Lexus IS 500 (M3 fighter) spied ??

[aapriadi]

Originally Posted by diesel007

I wonder if all the people who talk smack about Lexus IS handeling have ever driven one.

your comments are mature and you're one of the few members whose comments are useful and i respect
yeah to all the haters, have you ever been in the IS actually? my roomie owns an IS 250 and the interior is really nice, i've to admit its better than the e90s...i love the IS interior and the exterior as well, IS looks handsome
plus its not slow either, handlingwise its a little under e90 but still amazing
stock exhaust sounds nice, its deeper than the e90 to my ears
i dont care what you guys think of the IS500 but i'm happy that the new m3 will have another competition, especially when its gonna come from lexus

[just4kickz]

look at em quads

[ScBlacksunshine]

[QUOTE=JO3]

Lexus is listening though, and they are now including a VDIM off button in the 2007 model year cars. It will be interesting to see auto journalists revisit the car with the VDIM defeated.

QUOTE]

I wonder how that would work, will the VDIM be on and off, meaning if you have it off, it would be completely off and no safenet against oversteer fishtail and if you have it on, we already know the VDIM is intrusive to agressive driving. One great thing about the E90 is the how the DTC/DSC can be switch off incrementally, and when it's on, the car is still responsive when push to the limit. I think that'll be one of the challenge for the IS overall, if they can capture that magic, then I have no doubt IS will be just as good (dare I say..even better) then the E90

[06330i]

eh theres no need to worry its a pos the is300 blows and lexus in general blows.

[PaPaGz]

wow everyone here is just so happy for lexus. there finally is some good competition out there but people get so mad that BMW MAY NOT have the best or fastest car out there. some people understand whereas some people will find anything they can to bring a car down.

[foofighter]

I was on the verge of ordering an IS350 till i figured heck i've owned a Lexus so why not try a BMW. To be honest with you, an IS350 w/ sport package is pretty dam solid...as much as the automotive journalist harp on the VDIM how many of you on this board can HONESTLY say that you will drive your car hard enough to warrant the need to switch it off. I'll go even further to ask how many of you switch off your DSC/DTC everytime you get into the car? I can understand our auto-x that like to switch it off but come on that system is designed to save your ass and the asses of inexperienced drivers that wouldnt know how to react in the event of an evasive manuever.

When lexus set out to design this IS they didnt want to be a BMW 3 series clone...they went about it their own way. They've established themselves long enough to have the nameplate known for luxury and quality...so they'll approach the entry level sport sedan market differently than how BMW or MBZ would.

As much as everyone rips on them, they're selling pretty fast so they must be doing something right. Hell, they definitely have the price point right, just under BMW with all the goodies, I was able to get a fully loaded IS350 for $38k that's FULLY LOADED.

Anyway, i'll get a chuckle when this arrives it'll really give the competition a pause to rethink their strategy.

[ska///235i]

wow...humping pipes Gotz to go

[JO3]

Originally Posted by Squawks

I'm pretty curious why Lexus only offers the manual 6-speed on the IS250 and not the IS350...if the IS350 continues to lack the 6-speed I doubt the IS500 will be offerred a 6-speed manual tranny.

They didn't have a transmission that could reliably hold the torque of the 3.5L.

[JO3]

Originally Posted by diesel007

I wonder if all the people who talk smack about Lexus IS handeling have ever driven one.

I drove the IS350 around an autocross course, and wasn't too impressed. I drove the E90 330i right after and it was noticably better.

This was before the VDIM defeat "cheat code" was released though. I wish I knew the defeat at the time so I could feel the difference with VDIM off.

I'm not biased either, because I own a lexus now.

[NaTuReB0Y]

i pushed the DSC/DTC to see what the buzz was about.....

the car still feels the same........

[tl_boy]

I can't dis on Lexus. The same effect I had when I drove the Bemer with regards to its handling, I feel with Lexus in terms of quality. Our family has owned 2 now, and I prefer them to Mercedes S500 (at least the older one 2000-2005). They are TOP NOTCH. And they are smart, I don't think they'd mess up on a tranny or any other mechanical component.

