**** bmw go LeXuS!

 

I was really impressed with everything on the IS250 but the engine power.

The handling was nice and tight and responsive. I mean, it felt darn good...maybe not quite as good as the 328i, but compared to anything I've driven besides the bimmer, it's top notch.

Comfort-wise, I really like the sport seats on the F-sport; they wrap around nicely and really make you feel like a rock star. Suspension is a little softer than I would like on the 250. It's tight enough to still be fun, but loose enough to feel like a Toyota during "normal" driving (and I hate the cushy wallowy Toyota setup). I think the Sport+ on the 350 will probably be perfect.

Power-wise, I'd say it's got enough for normal driving but not enough for sport/spirited driving. Compared to my wife's 140hp Subaru Impreza (keep in mind that the Impreza is very light), it has plenty of power. Compared to pretty much any car in its class, it feels a little aenemic.

Tranny on the 250 felt fine. 8 speed gets you better fuel economy and maybe better 0-60, but the 6 on the 250 was fine. Honestly, it was pretty transparent (not noticeably good or bad), which is a good thing I think.

Like I said, the 250 is a great car. As of right now, I don't think the 350 is enough of a step up to validate the price difference. The engine just didn't give me enough oomph. If I do go with the IS over the BMW, it's going to be because the IS250 is $42k and the 335 is like $55k+.

 

The 350 is 'only' $3,500 more than the 250 right now... you couldnt feel a big difference?

Try it in sport mode, in normal mode it acts more like a luxury car until you really get into it... I just have a hard time that you werent blown away by the difference in the 250 and 350!

 

The difference is closer to 6k when you talk about the F-sports fully loaded.

Also, I agree -- I'm very surprised (and slightly disappointed) that I wasn't blown away by the difference. I just didn't feel like it had the oomph to punch through traffic instantly like I want. The 4-cyl turbo in the 328 felt at least as punchy, even though the 4 isn't really in its element passing at highway speeds.

And of course, nothing compares to the engine in the 335. God, I'm still in shock at how good that thing felt. I've never driven a car that has the instant torque of a v-twin motorcycle before and it's intoxicating. If it weren't so much more expensive (up front and over time) and unreliable, it'd be a no-brainer.

As it is, I'm still on the Lexus forum because I haven't made a decision yet. I want my wife to drive both cars and I want to try the 350 F-sport (drove the base) in Sport+ mode and see if it changes my mind.

 

Try it in S+ mode. It's just as fast as 335i but BMW does feel faster. It is quite amazing that 335i gets better gas mileage and faster than Lexus.

 

I don't think sport+ adds any more power to the engine. No way it can shave off 0.5 sec off the 0-60 time. The 335 is a different league.

 

sport+ "just" makes it more responsive.


Difference between 250 and 350 is night and day.... unless you are babying the throttle.

 

Well maybe that's it then. I don't think I was babying the throttle, but I wasn't exactly burying it every time I got on the gas either. In "normal" driving it felt fine and when I did bury it, it came alive briefly, but at really high revs. I guess I was expecting it to be more like the V6 in my old Acura, which had power a lot lower in the range than the 350. I don't really want to have to floor it to get power out of it, so many the IS just isn't the car for me.

It's like the old v-twin vs I4 sportbike split. The v-twin has gobs more torque at all revs, but less peak HP. The I4 has tons more peak HP, but you have a very thin power band and have to keep the revs up to get the most out of it. I definitely prefer the twins and I think this may be a similar case.

Either way, when I get a chance to drive it again, I'll be more aggressive with the throttle and see how it feels.

 

If you want full torque at low rpm Bmw fits you better. You won't get that with Lexus. Luxury comfort vs straight line speed. But 3IS handling is much better than 3 series.

 

well, it is AT so basically when you baby the throttle, throttle is not 100%, so you are not getting the best performance in high gear. When you do WOT, then throttle is 100%, but transmission also changes gears to get you in the best range possible - it doesnt mean that there isnt any power in lower range, but rather that it is giving you the best range.

It would be different in manual transmission car where you can put it in 5th and then press gas to see how it pulls from lower revs.

But otherwise, I had GS350 AWD for 3 years, and until 110-120 MPH or so, it pulls like crazy. And IS350 is faster. Sure, 335i is even faster but it doesnt make IS350 slow.

On the other hand, GS250 was slow like a turtle... i drove it for an hour in the city and when you go WOT at low speed, nothing happens... revs go up but no speed builds up. I felt like standing. 350 on the same road, low speed, feels like OMG i am going to fly, hold on to something.

Here is "official" torque curve of 350 engine... as you can see you get almost full torque from 2000 rpm

 

here is even better image... you can see the beauty of V6 engine where it pulls cleanly from low RPM, even 2.5l... it is just that it has a LOT less torque... so 350 has 46% more torque than 250. It makes all the difference in the world.... however, both have very good torque curves... If IS250 was 800lbs lighter, it would be pretty fast car :-)

 

I was going to comment that the majority of the 277ft/lb of torque is available from 2k+ but you already presented that info with the graph. The D4-S dual injection system on the 2GR-FSE was quite impressive when it first debut on the IS350 in 2005 with being able to produce significant low end torque without the use of forced induction. It's also why the 2GR was part of Ward's 10 best engines from 2005-2009.

 

I don't know what to tell you, that just wasn't my experience at all. *shrug* I will try to drive the car again on a longer route and give it more juice.

Believe me, I actually want to like the IS350 more than the BMW because of price and reliability. But man, it's no contest unless I missed something...which it seems I did?

 

You missed something... Drive it again, prefereably a 350 F-Sport in Sport+ mode.

I know what you mean about it not feeling fast though, My S2000 felt faster than my IS350, even though its not. I drove a friends S2000 again a few months ago, and again it felt faster than my IS350, but its still not. Sometimes when I want my 350 to feel faster, I put it in sport mode OR just use the paddleshifter to get the RPM where I want, it really is a quick car... faster than a S2000, faster than a new 328 (I drove one last month), and almost as fast as the 335.

 

I understand the love/lust relationship with the 335i. I went from a 2010 IS 350 to a 2012 335i (I had a 5.0 for about 7 months until the wife got pregnant and I needed the "safest" car possible).

If price is a serious issue, go with the IS 350 and never look back. Lexus had (in my eyes) a bit of a timeless sentimental place in my heart from when I owned an ES in college.

If price is not that serious of an issue, then the 335i will satisfy every craving you have for performance- and then some. Not sure if you are into modding, but you'd have a 12 second car for $379. You'd have an 11 sec. car for a little over $2k. Tough to beat that. the safety ratings truly are unreal. I don't miss my IS 350 one bit. Fellow 335/M owners are incredible drivers (generally speaking) and host tons of driving events. I have a buddy who I swap with mine for his 911 and we cruise the track. One issue- the wife may make you drive hers like mine does at times. She didn't with the IS or GT.

Again, if price is an issue, play it safe and enjoy the IS 350. It has total peace of mind.

Here is a comparison of the finer details if interested:

http://www.cars.com/go/compare/trimC...,USC40LEC131A0