AMIRZA786

F cars are more a passion project for Lexus and were never meant to compete with BMW. They were never meant for mass sales and were built with enthusiasts in mind, thus sticking with the tried and true. I found this out trying to buy a used 4th gen GSF. Savagegeese did a segment on this.

BTW I want to add that even their regular non performance 3 or 5 series are mechanical and maintenance nightmares. I don't know anyone who reached 100K without doing some major work like head gasket or valve stem seals

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

isn't the plaid 1s faster 0-60 than the lr model s for about $40K more?

EZZ

True but that $40k more nets you the fastest production car ever made and its much much cheaper than everything else for that level of speed (also, its gets to about 2s faster in the 1/4th along with a much higher top speed). That extra $20k for the IS500 will get you something on par with rivals that are $10k cheaper. As I said, for $10k, the upgrade is a no brainer. For $20k, I'd have to think long and hard.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

sorry to bring up tesla but the $ for seconds point seemed relevant. a model s lr is faster than almost anyone could want. the plaid is obviously insanely fast with almost NO OWNER able to use a fraction of its capabilities except on the ring or a drag strip. so in that sense the additional $40K spent is wasted except for bragging rights.

the IS350 while now old, is still a nice car. the IS500 though, while not blazingly faster, will still feel, sound and drive very differently. it's about more than 1s. is it for everyone? no. is it for you? apparently not. is it for enough people for lexus to be satisfied with sales, i would expect it will be.

but regardless, i don't believe we know the price yet (unless i missed it somewhere in here). i don't think it's going to be 70k. so perhaps we should just wait.

EZZ

Thats the whole point...the Plaid is worthless except as a bragging rights car. Who the hell needs something that can do the quarter mile in 9s. I really hope the IS500 comes in mid $60k or lower well equipped and they don't make it a limited edition. I'd like to see a ton of IS500s on the road and hear their V8s roaring down the street.

AMIRZA786

It will definitely be a winner if they keep it at the $60K range or lower. If they do I may consider it next year instead of a GSF. Emphasising on "may"

EZZ

For me, the IS500 looks way better than the GSF. Just the new design is really eye catching. The only negative are the back seat space but the GSF back seat wasn't all that great to begin with.

AMIRZA786

To me the GSF is still more special, as it's a true F car. But I do like the way the IS 500 looks. Backseat is pretty much the same as my IS350, which sucks...

Motorola

This is where the high $60k estimate came from:

Expecting this thing to be anywhere near $50k is a pipe dream considering a fully loaded IS350 already hits nearly $60k.

AMIRZA786

If it turns out to be over priced, I'll just pick it up used in a few years, which is the beauty of Lexus

Och

iTrader: (3)

This is probably the best car Lexus has introduced in years, but bad timing - prices are up due to the shortages, and the platform is dated.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

in this time there's no guarantee in a few years that it won't cost MORE than it will new when it launches.

patgilm

Couldn't agree more, $10k increase is a no brainer, $20k without any body or interior differences, no way.

AMIRZA786

That's true, there's always that risk

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

No idea where you get that last part from. I just did a loaded build is350 on lexus' website and it was 50k. 52k if awd.