If he does go the Mustang route, coming from a well-suspended IS, he's not going to be disappointed in the 'Stangs power, but its handling. If he decides to sink mod money into a new car he should get the Ford Racing handling pack and some better rubber.

 

Thanks for all the help. I will test drive the car and i'll give u my insite on the car

 

If he plans to run it at the track, he'd do well to invest in some better brakes as well.

 

Agreed. Make it stop, make it handle, then make it go.

As for the difference between the S197 vs the later SN95's. The S197's do handle better stock for stock but they are heavier. You may want to even consider looking for a 99-04 and doing some suspension mods. The SN95's are very receptive to handling modifications and can really run with the best of them. Look on MM&FF web site for some recent tech articles on this issue.

 

I've never cared much for the looks of Lexus vehicles (except for the SC400) but I have to admit, I like the IS350. If I were in the market for a luxo-sport sedan, I would give it serious consideration. I think it looks far better than the other Japanese luxury brands and nearly on par with the BMW 3 series.

 

Lex - it may be a moot point by now (you may have already purchased your new car - I only read through page 1) but FWIW I had an '00GT and now have an '05GT and the '05 is a MUCH better handling car. (no offense to the 99 -04 owners out there as I had one and liked it very much - still miss certain aspects of that ride very much). My 00 had a tendency to be a bit "quirky" on center in the handling dept.....once it bit down into the turns it was better but the on center suspension quirkiness/vauge feeling - did not inspire confidence. The new chassis on the '05+ stangs is much more solid and stable feeling and as I have shared with many of my friends - it is the first of six Mustangs I have owned over the years that actually feels like it's capable of decent handling. Not only is it a new/stiffer chassis, Ford moved the front wheels 6" closer to the front bumper, relocated the battery back to the cowl area for much less weight overhang and better handling. Very impressive as well is the almost 4' less turning radius due to the further foward front wheels. It's not really a fair comparision as the 99 - 04 Mustang chassis is the old Fox platform that dates way back the the late 70's / early 80's.....

 

um i think i saw a 06 lexus is350 smoke an 06 mustang gt on streetfire...

 

Wow bro, you're the man.

 

One of my coworkers just bought the 250, and it was $41k! I took it to lunch one day and never felt an urge to sit in it again. The 350 shows this starting price at $36k(not including freight), but any option package adds $7000(I doubt there is an un-optioned IS on a lot in the country). But its sooo different a car from a Mustang I wouldn't be cross-shopping the two. Its also a somewhat small car, and as nice as everything is put together, its not all that great, reminds me of a TSX. I'd go with a Infiniti G over an IS350 anyday. Its got a lot more personality. The Mustang GT is a whole different beast, but if you get bored you can choose from thousands of things to personalize/improve it, unlike a luxury car.

The original IS was quite an enigma and the new car really doesn't have the same character. The G you can choose the Sport model or get the AWD with the 300hp motor. Its the G that seems more like the natural evolution of the IS300 then the new Lexus. I was shopping C-class and a few other ideas and pretty much the most sex appeal in the price range is definitely the C class, but the G is the best buy(and most fun) in the group. I just get bored and tinker so **** much I ended up ordering another Mustang. And to think the V6 idea was to keep me away from modding and modding, it did for a year though, if you don't count the motorcycles and other crap I bought

They haven't changed the coupe yet though, but the best buy overall is the Sport 6M G35 Sedan RWD at roughly 33k. The stock wheels even look good. And the VQ has a huge following and years of experience modifying the motor. I don't think the new V6 toyota engine is ever going to be one the kids mess around with, unless they start modding camry's.

 

I think you will notice a big difference between the 03 gt and the newer stang, I know I did.

 

The Gt will own!!