For those driving a variety other vehicles: comparison to 3IS
06-06-19, 09:28 PM
#16
Intermediate
Gotta say for a car that weighs about 3,500 pounds, the IS200T does not feel that heavy to throw around. I mean, it definitely does feel heavier than the old 2006 Corolla, but the weight doesn't feel like it's holding the car back that much.
I regularly drive my friend's RAV4 and have driven a few of the current gen Hyundai Santa Fes. You definitely feel the weight of those compared to the IS. But then we're usually loaded down with an additional 400-500 pounds of gear as well.
I regularly drive my friend's RAV4 and have driven a few of the current gen Hyundai Santa Fes. You definitely feel the weight of those compared to the IS. But then we're usually loaded down with an additional 400-500 pounds of gear as well.
Last edited by m1919; 06-06-19 at 09:32 PM.
06-07-19, 11:16 AM
#17
Pole Position
I had an 06 Miata before my 11 G37S and both of those cars were quicker than my IS 300 (200t). I honestly don't care, I think the IS has a good balance. I agree with the other folks that had a VQ, that engine is rough and a beast. It also destroyed oil in like 5,000 miles lol. I miss the HP from that car a little bit though as well as the braking power it had. The IS being smaller feels more nimble though.
06-07-19, 02:20 PM
#19
drives cars
I have driven a few other cars in the past few years, ranging from Tesla Model 3 and Model X to BMW 335i M Sport to Toyota Camry to Genesis G80 to a slew of Lexus loaners like the NX, RX, and ES.
The Model 3s I drove were different, but clearly still sport sedans. Compared to the IS, it's surprising how similar the Model 3 feels in terms of steering response and feel. I didn't have much time in the Model 3s I drove - both a RWD long range and a Dual Motor (AWD) long range - but found them to be rather awesome in their own way. I just wish the interior design was more... just more I guess? Minimalist, but with nothing in terms of personality = boring, IMHO.
The 335i, even in Sport mode, was pretty comfortable. Firm, but good at soaking up larger impacts. It definitely hauls in a straight line and has good steering response. But, what journalists say about "feel" is true. It felt video-gamey. I think it'd still be a killer daily due to the balance of performance and comfort.
It was interesting going back to a Camry - a 2018 SE in fact. I had it as a rental. I was thankful that I got the SE as a rental instead of the base LE - those 18-inch wheels look pretty sharp. The front-wheel-drive nature of the car didn't really rear its head, in spite of rain. I think the relatively wide tires (225-width) on the Camry combined with it only having about 200 horsepower meant I wasn't going to be burning any rubber unless I did so on purpose. Honestly, the new Camry is great. It feels like a very rigid car that is much more capable than the last gen. The 2019 ES 350 benefits from the same platform changes as the Camry. It feels stiffer and more composed than the old one. Compared to the IS, neither handles better, but the Camry felt a little more eager to change direction than I expected due to its relatively light front end. Perhaps the biggest letdown of the Camry was its liberal use of piano-black trim, which looked 100% dirty after the first day of driving. The interior in general was not impressive - lots of hard plastic. Though, I will say the seats were an improvement over the last-gen's unsupportive, overly-wide seats. This time, the only issue with the seats I found was a short seat bottom cushion. They'd need to add an extendable thigh cusion to make those seats long-term usable. (Fortunately, the 2019 ES did not share that shortcoming, and it had excellent seats.)
I drove a rental 2018 ES 350 (the previous gen) last weekend, and boy... the new one is such an upgrade. When hitting larger bumps, it's easy to feel chassis flex. It just doesn't seem as solid. That said, ride quality was good out on the highway. Just... yeah it doesn't feel very Lexus-like compared to other Lexus I have driven. Especially the seats. Like the previous-gen Camry, they were too wide and provided no support, and surprisingly, they were not soft at all.
I think the most-solid, best-riding car I've driven was a 2015 Genesis (technically, a Hyundai Genesis, but the same car as the G80). It was a 5.0 Ultimate RWD. Ride quality was excellent, but it didn't feel like a boat, either. The V8 was nice, but I'd say the car felt faster than it actually was in terms of numbers. I think it was the amount of torque down-low due the displacement of that engine. Really one of my favorite cars I've ever driven, it's great for just tooling around. The G80 is not a high performer on back roads but an overachiever at day-to-day tasks while being very refined. I was considering getting one for a while actually.
It's the type of car I feel like I could drive for hours on end with no break. Oh, and it has an amazingly large pano sunroof. Luxury.
