Lexus IS500

[TXSTYLE]

That's a damn fine looking Sports Sedan.

[Mach550]

Why is almost half the tach in the red? Why not stop at 7 tops...

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by Mach550

Why is almost half the tach in the red? Why not stop at 7 tops...

thats the default look with the engine off... or if the engine is cold. it'll move as it warms up. m cars have been doing this for 20 years or so.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

thats the default look with the engine off... or if the engine is cold. it'll move as it warms up. m cars have been doing this for 20 years or so.

Yeah, I was going to point out the M5 V10 and all the ridiculous things you had to do to "unlock" the power.

[MisterF80M3]

Originally Posted by DriverDaily

The primary metric for a sports car has always been smiles per gallon. Straight line performance is a large part of that, but it's obviously not the whole story or else we would be on a Hellcat forum. If it's priced like an F-sport and not IS F it could sell very well.

Smiles per gallon? Let me guess, you never drove a Lexus before. My previous car was a Lexus IS350. Soulless.

[Robotechnology]

Like everything except for the transmission. Why is Toyota/Lexus stuck on regular autos!?! When are they going to dual clutch?

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Robotechnology

Like everything except for the transmission. Why is Toyota/Lexus stuck on regular autos!?! When are they going to dual clutch?

Because good planetary autos can up and down shift as fast as a dual clutch now. Plus they can handle more power. BMW is dumping it's dual clutches for the ZF auto across the board. The Lexus 8AT is nearly on par with the ZF 8AT.

The future is planetary autos with wet clutches rather than a torque converter. Benz is already doing it.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Because good planetary autos can up and down shift as fast as a dual clutch now. Plus they can handle more power. BMW is dumping it's dual clutches for the ZF auto across the board. The Lexus 8AT is nearly on par with the ZF 8AT.

The future is planetary autos with wet clutches rather than a torque converter. Benz is already doing it.

The Lexus 8 spd is not even close to the ZF unit in my opinion. Clumbsy hunting for gears and not very quick on the up/down shifts when in manual mode (compared to the ZF).

[IB M]

Drop that V8 in the Supra!

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

The future is planetary autos with wet clutches rather than a torque converter. Benz is already doing it.

Tell that to Porsche who keep perfecting their PDK in GT cars...and Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini...etc. The ZF in the G8x is a downgrade. Dumping the dct does save BMW a lot of money though. Benz never put a dct in their C63 or E63, their auto trans are still inferior even after the new generation. Benz knows what is for performance as they have a dct in their AMG GT sports car. DCT can handle a lot of power if they are built for it, look at Merc's AMG GT Black Series.

[DriverDaily]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

Smiles per gallon? Let me guess, you never drove a Lexus before. My previous car was a Lexus IS350. Soulless.

Soulless? Let me guess, you never drove an IS F or LC500 before?

[damnitBobby]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

Smiles per gallon? Let me guess, you never drove a Lexus before. My previous car was a Lexus IS350. Soulless.

My brother has a GSF with the 5.0 V8. Can confirm more smiles per gallon in that car.

Let me tell you our F80 sounds like a lawn mower in comparison.

[MisterF80M3]

Originally Posted by DriverDaily

Soulless? Let me guess, you never drove an IS F or LC500 before?

I actually test drove an IS-F, GS-F, and C63 before purchasing my F80. IS-F and GS-F were just a complete letdown. C63 drove significantly better than IS-F and GS-F, IMO. Lexus was just soulless. They are known to make soulless luxury cars.

Originally Posted by damnitBobby

My brother has a GSF with the 5.0 V8. Can confirm more smiles per gallon in that car.

Let me tell you our F80 sounds like a lawn mower in comparison.

I didn't know smiles per gallon are measured by how a car sound and not how well a car drives.

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

I didn't know smiles per gallon are measured by how a car sound and not how well a car drives.

Sound is part of the equation for many.

[supra93]

One of LE's moderators Mike seems to be hinting at something else in the pipe lines for the IS.

Originally Posted by mikeavelli

Obviously I’m sworn to secrecy but there’s some really dope things coming with this car. Keeping it relevant to this thread.

Get the checkbooks ready lol

[Sublime00]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

What do you look at in a performance car with 500HP V8? It's not like Lexus is built for the track either.

Most cars you are buying aren't "built for the track" including M cars.

[Sublime00]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

I actually test drove an IS-F, GS-F, and C63 before purchasing my F80. IS-F and GS-F were just a complete letdown. C63 drove significantly better than IS-F and GS-F, IMO. Lexus was just soulless. They are known to make soulless luxury cars.

I didn't know smiles per gallon are measured by how a car sound and not how well a car drives.

Disagree completely on the soulless part of this statement. I drove the same cars and found the GSF to be a blast and it drove and sounded significantly better than the Benz. Yes it was slower but I don't care about a faster 0-60 or 1/4 mile time. The German cars I drove felt soulless snd numb, and a little gimmicky. GSF felt significantly better and was a more focused and cohesive car. That's why I bought it.

But some cars resonate with some buyers, and others don't. Nice to have variety and I'm glad the IS500 will add a sport sedan option to buyers short list.

[MmmmmM2]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

Smiles per gallon? Let me guess, you never drove a Lexus before. My previous car was a Lexus IS350. Soulless.

Agreed....I really disliked my 17 IS350 F Sport.

[bkfastwagon]

Originally Posted by MmmmmM2

Agreed....I really disliked my 17 IS350 F Sport.

Not clear what that has to do with 2022 IS500? BMW 330i is also a terribly boring car, does that mean M340 and M3 are soulless?

[Humdizzle]

- M3 is alot lighter, like 350 pounds lighter. (IS500 is supposedly only 50 pounds lighter than the 4000 pound RCF)
- M3 has alot more power (especially with a $600 tune).
- M3 has the option of manual or DCT, lexus you only get an auto.
- The Lexus has a great sounding 5.0 V8.

I do love v8 noises but the more i read about this car... the weight, power, and transmission disadvantages might be too much for the v8 to overcome.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

- M3 is alot lighter, like 350 pounds lighter. (IS500 is supposedly only 50 pounds lighter than the 4000 pound RCF)
- M3 has alot more power (especially with a $600 tune).
- M3 has the option of manual or DCT, lexus you only get an auto.
- The Lexus has a great sounding 5.0 V8.

i do love v8 noises but the more i read about this car... the weight, power, and transmission disadvantages might be too much for the v8 to overcome.

This car's competitors are the M340i and C43 however, not the M3 or C63 despite the Lexus having a V8 and RWD setup. Lexus is marketing and likely pricing it as an "F-Performance" rather than full F car.

Also M3 no longer has a DCT.

[bkfastwagon]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

- M3 is alot lighter, like 350 pounds lighter. (IS500 is supposedly only 50 pounds lighter than the 4000 pound RCF)
- M3 has alot more power (especially with a $600 tune).
- M3 has the option of manual or DCT, lexus you only get an auto.
- The Lexus has a great sounding 5.0 V8.

i do love v8 noises but the more i read about this car... the weight, power, and transmission disadvantages might be too much for the v8 to overcome.

I don't think IS 500 is meant to compete against M3. They will need IS F to do that (probably V8 TT). Looking at its spec, it's more of a 340i/audi S4 competitor. A nice daily driver with V8 rumble.