Take one smallish sedan, drop a thumping 5.0 litre V8 in the snout, give it hard-core handling and tough, out-there style… been done before? Yup. But Lexus does it again and gives us its own howling ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’, the IS F.
It can be an exercise in futility splitting hairs over the performance margins of premium performance cars.
It’s a bit like blokes standing around talking about the size of their dicks. As if there is something to be concluded from the information that is volunteered in these manly discussions. Wide? Thick? Yeah… good, good, huh-huh… great.
But you and I, we both know that it’s not the implement. No, it’s the expertise of the user behind the blade that determines its effectiveness. A sleek, racy implement used ham-fistedly (is that a verb?) will be beaten all-ends-up by a ‘lesser tool’ in expert hands. Or so I’ve been advised.
Now this brings me neatly to the Lexus IS F.
In the showroom, it’s lined up against BMW’s M-Series. This may not have been the intent of Lexus (nah, I’m kidding myself, it probably was), but it has certainly been where the motoring media and enthusiasts have focused discussion. Is it as good as the M3? Is it as quick in a no-holds barred smoke-off? Who’s the winner, and who’s the loser?
That’s the way most of the discussion has gone. And that’s what His Royal Rabbit-ness, the barking-mad Jeremy Clarkson attempted to settle on Top Gear.
But does it matter? Isn’t this debate a bit like ‘dick-talk’? Each is such a riotously powerful and competent performance machine that it is only at the margins - at the extreme edge of performance driving - that one holds an edge over the other, only to be shaded somewhere else.
And, if we had the necessary pfennigs and were to put, say, a Lexus IS F in the garage, most of us will get nowhere near its potential, let alone that of an M3. Ok, maybe we’ll stretch it out occasionally, the odd furtive excursion… you know how it goes, the quick hard stamp on the loud pedal, hold onto your hats for two, three, maybe even ten seconds, howl into licence-shredding territory, then back hard on the brakes and a few nervous glances over the shoulder and in the rear view mirror… ok, all cool.
That’s how it is for most of us who love our performance cars. We don’t have an airstrip handy with a couple of hundred metres of lateral run off to catch us if we over-cook it. And unless we’re in a car club, we’ll likely never (or rarely at most) turn a wheel in anger on the race-track.
But by Bardot’s beard we love a thumping kilowatt – especially one with the thunderous howl of a high performance V8 behind it. That’s why, if you spend just a few minutes behind the wheel of the IS F, you will be smitten.
Few V8s make a noise like this V8. It defies description: put the pedal to the floor and it gathers itself with an outraged bellow rising rapidly to the sweetest-singing yowling wail. If anything, it is a little reminiscent of a highly-tuned Windsor V8 of a decade or more back.
It is absolutely intoxicating and heart-thumpingly fast (and I mean f-a-s-t.) Lean hard on its performance, throw it through a few curves, whip it back through the gears – one, two, three, four - then floor it and it’s like being shot from a cannon. Yup, this is one mad hell-hound under the whip.
Interestingly though, when you’re not wielding the leather, the IS F can be as docile as a floppy puppy. And as compliant and as easy to live with. That is also one of its strengths.
So let’s untangle the elements of this car: where is it strongest? Why would you buy one, why would you not?
A fastidious, premium interior
It is hard to not sound a little stupid describing a Lexus interior. Everything is so astonishingly-well put together, with such premium materials and such finicky attention to detail, that you end up sounding like a women’s fashion magazine: “Oh and the seats dahlings, they’re exquisite and such gorgeous supple leather…”
But that’s how it is. For fit and finish and quality of materials, Lexus is the benchmark. The seats in the IS F are sensational. The leather, soft and luxuriant, feels like it has been removed from the flawless pink cheeks of new-born deer.
The metal finishes are equally striking. There is a glassy epoxy-sheen over the metal of the console, repeated in the doors, and it looks fabulous; as do the electric blue gauges, drilled metal pedals and highly polished shifter. The neat recessed information display, the switch-gear and console is as good as you’ll find. It all ‘fits’ and it all ‘works’.
Even the headlining (who notices headlining?) and the rubber edging, everywhere you look reeks of quality.
