IS 500 F SPORT Performance Megathread

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Och

Och

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I used to travel to Ukraine several times a year before the pandemic, Lexus in general is a rare sight in Ukraine and Russia, except the GX and LX that are major status symbols due to their offroad prowess. In the far east Russia they do have a bunch of RHD Crowns, and even some Centuries.
 
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CRSKTN said:
I was making a reference to toyota trucks as tacticals in africa and the ME because theyre so good

There will be plenty of Lexus' in rebuilt Ukraine 🥺
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Not unless Lexus steps up their game. In Ukraine and in Europe in general, Lexus doesn't have nearly as much prestige as European brands, yet often costs more due to logistics and tax factors.

At least 15 years ago Lexus was the exclusive luxury brand to offer hybrid models, and a lot of people in Europe bought them to avoid congestion fees and HOV lane passes, but that market share is now gone to the EVs.

That being said the IS500 is pretty awesome and it would be high on my list if I was shopping for a new car.
 
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Och said:
Not unless Lexus steps up their game. In Ukraine and in Europe in general, Lexus doesn't have nearly as much prestige as European brands, yet often costs more due to logistics and tax factors.

At least 15 years ago Lexus was the exclusive luxury brand to offer hybrid models, and a lot of people in Europe bought them to avoid congestion fees and HOV lane passes, but that market share is now gone to the EVs.

That being said the IS500 is pretty awesome and it would be high on my list if I was shopping for a new car.
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Mostly because Lexus is not competitive against German performance cars. Landcruiser/LX is a brand image lever that could help Lexus have as much prestige as German brands. Audi Quattro in racing and the Audi RS4 then RS6 wagons are what helped Audi get to Mercedes/BMW status. If Lexus wanted to compete against Germans, they had to used the European/Eastern European archetype of customers, not the US.

Genesis will have a hard time, because they are too late to the ICEV game, and in the BEV game there prestige brand does not distinguish enough from Hyundai, like bZ4X and RX do not.
 
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The guy in the video is claiming that there are only several IS500 models throughout the entire Europe. If there is only one in the entire Ukraine, there are probably none in the rest of Eastern Europe, and probably 2-3 in Russia - yet S classes, M and AMG cars are selling like hotcakes. This is entirely Lexus fault for not advancing their brand in Europe, and it is a shame. Even before the war, with the limited supply the LX sold for more than the Cullinan in Ukraine/Russia, but aside the LX/GX other Lexus models are generally looked down upon and dismissed as being lowly Toyotas, and often deservingly so, but the IS500 is truly a hidden gem.

The Ukrainian reviewerer is very knowledgeable on Lexus, and he was critical of the IS500 as its not a direct successor to the IS-F, but he absolutely loved it and made a point that this is that last great Lexus with a powerful NA V8. The title of the video is misleading, from what I understood they only paid around $120k for the IS500, but said if it was to be locked in a garage for 10 years it would be worth $400k as a collectors car.
 
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At some point Acura and Infiniti stopped making cars that could sell well. Rebadging FWD will never work, even when proper cars like Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and Maserati struggle.
 
mikeavelli

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500 commissioned for Lexus Racing USA. This is pre-wrap. Suspension was adjusted for track use.
Wheels- BBS CC-R
20x9+32 and 20x-10.5 +45
Tires- Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
235/35/20 and 275/30/20
Exhaust- GTHAUS axel back MUSA with valvetronic and black gloss tips
Suspension- RS-R best-i active coilovers
Shop- Buckhead Imports for 4SYTHE Group LLC
Video- FB9BE71E-A96F-4DFE-96AD-74BF54B7F62C.jpeg2A2E9160-6401-4EB0-8329-F2CED8485857.jpegEE55C7A8-1DA2-4843-8F44-D2F016BA2811.jpeg3285D59A-39A3-4653-9C16-B50E98A00B55.jpeg148F2217-B8EB-4190-B39A-687FAC2BEAF7.jpeg42BAA462-C1F7-4E33-91D3-715ED29BFC5D.jpeg
 
Gor134

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CRSKTN said:
Front overhangs are so ugly

I find front overhangs such an interesting point of contention.
Ive never minded it as much on Lexus models.
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I find it relative to the car's original design. Since we've seen the 3.5IS for about a year and a half with the short overhang, the IS500's sticks out to me with how different it is compared to the 300/350.

Another interesting "long front overhang" is Audis. The B7 A4/C6 A6 have really long noticable overhangs.. but somehow they're almost the same length on the MLB B8 A4/C7 A6 and look a lot more natural/flowy? Can't really explain it.. likely aided by the longer dash-to-axle on the MLB also.
 
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Gor134 said:
I find it relative to the car's original design. Since we've seen the 3.5IS for about a year and a half with the short overhang, the IS500's sticks out to me with how different it is compared to the 300/350.

Another interesting "long front overhang" is Audis. The B7 A4/C6 A6 have really long noticable overhangs.. but somehow they're almost the same length on the MLB B8 A4/C7 A6 and look a lot more natural/flowy? Can't really explain it.. likely aided by the longer dash-to-axle on the MLB also.
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I dont mind it either i fat fingered my commwnt above. I think youre right about the overall execution mattering more
 
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