Are you talking about BMW? I have nav in my 2015 IS and yeah, Google maps is waaaayyyyyyyyyyy better.

 

Yes talking about the BMW. If you are talking about the IS, I don't blame you as Google Maps is a better option lol.

 

The Lexus and the BMW 3 series are no comparison to each other, the BMW literally puts it to sleep (and no I am not saying that because I own one), I am saying that as someone who has owned both of them. It is a far more advanced car, but then again the IS is heavily dated now in terms of how quick technology advances. Can Lexus make an IS which is up to date and competitive to its competitors, absolutely. Do they want to? Doesn't quite seem like it.

The only thing I miss about the IS is the feeling of 'sitting in a cockpit' feel when you get in, along with its handling. As I've mentioned before, I never hesitated hitting hard turns and corners on it, I knew it would hold up well. The 3 series has impressive handling as well, but I just feel the IS wins in that. Maneuvering around town is no issue, but when you leave it on Sport Mode, you can tell the car just wants to go and doesn't like being held at low RPM. It wants to let loose. Eco mode is trash, as it is in EVERY car. Comfort mode is a nice balance between it all, I just hate that auto start/stop crap in Comfort and Eco, glad I can turn it on or off though. Gas MPG is already higher on the BMW than it EVER was on the IS, and I mainly do city driving. As for the power, it is more than enough for your daily use, it is quicker than the IS350 as well. The exhaust pops and gurgles are a nice addition as well, although they are MUCH louder on the M340i.

I have a post from when I got the car and compare it to the IS from last year, if you care here's a link: Lease Ending + New Car, its just some basic comparison I talk about. I'm not a pro at these things, @arentz07 is the one who has the professional detailed reviews of cars!

Now, if you'll excuse me I will back away before people start talking ****** to me and saying my opinion is biased and just taking crap about the IS lol.

 

Never used the destination search in the IS or the navigation, always used google maps. Horrible UI, was an absolute shame. After experiencing that, I had no positive hope for even the BMW navigation, but I was wrong. Thing is amazing, such a flawless experience either entering in a destination or telling it where you want to go. If you want to type it in, you don't need to find the letters in the menus, you can draw the letters/numbers on the mousepad. Hopefully Lexus makes this improvement in the next gen for the infotainment.

Maybe Lexus employees read these forums and take feedback... lol

 

The Teslas come with Google maps as the nav interface. Ironically, it doesn't have Carplay or Android auto however, i think its easily the most responsive car UI on the market (as it should be because it has no buttons). I bet someday, they'll add an app store to Tesla and you could download Waze to the maps interface.

My only gripe about the Enform was that they didn't make it better over time when they could have. In fact, they took away functionality because they didn't want to upkeep the development of the software. That was a pretty effed up move by Lexus and really amateur hour in terms of product support. Lexus is really bottom of the barrel in terms of their software capability in the industry...just a joke.

 

Lexus navigation? All mine has are the static maps that it came with. I rarely use mine, just use my phone with Gogglemaps because it IS up to date and has traffic. What year is yours and are you subscribed to something?

 

Interesting.

I had little hope when I recently tried to use the nav in the Porsche and was dumbfounded. It was extremely slow to enter anything, though I, after 5 minutes of fiddling, did successfully enter the address I wanted lol. However it's 2020, maybe manufacturers are starting to come around to investing in UX.

 

Really? you like the handling of the IS more? could you describe in what way specifically? The videos I've seen of the IS350 (slalom, track tests,) seems to have induced ALOT of understeer when pushed hard, esp for a RWD car.

 

lol my thoughts exactly, but OP is referring to the maps in their BMW, not Lexus.

 

I am referring to my BMW 3 series navigation. Sorry for the confusion. Flawless in the 3 series.

In my IS, I always used Google Maps since the UI was a joke. I would dread even having to imagine entering in a destination address in the IS.

Sorry for the confusion lol. But yes you are correct.

 

Yeah, my only push for wanting CarPlay is to have Google Maps. I drive a lot, so need it in a convenient setup. I don't like built-in car navigation simply because it isn't smart and it doesn't update after a period of time. My 2012 328i's gives me dumb drive-arounds sometimes, has no sense of traffic conditions, and stopped having updates around 2016. And first world problem, but if we're talking a luxury car in 2020, I shouldn't have to attach a phone holder to my windshield or air vent for a map system on my phone -- the phone compatibility should be integrated into the car infotainment.

I have no idea why Lexus didn't integrate CarPlay into the 2020 IS, yet made it a deal for all other models.

 

It's all relative. Sedans like this are naturally going to understeer outside of power-induced oversteer. The IS just has a nice feel to the handling. It feels precise, and less fake than the last-gen 3-series (I haven't driven a new 2019+ model yet). I've driven a few other nice-handling cars lately, and really the IS holds its own. In terms of absolute grip, maybe not... but the way they tuned the steering makes it really easy to go fast in, which I think is partly what premier was saying. The Stinger kinda has a similar feel too, but it lacks the body control of the IS. The 3 series I drove, a 335i M-Sport with the Dynamic Handling Package, had really nice body control but video-game steering feel and a wheel that was honestly a little too chunky for me. It was fun, but not what I would call "engaging".

I also agree on the cockpit seating position. The IS has a pretty low hip point and step-in height for what it is, and combining that aspect of it with the nice bolstering gives me the feeling I am sitting in something sportier than it actually is.

edit: I really just wish the IS would tickle the senses a little more. The piped-in analog engine sound is great (read: NOT DIGITAL ), but I feel it masks some of the car sounds we like. If a crossover (here, the Macan) can feel more visceral than a sedan, that shows that something in the IS is being muted. Hard to put a finger on it really, but it just feels a little distant sometimes - if still more "real" than an F30 3-series. Overall I agree it's really nice to drive when I find a road where I can throw it around.

 

Well said.

 

Awesome, thank you for sharing. So youd say that the 3IS has good steering feel? The good body control can be attributed to the sway bars which I hear are good for stock units.

The tendency to understeer is more the result of alignment. Engineers purposely tune the suspension geometry and alignment on majority of vehicles to induce understeer because it is "safer" and more easy to control for the average driver than tail happy oversteer.

Then you get cars like the Camaro ZLI, which wows everyone by having 315 width tires all around and race oriented alignment straight from the factory. Cant expect it to not handle well..

 

I always wonder that too. I mean, I had it in my 2018 Honda Accord and I loved it, why not the IS? There has to be some type of reasoning that isn't being made public considering Lexus has it in other models.