If you’re going to spend more than $100k, then this is how you want a car to look and feel. It is also loaded: sensational Mark Levinson surround-sound audio system, satellite radio, iPod integration, park assist, sat nav, back-up camera and Bluetooth capability. There are also air-bags everywhere and all those safety acronyms that keep the nannies happy.
Well, ok, if I have to pick something I’m not crazy about, it’s the heavy black-all-over dash… there’s too much uninterrupted black in it, and it’s too big and organic, like it has been carved out of a huge block of cheese (er… that would be black cheese).
Funnily enough, proving my sense of taste and style disappeared into my bottom at around the time of the first Punic Wars, others in the TMR team loved it.
But style differences aside, one thing is beyond argument: for fastidious attention to detail, the interior of the Lexus is, simply, exquisite. It’s a Lexus thing. If you want to be pampered like an Oil Sheik, buy a Lexus. I can’t fault it so I’ll just shut up now.
2010 BMW 120d Hatch manual (E87) 
2009 Holden Commodore SS Sportwagon 
2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage 
2009 Ford Mondeo MB (Titanium) 
2009 Honda Civic Type R 
2009 Nissan 370Z Auto 
2009 Volkswagen Passat CC V6 FSI 
2009 HSV Clubsport R8 Tourer 
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good to see the Japanese taking it to the Germans
with K Rudd’s stimulus payout I can afford one wheel nut from the IS-F (maybe)
You don’t need to be a car club member to go to the track. A lot of race tracks run their own “run what you brung” days.
Just noticed you have misplaced the torque figure with the power output.
Cheers cobber.
The Insider
Thanks Joe, that was my stuff-up there.
I’m sure Lexus would LOVE the reference to the male reproductive organ in the opening lines.
Good work!
Sorry Mark… what was I thinking? It’s so clear to me now… the male reproductive organ doesn’t exist, never has, take the chisels to the cherubs, drag out the fig-leaves… “My God man, what in blazes is that unsightly thing?”
(Thanks for the help, no, really…)
The Insider
This is exactly the car that will tell the public that Lexus doesn’t make cars for the middle aged, cardigan wearing, bean counting golf enthusiasts/retirees anymore.
Bring it on.
I don’t think too many will end up on a racetrack Royalauto have just tested the IS F spare parts bin came to an eye watering $10,594. #Front pads $1095 #front rotors $930. imagine if you tapped a fellow competitor in the rear (whilst on the track of course) $2458 for a HEADLIGHT!!! and $2420 if you bang up one of those pretty rims on a kerb. And i’m sure the richer people are the less they like to part with their hard earned money on parts.
True.
At that price for spares, if you wanted a track car you may as well have bought a GT-R and bought something that’s actually fast and handles well.
those prices of spares would be no different to an M3/AMG (if anything they would be more being German)which is what the ISF is targeting…and its doing a bloody good job of it! If I was in a market for a car like it would be a tough choice between an M3 and ISF….but at the same time the ISF does seem like better value..only negative there is no manual gearbox but that is my own personal preference.
I bought an isf for my wife we waited 6 months for it and took delivery in december and let me tell you they are one awesome bit of gear! we looked at the m3 sedan but hated the looks they are ugly compared to the isf and that exhaust note as the report says you could listen to that v8 note all day! compared to the m3 in my opinion the isf wins in looks, power & torque, finish,and equipment levels, trying to get it off my wife for me to have a drive is the hard part, if you ever get the chance to drive one do this put it in sports mode change to manual mode and nail it and hit 2nd there are not much around that is a quick and mean quick! also we are getting around 10 lires per 100km highway driving not bad for a car that will do mid 12 sec quarter mile times but it is a bit thirsty around town! the lexus isf is one hell of a ride i tell you!
Wait, you’ve got a wife that enjoys driving an IS F? Mate, you’re one lucky fella…
If all you’re interested in is fuel economy and straight line performance, no wonder you don’t like the M3 and prefer a Toyota.
The M3 is a driver’s car, not a rocket sled.
Charlie if all i was interested in is fuel ecomony i wouldn’t have bought the isf! i bought the lexus because i believe it offers way more bang for buck over the bmw! show me where you can drive any of these cars to there potenial in australia? i wanted a premium quality car with great handling and plenty of get up and go so i bought a lexus isf!
