I just traded in my 2011 335 for the new 2016 is300, warranty was over and i wasn't interested in any expensive repair bills. The Lexus interior is much nicer, I can't speak about the drive yet. I pick up the car in 2 more days!

 

I had an E90 335i before my current 15 IS350 F Sport AWD.

The 335i was definitely faster than the IS350. I enjoyed the N54's torque delivery, as it made acceleration effortless.

Unfortunately, the 335i was just not reliable. Ours had HPFP failure, several injectors replaced, overhead cams replaced, along with some other minor issues.

Long story short, reliability pushed us to consider Lexus and after driving the 15 IS350 F Sport, we were sold.

I still have a soft spot in my heart for BMWs, though. I could see an M235xi in my driveway one of these days.

 

I agree with you, if we are comparing "apples to apples." I had an e46 330 xi. Like your, e90, the low end torque and handling characteristics were superior to the 3IS, in my view. However, I feel that the current BMW f30 is only superior to the 3Is in low end torque. The steering feel, "fun factor," etc. of the 3IS (in sport+) while inferior to the e46 and e90 is much better than the f30.

Also, the handling of my 3IS improved drastically when I changed out the tires recently. The stock Bridgestones had to be replaced at 25,000 miles. I bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 all seasons. What a difference!!! The driving experience got a little closer to that of my much missed e46.

 

Coming out of an 2008 TL Type S for 11ish years, I was naturally looking at the TLX Type S, and I was going to get one, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought about the maintenance of the car several years down the line. And from what I’ve seen, turbo engines are painful to keep after warranty, and I tend to want to keep them long term. So I also looked at the Genesis G70 but I am not a fan of the rear end of that car and it’s also turbo engined so that turned me away from it. Honda/Acura have never been able to figure out those transmissions on their cars, so in thinking those things may be issues in the future, that brought me to the Lexus brand. I’ve always loved the aesthetics of ‘21 IS350 but it just didn’t have the near 400+ HP I was looking for until the IS500 was announced and was the answer to my prayers. It’s also a great fit as nothing would feel “old” or dated to me since my old car is so old by modern standards. It should (I recently factory ordered an IS500 which is why I used the word “should”) drive similarly as far suspension and throttle response goes since I’m not looking for a particularly super fast and harsh ride but not a super lofty and sleepy one either.

 

^ How recent was your factory order placed? Did your dealer confirm having allocation for ordering one? My understanding is that IS500 production has been temporarily halted.