Bechtold

This is everything wrong with the most modern BMW cars and so many other cars. No buttons, the giant wall of screenage. You want to do anything tap, tap tap on the screen while driving or play the lotto with voice commands. Screw that.

G30540i

At least they have the decency to put a screen in front of the driver unlike Tesla's lower end vehicles. I went and test drove the M3 and MY when Elon was trying to give them away last week and I was super tempted to get the MYP as I was able to just barely fit in the EV rebate income threshold for around $43K for MYP after rebate, but could not stand the single screen interface. It also rode like a crap SUV from the 90's with really harsh/boomy ride and road noise. But back to this discussion, my local Lexus dealer is starting to **** me off as they're now saying they don't know when they'll get an allocation and are trying to get me to settle for a dealer swap for a boring color combo. Is Lexus only making a dozen IS500's a month? The production is super low on these.

DLPTony

I’ve said the exact same thing. I’m in IT mode from 5:30am to at least 6/6:30pm every day of the week. (Not to mention a few hours here and there during the weekends.) I love the 500’s analog nature, but with the modern tech nestled beneath the surface. I’m not interested in a massive screen and disco level ‘ambient’ lighting. 🤮

You my friend are 12 years old and I’m right there with you! 😂😂

It’s actually criminal at how badly the Bridgestones perform. Lexus knew this from their own testing I’m sure, but stuck with them anyway. Although they never billed the car as a track weapon, they had to know people were going to test it on one.

Bechtold

Yeah the tablets mounted in the middle of a bare, plain gray dash is terrible. Nothing in front of you to look at. I have a bunch of "sheeple" in my area buying one because their neighbor got one. Worst case of unable to think for myself I have ever seen.

arentz07

If I am being honest, my main issues with newer Bimmers have more to do with little driving annoyances. In both our G20 330i we previously owned along with our G01 X3, the brake pedal tuning is kinda touchy. On top of that, the car always seems to want to jerk itself to a stop. It takes the lightest of brake pressure to come to a limo stop in a BMW - it seriously should not be this difficult for a luxury car to be smooth. Still, on top of those things, there is the very noticeable engine braking when decelerating as well. It's not as bad in our X3, but in our 330i, I honestly thought something may have been wrong with the transmission. I just felt every downshift as the car was slowing down. Did it feel harsh? No, just... more noticeable than it should be. And, then, there is the steering. In our X3, I actually like the way it is set up. It is fairly light, without feeling too overboosted. But in our 330i, it had the M Sport steering, so it was slow just off center before getting unnaturally quick the further I turned the wheel. And it was on the light side sometimes and the heavy side other times. It never really felt natural. The IS 500, on the other hand, has steering that always feels pretty much the same apart from the added weight in S+ mode, so I definitely prefer the steering in the Lexus. And of course, the brakes in our cars are nice and progressive. Sure, touchy brakes make a car feel more sporty, but at least the IS 500 is easy to stop smoothly in. I am not sure the M340i also has the problem, but basically every BMW I've driven has been like that, from 330i to 330e to X3 to X1. Maybe the one exception was the X5, which I found to be slightly easier to stop smoothly in.

Side note - I am going to BMW's Ultimate Driving Experience today at Atlanta Motor Speedway - I'll let you guys know if the new-generation 540i is any better I am also driving an i5, which I am more curious about than excited.

TGPCanada

Yeah, I find the steering really dumb in our 330i. I much prefer the steering in the IS. And also agree on the brake feel. It is not a very smooth, gradual coming to stop. Jerky as you say.
But I absolutely love the transmission in the BMW.

arentz07

So, long story short, I didn't get to do the BMW Driving Experience today because my wife got sick, and we had to leave.

Oh well, maybe next year.

95bat

That sucks 😞 I really wanted to see how the 540 was. I hope she is feeling better soon! I've left many events early or missed them completely too. My wife gets bad migraines and they can ruin plans in a hurry.

DLPTony

Awe man. 😞

Hope she’s feeling okay!

G30540i

I have a G30 and I can't get past the G60's looks, it looks like it's riding on stilts. BMW's current designers make Chris Bangle look like a saint.

95bat

Yeah I agree. Sometimes I really wish I would have tried out the last year (I think 2023?) of the M550i before getting the IS 500.

arentz07

I haven't watched this yet, but seems relevant.

FirstLexusIS500

I just watched the video. They seem to touch on the major high and low points of both cars. But at the end of the day, it is all about what you are looking for the car to do. The IS 500 checked all of the boxes for me. Sportiness, comfort, reliability, nice lines, and fun when I want it, but I'm not going to use it as a track car.

95bat

I think the short stuff they were doing would be significantly improved with better brake pads. Lexus was supposed to have an option for that. The car should stay cool for a few laps, just loses the brakes too fast.

GoPDemon

kind of surprised the is500 was faster at their track but it just makes me doubt them lol. I guess it's not the x drive.