IS 500 F SPORT Performance Megathread

[Gor134]

Very sad to hear IS going electric already. Was hoping for a final ICE generation, but with the current IS just being given an extensive facelift instead of new gen, not surprised that next is EV only.

 

[Levi]

Very sad to hear IS going electric already. Was hoping for a final ICE generation, but with the current IS just being given an extensive facelift instead of new gen, not surprised that next is EV only.

Not really, when you look where the market is going. Nobody cares about M4 anymore, X3 M maybe and even then. i4 M50 is getting glowing reviews (from BMW owners that owned other ICE M cars). The electric IS better be competitive this time against electric German cars, Toyota's ICE argument won't be valid anymore (turbo, sound, turbo lag, na responsive, high fuel consumption, reliability etc...). IS F was fine and competitive, lacked manual to be more appealing. GS F was behind competitors without turbo, hypothetical LC F (with V8 turbo) is behind competitors without AWD (which would make the car even heavier, so of course they cancelled it). IS with turbo V6 will again be behind electric competitors as i4 (which is already not the best) and electric A4 that will have S and RS versions.

Genesis is behind too, I like the G70 V6 turbo an the the old G80 V8, but now Genesis is behind, and and behind Lexus in sales.

 

[ssun30]

TMC has never developed launch control systems for their ICEVs as effective as their competitors (on the other hand Audi is known for optimizing every millisecond out of their launch control). Their cars are usually much slower for the same power-to-weight ratio, and that includes LFA. But their hybrids and EVs are the opposite. These are almost always faster than any competitor with same power-to-weight ratio (example: RAV4 Prime, LS500h, bZ4X AWD, even Prius) Electrification is the equalizer that solves long time complaints that Lexus cars are slow in a straight line.

A 400PS IS EV AWD could easily do sub-4s 0-100km/h. A 420PS IS with V35 definitely couldn't. Even RC-F could barely manage that with 480PS. The 544PS LF-Z concept was designed to have 3s 0-100km/h, and that is a full size SUV.

 

[Gor134]

Nobody cares about M4 anymore, X3 M maybe and even then.

IS with turbo V6 will again be behind electric competitors as i4 (which is already not the best) and electric A4 that will have S and RS versions.

I don't understand this comparison. Lots of people still care about the new G8X M3 and M4 regardless of the i4 M50 being available. They're selling like hotcakes WITH ADM to the point BMW is raising their starting prices by 5k! And regarding Audi, Audi is bringing next gen ICE A/S/RS4 Avants to the US again. Just because the i4 M50 is getting rave reviews alongside the ICE models doesn't mean there isn't room still for ICE, lots of people are still buying the new M4 and I see it everywhere.

The G20, W206 C, and B10 A4/5 will likely be the last generation of ICE like you said the market is going for electric but these are all going to be in the market at least until 2030, and would've been nice to have a proper ICE Lexus competitor during this period

 

[Levi]

I don't understand this comparison. Lots of people still care about the new G8X M3 and M4 regardless of the i4 M50 being available. They're selling like hotcakes WITH ADM to the point BMW is raising their starting prices by 5k! And regarding Audi, Audi is bringing next gen ICE A/S/RS4 Avants to the US again. Just because the i4 M50 is getting rave reviews alongside the ICE models doesn't mean there isn't room still for ICE, lots of people are still buying the new M4 and I see it everywhere.

The G20, W206 C, and B10 A4/5 will likely be the last generation of ICE like you said the market is going for electric but these are all going to be in the market at least until 2030, and would've been nice to have a proper ICE Lexus competitor during this period

ICEVs sedans till 2030 will still be covered by TMC, but not the kind we wish, that is M and AMG competitors. What makes the 4 cylinder C AMG better than a potential ES 500h FSP? Not much if anything at this point. M is an exception, a niche now, those buyers will not look at Lexus, they never did, never will.

 

[Gecko]

Probably a good time to steer this back to the IS 500 in particular

 

[JustADude]

Very sad to hear IS going electric already. Was hoping for a final ICE generation, but with the current IS just being given an extensive facelift instead of new gen, not surprised that next is EV only.

