Test Drove IS F at Lexus Performance driving event

[nick_auto96]

I attended Lexus performance driving academy @ Summit Points in WV today. I t was the first time I went to a manufacturer sponsored event and it wasn't bad at all.
After registration, and short presentation, there was a autocross session which was basically oval skidpad on a slippery surface. I did a total of 4 laps, 1st, 2nd and 4th laps was in IS 250 with a manual and 3rd lap was in a IS350. I didn't had to wait so much in line for a schtick IS250 since not so many people wanted to drive it.
Anyway, first impressions about IS250- it had a nice engine sound , great short throw shifter which I loved and a nice balanced handling with a bit of understeer at the limit . My 2nd lap was the best lap and it was in IS250. Didn't had a chance to look @the interior that much.
Imressions about IS350- only drove it once. On a lap, I went to the corner too fast and it oversteered like a pig; maybe it was my fault cause I was going too fast to feel the power; but I also think steering felt not so communicative.

After the autocross, we headed towards short circuit. There, as our instructor told us, 10% of all IS-F's in US were waiting to be unleashed. I think there was 12-20 IS F were @ the track.
Everyone did a two laps behind the wheel themselves following a lead car driven by a pro. All cars had a radio and before moving instructor said "Put the gear lever to D, not S", and I was like yeah right, ef it and I put it in S mode to shift on my on. As we set of, I just was smiling to my ears listening to engine noise . OMG it just sounds so awesome in person whether you're inside the car or outside especially after 4500 rpm. Gearchanges were really quick with a nice throttle blip when downshifting. I can't comment on transmission that much, since it was the first car I drove with such transmission but it works really well. Handling wise- ISF has a quick steering but feels little numb and maybe it lacks a precision like in M3. Little bit tail happy too since it has 54/46 weight distribution. Interior- didn't had that much time to look at it but it's a nice place to be in except I didn't like the aluminized trim.
I thought doing two laps in ISF in moderate speeds was fun, untill we sat in a ISF as a passenger and a pro driver did a hot lap. I was like OMG whole time and I was holding to my seat. Acceleration was crushing and brutal, and speed we carried thru corners were mind boggling. My face and my eyeballs almost came out when we were braking for a slow corner at the end lol.
Overall, very impressive for LEXUS to pull of such a great machine for the first time . Best thing I loved about ISF was it's engine noise. I still may choose one of other german rivals (like RS4, M3 or C63AMG) if I was looking to buy in that class but still nicely done, LEXUS!
It was a fun day for me even thought I spent around 3hrs for a roundtrip to go there but it was well worth it. It was a great Sunday to me today. However after experiencing 400+ hp acceleration my 525i (it has a chip)with mere 200hp feels freaking sluggish now . At least it's good on gas.
Sorry no pics since I left my camera at home.
Thanks for reading.

Nick

[liqidvenom]

i got a ride in one when i was in sweden and with 4 people in the car this thing felt like a rocket. the sales person was weaving in and out of traffic like we were running from the cops.

it was a very solid and quick car. i would buy one over a m3.

[aventerav]

I'm jelious, I would love to try one. I'd probably kill myself if I ever owned one driving it.
BTW how much power did your chip add?

[sciff5]

Originally Posted by liqidvenom

i got a ride in one when i was in sweden and with 4 people in the car this thing felt like a rocket. the sales person was weaving in and out of traffic like we were running from the cops.

it was a very solid and quick car. i would buy one over a m3.

Maybe over an old M3... No chance in hell I'de buy one over a new M3.

[magneto112]

Yep. Its an outstanding first effort. They really did there homework on this one. Driven it quite a few times and it surprises me everytime. Best part about it, once you finally get off the throttle, its as quiet and composed as a regular Lexus, but a beast on the track. What I liked most about the car is the brakes and handling. Very shocking.

Couple things, above 4000rpm the second intake opens. S mode is for the lightening fast shifts. Faster than a DSG or comparable. Quite impressive for an auto tranny.

Did you go to the Friday event?? You get a lot more seat time in the IS-F on the track and driving lessons.