The IS is a very all-around sedan, with perhaps more of a skew towards performance aspirations than the others. I think magazines underrate its performance due to the crappy OE tires that Lexus puts on the car. Stick some decent tires on it, and it will hang with others in the segment, at least in terms of braking and cornering. I think it's not the most livable car, something I realized after driving the Camry in particular, but it has everything I need for dailying. Sure, it has a low step-in height and low-profile tires, but I've learned to deal with those factors over time. And, those things make it feel more special than the Camry, ES, etc. Not to mention, in spite of the interior being smaller than some others, I think the quality and fit and finish is excellent. The BMW was not as nice - there were some nice elements, such as the steering wheel and center console/dash materials, but it just didn't feel as special due to some missing details, like a nice headliner or soft leather, that the IS does have. It's really down to preferences on comparing those two cars. I think the G80 was the most comfortable, but the interior design was also the most bland. I kind of didn't care about that while driving it, but in the IS, I sometimes just... look at the interior. It's interesting.
I also really like the suspension of the IS. I think out of ALL of those, including the BMW, the IS feels the most connected to the road especially when cornering. However, it also has the worst ride quality, while still being livable on a daily-driving basis. Perhaps the Model 3 is more firm, but I didn't have much time or variety of pavement on which to test it. I also have more performance-oriented tires on the IS, whereas everything else except the BMW was riding on more touring-oriented tires, so that could skew ride quality and noise in favor of the other cars just a bit.
I really think it's interesting to come back to the IS after driving other cars.
I am going to be renting a Macan Turbo for the weekend in two weeks, and I will be making a post about that (probably in Car Chat) after to let you guys know how it is.
The Model 3s I drove were different, but clearly still sport sedans. Compared to the IS, it's surprising how similar the Model 3 feels in terms of steering response and feel. I didn't have much time in the Model 3s I drove - both a RWD long range and a Dual Motor (AWD) long range - but found them to be rather awesome in their own way. I just wish the interior design was more... just more I guess? Minimalist, but with nothing in terms of personality = boring, IMHO.
The 335i, even in Sport mode, was pretty comfortable. Firm, but good at soaking up larger impacts. It definitely hauls in a straight line and has good steering response. But, what journalists say about "feel" is true. It felt video-gamey. I think it'd still be a killer daily due to the balance of performance and comfort.
It was interesting going back to a Camry - a 2018 SE in fact. I had it as a rental. I was thankful that I got the SE as a rental instead of the base LE - those 18-inch wheels look pretty sharp. The front-wheel-drive nature of the car didn't really rear its head, in spite of rain. I think the relatively wide tires (225-width) on the Camry combined with it only having about 200 horsepower meant I wasn't going to be burning any rubber unless I did so on purpose. Honestly, the new Camry is great. It feels like a very rigid car that is much more capable than the last gen. The 2019 ES 350 benefits from the same platform changes as the Camry. It feels stiffer and more composed than the old one. Compared to the IS, neither handles better, but the Camry felt a little more eager to change direction than I expected due to its relatively light front end. Perhaps the biggest letdown of the Camry was its liberal use of piano-black trim, which looked 100% dirty after the first day of driving. The interior in general was not impressive - lots of hard plastic. Though, I will say the seats were an improvement over the last-gen's unsupportive, overly-wide seats. This time, the only issue with the seats I found was a short seat bottom cushion. They'd need to add an extendable thigh cusion to make those seats long-term usable. (Fortunately, the 2019 ES did not share that shortcoming, and it had excellent seats.)
I drove a rental 2018 ES 350 (the previous gen) last weekend, and boy... the new one is such an upgrade. When hitting larger bumps, it's easy to feel chassis flex. It just doesn't seem as solid. That said, ride quality was good out on the highway. Just... yeah it doesn't feel very Lexus-like compared to other Lexus I have driven. Especially the seats. Like the previous-gen Camry, they were too wide and provided no support, and surprisingly, they were not soft at all.
I think the most-solid, best-riding car I've driven was a 2015 Genesis (technically, a Hyundai Genesis, but the same car as the G80). It was a 5.0 Ultimate RWD. Ride quality was excellent, but it didn't feel like a boat, either. The V8 was nice, but I'd say the car felt faster than it actually was in terms of numbers. I think it was the amount of torque down-low due the displacement of that engine. Really one of my favorite cars I've ever driven, it's great for just tooling around. The G80 is not a high performer on back roads but an overachiever at day-to-day tasks while being very refined. I was considering getting one for a while actually.
It's the type of car I feel like I could drive for hours on end with no break. Oh, and it has an amazingly large pano sunroof. Luxury.The IS is a very all-around sedan, with perhaps more of a skew towards performance aspirations than the others. I think magazines underrate its performance due to the crappy OE tires that Lexus puts on the car. Stick some decent tires on it, and it will hang with others in the segment, at least in terms of braking and cornering. I think it's not the most livable car, something I realized after driving the Camry in particular, but it has everything I need for dailying. Sure, it has a low step-in height and low-profile tires, but I've learned to deal with those factors over time. And, those things make it feel more special than the Camry, ES, etc. Not to mention, in spite of the interior being smaller than some others, I think the quality and fit and finish is excellent. The BMW was not as nice - there were some nice elements, such as the steering wheel and center console/dash materials, but it just didn't feel as special due to some missing details, like a nice headliner or soft leather, that the IS does have. It's really down to preferences on comparing those two cars. I think the G80 was the most comfortable, but the interior design was also the most bland. I kind of didn't care about that while driving it, but in the IS, I sometimes just... look at the interior. It's interesting.
