dizlex

I call bull****.

EZZ

Straight from Lexus press info:

"The AVS system electronically monitors and controls the damping force at all four wheels simultaneously, based on road-surface conditions and driver preferences.Using a range of sensors - including G force, yaw-rate and speed sensors - Lexus AVS is designed to improve ride comfort and handling stability, particularly on rough roads, while also providing greater stability when cornering. "

It is what it is...

NoMoreBimm

Nope, I got a RWD model based off the feedback on the forum. Performance is good - it's fun sport sedan that does everything really well. I'm impressed how quick it is off the line and how little body roll there is, the speed of the shifts is also pretty fantastic, FAR faster than I could shift a manual, even on my best day. So far, about 2 days in and I love the car, it was definitely the right choice. It's not as fast as a 335i or a Q50, but what it lacks in speed it makes up for with reliability and refinement.

GNS

Can you wring the engine out to redline in sport+ and/or in manual mode? Do you feel like the V6 engine is actually being used to its full potential and is not being held back? These traits would make it desirable to me, even though it may lack the low end grunt of the turbocharged I6/V6 in the 340i and Q50.

In many other cars, the car will upshift for you even though you never requested it, and the tune is too conservative. I'm hoping this isn't the case for the IS350.

dmavilia

The engine can be revved to redline and does so willingly. The noise is nice at 4000+ rpm, too.

I agree with NoMoreBimm - off the line the power is immediate. I have RWD as well and traction is pretty good. I have a '15 so I missed out on the LSD, which would have been nice.

NoMoreBimm

That's interesting because I tested just that last night - if you put it in sport+ mode, but leave it in D (drive, normal automatic transmission), it'll upshift at redline but if you move the stick over to M (manual mode) then it'll happily bounce off the rev limiter until you shift, either via the paddles or moving the shifter.

It's not as fast as either of those cars, straight up, but I drove both of them and still chose the IS350. I want to keep the car a long time, so long term reliability is of the utmost concern, so the BMW was out. I like the infotainment of the Q50 more, but the IS350 won me over with everything else. I drove the 3.7L Q50, and I felt like the NVH was noticeably worse than the IS350 - also the IS has a certain refinement to it that I find difficult to put into words. Naturally it's pretty subjective and I spent a LOT of time reading and watching YT videos about both, but I'm pretty happy with my choice in the IS350.

I may not be a fair barometer of how the V6 feels - the last three cars I've owned have been V8s and two have had manual transmissions, so none of the cars you mention (and I compared) feel like they're remarkably fast. That said, the V6 in the IS350 is surprisingly powerful, I'm always a little surprised when I glance down at the speedometer, invariably I've gone faster than I intended, for better or worse, and I like that. It's a very smooth car, the power is linear and comes on smoothly, so it's a different kind of "fast" but it does feel like it's used to its full potential.

GNS

I'm dealing with turbo lag and inconsistent power delivery issues (tune and steering angle related) in my current I4 turbo car, and I can't wait to try out something that doesn't have the crap that I have to deal with. When I put my foot down, I want all the power now, and I want it delivered in a consistent and linear manner.

Thanks for the results of your drive test, this is exactly what I was looking for. If I'm going to give up the involvement of a 6MT to get what I want, then it is only fair to give me complete control over the transmission shift logic. As for BMW and Infiniti, I wouldn't consider either to be reliable and, like you, I am going to be driving my next car for at least 8 - 10 years and it has to be utterly reliable every single day (with proper maintenance).

Now to sit back and wait for the 4th gen (hopefully with the new FR 10 speed transmission).

E46CT

Only exception for models with those headlights/bumper for 2016 is the IS200T -- only made one year =P

So if you see a turbo IS with those headlights and bumper, it has to be a 2016. cool fact huh?