Thankfully there’s a Turo driver willing to trust others with his IS500 here in SoCal so I was able to do a very extended test drive. I’m currently looking at the IS500 as I want a sedan that’s RELIABLE, fast, smooth driving, and of course a V8.
Couple of observations after 200 miles on highway and back country roads:
1. It’s a very beautiful car. Every angle is nice. I keep looking back at it after parking it. No current model BMW does this for me. The new 5 and 7 series are especially hideous. Not sure how those made it past the design committee. It’s probably so they hope that new owners can look at the serious decontenting they’ve been doing. The new G60 i5 I looked at had serious cost reductions such as loss of back seat storage, hard plastic in door storage that used to be lined. The single screen BMW interface is trash. The Bowers and Wilkins new stereo “upgrade” is now cheaper, but no longer has diamond tweeters and sounds as bad as the prior Harmon Kardon on the G30.
2. Mark Levinson system is pretty good. The B&W system on the G30 can get louder and the bass is cleaner, but the ML system has a better soundstage which is surprising as the G30 is a much bigger car. It’s also “warmer” and less fatiguing to listen to.
3. The V8, oh the V8. A buddy of mine who’s owned/leased multiple V8’s from M550i, Camaros, Chargers, and now a Corvette says it has a very unique sound. Sounds like a V8, but has different character from American V8’s and the M550i. But I love it!
4. Very quiet at speed. It’s almost as good as my G30. Wind noise is very well controlled. No crappy suspension noised like the golf cart suspensions found on Teslas. BUT the road noise is kinda bad. It’s the only thing that breaks the luxury feel on this car. It also dulls the ML sound system, I heard this from another poster here and I agree. It might be just the crappy Bridgestones
5. It handles well, with much better steering feel than the G30 540i with M sport package. It is a smaller car though.
6. I miss all the creature comforts such as power trunk lid, massage seats, and ambient lighting on the 5 series
7. Speaking of seats, the IS500 has some really really good seats. More comfortable than the 18 way “comfort seats” on my 5 series. Only thing missing is the massage, but that’s more LS500 stuff anyway. The cooling function blows away BMW’s version. I know several posters here have complained about it, but the seat fan is quiet. BMW’s seat cooling fans are loud in comparison and has half the airflow.
8. Love the old school gauges, buttons, and even the CD player. Don't like the lack of HUD and wireless CarPlay.
9. The transmission is not as bad as I thought it would be. It does clunk downshifts occasionally, especially when cold. It's definitely tuned for fuel eoncomy and smoothness in normal driving. It wakes up a bit in the sport+ mode. Not that responsive in manual mode unlike the ZF8, but I expect this transmission to last much longer than the ZF8.
10. Fuel economy is bad, definitely drinks more fuel than the B58. but the extra reliability and lack of turbo lag is worth it
11. Love the color now. I wasn't too thrilled with it initially, but grows on you. Sad that Lexus dealers here in SoCal seem to only get black, white and incognito IS500s only.

I’m going to be sad having to turn it in….

Now do I wait for the 2025’s, or just get a 2024? Decisions decisions….

 

Glad you enjoyed it! Rather than between 2024 or 2025 I'd say shoot for a color spec you would really like. It'd be a bummer to always think what if I got that "insert color" IS instead

 

Glad you’re liking the 500. It only gets better as a owner.

As to wireless CarPlay, its absence is annoying for sure but Amazon has $50 wireless CarPlay dongles that’ll fix that.

And ya, city fuel economy isn’t the best, but many of us see low 30s on the highway. I get about 18mpg city which to me is great given the 472hp V8 always nagging to be wrung out.

 

Wow. Just looked that car up on Turo and its only an hour away. I think I will partake.
Thanks!

 

Obviously no car is perfect; but if you understand Lexus’ mission for the car, it’s pretty freaking amazing. (…and that’s without my fanboy enthusiasm, otherwise you’d see a ton of exclamation points.) 😜

Better tires, like the Pilot Sport All-Seasons, will definitely help with the wind noise. The car uses 2014 technology, so the NVH will be higher than other new cars by default.

NOTE: I personally think the PS4S Summers are slightly louder than the OEM Bridgestones, but the elevated performance is worth the sacrifice.

I agree, focus on the desired spec, not on the model year. Good luck!

 

Do it. The host is great and the car is in perfect condition. You'll really get a feel for the car that you won't get on the 5 minute test drive with the constant impression that the salesperson is wanting you to turn back to the dealership asap.

I don't mind the "2014 tech" as this car actually has a soul compared to the soulless cars that BMW is putting out these days. There is zero steering feel on my G30. Nothing like the E39 let alone what the E60 used to have. BMW cannot seem to make EPS with decent feel.
It's NVH is much better than I expected. Definitely quieter than my last E90 335d. And the 2014 Lexus chassis tech still has superior NVH to the 2024 Model 3 Highland I test drove for 30 min 2 weeks ago.
It's a very serene ride for a compact sport luxury car. The road noise is what breaks the ambiance.
The PS4S are quieter than the crappy good year runflats that my G30 came with. Surprised that they're louder than the stock tires. I have 20's all around on my G30.
Will probably look into the continental extreme contact sport 2's as those are known to be a little quieter than the PS4s and should be a bit better in the handling department than the Bridgestones.
Yeah I think I'll just focus on getting the color I want rather than expecting things like auto fold mirrors in the 2025 that the Japanese market IS500s have.

 

Also to add, if you’re looking for any other colors than the ones you mentioned then I would recommend you wait for 2025 model year. Historically, Lexus has been known to release limited edition colors every year.

2022: Incognito Grey (now an optional color starting 2024)

2023: Molten pearl

2024: Vector Blue

2025: ????

 

It would be cool if they did something really special for the 2025 MY. Nori Green? Amethyst pearl? Copper?

 

copper would be sick

 

Glad you enjoyed the 500. its an amazing car and a complement getter. i have random people taking pics always. i saw a molten pearl today on the highway but doing less than the speed limit lol. beautiful color. i have an infrared which is gorgeous. i wouldnt wait get it while you can .

 

Great initial review. That reminds me to check my local Turo for any cool cars to drive.

 

Great review, and very complete. Thank you! I just traded in my IS350 DHP for an UltraWhite IS 500, and man, I can report there is a significant difference. Believe it or not, it is a whole different animal. Steering in the 500 is sharp, precise, and very communicative in comparison with the 350 less enthusiastic, let alone power delivery (obvious). You can fall in love with the car just with one test drive. the 350 on the other hand, right out of the lot, grows in you gradually, until it doesn't anymore (circa 7K miles) then you can feel an adrenaline delta that only the ML stereo can help mitigate. And lastly, steering feedback changes a little according to the selected driving mode, in both cars.

 

The MP guy/gal you saw was just breaking-in the engine, I guess...

 

ZERO steering feel . It's one of the gripes I have with my wife's 330i. I, for one, think the steering feel on the IS500 is quite good (for electronic power steering), and the handling is on point, sharp, and direct.

 

Older BMW's E46/E39 etc and both my Infinitis had awesome hydraulic steering.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the EPS in the IS 500.