1SICKREVIEW....2008 GS 460 and the IS-F "F stands for Fantastic"
01-22-08, 06:29 PM
#16
Forum Administrator
iTrader: (2)
Great review Mike, thanks for the writeup and consolidating some of the pics!
01-22-08, 06:29 PM
#17
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Great write-up and pics! Glad you had a great time. Car sounds like a ton of fun to drive. I'm still so-so on the looks. In the pics of the white ones above, the dark (gunmetal?) rims somehow (still) look small.
01-22-08, 06:52 PM
#18
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We have to do lunch at that spot again! Car looks much better in person. Not beautiful, but very aggressive and "hey look at me"...
01-22-08, 06:56 PM
#20
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Well, Mike, quite a write-up...and quite a time you had with those cars.
You obviously drove both of them harder than I do in reviews, 
so I may not have to do review the IS-F at all. I was going to do it for the special Christmas review, but it won't be available here till April, so I did the IS350 instead. (I may still do the IS-F, later on, for a static bumper-to-bumper review, since you covered the performance part of it).
How do you think the IS-F compares with the BMW M3 cars and the Mercedes C AMG......probably its closest competitors? I suspect the BMW has better steering but the Lexus pretty much the equal in all the others.
I'll be at the Washington, DC Auto Show tomorrow (it's the first major show now after Detroit) and most of the rest of the week, so hopefully I'll get to see the IS-F in a static display, but I probably won't get a chance to drive one till April.
You obviously drove both of them harder than I do in reviews, so I may not have to do review the IS-F at all. I was going to do it for the special Christmas review, but it won't be available here till April, so I did the IS350 instead. (I may still do the IS-F, later on, for a static bumper-to-bumper review, since you covered the performance part of it).How do you think the IS-F compares with the BMW M3 cars and the Mercedes C AMG......probably its closest competitors? I suspect the BMW has better steering but the Lexus pretty much the equal in all the others.
I'll be at the Washington, DC Auto Show tomorrow (it's the first major show now after Detroit) and most of the rest of the week, so hopefully I'll get to see the IS-F in a static display, but I probably won't get a chance to drive one till April.
Honestly, around town, you would be hard pressed to tell any difference once you are moving. At lower speeds, you can feel the extra torque of the IS-F compared to the M3, which needs to rev.... That is the thing with these cars, most people just drive them around where they live and under those circumstances, they really are not that different. Small, big engines, lowered suspensions etc.
At speed is where the difference lies. I really liked the old M3 feel, the steering and the interior made me feel at home. GREAT seats as well. I am not a fan of the M3 sound, way to raspy.
01-22-08, 07:09 PM
#22
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I used the Sport Shift, gearing myself as well as leaving it in Auto. The tranny was smooth as butter, as smooth as any Lexus I've ever driven. Shifts were fast and seamless.
01-22-08, 08:55 PM
#29
Lexus Connoisseur
Haha glad you enjoyed it Mike. You still missed out on the first one we did. 
