Again, only in 0-100mph launches done from 0mph. Do it at 80-100mph and torque difference not only not as dramatic, but depending on where gearing is on an ICE car, it might be more with the geared ICE one. That would matter every time you want to overtake a car on a highway doing 70-80mph. Dont forget - electric motors have ever-decreasing Tq the faster they go...and they dont have a gear box to compensate for that, unlike ICE cars. Yes, Teslas are great cars (for what they are - pioneers of EV), but they are by no means a solution to everything, especially not to pure driving engagement.

 

MODERATOR EDIT: Glashub exit this thread. No place on our community for rude personal attacks.

 

Its a good car without question and certainly looks fast, and quite smooth due to lack of gear changes but although it’s marketed as a sports sedan it discourages any kind of spirited driving due to the laggy/boomy engine response. This becomes very obvious when in convoy with other cars, it just sounds, feels and is breathless in comparison when trying to keep up with them. So I think this trait ultimately helps by discouraging the heavy right foot to achieve good mpg.

Here are some possible reasons why (from my own experience) the pre facelift model 3IS 300h, wasn’t offered in all markets.

Performance- it’s about as accelerative as the ES300h, and will be left for dead by something like a 330e or C300, or even (G20) 320d or even some Camrys.
Safety-there were rumours unsubstantiated that the boot floor/well situated hybrid pack is problematic in a rear end crash test
Handing-which is quite good so the ecvt could really frustrate due to its delayed response to the pedal and revs flaring
NVH-it needs more revs to accelerate and engine is actually surprisingly loud and boomy, and when it’s not booming road noise is an issue
Reliability-Drive battery reliability issues

Drove the G20 320d in Europe. I can see why Lexus no longer offers the IS in Europe too.

 

The M340 is really a $60k car as the base is only $55k and decently equipped is $60k. You can get crazy options to drive it up high but it offers things that the IS350 doesn't so its fair to say it has about a $5-10k premium over the IS350. I think the M340 lease prices are attractive so it tends to sell well. The IS350 is a better comparison to the 330i and they are about the same price. I would definitely get the IS350 over the 330 though.

 

Yes but nothing in this class represents pure driving excitement. Teslas are popular in the segment because of what the segment requires...utility, sporty characteristics, prestige etc... I agree with you that pure driving engagement is better done by other vehicles but I was really talking about the class the IS350 represents. Even the new M3 coming out is a fast but heavy vehicle...i doubt it will represent the pinnacle of driving enjoyment too. This whole segment is a compromise.

 

and is350 lexus at base price is a $41-42k car, so still around 10k-14k dollar difference there.. That is a 30% difference.. That is a lot.

 

The cheapest IS350 F-sport is about $43k but doesn't come with the dynamic handling package which is about $3k. The M340 already comes with their sport pack equipped. Its not $14k more for similar options...its probably less than $10k more. Thats why the 330 is comparatively the same price as the IS350. In terms of lease prices, the 330 is actually cheaper due to BMW incentives.

 

If the conversation was around 0-60 times, like you started it, then you dont need dynamic handling to get there and it is a 43k car vs 55k car and a corresponding 0-60 difference... and my point still stands. But if you start comparing that with what options you got, then it really depends on what options you want. If you don't need a lot, then you will be overpaying for a bmw.

 

Can someone confirm this...if you get the IS 350 F Sport w/ Dynamic Handling Pkg with the BBS black wheels are these the tire dimensions?
Are these the same tire dimensions if you get the IS 350 F Sport without the Dynamic Handling Pkg? I'm speaking of the 19" wheels only.
Are these run flat tires? Does the car come with a spare tire?

​​​​​​Front: 235/40R19
Rear: 265/35R19

 

To my understanding RWD only.

Yes
Yes
On the press test cars they had run flats and spares.. Don't know why..

I'm thinking "MAYBE" they only slapped the run-flats since they did NOT have a traditional press event and this was a helpful way to avoid a flat tire issue during the untraditional reviews.

