Motor Trend: 2008 Lexus IS F Long Term Test
Motor Trend has just turned in the results of their year-long Lexus IS F road test—doesn’t sound like the car was well-liked:
Naturally, our discerning staff found plenty to criticize about the IS F, notably high-performance Brembos that all too often emitted high-pitched squeaks (dealers either could not replicate the noise or told us it was a byproduct of the high-friction pads), a transmission with too many gears (“While its nice to see the revs under 2000 rpm at 70 mph and the accompanying fuel economy, downshifting to pass becomes a chore—to get to the real power, you have to drop four gears.”), and a stiff ride most deemed too firm and borderline harsh.
There’s not much else to the review, just these complaints and some 0-60 times—to think that’s all the entire Motor Trend staff got out of the IS F. Must be all those Michigan potholes.
[Source: Motor Trend]
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Motor Trend has never been much for any Lexus. They’re in love with BMW.
I’d say Motor Trend and Car and Driver make better use as toilet paper than magazines, but that would be an insult to toilet paper.
they’ll pretty much suck anything bmw throws at them…literally anything…even if its not a car…but the ride quality is sort of true, the ISF could have been more comfortable
I would agree with the complaint re brake squeal. Although I have the 350, the brakes make a really high pitched squeal that is really annoying at slow speed…
They also gave the IS-F compliments too, and the final 3 quotes include nice sentiments.
The IS-F is awesome.
They pull off a 60 in 4.3 sec thats great.
Luxury and performance. Love it. They stuff they have a problem maybe wont be a problem for others. I saw a black IS-F the other day….man i had to stop and stare…that V8 rumble and that sexy stance, glossy black paint…the whole car just look damn good stock
I’ve had a silver IS F for 18 months, and I love it. The ride is definitely on the harsh side around town, but nothing intolerable. People gripe about too many gears, but that’s why you use the manual mode. Up here in Canada, it’s also a deal versus a comparably optioned beemer, and I really like the looks. The brakes are quiet and will still paste your eyeballs to the inside of the windshield on a hard stop. Is it as good as an M3 on the track? Maybe not but who cares. When a car goes north of 400 hp with top notch suspension and brakes, just get what you like. They’ll all get you in plenty of trouble with the law. However, not all of them will get you 33 mpg (imperial) on the highway.
@GP:
I agree with GP, I have owned a Black IS F for 18 months with 50,000 km of shear driving pleasure to date. Yes, suspension is firm though you can feel every aspect of the road and clearly feel the traction left between tire and asphalt in the corners.
I have had no problem with breaks other than a very occasional squeal in the Spring. Just drive it hard and heat htem up, the squeel disapears.
The transmission is great in Toronto traffic in automatic and also in manual you only need use 6 or 7 gears.
All in all much better value than the M3 when options added to match rim level.
With the IS F Lexus developed a car that “almost” matches the BMW on every level on their first try. BMW have how many years of M3 production to get it to where it is today ? 23 years or so ?
This is wonderful. Finally a powerful performance car that is RELIABLE. I own Mercedes C32, Audi S4 before and they are great… when they are not in the shop, which is 50% of the time. I don’t know WHY European cars drive so nice but are just horribly unreliable. Electrical, fuel pump, transmission, suspension components problems, you name it, they have it. Sick of losing work hours while waiting at the dealership. My name car will be a Lexus. My buddy is drooling over a C63 AMG with supposedly 450bhp. Yeah right, that is if you can started the car. Half the car you will be riding in a vehicle with 150bhp… a tow truck!!
Agree that these car mags are all biased. They just love to lick Euro butt. They complain about the ISF not having a manual tranny but don’t make a whimper about the C63 AMG not having one? Same mags criticise the ISF for the fake exhaust tips. Hey you kow what, the $300K Ferrari California also has fake exhaust tips, do you hear any complaints? Either they are on the take from the Europeans or they are just stuck up pricks. Kind of reminds me of the story with stuck up wine critics who trash Aussie wine but in a blind tast test picked Aussie wine over French wine costing hundreds more!! LOL. Too bad you cannot do a blind drive test!
@John Tetzner:
wait a minute…thats a brilliant idea! get two competitor cars, say the ISF and the M3. add lots of boxy camo on the outside so they are completely identical. then give them the exact same interior. tell the magazine people to live with the car for a year. then see which one they choose, and then peel off the camo.
@LFAaddict: um… the exhausts are a big deal, and the sounds would be an instant give away. And from simply driving the car, you can just tell which one is which, even if we wait until the next generation. We just need good reviews; bias is something we have to deal with.
Actually these Euro auto groupies are harming their beloved brands by not pointing out flaws and give carmakers like BMW, Mercedes and Audi a false sense of superiority. When nobody tells you what’s wrong, you can’t improve. I worked in Osaka for 2 years and noticed that Japanese car shows and literature are very tough on domestic brands. They are always comparing and analyzing so they can improve. In today’s competitive world, no company can sit on laurel and let their ego blind them. The “I am the best and nobody is going to touch me” attitude will get you into Chapter 11. When Lexus first launched, they took 30% of European luxury sedan sales. Car mags like Motor Trend can say all they want but what really matters is the consumers voting with their $.
The IS-F will still be running strong long after your AMG C63 has been recycled into pots and pans. May be the C63’s metal will be recyled into a muffler for an IS-F, now that’s ironic!