of S4 and 335i. There are also what I consider second tier players that I would be interested in test driving... Chevy SS, Genesis R Spec, and Chrysler 300 SRT.

I've had my 2007 IS350 since new. Played around with after market suspension, have F sport sway bars on it. It's an amazing car, reliable, nimble, fun, amazing sound system (ML), and have i mentioned reliable??! I've been looking forward to the nextgen IS350 F Sport, but without cooled seats, it's not in my consideration set. I live in Texas.

I think Lexus has stumbled a bit here. What puzzles the hell out of me is that Toyota/Subaru created the gt86 out of vapor in a few short years, created the LFA out of vapor in a few short years, but can't seem to nail the sport sedan segment. what gives?

I also feel like there are two kinds of Lexus buyers... those who are on these IS boards (the few, the minority) and everyone else. I really can't relate to the everyone else, and from that perspective, feel like I have little in common with most Lexus buyers. Just my way of saying that I have little brand affinity. the end. other opinions welcome of course :-)

 

The GS350 F-Sport says hi.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...g-machine.html

 

Sure, and I thought of the car when writing my post last night. But it's not the same competitive set as an IS for me for two reasons:
1. Price
2. Size

I think you bring up a good clarification, which is that Lexus hasn't been able to nail the small/nimble (compact?) sport sedan segment for me. Given that my major gripe is the lack of cooled seats, I think you could take issue with my entire claim, so this is really about my needs more than anything else. :-)

The biggest point is that the competitive field in this space is vastly different from what it was in 2007 when I purchased my IS. Almost no one, except arguably BMW, is sitting still.

 

The S3 and CLA AMG will be 40-50k cars with German panache and the ability to modify with their turbo engines. Its amazing to see Toyota/Lexus acknowledge they move slow and they continue to move slow as molasses let alone the other Asian brands.

Reviews for the F-sport have not been as good as the GS yet...I hope they get better.

 

Q50 configurator went live, and confirmed that there are no cooled seats to be offered. i guess the alternative competitive set is dwindling (for me and my Texas heat)

 

Not offered at all? Thats crazy.

 

The only other vehicle in this class to offer ventilated seats is the G37 convertible and A5 convertible.

 

The TL Elite (in Canada at least) offers vented seats. Or is that technically not the same category?

 

which is why I said its not F-Sport... realistically other cars compare to regular IS350, which has many options available.

 

I sold my 2007 IS350 and moved into a 2012 S4 (yes quite literally "moved" as I spend about 12 hours a week in my car).

It's a phenomenal car, and although more expensive than the 2IS, meets or exceeds it in every aspect. I too was underwhelmed by the 3IS and also live in TX (Houston). My S4 doesn't offer ventilated seats, but the alcantara is quite a bit cooler than leather and works quite well (I have back issues and always have the seat heaters on anways, only time I used the ventilation was for road trips when I'd get excessive heat build up in the seats).

I like the 3IS, I think it's a step forward in many good ways for Lexus' F branding, but misses on some key points that just kind of eliminate it as a choice, considering the highly competitive segment it is in.

Personally I think the Q50 hits every important high note, but is taking a risk in that customers will pay what Infiniti is asking, which seems to be what Lexus was trying to avoid by not offering some options.

 

but 3IS offers more options than Q50, so what exactly is it "missing"?

 

Q50 has more gadgets like Apps, around view camera, and active lane control. I wish 3IS has those options.

 

TL is a strange one, some say it's the same class category as the IS, some say ES. I personally see it as an ES competitor.

 

The G35/37 coupe successor is coming and it will elevate the infinti brand. Perhaps a TT V6, 400HP ponies

http://skiddmark.com/wp-content/uplo...g8B9oMGnCJ.jpg

 

Unless lexus quickly ups the ante and drops a GS-F in our laps or an 2014+ IS-F (heavily modified to NOT look like the new 3IS), my next car will be the Q50. The 3IS appearance is amazingly disappointing for me. I have had 5 Lexus and 3 Infiniti. Lexus service is superior (what they are willing to do), and lexus QUALITY used to be superior until the 2013+ models. Lexus has taken the cheap route on seemingly everything, which makes Infiniti's interior on par with the lexus offerings, in my opinion.