Story here.

Is anyone really gonna mistake this "Corolla on Steroids" for a performance car? I am so sick of the melted-bar-of-soap, vanilla bean styling of so many of these Japanese cars, Toyota in particular.

Who cares what the specs are if it looks like a rolling turd with a gaudy aero kit slapped on?



I guess the "F" is for Fugly.

I am gonna assume that the guy who piloted this Mustang GT (and crashed) in a drag race against a Lexus IS350 simply had no idea how to drive. The new Stang should take the IS350, hands down, despite the trash talk spewing from these ignorant, misinformed Ricer snobs.

 

Friend of mine at work just got a IS350, its too small for me and I'm just 6'1" 280#. The fit/finish of the interior is quite nice but its a very vanilla car. You don't notice them as much as the S197s.

 

Vanilla bean hell that is plain Ugly. The side shot there reminds me more of a Tiburon than something that can actually move.

 

My disdain with the IS-F is the rear.



In my opinion it is one of the worst looking rear-ends I have seen in some time. I thought the car as a whole would grow on me, but to date it has not. Maybe a look 'in the flesh' will sway me . . . .

 

Just so you know... you can't look at magazine numbers to determine if one car should win over another. That's called bench racing, and unfortunately, that's what a lot of people do, especially on other forums.

Anyway, I will tell you from first-hand experience:

The IS350 is just as fast as the new GT, stock for stock. It is ULTRA quick revving, and is also ULTRA fast when you get on it at highway speeds. In fact, I think it has much faster rolling accerlation than the mustang.

The mustang is a completely different type of animal, and isn't even considered competition for the IS. They are two totally different cars, and should be treated that way. A person that is looking at an IS probably isn't considering a mustang, and vice-versa.

 

And, just to clarify:

The IS is NOT!!! a glorified Corolla. It is a totally different car, it's lineage is that it is based off the larger Lexus GS platform, and it is RWD.

 

Fast? yes, Great engine. Impressive adaptation of an automotive tranny into a legit alternative to the automated manual 'flappy pedal' gearbox so popular at the moment? Yes. Well sorted package that knows what it wants to be? Not even close. Unfortunately the exterior mods are pretty tacky as well. I would much rather have a run of the mill IS350 with this cars engine, tranny, brakes, and some mild suspension tuning. My bet is most consumers would as well. As it is I can't imagine anybody but a hard core Pacific Rim devotee picking this over a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi.

 

If one wants Japanese ride quality and build quality, the above 3 brands will not interest them.

But, I see your overall point, which is my view too: The IS350 (which, by the way, is far from "run of the mill" compared to other IS's, which are also somewhat uncommon depending on where you live) is much cheaper and looks better IMO. The only downside is that there aren't too many mods available for them, and the few that are are bucoup $$$$

 

What ride quality? By all accounts this thing rides like an iron canoe down a log pile. For that matter the IS350 is a bit of a rough one in this respect as well with Lexus apparently still having a great deal of learning curve left relative to how a proper sport suspension is tuned. And as for build quality. I worked with Toyota about a decade ago and was there to witness the beginning of their only recently publicized downward spiral in this respect. And while I would be willing to bet that Lexus quality has maintained a much higher standard, the slew of issues Toyota has recently come up against might make the build quality angle a tough sell since most folks know exactly where Lexus comes from. And to be blunt, I cannot imagine any of the RS4 or M3 owners I know steeping into something as garrish as that even it were built like a Swiss watch.

A simple IS500 would have been far, far better than this. IMHO Lexus has left the door wide open for an ambitious tuner to drop the superb 5.7L V8 normally found under the Tundra's hood into these things, back it up with a proper 6-speed manual and some very minor suspensions and brake work....add a set of wheels....and you would have a much more compelling package likely for similar money. Heck, maybe Saleen can get in on this since they'll work on anything these days.

 

As an overall rule, German cars have a much firmer ride, both suspension-wise and leather seat-wise, when compared to their Japanese competition. But, that all comes down to a buyer's personal preference.

Agreed. It's going to be hard to sway previous owners from one to another. But, at the same time, what mustang owner is planning on getting a new Camaro. Instead, I think that they're just trying to get some market share. But, unfortunately, I think they missed the ball a little because the overall package still can't compare to the new M3's and C63's, given somewhat comparable MSRP's.

Agreed. Although that's what this is supposed to be.

Nice jab at Saleen btw.

 

Typically yes, here...apparently not so much. And this is ironic since I am generally a fan of the softer seat/firm ride approach rather than the opposite. To be fair both BMW and Mercedes seats have gotten much better of late (Audi has always been good here) and the ride quality of the M3 has gotten better as well in my experience (note: I haven't been in the new model but the old one was surprisingly comfy) The IS350 does fine in terms of seating but rides a bit rough even when compared to a last gen M3. I'm betting the F doesn't ride any better.

Fair enough. Given the market they are going for the styling may play better than I am giving it credit for. But Lexus is really backing themselves into a corner here with these overt styling cues and it is still difficult accept something so outlandish from the once sedate brand of Lexus

Yeah, I know.

The folks at Saleen have apparently completely lost their collective mind by this point.

 

A whaa...?

 

I think that he's trying to say that it rides rough

 

Yeah, I understood the meaning, I'd just never heard that expression before.

 

wow that *** (rear) is ****in (really) ugly.