dayrinni

Sooooo I am on the Lexus Advisory Board. Its pretty much just a panel where they give you some surveys to do every year about Lexus and future models, etc.

I got one last night and I wasn't too happy with the things I saw. It mostly dealt with the type of engine (including gas mileage) that I would like to see in the next ES/IS.

There were MANY MANY questions about 4 cylinders (turbo charged and non turbo charged). They listed some specs for these engines (HP and times for 0 to 60). They were all terribad compared to what we have now. There was only 1 6 cylinders choice and it was something like 268 HP and I think the time was 6.9 seconds from 0 to 60. I wish they were more clear on this because I know there could be better performing engines than what they showed for the models. So I think they were only showing the base engine. But I'm not sure.

Anyways, I gave some really negative answers and my thoughts. I even said that I'd go to BMW if Lexus offered these engines/changes. I also stated that the IS needs a 6 cylinders , etc, etc.

So besides this being an informative post let me ask some questions -
What do you guys think Lexus will do?
Has anyone else done the survey I mentioned?
How do you feel about having a 4 cylinders in your IS?

Thanks!

wednesday

I am on the advisory board too. I gave strong negative marks on the 4 cylinder and hybrid engines. I said I would only choose a 6 and would go to another brand if a 6 was not offered, and I meant it. I hope they are listening!

dayrinni

Me too man. Maybe I wouldn't go to BMW, maybe somewhere else. But I just have an affinity toward 6 cylinder's. Maybe I'd like 4 cylinder's, but I do not know and don't want to be in the position to have to make that judgment because I am happy where I'm at right now.

I wouldn't mind if they offered a 4 cylinder AND a high performance 6 cylinder. Sorta like the 250 has the 4 cylinder and the 350 has the 6 cylinder. I'd be OK with that. It is just they were not entirely clear on their intentions and in those situations, I can only assume the worst will happen.

wednesday

Well I am hoping because they are asking for our opinions in these surveys that no decisions have been made yet on engine offerings. I hope they get enough negative feedback that they keep the V6 in both models because the IS350 is slightly out of my price range. I owned a 4 cylinder once and while I loved the car, I hated the roughness of the engine. I would not buy a luxury or performance car with a 4 cylinder.

dayrinni

Hmm - good point. I did not think of it like how you put it. I can afford the 350 so having a V4 in the 250 means little to me...BUT like you said - if I couldn't afford the 350 and only the 250 with a V4, I would look elsewhere.

I do hope they get lots of negative feedback on this.

I haven't driven any A4's and they have turbo 4 cylinder's in them. Do you (or someone else) know how they feel compared to a 6 cylinder?

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Someone else would probably say something eventually, but saying V4 is quite annoying, as they're almost never V engines. Call it an L4, I4 or just 4-cylinder. It's just like if someone was to call the IS300 engine a V6, which it isn't. In any case, I agree the IS should probably stay with a 6-cylinder or more. I enjoy the smoothness and sound of engines with more cylinders, even though there are some fantastic sounding 4-cylinders for sure.

That said, the 4GR in the IS250 is quite a small V6. Even the Sienna/Venza have larger (2.7L) 4-cylinders, and the Camry/RAV4/tC have the same size (2.5L) 4-cylinder. That being said, I definitely would prefer the 4GR to the AR series in a heartbeat. It's a much nicer engine (not even factoring in the extra power due to the D4 injection system and higher compression).

That being said, as long as it's a powerful enough engine for the car, and Lexus can tune it well enough with a balancer, etc. I'm sure the car could potentially be quite nice. There is of course the other advantage of having a lighter engine as well.

Jeff

Bichon

First, I think you mean a 4 cylinder engine, not a V4. Although there are V4s in motorcycles, it's very rare to find one in a car, since inline and boxer designs are much more inherently balanced. (less vibration and harshness)

I'm not on the Lexus advisory board, but if I was I'd oppose any change that worsened performance, driveability or the "fun quotient". I'm old enough to remember the cars produced during the 1980s, when the Arab oil embargo and 55mph national speed limit resulted in some of the most boring and uninspired cars ever produced. Even though some are predicting gas will shoot over $5/gallon within the next year or so, I'm not willing to trade driving pleasure to save a few bucks.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

"V4" lol

I'm glad the Lexus advisory board has such 'knowledgeable' people on it, and that they take your opinion seriously...

Wait, so all this criticism of 4-banger turbo motors, and yet you've never driven one?

Closed minded much?

wednesday

Well I have owned a normally aspirated 4 cylinder and it was an extremely rough engine, it was a long time ago and maybe they have improved but I still would look for a 6 cylinder over a 4. I hope this gives me the right to complain?

Also I find your remark about "knowledgeable people" on the advisory board a little rude. I think the purpose of the advisory board is to gain an understanding of what Lexus customers find desirable and will be more inclined to purchase. In this context his and my opinion are just as valuable as an "expert" because we do know what we will and wont be looking for in a car. I very seriously doubt that Lexus is using these surveys for technical assistance from "experts".

dayrinni

I am no expert on engines. I am sorry if I came across as one - it was not my intention. As such, I can admit when I am wrong about things. It appears I am. No problem! Thanks for correcting me. I will go back and edit my posts to reflect this new knowledge.

I have driven cars with 4 cylinders and have ridden in one that has a turbo (my fiancee's RDX which she just got - she won't let me drive it though). So I am able to make some sort of judgment on how I feel about it, BUT it is no where near as much as someone who has driven one more with it. She also previously owned a Subaru Imperza and I have driven that many times. Before that, she owned a Saturn Ion, which also had 4 cylinders. I also drove that on long road trips.

Sorry if I insulted some readers here. This surely was not my intent. My intent was to show that Lexus is trying to get information about a different engine type and I am concerned about it because I like how the IS is now.

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

I would hope that Lexus wouldn't go backwards in performance. My 250 is slow enough. This hybrid craze is getting me sick. More power please or turbo

pavelekPL

OMG 328i does it with only 230hp.

I'd say the same.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

The way I've always viewed it, is the 250 is more like a "4-cylinder" variant of the IS but with 2 extra cylinders to keep things smooth. It's neither the fastest nor the slowest, but one can't argue that the IS250 lacks a smooth and refined powertrain. Compare that to say "cross town rival" Acura TSX with it's buzzy little 4-banger. Both are entry level luxury/sport models, but the IS clearly comes out ahead with a smoother, more refined, polished feel. With more torque and the same mpg's as the TSX to boot! (21/30). Mercedes Benz is supposedly dropping a 1.8L I4 Turbo into the C-Class with around 201hp. So I can see fuel economy and base price being very alluring to potential buyers of this class. That said, If Lexus decides to drop a 4-banger into the IS, I would hope they turbo it cause otherwise a naturally aspirated engine of this size just doesn't cut it too me, I'll stick with the V6 thank you. Oh and on a side note, if a hybrid variant is also in the cards please let it be an IS450h (GS450h powertrain). None of this eco-crap lol!! My $0.02

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I miss the days when all Lexus models were V6+ and the Hybrids were for performance enhancement.

These were recent events, haha.

Jeff

chikoo

Id take a ecoboosted 2.0l v6