Trade-in 2020 Supra for 2021 Lexus IS?

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I'm new to this forum but not new to the automotive industry. I have been a professional automotive evaluation engineer for over 30 years, having worked for a number of car companies including Toyota. Born and raised in Japan but educated in the US and Canada with an engineering degree, I've spent my entire career life as an automotive evaluation engineer, and have been contributing to various news outlets from Denver Post to Toronto Star over the 30-year period. I'm also an accredited automotive journalist, but with a twist because I am one of the few automotive journalists in the world who actually worked for car companies and have an automotive industry background.

But enough about me and apologize for the long introduction - I needed to do this because I'm new to this forum and want to be able share ideas and thoughts without being questioned about my background - and onto my real question: Should I trade-in my 2020 GR Supra for a 2021 Lexus IS 350 AWD F-sport? Although I love my Supra, it's simply not practical enough (though we have a Tacoma TRD Pro and the RAV4 Prime for those reasons) and I'm thinking that I should get something more practical that is still fun to drive. The Supra is too limiting because it loses traction too easily in rain, which is the weather we often have here in Pacific Northwest. Has anyone here traded either the BMW Z4 or the Supra for the new IS?

Thankfully, I get new cars every week to do a review and so I'm up-to-date about the IS (I'm driving one right now for a review), but I'm curious to hear from people who moved from a sports coupe to the new IS and whether you regret it. And the main reason is because I know I will lose a lot of the sports car feel by moving to the IS - right now I have the IS 350 for a week and I've been driving back and forth with my Supra, and I still can't make up my mind.

The IS is smooth, refined, reasonably fun to drive and still very practical but it's nowhere as fun or as exciting as the Supra. Anyhow, I'm sharing a lot of my experience with the IS in my youtube so I welcome comments on my channel too. My youtube is new but I've been writing for magazines and newspapers for 30 years and have driven more than 5000 cars and trucks. Look forward to hearing some comments and feedback both here and in the youtube channel.

My recent deep dive comments on the IS driving



My original youtube review - this one is very amateurish because it's one of the first youtube videos I did


Thank you kindly for your consideration and support.

Automotive Press
 

CRSKTN

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Oh, it's you!

I've been waiting for a reviewer with your approach for a while. Keep it up pal!

Check the front page news if you want something on the IS front.
 
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Yes it is! I've waiting shy about introducing myself in the forums because I am already partly a public figure, due to many newspapers and magazines I write for.... but it's about time I began to interface with the actual forum community. I'm always open to ideas so please let me know how I can improve the channel for amazing viewers like yourself.
 
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AP,
I enjoy your videos.
On your question, it depends a lot on what you want in terms of your portfolio. Given that you already have the rav4 in your fleet, I would lean towards something more distinct and enjoyable. So I would lean to keep the Supra.
One question for you: have you tried different tires? I am in Minnesota, and swapping winters on is routine. Wondering whether a more dedicated “rain tire” would be appropriate in your case?
 
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Good question... perhaps that's the best option if in fact Lexus is bringing the IS 500. I'm very closely linked to Toyota, and I'm not convinced that the IS 500 is coming. Toyota's recent announcements focused on 3 electrified vehicles - I think it's one of those that will get the F Sport treatment that Toyota was teasing
 

CRSKTN

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Good question... perhaps that's the best option if in fact Lexus is bringing the IS 500. I'm very closely linked to Toyota, and I'm not convinced that the IS 500 is coming. Toyota's recent announcements focused on 3 electrified vehicles - I think it's one of those that will get the F Sport treatment that Toyota was teasing

Like a direct 4 plus ice or phev? Could be a good way to get additional performance.
 
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I am about 90% confident about the Lexus' next 3 year plans, and within next 12 months, they would introduce the new NX, new LX and potentially new EV model. The NX is likely a Prime plug in, and I think that is the car that will get the new F-Sport designation
 
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Good video and is " NX " mean 2021 Lexus NX 300 ? I like the storage design of that NX because the inside room quite extend.
 
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I'm very closely linked to Toyota, and I'm not convinced that the IS 500 is coming.

Well then, LOL. Ironic eh? Now that there IS in fact an IS500, would you trade in the GR Supra for it?

Anyways, welcome to the forums fam! We'd love to hear the insights that you may have.
 
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I'm new to this forum but not new to the automotive industry. I have been a professional automotive evaluation engineer for over 30 years, having worked for a number of car companies including Toyota. Born and raised in Japan but educated in the US and Canada with an engineering degree, I've spent my entire career life as an automotive evaluation engineer, and have been contributing to various news outlets from Denver Post to Toronto Star over the 30-year period. I'm also an accredited automotive journalist, but with a twist because I am one of the few automotive journalists in the world who actually worked for car companies and have an automotive industry background.

But enough about me and apologize for the long introduction - I needed to do this because I'm new to this forum and want to be able share ideas and thoughts without being questioned about my background - and onto my real question: Should I trade-in my 2020 GR Supra for a 2021 Lexus IS 350 AWD F-sport? Although I love my Supra, it's simply not practical enough (though we have a Tacoma TRD Pro and the RAV4 Prime for those reasons) and I'm thinking that I should get something more practical that is still fun to drive. The Supra is too limiting because it loses traction too easily in rain, which is the weather we often have here in Pacific Northwest. Has anyone here traded either the BMW Z4 or the Supra for the new IS?