Joe Z

 

Speaking of tires...

Here is "The Smoking Tire"


Joe Z

 

I’m concerned with 40 up front and 35 in the rear that the ride will be too firm and harsh. That going over patches of bad road will make driver and passengers feel everything and won’t be smooth. However some of the reviews like Matt Maran says that the ride is very smooth and comfortable.

The Dynamic HP comes with the adaptive suspension, is this exclusive to this 4200.00 option or does the IS 350 without the DHP already come with the same adaptive suspension. I heard someone on here say last yrs IS already had adaptive.

I’m in a E90 with sport pkg and run flats with the same tires 40 up front and 35 in the rear and the ride is very firm and I feel every bump and while I’ve got use to it, it’s rough and I’m wondering if this adaptive suspension will help make the ride more compliant everyday. My car doesn’t have the adaptive so I feel everything, I know run flats don’t help but will I notice a big difference with the DHP w adaptive suspension?

 

This reviewer had the IS350 F-Sport with the 19 inch wheels for 1 week and at 2:54 she mentions that it has "exceptional ride quality" despite having "terrific handling".

 

If you're going to compare 6 cylinder to 6 cylinder, you'll need to compare M340i vs IS350 F sport. A fully loaded 330i with every SINGLE option ticked includling HUD, Laser Headlights, gesture controls, M sport, with the exceutive package, it only comes out 55,275. A fully loaded IS350 is 55,050. Yes, the BMW is like 300 more expensive, but that extra 300 gives you like silly options like a full digital speedometer, HUD, laser headlights, gesture control. A sun roof and memory seats is standard on a 330i, You CAN'T even get memory seats on a IS350 fully loaded. Power mirrors? Not even a thing on the IS350 F sport. You get the same 0-60 time roughly of like 5.6~5.7 seconds. Shoot, if you want to blow the doors off the IS350 F sport from 0-60, just add 2K and get the X drive and drop the 0-60 to 5.3 seconds. Add AWD to the IS350 and you add like 0.1 second. The 330i is most likely going to be easier to drive around town because the torque comes up at a low RPM. There are also benefits of owning a BMW, for example 3 year free maintenance. Every time you take the car in, you get a loaner car. Lexus maintenance is not free, but you also get a loaner car. 330i is more fuel efficient if that even matters. The only thing to bank on is long term costs. Lexus is known for reliability, so if you get a Lexus, it's basically a car you drive for 10 years for pretty much problem free. Unlike a BMW, after 5-6 years you start running into cooling issues like cracked coolant resirvors or some odd electrical gremlins. Also, the Lexus line up has much more buttery smooth steering and compliant ride (subjective thing from me). I find BMWs a little too stiff for the terrible roads in LA.

You are right about the lease incentives..even purchase incentives are decent. It seems like Lexus doesn't seem to really negotiate on price much (maybe it's just me in my area of Los Angeles)? There are a lot more BMW dealerships around me than Lexus. I can only count like 4 Lexus dealerships in a 50 mile radius, but I can count 5 or 6 BMW Dealerships in a 50 mile Radius. When I was cross shopping RC-F and BMW M4, I got my fully loaded M4 without ZCP, for 68,800 plus tax. You're talking like base RC-F with no option price vs fully loaded BMW M4 with basically everything checked.

IMO, the IS and 3 series are meh for handling. When I was trashing them on the autocross for the Lexus Driving Event in the past and for the BMW UDE, you can tell they're not racecars, handling is mushy, lots of body roll, accelerator is like dulled (but this is from me who daily drives a BMW M4 with a DCT and blows the doors off almost everything on the road, with a 0-60 of 3.9 seconds). They're both good daily drivers, but the 330i is more luxurious in terms of feature overall.

 

Remember guys...

What I'm seeing on the AWD models are non staggered...

So 235/40/19 on all 4 corners on F Sport AWD

Joe Z