Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimchiguy79
Well turns out that I'm the type of buyer for this car. I'm not like other Lexus buyers since I feel I'm much more enthusiast driven (which is what lead me to BMW) but have accepted the more analog and less high tech experience this car provides. It really is 90% the normally aspirated V8 that makes the car what it is. This car is the definition of niche and that's fine because they won't be making many of them.
As much as I'm annoyed with waiting over 10 months and counting for my M3 xDrive, the IS500 has found a home in our household as the second vehicle that we'd likely keep long term.
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Time to bump an old thread, cause I have some... thoughts, and am curious what you guys think.
I've also got an IS 500. Mine is a 2023 Premium in the Infrared color.
I've had it about 5 months and put around 4100 miles on it in that time. Even though I work from home, I am out here driving it whenever I can think up an excuse to. "I want some fresh air, but I want to drive to the park instead of just walking around the neighborhood." "I think we need some more eggs." "The gas tank is getting low. I could take it to the pump on the way to somewhere else, but I'll do it now while it's not busy." The list goes on.
The engine is just an addictive thing to use. It sounds good, is smooth, is responsive, and has, as a friend put it, "torque for days". While it may not be as torquey as a B58 or something similar, it always has more than enough oomph and responds immediately - no turbo lag, as there is no turbo. And, finding opportunities to hit the 7300-RPM rev limiter is rewarding. It sounds great up high in the revs.
However, all this personality to the engine somewhat belies the personality of the IS 500 as a whole. This car feels right at home being driven sedately. I can keep up with traffic just fine with the engine rumbling away at less than 2000 RPM, and the transmission seems to shift most smoothly when driven like that. The ride is soft, and it doesn't corner particularly flat. It's very comfortable.
When I do drive it hard, it's not exactly a visceral experience, either. Other than the mechanical scream of the engine, there's not a lot going on, aurally. Distant, too, is the steering - though well-weighted and accurate, it's not brimming with information about the road surface. This car is fun to drive, but I don't know I'd say it's imminently thrilling, necessarily. It is more a car that feels confident and composed than outright rowdy. So, you really have to come into this car with expectations that it's merely a fast Lexus IS, not a sports car.
Compared to our G20 330i, the IS 500 can seem a bit dull on initial impressions. Well, it can seem dull if you ignore the cold start sound, that is. What I mean is that the 330i feels a bit more zippy and darty, like a puppy trying to go sniff every random scent they encounter while on a walk. It feels like it wants to go. However, I don't know if the actual experience of driving our 330i M Sport hard on a back road ever really felt super thrilling, either - after all, the IS and 3er are in essentially the same class of vehicle. The 330i is, as a friend put it, a "luxury sedan that will get up and go" - just, in a slightly lower performance tier than the IS 500 - but I could make the same comparison to my departed IS 350.
So, as I wrestle with this conclusion that the IS 500 isn't really super exciting, even if it does put a smile on my face, it makes me wonder if the BMW M340i would have been
more exciting or not. I've heard mixed reviews on it, but most seem very positive. Or, would I like something even more sporty, like a Supra, instead? Most of the time, my wife and I don't use the back seats of the IS - I guess you could say buying four-doors is just a habit of mine, by now, whether we need the rear ones or not.
Still, I do love the IS 500. It feels like the V-8 always should have been here. It gives the car that little extra personality it needed to make it more unique and special. I can accept that it's not an IS F, cause really, even when I do take this car up to the mountains, it performs beautifully for my driving style. However, I think I may not be holding onto it forever - but hey, I may just have wandering eyes.