[BiggieJ]

Originally Posted by 06330i

eh theres no need to worry its a pos the is300 blows and lexus in general blows.

i dont understand comments like this... you know, there is a reason why lexus/toyota is the most profitable car company ever. there doing something right. and if they want to build a exact copy of a BMW, what makes you think they dont have the ability to? lexus and BMW have differnt philosophy's on what they think is the better car. BMW focuses on driving dynamics and lexus on luxury. two differnt beasts but they happen to be competeing in the same market. its just what you prefer to drive.

and all this VDIM talk...i bet a vast majority of the people wouldnt even come close to pushing the car to a point where the VDIM would hinder their abilty to drive. unless your auto crossing, when do you really need to push that baby to the limits?

im not saying lexus is perfect but neither is BMW. i enjoy both BMW and lexus very much, for what they are intended to be.

but there was a talk of lexus starting a performance divison in the likes of //M abd AMG's...that would be interesting.

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by BiggieJ

i dont understand comments like this... you know, there is a reason why lexus/toyota is the most profitable car company ever. there doing something right. and if they want to build a exact copy of a BMW, what makes you think they dont have the ability to? lexus and BMW have differnt philosophy's on what they think is the better car. BMW focuses on driving dynamics and lexus on luxury. two differnt beasts but they happen to be competeing in the same market. its just what you prefer to drive.

and all this VDIM talk...i bet a vast majority of the people wouldnt even come close to pushing the car to a point where the VDIM would hinder their abilty to drive. unless your auto crossing, when do you really need to push that baby to the limits?

im not saying lexus is perfect but neither is BMW. i enjoy both BMW and lexus very much, for what they are intended to be.

but there was a talk of lexus starting a performance divison in the likes of //M abd AMG's...that would be interesting.

I can give you a reason why he posted that. Because he is a PUTZ.

[shragon]

it's been removed. i wanted. to see.

[2323]

I think the link is no good no more. But I found these 2 version on other site. Which one you guys saw?

[BMW320i]

the 1st, and good lord the 2nd looks even worse!!!

[Squawks]

Hahahah, damn - the 2nd's exhaust looks really alien. It's an Unidentified Rolling Object, or URO.

[JO3]

Originally Posted by 2323

LOL... that is a photoshop from the Lexus LF-A concept car:

[JO3]

Originally Posted by BiggieJ

and all this VDIM talk...i bet a vast majority of the people wouldnt even come close to pushing the car to a point where the VDIM would hinder their abilty to drive. unless your auto crossing, when do you really need to push that baby to the limits?

If you're referring to my posts with that comment, then I don't think you get what I'm saying. With the system in place, the car feels bloated, sluggish, and disconnected. It's like a steering wheel plugged into a playstation. With it off, it's supposed to feel like an actual, proper, sports sedan. And you don't have to push it to the limit to feel it.

But if you are a point-a-to-point-b kind of person, then you probably wouldn't care. On the other hand, I actually take a "short cut" to work sometimes that takes me through the canyons, so I thoroughly enjoy my commute to work.

lexus and BMW have differnt philosophy's on what they think is the better car. BMW focuses on driving dynamics and lexus on luxury.

I understand what you are saying here, and I agree with you. The thing that puzzles me about lexus is that for the entry level segment, they have a two car strategy. The ES which is focused on luxury, and the IS which is focused on sport. When I walked away from my test drive, I was left with the impression that both are focused on luxury, with the IS being a little more sporty. Which is fine, and many people like the car. It's selling like hot cakes. But it's just not my cup of tea. I mean it doesn't even have a manual transmission option, which is a deal breaker for me.

Don't get me wrong, I've always liked lexus as a company, and I drive a lexus right now. I had high hopes for the new IS.... until I drove it.. which is why I'm on this board now. I guess I was expecting an updated version of the first generation IS300 with 306hp, but instead I got a baby GS. I think the car is close to what I want, though. If they only offered a few more options that cater to the more sport oriented crowd, the there would be more people like me that would be happy.