GS3rdwow

AUTO SPIES EXCLUSIVE: Why on earth would Lexus feature this review on their website?
12/24/2005


AUTOSPIES:


We were alerted by one of our astute readers (Dan) to a possible marketing and PR faux pas on the Lexus website.

In the area 'Road test' of the Lexus IS section they have picked a review of the IS from the independent website newcartestrive.com.

Nothing wrong with that, right?

The whole idea is to promote positive reviews of this car against their competitors.

Well, we all know the main competition for the IS is the BMW 3-series.

So why on earth would Lexus post a review on their own website that says their car is good, but not AS good, as the 3-series?

Here is the exact quote:

'The all-new Lexus IS models are a quantum leap forward for the Lexus brand in terms of cutting-edge style and higher levels of performance. But BMW still has an edge when it comes to claiming itself the ultimate driving machine.'



Now THERE's an endorsement!

If I were the BMW PR guys I would put this on their site in their list of reviews saying: 'Even Lexus believes the 3-series is still the king!'






i WENT ON THE LEXUS SITE FOR THE IS......THE QUOTE IS ACTUALLY THERE!

jlin101

it's not uncommon for a manufacturer to quote a review that is not 100% positive (adds some perception of authenticity and objectivity); most people just read the part they want anyways. The part Lexus hopes a casual reader picks up is that the new IS is a quatum leap, etc. There's no denying that 330i still reigns when it comes to ultimate handling, but as whole package, IS350 is much better.

Bichon

I've not seen a single review that gives the IS350 the nod over the BMW 3 series when it comes to driving dynamics. Nor have a seen a review that doesn't compare the two cars. So unless they wanted to edit out the driving comparison or commision their own puff piece, I'm afraid they were stuck.

From my own test drive, I'd have to admit that the Bimmer has more precise steering, better handling and better brakes. But the IS350 totally outclasses the 3 series when it comes to power and acceleration, has a much classier interior with better leathers and woods, better electronics and oozes refinement. The Lexus will likely be MUCH more reliable. If I were choosing one of these two cars to bring to a track, it would be the BMW. But for the real world in which I drive, the IS was the clear choice. I'm guessing the Lexus folks that included the full review on their website were expecting customers to come to the same conclusion.

unit74

iTrader: (3)

I'm a BMW 330 driver and can tell you, it's not all that. 90% of the drivers out there can't tell jack squat between the cars for the most part. Your internet junkies typically are more in tune with what's going on, but regurgitate a lot of things they read, not knowing what they are saying.........


And as many times as it's been in the shop, my BMW is more of a headache of car. That's why were switching to Lexus......


That is kinda funny that they posted that on the site though.....I'm absolutely positive that it's not supposed to be there, and someone messed up.....Nobody would ever pay that much for a website to tell people to go buy the competitions stuff.....

Trexus

BMW may be the ultimate driving machine but Lexus is close to perfection as you can get. Lexus slogan: "The Passionate Pursuit of Perfection"

diablo1

This just made it to autospies.com two days ago??? There was a thread on this exact topic on ClubLexus at least a month ago. I'm not going to look it up, but it's definitely not news to me. And yes, many companies will use reviews in their marketing material that are not 100% positive. In fact, when was the last time you read a 100% positive review of ANYTHING? Obviously the people at Lexus thought the review was positive enough to be worth posting on their website. Given all the great things they said about the IS in that review, someone made the decision to use it in marketing. I guess Lexus isn't too upset if reviewers think the BMW handles better. It's not their main selling point, and not what they engineered the car around, whereas for BMW, it is. If some reviewer were to claim that the BMW has better reliability, I guarantee Lexus would not put that on their website, no matter how favorable the rest of the review might be. But handling dynamics, no biggie (at least from Lexus's point of view).

NINEZeRO

Okay im pretty sick of these people who test drove the new IS and 3 series make it sound like the new 3 series is one of the best handling cars in the world. It may be a little better than the restricted IS but its no better than a G35, S2000, or any other good handling car around the same price range.