I also really like the suspension of the IS. I think out of ALL of those, including the BMW, the IS feels the most connected to the road especially when cornering. However, it also has the worst ride quality, while still being livable on a daily-driving basis. Perhaps the Model 3 is more firm, but I didn't have much time or variety of pavement on which to test it. I also have more performance-oriented tires on the IS, whereas everything else except the BMW was riding on more touring-oriented tires, so that could skew ride quality and noise in favor of the other cars just a bit.
I really think it's interesting to come back to the IS after driving other cars.
I am going to be renting a Macan Turbo for the weekend in two weeks, and I will be making a post about that (probably in Car Chat) after to let you guys know how it is.
06-09-19, 11:03 AM
#20
Instructor
some say the vq is a rough, harsh sounding engine, personally I really liked the engine note. Car sounded mean with a resonator delete.
06-10-19, 04:45 AM
#21
Almost bought an SE-R... got an Altima coupe with the 3.5 vq & 6-speed manual... the most disgusting wheel hop and torque steer imaginable but only weighed around 3300 pounds and really flew with the manual.
some say the vq is a rough, harsh sounding engine, personally I really liked the engine note. Car sounded mean with a resonator delete.
some say the vq is a rough, harsh sounding engine, personally I really liked the engine note. Car sounded mean with a resonator delete.
06-10-19, 01:53 PM
#22
The weirdest thing to me about my '18 IS350 awd FS is that our '15 Acura RDX (small SUV) feels faster, responds better, and gets better gas mileage.
If you look at the hp/torque/weight specs on the two you can see why, they are extremely close, it's just weird to me that the SUV has a more sporty feel than the luxury sedan that was obviously designed to be sporty. The RDX even has a better exhaust tone, and growl when you get on it.
Don't get me wrong, I love the quiet, smooth environment of the IS, but I'd like it to have somewhat more of a performance feel, and for that reason will shop around a bit at lease end.
If you look at the hp/torque/weight specs on the two you can see why, they are extremely close, it's just weird to me that the SUV has a more sporty feel than the luxury sedan that was obviously designed to be sporty. The RDX even has a better exhaust tone, and growl when you get on it.
Don't get me wrong, I love the quiet, smooth environment of the IS, but I'd like it to have somewhat more of a performance feel, and for that reason will shop around a bit at lease end.
06-10-19, 03:38 PM
#23
drives cars
The weirdest thing to me about my '18 IS350 awd FS is that our '15 Acura RDX (small SUV) feels faster, responds better, and gets better gas mileage.
If you look at the hp/torque/weight specs on the two you can see why, they are extremely close, it's just weird to me that the SUV has a more sporty feel than the luxury sedan that was obviously designed to be sporty. The RDX even has a better exhaust tone, and growl when you get on it.
Don't get me wrong, I love the quiet, smooth environment of the IS, but I'd like it to have somewhat more of a performance feel, and for that reason will shop around a bit at lease end.
If you look at the hp/torque/weight specs on the two you can see why, they are extremely close, it's just weird to me that the SUV has a more sporty feel than the luxury sedan that was obviously designed to be sporty. The RDX even has a better exhaust tone, and growl when you get on it.
Don't get me wrong, I love the quiet, smooth environment of the IS, but I'd like it to have somewhat more of a performance feel, and for that reason will shop around a bit at lease end.
06-24-19, 06:30 PM
#24
New to the Lexus fam, my other car is a 2018 Audi S4, that thing is fun as hell to drive. I replaced a 2016 BMW 340i Xdrive that had the best trans engine combo I've ever seen. Came to Lexus for the reliability. Hope I didn't make a mistake, lol.
06-25-19, 07:39 PM
#25
Intermediate
Thread Starter
I was looking for a 350 FS, but had to settle for the 300 FS.
The only other car I was attracted to was the S3.
Hard to find, and an a 4 cyl turbo. Never test drove one.
Curious about it now, as the higher torque, 0-60 seems attractive.
I have never owned a turbo. But I will test drive an S3 next time
around.
The only other car I was attracted to was the S3.
Hard to find, and an a 4 cyl turbo. Never test drove one.
Curious about it now, as the higher torque, 0-60 seems attractive.
I have never owned a turbo. But I will test drive an S3 next time
around.
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