Car and Driver review IS-F

Quite a good review. The car seems to have a good balance between performance and luxury, which fits in with the Lexus ethos better than if it was an all out hard-core machine. As Lexus stated this is a Lexus take on a performance saloon, not a direct M3 competitor.

— Kinger (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 9:03:50 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

im not big on this car but 59 grand really seems like a bargain in this class. it may sell to some people on price alone.

— bmwdrvr (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 9:20:08 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

"the IS F is at core a Lexus with extra muscle, not as raw as the BMW M3 or Mercedes C63 AMG"

Lexus IS-F is just a regular IS with more power, not a completely redesigned car. This is where Mercedes, BMW and Audi differentiate themselves from average car makers like Lexus. They build their sport models from ground up as completely different cars in comparison with their regular models. There is just no comparison between the incredible German performance cars and this cheaply built, under-performing Lexus.

I'm glad to see that Lexus knows where its place is and priced the IS-F accordingly, as a second tier luxury car.

— Star (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 10:08:53 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -10   

"The muted interior, the slightly watery controls, the heavy price tag; the IS F is at core a Lexus with extra muscle, not as raw as the BMW M3 or Mercedes C63 AMG. The next steps for F may decide if the performance sub-brand thrives or is only a brief experiment."



Quite impressed with what Lexus has achieved here, and even if its not as raw as the M3 or C63, its still fun to drive, compared with past Lexus'. This would definetly help change their image.
Well done Lexus!

— M53R (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 10:28:46 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 13   

Like I said, this car has nothing on the German 3.

— SevorbeupstryIsBack (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 10:35:20 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -8   

It will be interesting to see a comparo test between this the RS4 and M3. Even if it doesn't place first it still is sure to get some points somewhere. I say good job to Lexus for showing it's not a lightweight, and can compete with the big bad Germans. I love the M3 and the RS4 is a fantastic car, not that I will ever own one, but again, it will be a great article to see how Lexus pairs up.

— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 11:15:47 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Give Lexus their due. Their first offering from the "F" division is a home run based on the majority of the "enthusiast" car mags. This does not hurt the German
marques, other then people will realize even more that they are over priced.

— david999 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 11:27:06 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

"Why the letter “F” in the new V-8–powered, 416-horsepower Lexus IS F? Simple: Toyota’s luxury brand and the letter F have a long history. In the mid-1980s, the Lexus luxury division was then just a classified notepad document codenamed “Circle F.” The first Lexus LS400 of 1989 was known internally as the “F1” or “Flagship.” And the stylized Fs on the 2008 IS F are drawn, it’s said, to mimic a few hairpin turns of Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji test track."

Pure rubbish. This is nothing more than marketing BS!

When Lexus presented the IS-F concept they said the F in IS-F meant "Fast" and nothing else. Now they are desperately using this faux-heritage argument. Weak.

"At full throttle above 3400 rpm, a barn door in the box snaps open with vacuum released from a small reservoir, and the unleashed induction noise is raw and thrilling."

I think it's pretty clear Lexus is gunning for the M3.

— SevorbeupstryIsBack (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 11:43:31 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

arent these numbers faster than m3 and rs4 ?

— iamdabest1 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 11:44:51 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

well, it seems that Lexus did a good job performance wise, engine, transmission, braking all seem to be on par with the competition, but as it has been the case for the past 30 years, for japanese brands, copying is never too difficult. However, steering feel seems to be out, design wise I think this thing is just plain ugly, and tacky. Also where is the manual transmission? For me, that leaves M3 and RS4. The AMG, well, there is no replacement for displacement. Nothing impressing here.
BUT, in typicall Lexus fashion, marketing and hype are going to be the selling point, and if it is that good let's see if it will sale at $65+K like the german cars. We all know it would not. It's typicall japanese bargain crap, like a Civi SI, a suby STI, a Mitsu Evo. Performance at bargain price.
I bet you a bunch of kids will fall for it, but I don't see pure enthusiasts or germancar owners drop their ride for this.