Cypren

I'd be willing to lay money that 90% or more of the posters on the 'net that complain about the "poor" or "restricted" handling of the IS have never actually come near to approaching those limits (if they've even driven the car), much less driven it back to back with a BMW in an environment where the differences are actually apparent (i.e., on a track). It's just "cool" to parrot what they read in reviews and make themselves sound like expert drivers because they can "feel the difference".

Take the badges and distinctive look away from both cars and I'll bet you there's not one in five posters who could even tell you which car was which. =)

Bichon

What are you talking about?!? You don't need to take a car to the track, nor do you have to pass the limits of tire adhesion in order to evaluate its handling. All you need is a twisty road and the desire to have some fun. Does the car go exactly where you want it to go, or do you have to make small steering corrections? Is the steering linear, or is it less sensitive when going straight ahead? Does the car give you feedback (through steering effort, etc.) when pushing the car hard through a turn that gives you the confidence to get closer to its limits? When braking hard, is it easy to modulate the brakes to deliver exactly the amount of stopping power you want, or does the car stop faster or slower than you expected?

I was fortunate in that both the BMW and Lexus dealers let me take their cars to twisty roads I know fairly well, rather than directing me around a standard test drive loop. I feel confident that the sentiments I expressed about the cars dynamic abilities were gleaned from actually driving the cars, and not from reading magazine reviews.

codex57

I think it's better than the G35. Sedan for sure. Slightly better than the G35 Coupe (friend's lil sis bought it at the same time so we thoroughly tested each other's cars). Underpowered compared to the new G35s and the IS350, but handling wise, the Bimmer's better. Just driving on a twisty road or even straight at 80+ on a highway, you can tell the BMW has a better driving feel.

Is it worth the headaches tho? To me, no. We're likely moving to Lexus for our next car. No, it won't be as fun to drive but I guess we're getting old so the fewer dealership visits are worth it for us. It's not even major driveability issues. It's retarded stuff like weatherstripping falling down.

Gojirra99

Just by the numbers, the BMW 330, old or new, never matched the handling statistics by the car magazines achieved by the G35 coupe (like 0.92 g for example). They do have a steering feel & feedback that's unmatched by the Infiniti though, which makes the bimmer "feel" like a better handling/driving car.

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

IS is a luxury car which it is very comfortable...

the 3 serious handles a lot better than our IS.

honestly i think the new IS handles like crap

Toyota_F1

iTrader: (1)

I made note in the previous post about this a while back that I believe all of the cars on the Lexus.com site use reviews from newcartestdrive.com. This same article appears there. There would be more of a headache and some obvious questions if Lexus simply ommitted the part about the BMW 3 series. The ultimate aim of the article is very good and the only point raised is about driving dynamics which is a very personal feeling, everyone looks for something different and Lexus primary goal is ultimate luxury in a sports coupe that's still engaging and they succeeded perfectly...

But if they had put up a predominately altered version of the article removing anything that wasn't positive that would have more consequences than leaving up an unedited overly positive review.

You have to remember that Toyota/Lexus looks at competition as invaluable as it drives improvement and keeps them from getting complacent.

kensteele

I hope I am getting this right, somebody correct me if I am wrong.

The author who actually wrote those words is:

New Car Test Drive correspondent Greg N. Brown filed this report from Southern California. ©2005 NewCarTestDrive.com.

Lexus neither made the statement nor wrote the article and they may or may not support or endourse the findings. They simply reprinted the quote exactly as it appeared. Right or wrong, Lexus never said "...the BMW is still the UDM."

NINEZeRO

How can you say a 330i which is a sedan has better handling than a G35 "coupe", if you didn't know the G35 coupe was close to M3 level handling. How do you know if a car "slightly" handles better? And that better driving "feel" may be just from YOUR senses.