You may want to test drive Mini cooper S. It's not common like 330i and it's handle even better than 330i. If you sell your IS and get the Mini Cooper S; you still can have some cash on hand. Good luck.

Francis 99' RX

 

Thanks for the great post.

I appreciate you guys letting me (well sort of letting me) vent my frustrations with this car. After reading all of your opinions and reconsidering exactly what my issues with this car are, I have basically narrowed it down to the automatic transimission. I didn't want to have to mod this car to like it, but I bet with i/h/e, suspension, wheels and tuning I will like it a lot better, but I still can't compensate for the lack of a manual.

People that know me always give me a hard time 'cause I change my mind pretty much every day on where I stand with my cars. One day I want to strap a gt42r on my Evo and make it a pure drag machine, then the next I go with the ihi tcw77 and set it up for road racing. The same goes with the 2 latest cars I've had, the S2k and now the IS. I got the S2k and was sick of it about a month later. My main beef with that car, was the lack of power and torque. After doing a couple of months of research on forced induction, I decided that it wouldn't make sense to spend all that money modding that car so I traded it for the IS. It has power to spare, and I thought that it would still satisfy the sporting driver in me since it is marketed as a sports sedan.

I should have known that getting a Lexus meant luxury first and sport second. It is my fault that I made that choice, but I feel that if Lexus is really trying to build a 3 series competitor then it should have injected a little more sport into this car. A manual transmission would have gone a long way in my opinion towards accomplishing a sportier feel. It just gives you so much more control and connects you so much more directly to the car.

 

I am actually a big fan of the Coopers. My buddies have a turbo kit for them where you still retain the stock supercharger so it's twin charged. It can make crazy power with the stock block and you can really embarrass some Corvette owners on the highway.

 

Yea but no matter how many ways you slice it.....your still driving a mini cooper! lol

 

but you did realize you were buying the car with automatic transmission, right? Or did you notice one day while driving? :-).

 

So this car will feel like a ferari then because I'm used to driving a explorer. Perception is everything I guess. Would you guys say this car has a fast floaty feel to it.

 

I agree that it might have given the car a sportier "feel", but I'm not sure it would have improved performance all that much. The automatic in the 350 is damn fast -- faster and more responsive than any other auto transmission I've ever driven. In ECT-PWR mode it seems to generally do exactly what I would have done anyway, so while I miss the feel of shifting myself, I don't think it's making a substantial difference.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I understand that you miss the "involvement" of shifting yourself, question just how "off" the ECT is from what you would have done. Maybe it's not that big of a difference anyway, and the feel is just something you can adjust to?

I think the thing I'm most likely to change on this car is the suspension. There's a lot of body roll taking sharp corners, and so far I haven't dared to take a 45mph-rated ramp faster than 85 or 90 -- feels as if pushing much further would start to lose traction. Other than that, no complaints at all. I think a lot of the "it doesn't handle like a BMW" is less about the car's actual handling capabilities and more about adjusting to the more muted feedback... but maybe that's just me.

 

You're not the only one... My IS in on order and the wait is not helping the situation. When I originally saw the car on the lot, it was love at first sight. But now, after months of waiting on my order, I've begun to lose interest in the car. I too feel claustrophobic inside the small cabin. On one of my visits to the dealer I decided to test out the ML system which was only available on a GS at the time. The GS sounded great and had a lot of room inside. Problem with the GS is the 3 liter engine, no power. Someone mentioned the M35 as a competitor to the GS300 and so I decided to take a look. The M35 is an excellent car much like the GS300 but with more power. Options were also very nice on the M, drop down DVD screen in the back, lots of room. I should have stopped there. I made the mistake of test driving the M45, man that thing is a beast, lots of power and torque. I was set on the M45 until this weeks Detriot show reveal of the LS460. I started to dream of what and when GS460 will arrive. If the GS460 comes out this fall I’ll get it otherwise it’s the M45 with hopefully a 6 speed auto by then. I’m just turned off by the IS at this point. I will be canceling my order next week.

 

Rx8 owners are always putting them up against S2K's even though there is no comparison. The S2K runs circles around it in any way. contrary to what they think.. the Rx8 is NOT a sports car... if it is then my Sti is.. and it aint!

I have yet to see a male driving an Rx8... which makes perfect sense to me for some reason.

 

According to every magazine test I've seen, the IS350 is quicker in both 0-60 and the quarter mile.