— 1evlaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 11:53:46 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -9   

The M3 is expected to be 0-62 in 4.8, so I would assume if that is true, then yes it would be a hair faster as I doubt 2mph translates to a full .6 seconds. Also the HP numbers are higher on the Lexus. The M3 is 414, however the RS4 is slightly more with 420hp. The RS4 also about 4.8 0-60 so again slightly slower. And the RS4 is MSRP at $66,000 with a Invoice of $60,000, so if this comes in at $59,000 or so, it will undercut the pricing of the M3 and RS4.

Wow.

— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 12:00:26 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Correction to this, the M3 is a 0-60 in 4.6, still below the 4.2 of the IS-F, not a lot, but almost a full half second. Although I am impressed that the M redlines at 8400. I give the faster 0-60 to the Lexus cause of the 8 speed automatic that shifts in 100 milliseconds, that is insanely fast.

— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 12:05:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -4   

Well I'm not sure what you would like me to quote. I don't own any of them and I don't have a G-Tech Pro at my disposal either. I'm going by both factory and magazine cause it's all I have to go on.

On another note, I never said one was better than the other, just sharing random factual numbers I found across the internet at places like Edmunds, Car and Driver, MT, etc.

All that aside, 0-60 is very much more important to someone like me than a 1/4 mile. Why, well #1 I don't do quarter mile racing, #2 the area I live in, have fun finding a straight quarter mile on CT roads without a turn or light or sign. And #3 the parkway here requires you to stop completely before entering. So for me, entering and getting to a highway speed is fairly important.

All that aside, Hwany and the comment
"wow how smart do you have to compare the magazine time and the factory time?"

Actually I am fairly smart, but like I said. I don't have any of these cars at my fingers so how exactly am I supposed to find the numbers. Where do you get your numbers, oh that's right, probably from a magazine as well. Times are relative genius, even 1/4's can be different by a full second or more depending on the driver.

— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 1:17:30 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

They were obviously not driving on the highway and in the city like Edmunds was.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 7:15:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Nice! The first one is hot. It looks amazing in red, white and black, IMO.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 9:25:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

well of course you're not, you're a Lexus freak and everything that isn't Lexus sucks. The rest of us enthusiasts, who enjoy more than one brand of vehicle, do care. Thanks for pointing out the obvious again though.

— JRobUSC (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 3:17:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Looks like a kitted Corolla :(

— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 2:45:59 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Interesting..here are numbers from Edmunds:

When you pour the 5.0-liter V8's power through the highly modified eight-speed automatic transmission (from the LS 460), the 3,780-pound IS-F is good for a 4.8-second time to 60 mph on the way to a quarter-mile in 13.2 seconds at 109 mph, and it's still accelerating hard — very hard.

— Porschinator (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 3:16:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

These cars are so close in performance it going to come down to drivers.That kills about 99% of people on this site.The only game they have is running their mouth.

— autopro (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 4:08:08 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6   

Unreal.....0-60 in 4.2 seconds, yeah.....go Lexus. Congratulation to Lexus and it engineering team.

Great Job Lexus

Lexus

— Lexus (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 4:56:29 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

el34
Nobody cares what you think.Now back to kicking some german ass.I hate those cockey mf's and I worked for them for 11yrs.

— autopro (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 5:01:46 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

Well, it might not handle like the M3 or C63, but this is Lexus' first attempt in this class of car. I think that after a few years of producing the IS-F, they'll become better at building it and it will eventually be as good as the M3 and C63.

— lexusis350 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 5:55:46 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

This article is once again favorable. I will drive it. The Edmunds test left me weary, though. The RS4, C63 and M3 seem better-rounded as cars you could have fun with every day, as opposed to the IS-F which seems to have been designed for the track. The transmission is hard to ignore, though I'd rather have a manual. Again, I will drive all four. I don't care about the prices. Nothing at $60K is a "bargain" unless it's as fast as a 911 Turbo (GT-R).

