This may have got a mention in the Reviews and Press thread, however, I actually feel this is thread worthy in of itself, mods feel free to remove if you disagree.

In the June 2013 edition, Car and Driver magazine rates the 2014 IS350 F Sport over the BMW 335i M Sport and the Cadillac 3.6 ATS.

This is so surprising to me because Car and Driver writers have the reputation for being a bunch of BMW fan boys.

Though the Bimmer is a full second faster to 60mph, the article sites that Lex's suspension is better than the BMW and Cadillac. It also calls the 8 speed transmission on par with the BMW, and overall it is the Lex's versitility to be serene as a typical Lexus is, and then "wake up" when pushed is what won the comparison for it.

Its a great read if you had a chance to already... take a look:

http://lexusenthusiast.com/2013/04/3...illac-ats-3-6/

Almost makes me want to trade in my 2007 for a 2014 (almost)...lol.

 

yep, already posted in car chat... big win for Lexus, since many car mags said only few months ago that F30 might be best car ever made...

 

my new car is going to be a hard descision i was going for 335i msport or is350 fsport both rwd.
the lexus is roughly 10k cheaper then the bmw. both basically fully loaded. But the is350 doesnt get upgraded ML and other things while the BMW gets the upgraded sound system. So idk yet very hard to choose. Lexus canada made the fsport package stupid so its a very hard choice atm.

 

for $10k, put in your own sound system better than both ML and whatever BMW uses.... use rest of the money for wheels, TRD kit and more :-)

 

i would take a look at the upgraded bmw sound system first before making it a pro. i was not too impressed with the premium sound in the prev gen 3 series, compared to the regular audio in the 2is

 

I know huge price difference.

bmw has variable sport steering, im assuming this is lexus upgraded steering? Variable Gear Ratio Steering

bmw has M adapive suspension and lexus is Adaptive Variable Suspension

I just checked the bmw has everything the lexus has but with front and rear park sensors, Harmon kardon stereo and blue m brakes

Just 3 differences between bmw and lexus. The only thing left is to test drive then ill see which one i will purchase.

 

Yes a major thread on this topic is in Car Chat. That said the comparo between the IS250, ATS 2.0, and 328i has the 250 coming in dead last

 

Didn't you say that damn 2.5L is going to be replaced?

 

yes. But first year buyers are gonna miss out

 

The IS250 was still deemed to have better steering and responsiveness compared to the 328i. In fact the major areas which let down the IS250 F-Sport : overly harsh non-adjustable F-Sport suspension, slow acceleration/torque simply aren't issues in the IS350 F-Sport. The IS350 F-Sport gets adjustable dynamic suspension that irons out the bumps in the road yet delivering better handling and response than the 335i M-Sport and the 8 speed gearbox(as opposed to the 6 speed in the IS250) was judged to be as good and responsive as the unit in the 3 series.

Most telling in the slalom speed. The IS350 F-Sport has the highest slalom speed, beating out both the ATS 3.6 and the 335i M-Sport and the IS250 has better slalom speed than the 328i. The bones/chassis of the IS is simply a better driver's car than the 3 series while being of a better build quality and utility than the ATS.

 

if you get an F Sport swap out the junk tires that Lexus puts on them. Would trounce a 335 M Sport even more

 

who know's what tires will be on production vehicles... some test cars had S001's already... which are great tires.

Also Yokahoma announced that their eco-tire will go in 225/45/17 on IS300h... but what about rest of sizes? I guess we will see soon.

 

I see something wrong with their testing or something wrong with the 3IS... 1/4 mile in 14 seconds?!? The 2IS runs 13s (mid and even low 13s) so if the 3IS is going to be so much slower then I'm seriously doubting I'll be switching soon and wait for a new engine.

 

Actually from the 2IS 350 Lexus quotes the quarter in 13.7. Obviously we've seen lower times but most not all have been done with mods. Those not with mods had optimal conditions including weather, weight (car and driver). Wait till Road and Track comes out, those boys usually get the best times. That said the IS350 in 3IS is 66lbs heavier than the outgoing model. The point of the 3IS at least of now is to maintain performance but greatly increasing handling, comfort, tech, safety, and utility.

 

Great win for the IS (350) but I really hope Lexus upgrades the engine sometime within the next couple years. A full second off the pace is huge