Mr Johnson

Those two pictures look great (except for the hood bulges) and the review is very encouraging. Still no word on pricing but this sounds like MB has a real winner on it's hands.

flipside909: When does the press get their first crack at the IS-F? I'm very curious to see how they rate their first drives vs. the competition.

flipside909

Should be sometime in August/September, just before SEMA for sure.

Gojirra99

Actually, it's the rear end of this car that's the weakest, as shown in the pic above, it's my least favorite part of the car.
Yes, they(IS-F) have to worry about this new C63 AMG before even talking about the new M3. This C63 will be tough to match just on raw power alone, never mind the improved driving dynamics over the C55.

Hameed

Even in the last comparision test in C&D between the E63 and the M5, the E63 surprisingly won over the vaunted peformance king M5!

I can just see the next comparison title - Audi RS4, BMW M3, Lexus IS-F, MB C63 ...............

Anyone willing to predict the outcome? Should be interesting.

Ramon

Niiice... I like it. 443ft. lb of torque in a little car like that is going to be a lot of fun! Knowing Mercedes, specifically the AMG models, there is a very good chance the C63 is under-rated.

I agree with some how are saying the IS-F is going to have a hard time. It may be decent enough in the performance catagory, but the German designers have figured out how to make a car that looks aggressive, classy and have clean lines all in one package. Lexus designers got the aggressive part right but missed the boat elsewhere IMO.

Tekknikal

i dont think car makers will be looking too hard at their competition directly (with a few exceptions, mainly in the US), most will be focused on delivering the experience theyre going after.

lexus is going after the perfect mix of luxury and refined performance. they have an idea of what they want to deliver and theyll focus on that. they wotn be benchmarking it against the c63 or any other particular car. overall i would expect the IS to be the most refined of the pack and compared to its euro rivals less expensive and generally more reliable.

then you have other cars such as the m3, which is solely about delivering a driving experience, and not any numbers at all.

and then there's cars like the gt-r, which performance wise will likely outclass all of its direct competition, but is meant to target enthusiasts who are into modding, performance, numbers, advanced technology, etc.

and thats the beautiful thing, there should be something for everyone. but as always there will be no perfect machine that does everything for everyone. rather, like flavors of ice cream, some will be perfect for some people while others will have a different taste.

hopefully these cars will be reviewed on that basis when they come out.

getting back to the is-f vs c63, i think the IS will have the advantage in refinement, gearbox, reliability, and cost. i think itll do just fine against the c63

Gojirra99

IIRC, I haven't seen the current M5 (or the M6) placed first in any comparisons yet, in either the American or European mags, though I am not sure I've read all of them.

For Lexus' first attempt in this class of performance car, they should be quite happy if it doesn't place 4th

RX_330

I love it!! So muscular and aggressive. I love power dome hoods on some of the AMGs (like on the ML55). The thing I still don't like is the cheap looking[ dash (should be leather on the C63) and the chrome surrounding the grille. Makes it look even bigger and gaudy.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

I like the design direction taken with new MBs starting with the new CL. I like the wider more upright square grill. Reminds me of earlier MBs before the decade-and-half shoddy reliability ones. Question is have they gotten the reliability thing down yet...

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

Very few makes are using leather on dashes these days. Lexus, Benz and BMW doesn't. They're using a durable hard rubber type substance. Looks okay but not like the old days of leather wrapped dashes.

josephlee

love the front...not so sure about those side mirrors though...
457hp and nice looking body. But I still think the new M3 and IS-F will out-sell the C63 since it will be hell expensive

knihc2008

iTrader: (1)

I am genuinely concerned for the IS-F's well-being. This car just looks better and better. I didn't even realize it had such a ridiculous amount of horsepower. 457 hp in a small saloon? Just a few years ago, 457 horsepower was ridiculous in a supercar.

RX_330

I'd have to disagree. It depends on the model and trim, sure. I would have hoped for being the top-of-the-line C-Class, they could have upgraded anything in the interior!!

I will miss days of leather door trim on MBs.

GFerg

I'm really growing to love the way this looks.

zzzzdoc

Never realized that all the other Mercedes paddle shifters didn't blip the throttle. Must have jolted the daylights out of you if you were downshifting at speed. Lots of wheel spin too, I imagine.

Nice that they finally put on their passenger car what they have been building for McLaren for years on their F1 car (although, I'm sure, with slower response.)