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 7:18:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

I can not believe how many deboost I got, just for saying something that seems quite obvious; the car is not good looking, Edmunds says so too, no manual, then it's not a true sportscar, sorry, but besides in the US where drivers are lazy or just don't know how to drive a stick, a sportscar is a stick shift. And I hate to bring it again to the table, but Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, M-B have been racing since the turn of the 20th century (Horch amd Daimler-Benz) or at least early in the century (20's to 40"s). What it is, is that sportscars come from racing heritage, experience, trials and errors, and I am sorry but Toyota/Lexus does not fit that profile. Even if they are actively involved in many racing series those days...
And that is why Lexus will sell that car undercuting the germans price wise.
So, sorry, all the posers and kids on this site that think they know everything about cars, but the "F" is a good try, no doubt about it, but numbers are just numbers, if I am going to spend more than $55K on a sports car, I want some racing lineage. I'd rather get a STI or an Evo., they are cheaper and they have the racing heritage.

— 1evlaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 7:18:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

ill take an rs4 m3 over this anyday, id take this over an is though. In a class section, i would have to say lexus is way behind , in dynamics, and experience to keep up with the track/race scene something BMW and Audi are Champions for. 001 ,009,008 , compare these 3 already, or am i going to have to?!

— EnvyofyouRS5 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 10:21:56 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I'll wait for a follow up C/D test. This posted the same times as a 800 pound lighter Corvette that has more power, more tire, and more torque.

The two other reviews were at least 1/2 second slower.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 10/24/2007 11:24:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Not the first time Yamaha has done a toyota engine...the celica GTS, matrix xrts, and corolla xrs engine has heads designed and built by yamaha as well.

'07 Team Blue R6 FTMWF!

PS.. ISF = Ugly, heavy, auto, pig.. it nor the C63 or the RS4 can turn like ANY M!!! ANY M.. The beast M5 is only 200lbs more that those POS'

— BMWreplicat (View Profile)

Posted on 10/25/2007 2:59:29 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Wow.

I have been a fan of Lexus for a long time, and while the performance of the IS-F is fine, the exhaust simply ruins the car.

The IS-F was supposed to be a real M3 fighter, but whoever decided to release the car with the tacky bumper fascia exhaust (disguising the real exhaust outlets) should be fired. The quad exhaust idea is fine, why not just finish it correctly?

That just shows Lexus wasn't really serious this time. That one detail is tacky, cheap, and does nothing but promote the "Lexus is a poser" mentality.

Utterly disappointing.

— answer (View Profile)

Posted on 10/25/2007 10:38:10 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

It cuts out at 6800 rpm? Pretty weak for a car of this capabilities, if you ask me.

— henbmw (View Profile)

Posted on 10/25/2007 10:46:49 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Where's the manual tranny? Oh I forgot, cars are going the way of Apple products, dumbed down for the generation Y folk. Enjoy your 60k slush-box.

— kdawg (View Profile)

Posted on 10/25/2007 1:07:48 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

sorry r15mohd,

yes I agrre with you, let me remind you however that the dual clutch, like the DSG found in VW and Audis, and now the new Evo's, comes from racing, Audi had dual clutch back in the mid 80's in the quattro S1 rally cars, where power and speed were so much that even yhe best drivers could not shift fast enough. But this exactly prove my point, sportscars do come from racing heritage/experience...

— 1evlaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 10/25/2007 3:27:56 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

First I will admit I'm not really a lexus fan, but i like the new IS's in general. I also think that for a first time out of the box with a performance car such as this you have to give lexus alot of credit. I think they will do a great job merketing it and it will sell very well. I also think Infiniti is under rated but they also have such a lousy marketing department that even if they did come out with a competitor that was superior it woudl still in comparison be a flop. All that said, there is still something different about the drive of a/any BMW over many other cars that just makes them more fun(in my opinion) I'm also curious to see how Lexus' reliability holds up for this car with all of the performance enhancements .. do the 2 really go hand in hand?performance/reliability

— chris357 (View Profile)

Posted on 10/25/2007 5:40:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

http://image.automobilemag.com/f/reviews/lexus/7231138/0710_10_z+2008_lexus_is-f+data_chart.jpg

— Porschinator (View Profile)

Posted on 10/25/2007 10:27:06 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I wish we could see a picture of an IS350 and IS-F side by side.

— markymark (View Profile)

Posted on 10/27/2007 12:17:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1