IS 500 F SPORT Performance Megathread

[sl0519]

WHAT’S NEW: 2023 IS 300/350/500

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

WHAT’S NEW: 2023 IS 300/350/500

WOAH that color looks badass on the IS500.

 

[ssun30]

Too bad it's again with black interior only.

 

[Sulu]

Too bad it's again with black interior only.

I assume the no-choice black interior is a cost-cutting measure, especially in price-sensitive North America.

I hate it too. I find black interiors hot under the sun, dour, look very cheap, and can easily hide bad build quality. My next car, the replacement for my Camry Hybrid SE, will have to be a top-trim XLE or back to a Lexus ES, just to avoid the black interior.

 

[CRSKTN]

I assume the no-choice black interior is a cost-cutting measure, especially in price-sensitive North America.

I hate it too. I find black interiors hot under the sun, dour, look very cheap, and can easily hide bad build quality. My next car, the replacement for my Camry Hybrid SE, will have to be a top-trim XLE or back to a Lexus ES, just to avoid the black interior.

The RX500H FSP in copper only comes with black interior as well and that’s meant to be a range topper.

 

[Motor]

 

[Gor134]

Love it, but I can never unsee the longer overhang LOL

 

[Gecko]

That overhang is nothing compared to most of the Lexus lineup

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

That overhang is nothing compared to most of the Lexus lineup

Yeah it's not that bad IMHO.

 

[mikeavelli]

Nice. Been working with RS-R on the suspension. It’s finally available to the public. Springs and the best-i active coilovers which works with the factory AVS. When you ditch the run flats to some Michelin Pilot Sport 4s this thing really moves with the coilovers.

 

[mikeavelli]

Soon

 

[JustADude]

Didn't know which GS forum to put this but makes me sad in the 90s toyota had so many sports car rwd products with I6s, V8s. The IS, GS, Mark series, all the different Crown series, Supra, SC. Now we only got the IS and LC (supra isn't Toyota's car, neither is 86, still great cars nonetheless). Too bad I never got to experience the 90s Toyota stuff. Wish we get one last hurrah before the decade ends, with some new 3.2L I6T from the G16 (fantasizing here) in a new IS, GS, Crown (we dont know anything with the Crown sedan), Supra, RC/SC. All on a new lightweight TNGA-A that we're hearing about. Back to the glory days of the 90s, and with enthusiasts know what's coming in the next decade, I think people won't take it for granted because I won't. Hopefully the GRC/GRY is showing them we need more of THEIR sports cars, and not anyone else

 

[ssun30]

If you want to experience 90s Japanese in a modern form you can always buy a BMW. I may argue my F32 440Xi MT is basically a modern Skyline GT-R.

Back to the glory days of the 90s, and with enthusiasts know what's coming in the next decade, I think people won't take it for granted because I won't. Hopefully the GRC/GRY is showing them we need more of THEIR sports cars, and not anyone else

If they cared about 90s glory they wouldn't leave the LS in its sad state today. They stopped caring and moved on to do the fashionable thing that is selling boring crossovers.

 

[Och]

If you want to experience 90s Japanese in a modern form you can always buy a BMW. I may argue my F32 440Xi MT is basically a modern Skyline GT-R.

You can also argue that e92 335i was heavily inspired by the Supra, and a modern Supra is in fact a BMW. Back in the 90ies the Japanese were ahead of the times.

If they cared about 90s glory they wouldn't leave the LS in its sad state today. They stopped caring and moved on to do the fashionable thing that is selling boring crossovers.

Not just the LS.

 

[mikeavelli]

1990s romanticism is just that. The fact is the IS 500 has people paying over sticker. at sticker and in line. No other Lexus really has had that. Maybe the SC 430 when it first debuted. It’s quite the hit.

 

[CRSKTN]

Also the Japanese economy was in a different place

 

[Faisal Sheikh]

I might be bursting the bubble a bit, but I never found the Toyotas/Lexus cars of 90s and early 2000s to be greatly appealing. Being a younger buyer, I probably would not have Lexus cars today, if that trend had continued. Thankfully, it changed. They were actually pretty "meh" to drive mostly appealing to eldery buyers despite what the paper and marketing says. I owned Lexus from that era myself. Way too much roll/dive/squat with an overboosted/spongy steering meant for comfort despite the marketing and what the paper says. Despite always being close to the leader in horsepower (the 2IS IS350 was the first car in its segment to have 300+ HP when the G35 had 260 HP and the 330i had 255 HP), very little said 'sporty' about them as the driving dynamics were simply not there. I drove it back to back with the 335i (E90) and despite feeling similar in straight line, the IS350 felt too much like a cushy/floaty ride. The ISF tried to build upon it by beefing up the suspension, but was limited (according to Yaguchi-san himself) by the base IS chassis that was never meant for an ISF.

The very first Lexus I drove that felt sporty to drive and had that firm/responsive chassis feel, was the 2013+ 3IS IS350 F-Sport. My 2014 RX450h is also night and day with my previous RX400h (2008). I believe, it was because Akio Toyoda who put a lot of emphasis on the driving experience as the most important thing that Toyota especially Lexus started to change directions. Despite being a family/luxury sedan, it felt like something I wanted to take turns aggressively in and came out of the car thinking "man, that was fun". That was the beginning of the time when Lexus started to master the art of chassis/suspension development.

 

[MichaelL]

1990s romanticism is just that. The fact is the IS 500 has people paying over sticker. at sticker and in line. No other Lexus really has had that. Maybe the SC 430 when it first debuted. It’s quite the hit.

There are a bunch of current cars going for over sticker as inventory levels are still pathetic across all brands. Not saying the IS500 isn’t desirable, but don’t think that is a good measuring stick for if a product is compelling or not. it amazes me that almost to 3 years of Covid and the supply of cars is still very weak. Would’ve never predicted that it would linger for so long….

 

[mikeavelli]

Also the Japanese economy was in a different place

Very different. All those cars were created from the boom of the 80s and the 1990s was quite meh. Remember the import tariff threats? All those cars sat and had huge discounts. A shame really. Even the McLaren F1 sat…

I will say too due to social media today we have way more people buying cars who were not into them before. Not to mention the tremendous wealth today worldwide we didn’t have back then.

It’s a shame really. Those cars needed a decade of spending to succeed.

 

[mikeavelli]

There are a bunch of current cars going for over sticker as inventory levels are still pathetic across all brands. Not saying the IS500 isn’t desirable, but don’t think that is a good measuring stick for if a product is compelling or not. it amazes me that almost to 3 years of Covid and the supply of cars is still very weak. Would’ve never predicted that it would linger for so long….

The tlx type s can’t be given away. So yes the IS 500 is a hit at about the same price. I agree things aren’t how they were in the past but this is likely the new normal. No more huge inventories of cars anymore.