And by the way TMR a great road test well done!
I think it’s a great achievement for Lexus/Toyota to bring this car out. It hopefully heralds a new era where some respectable performance cars can be seen coming out of the Lexus/Toyota stable.
For this car to even exist is a win for enthusiasts and well heeled consumers.
I do however much prefer the AMG C63, I think it has more presence and drool factor for me anyway. When I see one I don’t mistake it for a regular C class. The price difference is much closer in the UK, so it doesn’t make sense to buy the japanese competition here.
Another site {let it be nameless} just did a road test against with both cars,the M3 4 door came out on top as prefered car. If its a dollar thing then yeah go for the Lexus but you want the better car,its the M3
I also read that IS250’s fitted with the F-Sport kit actually outruns an IS F through a slalom !!!
Can someone confirm that Lexus are only making 40 of these a month ?
The “other” site is right.
The M3 is the better car.
You get what you pay for.
Can I just say the bottom left photo in the gallery of the front left wing - Great photo there!
Yo Biggles, BM…
Not sure you read our review correctly, nor our conclusion.
To recap (second-last par): “Performance wise, there are just margins in it – most leaning to the advantage of the brilliant M3. But that price differential, that leans things back a-ways; and that brute of an engine… etc.”
No argument about which is the better car, better balanced, better sorted (at this stage of the ISF’s development); but the price advantage is not insignificant. Nor is the fact that - at the end of the day - few M3 owners are going to line up on the track against an ISF to see whether their car in their hands is going to beat home the ISF in ‘the other bloke’s hands’.
So it makes at least some of the discussion about margins somewhat academic… duzzinit?
At the end of the day, most of us will choose a car that makes us feel good. For some, say an M3 buyer, the knowledge that they’re driving the benchmark stormer for the sector… well, understandably, that makes them feel good (and probably you and I likewise).
For others, driving the amazingly grunty ‘new kid on the block’, flawlessly built and saving the better part of 30 big ones over the M3, makes them feel good. (And, I have to say, I doubt anyone could fail to enjoy the ISF’s howling donk.)
If Lexus doesn’t drop the ball on the ISF (which is always a danger), we might have a real line-ball comparison in three or four years. It’s more than a fair first-up effort.
The Insider
(Say hello to Algy and Ginger…)
Sounds like a real ball tearer! You guys need to get us an mp3 of that engine note, i reckon. Haven’t had the pleasure of hearing one on the road yet…
I really can’t imagine swapping a proper manual for one of these semi-autos, or even a semi-manual for that matter. I can see the benefit of blistering upshifts, and the virtually uninterrupted thrust of a DSG box, but it’s just not the same without that third pedal…
A friend drove this car for a few days this week, this is his review…..
picked up lexus .
1) it looks like crap . it is SO fugly i cant believd they signed it off . check out the rear door window line and the bonnet and the fake exhausts . i was embarrsed to be in such an ugly car . nice blue tho’ .
2) exy cars must be silly or whats the point . it is not silly , it has 4 doors . its boring . boring cars must be cheap .
3) the ride is bone jarring like my modded evo . its slower than my evo and over twice the price and looks worse.
4) the interior is ordinary bordering on ugly and that reviewer must be blind . the fake silver carbon looks naff and the starter button is obscured by the wheel
5) good bits … the seats are good and the stereo ok . the engine sounds good when you ring its neck . it has nothing down low
6) the gearbox is rubbish . its ok on auto but stupid in ” manual ” . how can an auto box be ” manual ” ? its stupid .. needs a real PDK thing .
7) did i mention how bad the ride was ?
verdict … another under cooked japanese car .
buy an m3 or a c63 if you must have a four door .. better still , get a lotus and an suv for less money and get the best of both worlds .
spot on mate ! ” undercooked jap car ”. sums it up :]
Being 12 years old anom I doubt you’ll be choosing between any M3, C63 or IS F, anytime soon.
Did I mention you can’t spell for sh!t?
i am surprised for a 12 year old you can spell so well! go do your home work NOW! and its person! the isf is a awesome car read the report first before making any more comments!
oh and peson as a matter of interest what dealership did your mate go into i bet that salesmen doesn’t have a job anymore for letting a fool drive a new isf!
