RE: Lexus IS F: PH Carpool

[3ananaPie]

Suspiciously similar to one across my house (sort of). Great to see someone opt for something other than M/AMG/RS. Seen a few IS-F's blasting down bath road (Heathrow). I too look forward to the RC-F.

MDMetal said:

So what's the view on how this compares to something like a Gran Turismo? slightly cheaper obviously but similar bracket?

Aren't these faster than a GT? Those are pretty heavy and underpowered (for the size) I think.

Edited by 3ananaPie on Tuesday 28th October 11:16

[garypotter]

A pretty young lady i know had one, loved it but after many years it went and she replaced it with....


A GTR.
Must be a speed thing.

[ocrx8]

stuno1 said:

Had mine for a year and can only echo the comments in the review. Absolutely love mine. Agree it is too quiet so i added a custom cat back system from ‘Hayward and Scott’ which has real tail pipes fitted as that was something that bugged me. No drone for me either, just awesome V8 sound when you punch it.

I also fitted a takeda intake which makes the engine note even better at over 3.5k RPM. SO comfy, fast and imo looks fantastic. Sits low and wide and to my eye is fantastic.

Infact you can hear mine on youtube

http://youtu.be/OzvbajDrtZE

Sounds fantastic!

[GALLARDOGUY]

I love these. Only bought my C63 AMG because I got it for a steal. IS-F was my first choice.

[mikebrownhill]

Quicker than a Granturismo certainly, even a 4.7, and cheaper to maintain and run as well; reliability - nailed that too I would reckon, but its the looks, the sound and the name that would still do it for me with the Maser - its more special I think, and Italian.

Haven't driven the Lexus but never heard anything bad about them either - looks like a good choice.

[Baryonyx]

So much cooler than the M3 it was pitted against when new.

[gumsie]

Limpet said:

A work colleague had one of these and spoke very highly of it.

Love the subtlety. Take those stacked exhausts out of the equation and it could be an IS220d.

That’s my biggest problem with it. Mind you it’s cosmetic so can easliy be fixed?

"It is also a great Q-car. Nobody, even petrolheads, knows what it is! To most, it's just another Lexus - until the pedal gets pressed…
I thought knowing about things like this was what separated a petrol head from others?

[stuno1]

I can appreciate the exhaust design isn't for everyone but I like it and Lexus sweet to have now adopted that style as its on the rcf as well. Makes the cars instantly recognisable and to me is nicer than just copying every other dual exit design.

[macky17]

Great review of a car I'd forgotten about entirely. Will check them out. Just a couple of points: 1) surely we PHers all drive a car before making any financial deals/promises? 2) ALL alloys get marks on them when you touch a kerb! Stay on the black bit.

[Andy665]

3ananaPie said:

I too look forward to the RC-F. Seen a few of these blasting down bath road (Heathrow).

Edited by 3ananaPie on Monday 27th October 17:42

No you haven't, only ever been one in the UK so far and that's a prototype and never been driven on the road

[Gorbyrev]

Great car and fab write up. What is the problem with the exhaust tips? Aren't they meant to figuratively represent the Fuji circuit? No more offensive in my eyes than the styled pipe end of a Mucielago or any number of other cars. Plus, by Dan's calculations it has the minimum of two cylinders per pipe (even though two of them are fake). In my book those tail pipes are a reminder to open my windows and hope the driver in front pins it!

[Stedman]

A colleague has one of these, and he took another colleague out in it who then bought on the next day

[Cable]

Gorbyrev said:

(even though two of them are fake).

It's not that any of them are fake, they just not attached to the mufflers themselves. There's an exhaust exit floating behind each one of those tips.

[3ananaPie]

Andy665 said:

No you haven't, only ever been one in the UK so far and that's a prototype and never been driven on the road

I meant I've seen a few IS-F's. Edited my post.

Edited by 3ananaPie on Tuesday 28th October 11:18

[MDMetal]

mikebrownhill said:

Quicker than a Granturismo certainly, even a 4.7, and cheaper to maintain and run as well; reliability - nailed that too I would reckon, but its the looks, the sound and the name that would still do it for me with the Maser - its more special I think, and Italian.

Haven't driven the Lexus but never heard anything bad about them either - looks like a good choice.

Quicker than some GT models yah, maintenance and running costs lower but there's still the looks of the Maser Damn it! 10k+ more for a less reliable slightly slower in some situations car but with looks and sound, ALMOST doesn't seem a fair trade off

[Redgate]

Thanks for this article .... not.

I have been screening the classified since yesterday

What's not to like about this car ? OK, the pipes are an acquired taste but just knowing that you can get all that performance AND proper reliability, that sells it for me.

[Cable]

Redgate said:

OK, the pipes are an acquired taste but just knowing that you can get all that performance AND proper reliability, that sells it for me.

I honestly don't know why this car seems to be remembered for those exhaust tips. It's a pretty standard thing from manufacturers these days, where the tips aren't attached to the exhaust... even the Ferrari 458 has them!

Admittedly they are not to my tastes, but it's such small thing to worry about, and the rest of the car is so good...
They do have their benefits too, as they don't get anywhere near as hot as your traditional tips, so they don't bake on carbon

[urquattroGus]

Tested a blue one of these with 15k on the clock for about £32000 at the time, about 18 months ago.

Loved it, but found the ride a bit too stiff for everyday.

Ended up with a new M135i instead....

The RC-F has got my ears pricked up too.

[Redgate]

Cable said:

Redgate said:

OK, the pipes are an acquired taste but just knowing that you can get all that performance AND proper reliability, that sells it for me.

I honestly don't know why this car seems to be remembered for those exhaust tips. It's a pretty standard thing from manufacturers these days, where the tips aren't attached to the exhaust... even the Ferrari 458 has them!

Admittedly they are not to my tastes, but it's such small thing to worry about, and the rest of the car is so good...
They do have their benefits too, as they don't get anywhere near as hot as your traditional tips, so they don't bake on carbon

I agree with you 100%. I don't mind them at all but it seems to be the only aspect with which most posters have a problem. Like you said, that's fairly trivial. And if this is the only thing that gets complained about, that tells quite a few things about how good this car is.

[ITP]

It does appear that the only things you need to worry about on these as a second hand buy are consumables and if it's been crashed of course.

Warranty price tells you all you need to know really with regard to reliability. 795 a year for a Lexus extended warranty, it's this price for up to 10 years or 140k miles! Compare that to similar high performance cars official warranties and see how much confidence they have in their products..........
(Plus, I think they are even offering 2 years for that price at the moment)