RE: Lexus IS F: Spotted
Discussion
Test drove one with the pretence of buying and the decided to spend all my money moving house instead 
Will say however they're a very nice car, gearbox is great and I usually hate automatics. The only thing that stood out as less than great is the usual Lexus problem of interior switch gear that looks like a 90's walkman. Wouldn't put me off one though.
Will say however they're a very nice car, gearbox is great and I usually hate automatics. The only thing that stood out as less than great is the usual Lexus problem of interior switch gear that looks like a 90's walkman. Wouldn't put me off one though.
Oliver-2optb said:
If that was unlucky, it sounds as cheap to run as a normal car! When I had a WRX and an STI it was pushing that on a normal service each time.
I too like everyone else on here, am drawn to these. they are cramped in the back and the boot is tiny, but you can't have it all.
Lexus seem to engineer things very well for long life, not just 3 years, that probably means you loose a little of the savage perfomance of some othger cars, but could mean a better ownership proposition.
Good spot
The problem with the IS-F is that, at the time, if you wanted a different, Japanese, performance car with two usable seats (seriously, try sitting in the back of an IS-F and not having your head touching the roof/rear glass) you bought a GT-R for the same money....
No surprise that their value has plummeted so much... now with the price difference between the same two second hand
cars, it's a completely different decision.
No surprise that their value has plummeted so much... now with the price difference between the same two second hand
cars, it's a completely different decision.
PistonHeads said:
The rarity hasn't stopped the IS F from depreciating though, this black car the cheapest on PH at the moment at £15,995. £15K!
This annoys me. It's not £15K is it, it's a fiver short of £16,000. If I owed someone £15,995 and handed them £15k, I don't think they'd be too impressed. But it's £15k! No it's not, it's lazy.
/rant.
Alias218 said:
PistonHeads said:
The rarity hasn't stopped the IS F from depreciating though, this black car the cheapest on PH at the moment at £15,995. £15K!
This annoys me. It's not £15K is it, it's a fiver short of £16,000. If I owed someone £15,995 and handed them £15k, I don't think they'd be too impressed. But it's £15k! No it's not, it's lazy.
/rant.
Pistonheader101 said:
Alias218 said:
PistonHeads said:
The rarity hasn't stopped the IS F from depreciating though, this black car the cheapest on PH at the moment at £15,995. £15K!
This annoys me. It's not £15K is it, it's a fiver short of £16,000. If I owed someone £15,995 and handed them £15k, I don't think they'd be too impressed. But it's £15k! No it's not, it's lazy.
/rant.
Having never driven an IS-F, I might get shot down for this, but there's two things that might put me off one; the auto box seems to get very mixed reviews, some love it, some find it 'ok' and some seem to feel it is the let-down feature.
The other thing that gets my goat is the exhaust pipes. If I owned one I thing I'd need to take it to a good body shop and get the rear valance altered to accept twin 'cans', a little like a TVR, rather than the Mr Magoo pipes that are on it as standard.
Probably a petty point of view, but if I look at the BMW or Mercedes there's nothing I don't like, and that makes that, just might, be enough to push me away from the Lexus and into the arms of German motoring...
The other thing that gets my goat is the exhaust pipes. If I owned one I thing I'd need to take it to a good body shop and get the rear valance altered to accept twin 'cans', a little like a TVR, rather than the Mr Magoo pipes that are on it as standard.
Probably a petty point of view, but if I look at the BMW or Mercedes there's nothing I don't like, and that makes that, just might, be enough to push me away from the Lexus and into the arms of German motoring...
I've owned one for about 9 months and absolutely love it. It really ticks all the boxes - fast, reliable and surprisingly cheap to own under the circumstances.
I'd agree that looking out for a post 2010 model makes sense. In addition to the improved ride, the LSD is upgraded, and it also comes equipped with DAB and bluetooth audio streaming. The updated versions are like hen's teeth, though - my understanding is that they make up less than 25% of the cars registered in the UK.
As an ownership proposition, the performance and soundtrack of the V8 are utterly epic. I've never had too many issues with the gearbox being sluggish, although the performance level meant that for the majority of the time, I just left it in auto mode and (comparatively) wafted around. When you go into manual mode and drop down a few gears, the acceleration is phenomenal - I suspect that perhaps that just gives a false impression of sluggishness in change. Either way, the performance is way beyond what is practically needed day to day.
It's without question the best car I've ever owned by a country mile so if you get a chance to own one (or even drive one), grab the opportunity with both hands!
Sadly as I've now emigrated a friend (and fellow PHer) will be listing it on PH in the next few days so if you're in the market for an updated one, keep an eye on the classifieds.
