99Trey

I'm currently on the fence between these two cars and have only driven the AWD version. I'm in the North East so it's hard to find the F-sport version to test and wanted to get your opinion on the two.

How much better is the handling and steering feel of the Fsport? Is the AWD w the sway bar kit and lowering springs enough to make the two feel similar?

I heard the F-sport rides quite a bit more firm and might be a turn off, have you found that to be the case?

How much worse is the AWD fuel eco in real world driving?

Finally and probably the main reason I'm considering the AWD version is resale. You really dont see many RWD cars in Connecticut, are they difficult to sell and do dealers offer less on trade ins?

Thanks

zany

iTrader: (1)

I was originally looking at the F-Sport but gave up as I was not able to find ones I liked in this area. I eventually decided to go AWD as I am also in the North East and did not want to get stuck on the smallest hills. I just bought the car so I can't help you with the other questions.

PearlFocal

I have the IS250MT and test drove the ISF. The difference is night and day. The ISF has almost 0 body roll, and perfect corner turns, but it is more rocky and uncomfortable.

I would imagine the F sport to be alot more firm and rocky than the IS250, more fun to drive but less comfortable. It really depends on if your looking for a sporty sedan, or a camery ish sedan.

**Please note there is a very big different between regular IS vs F-Sport vs ISF

knguyenk

I have F-Sport springs and shocks on my 250 AWD for about close to 500 miles now. The first drive home was the roughest and it quickly became compliant/stock-like as I drove it more and the best thing is taking corners quicker with less body roll. The setup overall is smooth as stock with a ride height of a RWD or slightly lower, good rebound with a little extra bounce.

After letting the dealership play with my tires (for an after alignment and rotation nuance), the tech found a tire pressure that was comfortable with good handling attributes for my tires.

NYKnick101

I have an AWD and i'm in NY and I love it. Ive driven both the AWD and RWD and the AWD is just a little better in handling in the turns and taking off from a dig. I test drove a RWD in the rain on crappy dealership tires and i kept having issues with the TCS going off. The RWD though has a faster 0-60 speed tho by maybe a half to a full second. As for fuel economy, I use my AWD as a DD and i get roughly 23 locally and 28 on the highway which is fine for me since i drive less that 20 miles a day to work and back. May be 1-2 mpg more for the RWD depending on how you drive.

As for resale, the AWD will only sell well in the North and RWD will only sell well in the south so if you planned on selling the AWD somewhere else, you wont get much. But there has been a small population of people up north that will pay more for an RWD and vice versa. My car is an AWD but its a California car, originated from So-Cal so there has to be a population there as well. As much as I love my AWD, i would trade it for a RWD because there are more aftermarket support for the RWD than the awd, as well as the 6 speed manual availability.

Other than that, your best bet is getting an AWD since you live in CT. You can always add the F-Sport options later for cheap. There were so many days last year during huge winter storms where I was the only one able to get to work because the AWD is pretty good IMO