I feel you man

 

[JustADude]

Not really, when you look where the market is going. Nobody cares about M4 anymore, X3 M maybe and even then. i4 M50 is getting glowing reviews (from BMW owners that owned other ICE M cars). The electric IS better be competitive this time against electric German cars, Toyota's ICE argument won't be valid anymore (turbo, sound, turbo lag, na responsive, high fuel consumption, reliability etc...). IS F was fine and competitive, lacked manual to be more appealing. GS F was behind competitors without turbo, hypothetical LC F (with V8 turbo) is behind competitors without AWD (which would make the car even heavier, so of course they cancelled it). IS with turbo V6 will again be behind electric competitors as i4 (which is already not the best) and electric A4 that will have S and RS versions.

Genesis is behind too, I like the G70 V6 turbo an the the old G80 V8, but now Genesis is behind, and and behind Lexus in sales.

I promise you if Lexus redesigned the IS and put 2.4Lt base and 3.5Ltt as FSP, it'll sell better than any electric IS, and will be praised. It would be competitive against all others. for Electric, there is only i4 and model 3 to compete with.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

TLX Type S not invited

 

[NXracer]

TLX Type S not invited

The IS500 was out of place in this comparo. The other two options are bonkers, and the driving/ownership experience is just crazy good. Yes they have absolutely stupid naming schemes, and probably will become driving CEL dumpsters etc etc, but the supercharger wine, tires shredding power, and the smiles per miles are next level.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

The IS500 was out of place in this comparo. The other two options are bonkers, and the driving/ownership experience is just crazy good. Yes they have absolutely stupid naming schemes, and probably will become driving CEL dumpsters etc etc, but the supercharger wine, tires shredding power, and the smiles per miles are next level.

The BW is freaking awesome and has the manual transmission all of us wish the IS FSP could have.

 

[Gecko]

The basis of the comparison was "the last V8s," so the IS 500 certainly belongs there on that merit, but at ~$30k+, ~200hp+ and ~250lb-ft+ less, it panned out exactly as expected. Each of those vehicles is great in their own right and they all have very different target buyers, so, to each his own.

They had high praise for the IS 500 overall, but yet again, the car suffers from overheating brakes. I wonder if this is something they will correct for the 2023MY - I believe a prototype pad was mentioned by C&D in their lighting lap review?

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

TLX Type S not invited

Relevance? It's about the V8's my guy.

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

The IS500 was out of place in this comparo. The other two options are bonkers, and the driving/ownership experience is just crazy good. Yes they have absolutely stupid naming schemes, and probably will become driving CEL dumpsters etc etc, but the supercharger wine, tires shredding power, and the smiles per miles are next level.

I don't agree with that tbh. The IS500 kept up extremely well with the other two in the drag races considering it has almost half the horsepower and torque.

 

[mikeavelli]

Honestly that video is exactly why this isn’t a IS F. IS 500 is much more fitting execution wise.

 

[Faisal Sheikh]

For people who look deep into the facts, Cammissa said it himself. If you did not use launch control in the Supra (like real world scenario) and just stomped it, the Supra was neck-and-neck with the IS500 in a street-start setup. It comes down to just lack of a proper launch control in IS500 F-Sport. That is a win, in my opinion.

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

For people who look deep into the facts, Cammissa said it himself. If you did not use launch control in the Supra (like real world scenario) and just stomped it, the Supra was neck-and-neck with the IS500 in a street-start setup. It comes down to just lack of a proper launch control in IS500 F-Sport. That is a win, in my opinion.

This was such an amazing video! I loved it! They really did an amazing job talking about the greatness that both manufacturers possess.

 

[Smychavo]

Figured I'd post this one here- Always up to see a good RCR vid, this one struck a chord with me, I seem to share alot of the sentiments he has with this particular vehicle.

 

[Faisal Sheikh]

IS500 in the wild

 

[JustADude]

IS500 in the wild

That colour is amazing