[liqidvenom]

Originally Posted by sciff5

Maybe over an old M3... No chance in hell I'de buy one over a new M3.

spend time with both and come back and report.

i have and thats how i feel, the m3's biggest saving over the other cars in its class aside form the name is the manual tranny. the is-f is like 9/10 the crazy of a c63 and thats enough for me to pick it over a m3.

but thats just me, my v8's need some tq.

[95maxrider]

Well I was going to make my own thread, but I might as well just add to this one.

Me and my buddy went to the Friday event at Summit Point and got a ton of seat time in the IS-F. First, we did a lead/follow around the main track. A pro driver went first and three of us followed him for 4 laps. I was blown away by the steering and brakes on the car. I haven't driven a RWD car in a while, especially one with this much power, and I fell in love with the steering. It was very linear with good feel and inspired confidence, at least compared with the steering in my 4th gen (lol). I had seen an article where a test driver had made the brakes catch on fire after some track abuse, but we didn't get to beat the car that hard, and the brakes felt great. Good feel and powerful. They had the stability and traction control buttons covered with black tape, but since I had already located them I turned the sport mode on and put the car in manual mode. I still couldn't get the rear to rotate or get wheel spin, but I'll attribute that to leaving the traction control on.

We then took the car out on a skidpad that was covered in some slick powder and felt what it was like to basically drive on ice. It was cool, but not as fun as the road course.

We then took the car on an auto-x course they set up. The record for the course was set by a real good pro driver, at 21.1 seconds. On my second run (out of 4) I set the fast time of the day (not including the pro) at 22.1 seconds. Later someone beat me by .05 seconds, so I ran again and got a 22.0. They said I tapped a cone but it didn't fall over, so in my mind (and SCCA rules) the 2 second penalty they gave me was incorrect and unfair. So basically, out of 80 people and their 320 runs, I came in first and third place overall.

The last event was the hot laps with the pro driver around the road course. He turned off TC and put it in sport mode with the manual paddle shifters and pulled off some amazing controlled tandem drifts. We hit 100 on the straightaway, but my favorite part was the drifting. It really made me wish I had turned off the TC when I did my laps.

One interesting thing happened when we were doing the lead/follow event. At some point a guy in the 4th car disappeared from the course. Since he was the last car in line nobody noticed he was gone until they pulled back into the pits. After 30 minutes of searching they found the guy, but they didn't bring the car back. My buddy said he noticed skid marks going off the course and over a small hill that headed into the nearby woods. The workers said the guy was diabetic and just pulled his car off the course to rest, but sounds like a lie since it took them so long just to locate the guy. My guess is the guy crashed the car and they lied about it so the program wouldn't get a bad reputation.

I know I'm leaving some stuff out, so I'll add stuff later when it comes to me. I took some videos which I may upload to youtube later...stay tuned.

[nick_auto96]

Originally Posted by aventerav

I'm jelious, I would love to try one. I'd probably kill myself if I ever owned one driving it.
BTW how much power did your chip add?

I've got EAT chip which adds about 20hp and 20 tq over the stpck 189 hp but it requires premium. Surprisingly, gas mileage went up by 1-2 MPG after I put the chip according to my calculations

[Snypa]

Originally Posted by liqidvenom

i got a ride in one when i was in sweden and with 4 people in the car this thing felt like a rocket. the sales person was weaving in and out of traffic like we were running from the cops.

it was a very solid and quick car. i would buy one over a m3.

are you sure....M3...damnn

[sciff5]

Originally Posted by liqidvenom

spend time with both and come back and report.

i have and thats how i feel, the m3's biggest saving over the other cars in its class aside form the name is the manual tranny. the is-f is like 9/10 the crazy of a c63 and thats enough for me to pick it over a m3.

but thats just me, my v8's need some tq.

I hear yah about the torque, and if you absolutly must have that feel of instant torque than I would agree. The BMW V8 is more rev happy, but thats ok with me, it makes "enough" power for me to settle

[liqidvenom]

Originally Posted by sciff5

I hear yah about the torque, and if you absolutly must have that feel of instant torque than I would agree. The BMW V8 is more rev happy, but thats ok with me, it makes "enough" power for me to settle

i guess you cant really loose with which ever car you end up with. i would love it if a dealer would let you pay one price but swap between the rs4/m3/c63/is-f at will.

[MorpheusZero]

I missed it