After months and months of hype, speculation and uncertainty, the IS-F is finally here. Agent 008 has spent the past couple of days in Carmel Valley, CA test driving it and here's the verdict: The hype is legit!
Lexus has delivered a true contendor to the luxury sports sedan market, bringing luxury, comfort, performance and styling together into one mean package. While pricing has not yet been set, it is widely expected to fall in the low to mid $60k range, depending on options.
Here's a quick run-down on some of the highlights of the car:
- The 5.0-liter V8 has immense power. While it doesn't rev as high as the M3 it still has constant power and acceleration from top to bottom.
- The 8-speed automatic transmission shifts beautifuly in manual mode. 0.10 second shifts are exactly that - split-second and crisp. A rev blip on downshifts is extremely effective, too. We're still not totally sold on the idea of an 8-speed, as it requires more shifting due to the shorter gears, but with limited driving opportunity, this has yet to be determined.
- Handling is as good as we expected it to be. The car will definately tend to understeer with traction control turned on. When in sport mode, you can bring the rear end around, get loose on the corners, and drift just enough to get your heart racing, yet still feel like you aren't on the brink of dumping it. With all traction control off, well, good luck; its a hand full if you don't know what you're doing.
- One thing lacking that would be a great asset is a HUD. Having to look down for the current gear and speed is somewhat cumbersome. As we stated back when we reviwed the M6, the HUD was extremely helpful, as it provided crucial telemetry needed to drive the car as effortlessly as it should be. Word from Lexus is that a HUD is indeed coming, but no dates have been given.
- The engine is electronically limited to 170 mph, and has already been proven to get there, and we're convinced it can exceed that speed with ease. During our track time we got it up to about 125 mph, but it was barely breaking a sweat at that speed.
We tested the car on the roads around Carmel Valley, as well as on the Laguna Seca raceway. Professional race car driver Scott Pruitt was on hand to give demo laps, and we've got some in-car video that will be available shortly.
Stay tuned for a full review and videos, but in the meantime enjoy these photos from today.
UPDATE: The stars and planets must be aligned! Lexus has agreed to let the Spies take an IS-F on a road trip! We'll be driving it the 500 miles from Monterey to Las Vegas tomorrow. Keep in touch, as we'll give updates on how our "long term" testing goes. Considering that no other media outlet has been given this kind of access to the car, you know that the Spies are going to be the place to fill all of your IS-F information needs.