I'd agree that looking out for a post 2010 model makes sense. In addition to the improved ride, the LSD is upgraded, and it also comes equipped with DAB and bluetooth audio streaming. The updated versions are like hen's teeth, though - my understanding is that they make up less than 25% of the cars registered in the UK.
As an ownership proposition, the performance and soundtrack of the V8 are utterly epic. I've never had too many issues with the gearbox being sluggish, although the performance level meant that for the majority of the time, I just left it in auto mode and (comparatively) wafted around. When you go into manual mode and drop down a few gears, the acceleration is phenomenal - I suspect that perhaps that just gives a false impression of sluggishness in change. Either way, the performance is way beyond what is practically needed day to day.
It's without question the best car I've ever owned by a country mile so if you get a chance to own one (or even drive one), grab the opportunity with both hands!
Sadly as I've now emigrated a friend (and fellow PHer) will be listing it on PH in the next few days so if you're in the market for an updated one, keep an eye on the classifieds.
Edited by Tallow on Thursday 17th August 21:58
and here is Tallows car outside my house about to be put on PH classified, cat not included though - he likes to lay on the scuttle panel where the heat of the V8 exits.
What a machine, I really wish I was in a position to buy it off him - stupid childcare costs!
What a machine, I really wish I was in a position to buy it off him - stupid childcare costs!
Edited by court on Thursday 17th August 23:28
Had my 2011 model for 18 months now, changed the exhaust to liberate some sound, absolutely love it, this is my fourth Lexus, absolutely rock solid reliability, never had a single issue with any of them.
I really don't get the comments about a sluggish gearbox, yes when it is in full auto it is a lazy cruiser type car but put it in Sport and into manual mode and the gearbox changes are superfast, I have never ever found myself thinking I cant get the next gear fast enough, no matter going up or down the gearbox.
Don't get the comments on the interior either but hey ho, if we all liked the same stuff it would be a boring world..................
I really don't get the comments about a sluggish gearbox, yes when it is in full auto it is a lazy cruiser type car but put it in Sport and into manual mode and the gearbox changes are superfast, I have never ever found myself thinking I cant get the next gear fast enough, no matter going up or down the gearbox.
Don't get the comments on the interior either but hey ho, if we all liked the same stuff it would be a boring world..................
I sold my 2008 ISF a few years ago with 90k miles on the clock. I took it from 3k miles to the 90k with nothing being spent on it outside of routine tyres, brakes etc etc.
They are bullet proof.
I loved mine but drove it like a lunatic just to get close to making it feel alive. The GT86 I replaced it with was twice as much fun at half the speed.
They are bullet proof.
I loved mine but drove it like a lunatic just to get close to making it feel alive. The GT86 I replaced it with was twice as much fun at half the speed.
HannsG said:
Subbed.
I don't know what it is, but the rear fake exhaust trims put me off.
I gather these cars are juicy also
Seriously you decide whether a car is good or bad by its fake exhaust tips?I don't know what it is, but the rear fake exhaust trims put me off.
I gather these cars are juicy also
The noise, the rwd neutral handling, the sheer reliability, the relatively cheap servicing etc etc are all immaterial it is just the fake exhausts that are important.......
As for mpg mine did 28mpg over 90,000 miles.
KTF said:
What (if anything) goes wrong on these?
Apprarently some of the earlier ones had a weak water pump, which was replaced under warranty. Even then, this only caused leaking rather than catastophic failure. Beyond that, there are very few problems with them reported at all, as far as I could tell prior to purchasing. The realiability on them is simply astonishing.
I am interested to hear from those that came from E90 M3/B7 RS4 as to how the ISF sizes up?
Is it a 'cheaper' ownership proposition in terms of serving etc? The M's and RS' brands seem to attract their own 'tax' - can the same he said for the ISF or is it business as usual for Lexus?
Seemingly superb reliability and not a big amount of worrying failures, quick look across the pond suggests they have stood the test of time very well?
Si
Is it a 'cheaper' ownership proposition in terms of serving etc? The M's and RS' brands seem to attract their own 'tax' - can the same he said for the ISF or is it business as usual for Lexus?
Seemingly superb reliability and not a big amount of worrying failures, quick look across the pond suggests they have stood the test of time very well?
Si
Thinking about the comments about the exhaust trims, in 2008 when the IS-F came out I myself laughed at the fake exhausts, but fast forward to 2017 and it seems that having a white hot piece of metal protruding out of your bodywork is now frowned upon - is it EU regs? Are exhausts getting hotter therefore breaking a current limit? I don't know, but there's many new performance cars on sale now that have gash plastic trims now - I'm looking at you Mercedes.
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