Thankfully, I get new cars every week to do a review and so I'm up-to-date about the IS (I'm driving one right now for a review), but I'm curious to hear from people who moved from a sports coupe to the new IS and whether you regret it. And the main reason is because I know I will lose a lot of the sports car feel by moving to the IS - right now I have the IS 350 for a week and I've been driving back and forth with my Supra, and I still can't make up my mind.

The IS is smooth, refined, reasonably fun to drive and still very practical but it's nowhere as fun or as exciting as the Supra. Anyhow, I'm sharing a lot of my experience with the IS in my youtube so I welcome comments on my channel too. My youtube is new but I've been writing for magazines and newspapers for 30 years and have driven more than 5000 cars and trucks. Look forward to hearing some comments and feedback both here and in the youtube channel.

My recent deep dive comments on the IS driving



My original youtube review - this one is very amateurish because it's one of the first youtube videos I did


Thank you kindly for your consideration and support.

Automotive Press

Have you thought of waiting for the IS500 F-Sport Performance even though it is not AWD?
 

flipside909

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Good question... perhaps that's the best option if in fact Lexus is bringing the IS 500. I'm very closely linked to Toyota, and I'm not convinced that the IS 500 is coming. Toyota's recent announcements focused on 3 electrified vehicles - I think it's one of those that will get the F Sport treatment that Toyota was teasing

Not convinced the IS 500 F SPORT Performance was coming, eh?
 
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I'm new to this forum but not new to the automotive industry. I have been a professional automotive evaluation engineer for over 30 years, having worked for a number of car companies including Toyota. Born and raised in Japan but educated in the US and Canada with an engineering degree, I've spent my entire career life as an automotive evaluation engineer, and have been contributing to various news outlets from Denver Post to Toronto Star over the 30-year period. I'm also an accredited automotive journalist, but with a twist because I am one of the few automotive journalists in the world who actually worked for car companies and have an automotive industry background.

But enough about me and apologize for the long introduction - I needed to do this because I'm new to this forum and want to be able share ideas and thoughts without being questioned about my background - and onto my real question: Should I trade-in my 2020 GR Supra for a 2021 Lexus IS 350 AWD F-sport? Although I love my Supra, it's simply not practical enough (though we have a Tacoma TRD Pro and the RAV4 Prime for those reasons) and I'm thinking that I should get something more practical that is still fun to drive. The Supra is too limiting because it loses traction too easily in rain, which is the weather we often have here in Pacific Northwest. Has anyone here traded either the BMW Z4 or the Supra for the new IS?

Thankfully, I get new cars every week to do a review and so I'm up-to-date about the IS (I'm driving one right now for a review), but I'm curious to hear from people who moved from a sports coupe to the new IS and whether you regret it. And the main reason is because I know I will lose a lot of the sports car feel by moving to the IS - right now I have the IS 350 for a week and I've been driving back and forth with my Supra, and I still can't make up my mind.

The IS is smooth, refined, reasonably fun to drive and still very practical but it's nowhere as fun or as exciting as the Supra. Anyhow, I'm sharing a lot of my experience with the IS in my youtube so I welcome comments on my channel too. My youtube is new but I've been writing for magazines and newspapers for 30 years and have driven more than 5000 cars and trucks. Look forward to hearing some comments and feedback both here and in the youtube channel.

My recent deep dive comments on the IS driving



My original youtube review - this one is very amateurish because it's one of the first youtube videos I did


Thank you kindly for your consideration and support.

Automotive Press
Automative Press, great videos on this Lexus. I wish you were able to push it more in the videos. But could you go into more detail about the matte black BBS wheels you had? Did you like them? Do they get dirty easy? Prefer the dark metallic version instead?

Ive never been a fan of black wheels because I feel they make the car look cheap. I get that these wheels are lighter but I think the rims can make or break the look of a car.
 
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Th
Automative Press, great videos on this Lexus. I wish you were able to push it more in the videos. But could you go into more detail about the matte black BBS wheels you had? Did you like them? Do they get dirty easy? Prefer the dark metallic version instead?

Ive never been a fan of black wheels because I feel they make the car look cheap. I get that these wheels are lighter but I think the rims can make or break the look of a car.
Those BBS are expensive and good quality. I'm fairly certain you could sell them for a high price, swap in a set of aftermarket wheels and still end up making money in the swap. Look up brand new BBS wheel prices.
 
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HI All
I'm so sorry for the delay. I actually didn't realize I was logged out so didn't even notice that there were questions. Looks like Lexus did indeed introduce the IS 500 obviously but sometimes I am exposed to information that I cannot share in advance, so I couldn't comment on any future products. Anyhow, the matt wheels on the Launch Edition look great but they do show up dust and dirt - but compared to typical hyper silver wheels they are still easier to maintain (I had both types). Unfortunately I am located in Canada where the Launch Edition is not available (as far as I can tell), so either I settle for the "regular" IS 500 or I might look for a used LC. Many thanks for the comments. I just got interviewed by TFLtalk so please head over their to see our podcast.
 
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