I’ve been in one of these and quite enjoyed it.
The wheels are soo damn light. It felt like picking up a 15″ stockies.
But, I do believe it needs stickier tyres at the rears and Lexus needs to use proper Carbon instead of look-a-likes.
How is a PDK any less automatic than a torque converter?
As far as the driver is concerned, they both do the same thing. 2 pedals, 2 paddles, 2 modes.
It’s only in how they do things internally, and the programming that the engineers come up with to control it, that differentiate them but in the end they both behave identically.
isf rules, you could take it to a race track. Its those things that are as big as golf courses, but not populated with the same density of tossers.
There are several around each of the capital cities of Australia.
I’m not surprised that you bought the Lexus. The fact that you’re not even aware of the concept of track days makes you the stereotypical Toyota sedan driver.
If you wanted a car with great handling, why did you buy a car with a heavy nose that gets lots of initial understeer before the power overwhelms the tail? That’s the opposite of “great handling”.
bavarian missle i can tell you are a bmw lover and good luck to you the m3 is a great car, i never looked at the merc c63 i dont like mercs at all and also i dont like the look of the c63 it looks very old so when me and my wife where looking for a high performance car for her we only drove the m3 & isf and we both agreed the isf was way better bang for my buck (i can easily afford the bmw) but you are right in saying the bmw m3 is a great car with heritage but she liked the luxury and looks of the isf with the performance factor, and i dont know about only making 40 a month i do know that we waited 6 months and australia are only geting 10 a month and there are orders out to june 09! i would love to get a cold air intake system and full stainless exhaust that gets an extra 70hp at the rear wheels but i will wait a bit longer for that they tell me the sound is incredible!if anyone can afford a car of this value do yourselfs a big favor and drive both the lexus & bmw both are awesome 4 door super sedans, ours is black with black leather and looks like a stealth fighter with dark window tint and the shadow bbs wheels! once again TMR a great none bias write up!
ISF rules - hahah already thinking of modifying the ISF.
My current favourite colour for the ISF is pearl White after seeing all the colour next to each other at Toyota HQ but black is not far behind.
reggie my wife’s a rev head what can i say! thats why she bought a 311kw 4 door super sedan! have to be first to the gym you know!
Lexus gave me a blue ISF for a weekend to test drive. I currently own a BMW 335i and have owned 2 M3’s.
The ISF has a sensational note, is quick as and looks great, but it doesn’t handle quite as well as a BMW and the ride is very firm. Also, 8 gears is 2 too many. The awesome note only kicks in at 3600rpm so I found myslef constantly gunning it just to hear the note.
I test drove the new M3 V8 and found the note sedate compared to the ISF and certainly no quicker than the ISF. The new M3 sedan looks ordinary so I would have to go for the coupe….problem is by the time you option it up with SMG and 19″wheels it costs over $180K. The ISF is $130K with a sunroof and ALL the bells and whilstles, so I would say I will probably go for the ISF next year when my 335i (which is awesome!) comes off it’s 3 year lease. The $50K difference is too big to ignore, and lets face it, we don’t drive on racetracks every day.
spot on brad the looks you get in the isf is incredable and ours has now done 2300kms and getting faster every day, my wife drives the car all the time and she said the ride is on the firm side but its by no means a problem and doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about she just said “mob of wimps”!one of my mates has a new 2door v8 m3 and he even admits they did something wrong with the 4 door design!you wont be disappointed with your decision i tell you!
Lexus IS F are only making 10 a month for Australia
Having just driven both the ISF and M3 (coupe, not sedan and manual) in the last few days they are both terrific cars.
I drive a previous model M3 and can’t believe how much easier the new one is to drive. That said, the ISF felt as quick, sounds much more raucous and is very well built. Value for money - no contest really, the Lexus wins. Better car - M3 by a little bit. If it came with a 6-speed traditional manual, I’d get one. Still might. By the way, the auto with torque converter lock up works as well as any twin clutch manual I’ve driven.
Reading all the responses, it’s obvious that personal preferences play a big role in whichever car you chose. I am an M3 man myself, and I make the effort track my car - this is what it was designed to do occasionally! but I think you should choose whichever car makes you feel good doing what the car was designed for. Either way, you’re smiling