New owner questions E92 M3 to IS F

[Jgtcracer]

22 minutes ago, mike m said:

Sounds like a diesel with a big exhaust though. 

Very true, they do versions of that engine in a few cars within the BMW range.  Bit boring if you ask me, too few cylinders!!

[mike m]

They sound even worse on cold startup. I'm not a big fan of some of these turbo charged supposedly greener engines. Can't deny the fact they are quick but the sound puts me off. The M2 sounds better mind you.

[Rusty Crobar]

Reviews of the new CS spec M4 are positive, including the noise. It is £90k though 😨. I'm sure it is a wonderful car and it does look great, but you could say the same about my £16k F! 

@Flytvr you would think I would have learned my lesson but I was pretty sure the Welsh police can't afford new M3's 😃

[ecswtrav]

So far I've found the sat nav on my 2013 car better than the BMW version I had updated.  The Lexus takes full postcodes whereas the BMW only did once I updated it and even then it would struggle finding some destinations.  I actually prefer the Lexus sat nav - the traffic updates and mapping display I much prefer.  I had the Harman Kardon setup in my BMW and I think the Mark Levinson has the edge too although occasionally it sounds a bit tinny when the source is of low quality.  Plus I've not got DAB which was an optional extra with the BMW.  

Styling wise, even though I had a 2010 BMW, I think the styling was a little more current that the ISF - inside for certain.  The controls, switchgear etc are also a notch above in the BMW I felt.  I do feel like i'm sat in a bit of an outdated car with the ISF - much like I was when I had a 2008 Honda S2000 that first hit the showrooms in 19999 and didn't really change.  But I actually love the feel of the ISF in the cabin as it seems so well built and quality.  

Performance wise, the M3 had lots of settings that you could tweak from suspension to response of the engine to gear changing frequency - I could tailor the sport button (or M button) with lots of settings.  As far as I can tell, I don't have any way of tailoring the sport button on the Lexus?  In Drive mode in the BMW with the 'sport' setting it would pickup so much better when you planted your foot down - noticeably more than the ISF at motorway speeds although similar when lower down.  Although the M3 had a great sound - the Lexus above the 4k rev range makes a great noise - better than the M3 and that was some sound - but both are very aggressive.  Handling wise (not that I've been on a track) it all seems very similar and so does the comfort.  I know my version has a diffferent suspension setup but it's no different to driving the M3 on its middle setting and probably more forgiving than the M3 in true M mode.   

Overall, I'd take either car to be honest.  If the M3 came with a lifetime warranty or a Lexus priced warranty then possibly that would get my vote for more customisation with your drive.  But, because it doesn't and because a one year warranty without an excess costs £1500 for a 2010 car then the Lexus is an absolute no brainer - particularly with the current warranty of 900 for 2 years!

But yeah, both great cars and have no regrets moving to the ISF....other than the second rate MP3 setup and not being able to customise my drive settings so much.    

[Corrado]

Congrats on the new purchase. Enjoy!

[DAW]

Thanks for the review it makes interesting reading. 

I'm surprised about the DAB as my 2011 has it.  My car is one of the early final update models and I assumed they all came with the same unit, but maybe not.

[Dar]

Hi Wesley, I've gone the Vaistech route because I wanted to use the built-in touch screen and the steering wheel controls (mainly to change my songs in spotify). Of course, I can then use the maps from my phone (android OS) and any other app running on my smartphone on the larger ISF screen (relative to my smartphone). Relatively easy to install and keeps it all looking OEM.

Welcome to the club!

[rayaans]

Great choice - we're all biased of course.

But I can't see any pictures - and that is what I came here to see! Everyone loves a good pic of an IS-F

[ecswtrav]

Here she is...I've not had a second yet to do any cleaning inside or out and I cant wait to do so.  Bit frustrated at this moment though as I've spotted a seat repair that I missed on viewing on the passenger side.  Looks like some type of spray has been used as I've spotted over spray on the dash and a few other areas that I assumed was dust.  Cant see why else there would be small white specks on the dash. Ah well, bit of elbow grease and I'm sure I can have it looking paint free.  The textured dash is bound to make it even harder too.  Thanks for the audio suggestions.