Between the orange instruments and the big Infiniti logos on the seats, the interior looked pretty garish compared with the IS, while the exterior of the M is pretty generic. For the price, it certainly didn't ring my chimes.

 

Don't forget the fugly tail lights....

 

Actually, the RX8 is a sports car.....in fact it has been on Car and Drivers 10 Best list for 2 years running now as the "Sports Coupe of the Year". This car is widely considered to be one of the best (if not THE best) handling RWD sports cars on the market. Here's a bit of what C&D says about it:

"The chassis is as stiff as a double shot of Dewar’s, the steering is laser accurate, the suspension hits the sweet spot between firm and punishing, and the weight distribution is about as close to perfect as perfect gets. We’re talking about the ingredients that distinguish automotive athletes from the plodders—traits that make the car an extension of the driver’s will."

The RX8 was designed as a sports car from the ground up.......and to be quite honest we all know that STi's are just dressed up $13k econo-boxes......and I love STi's too.......a lot.....but if we're talking about attributes of a "true" sports car here, the RX8 has more credentials.

As for the RX8 v.s. the S2000, they are about dead equal in speed and handling......to say the S2000 "runs circles around it" is just wrong.

 

Come on now, that’s ridiculous. Don’t put a 4 door 4 seat car up as a sports car... no one believes it except the few guys that actually own one (or people paid by Mazda). Its a glorified hair dresser car.

Clearly you have a warped since of value. The Sti is not an Evo or a Civic, is based off a $24000+ (WRX) car that base has one of the most advanced AWD systems on the market. Featuring $3K Brembo brakes that match ones found on Porchse 911 turbos, and a DCCDbased AWD system that is the most advanced found on any production car. Trying to stuff an Sti is just goofy. While the S2000 beats an RX8 pretty well (and yes it does), the Sti pounds it into oblivion, you might as well be driving a Geo Metro. the Sti has proven historical race technology. The RX8 has pretty much only proven that its a great car for good looking women.

The Sti goes up against Ferraris on the track... the RX8 gets you a haircut fast.

 

Sorry, you lose this one......the RX8 is classified exclusively as a sports car not only by Mazda but by every car magazine and automotive professional on the planet......and they don't get "paid" by Mazda. This one just isn't even up for debate and the definitive proof is as close as Google.

Yeah, the STi is built right alongside the WRX.......and they're both based on the econobox we all know as the Impreza which actually costs $17k these days. As for the specs on an STi, I know every nut and bolt and spec of that car like the back of my hand......that's not news to me. I'm not saying the STi is crap.....like I said, I love them.....3 of my buddies own them......I'm just saying the RX8 has a more pure sporting heritage as it was specifically designed as a sports car whereas the STi was was originally an econobox.

No, the S2000 does not beat an RX8 pretty well. And although I know this because I read everything there is on cars constantly, you seem to need something other than my word so here's some more info to back this up. As you'll see, there's just about nothing between these 2 cars in any aspect of performance. And just for kicks when looking up this info I came across the "Top Gear" website where incidentally the STi lapped just a little over a second faster than the RX8 on their test track. Anyone who says cars like the RX8, Miata, etc. are just "chick" cars simply doesn't know about cars.

From Automobile Magazine:

"Compared with similarly peaky engines such as the Honda S2000's 240-horsepower, 2.0-liter in-line four-cylinder, the RX-8's rotary is far more drivable thanks to its inherent smoothness and willingness to rev."

From Sport Compact Car

RX-8

0-60 mph: 6.8 sec.
1/4 Mile: 14.9 sec. @ 93.1 mph
Slalom: 70.6 mph (700 ft.)
Skidpad: 90g (200 ft.)
60-0 Braking: 112 ft.

S2000

0-60 mph: 6.4 sec
Quarter Mile time: 14.4 sec @ 97.2 mph
Lateral Grip (200-ft. skidpad): 0.89g
Slalom Speed (700-ft. slalom): 71.0 mph
60-0 Stopping Distance: 113 ft.

 

Oh my goddness!... I haven't checked this forum out for a while and now I see this and it's on page 5 already.
I feel you buddy your not alone! I dropped my IS350 a month after and was lucky enough to trade it in with an EVO IX, well I still lost money but it was still worth trading it.

I see you have both, so you got best of both worlds.

I do have an E350 sport package as well besides my EVO now, but when I had the IS350 and finally learned to push all the buttons, boredom came, then my friend let me drove his EVO IX and I have been in a high forever.