Modern Classics ISF article

[alter ego]

Forget Partridge With 400bhp to play with the Lexus IS F will get you from London to Norwich faster than Alan can say Ahaaaargh!!!

Tomorrow 3 Jan isf article in Modern Classics. Lets hope its positive?

[Peter P18]

Picked up a copy this morning from W H Smith at Cannon Street train station. £4.40 which seems about right these days (God I sound old! Lol).

Article starts well - front cover headline reads ; "LEXUS IS-F Proper M3 rival - for five grand less".

Main article was a bit hot and cold in my opinion. Too much focus on the firm suspension (dread to think what they'd make of an early model if they thought the revised setup is too stiff! Try the OEM 2008 units!), after all, this is easily changed along with the fake exhaust tips (another point they kept going back to). Didn't like the negative 'F' for Fuji Speedway (not Raceway as quoted in one of the photo boxes despite getting it correct in the body of the article!) reference, should have been more the race car for the road than seeing this as a bad thing in my view.

It finishes off well suggesting these could be a future investment as the first true performance Lexus, but I didn't like the jabs about the carbon centre console (a unique point found in only the IS-F, which when you consider most of the interior is the same as any 220d or 250, surely should be a plus point?), nor the criticism of the gearbox. Use manual mode! No way anyone can say that's not mechanically rewarding (especially when you have a supercharger, but I digress!).

Was hoping for a bit more I think.

[Toothy]

Totally agree with you Peter. Good article on the whole, but slightly amateurish in places. I think they refer to it as an LS-F at one point.

[alter ego]

They have also shaved off almost 300cc!!!  That will slow us down a bit!!

[mrfunex]

The criticisms of the fake exhaust tips really bugs me. Lots of cars have it - why is it such a big deal? Just makes me think the lazy journo gathered all his knowledge from Clarkson, almost a decade ago...

[Northern isf]

If fake tips are good enough for Ferrari and Lamborghini why do folk moan about a Lexus having them really grates on me that!

[NothernDan]

10 hours ago, Peter P18 said:

Picked up a copy this morning from W H Smith at Cannon Street train station. £4.40 which seems about right these days (God I sound old! Lol).

Article starts well - front cover headline reads ; "LEXUS IS-F Proper M3 rival - for five grand less".

Main article was a bit hot and cold in my opinion. Too much focus on the firm suspension (dread to think what they'd make of an early model if they thought the revised setup is too stiff! Try the OEM 2008 units!), after all, this is easily changed along with the fake exhaust tips (another point they kept going back to). Didn't like the negative 'F' for Fuji Speedway (not Raceway as quoted in one of the photo boxes despite getting it correct in the body of the article!) reference, should have been more the race car for the road than seeing this as a bad thing in my view.

It finishes off well suggesting these could be a future investment as the first true performance Lexus, but I didn't like the jabs about the carbon centre console (a unique point found in only the IS-F, which when you consider most of the interior is the same as any 220d or 250, surely should be a plus point?), nor the criticism of the gearbox. Use manual mode! No way anyone can say that's not mechanically rewarding (especially when you have a supercharger, but I digress!).

Was hoping for a bit more I think.

Read it in another WHSmith without buying it. Must admit it just sounded like the guy had read other reviews and re-written them 

it could have been a much better and more original write up with not much effort.

Pete! PM’ed you a few days back about my missing USRS. Get back to me when you get a chance 

[DAW]

Fake exhaust tips are also good enough for Bentley!!!. 

[Big Rat]

@DAW David absolutely right and Audi and Mercedes they all do it now, still it's good to see that aspect of rubbish bias German car journalism is still alive and kicking....... so I've jumped off my orange box now !

Anyway our tips are functional high quality so there !

And if you've ever wondered what they look like from the other side 🤓

Big Rat

 

[Toothy]

I have nothing against the 'fake tips' either. Theyre called exhaust collectors in the automotive world. The reason behind having them is manufactuers can have the finishers sitting much closer to the rear bumper trim. This allows for a much better optical and percieved quality. Normal exhaust tips need lots of clearance for vibration and heat. Meaning you have to have an extra large gap to the bumper. Something after market exhausts with tips don't consider.

They're a pain for collecting stones and muck though!

[DAW]

8 hours ago, Big Rat said:

@DAW David absolutely right and Audi and Mercedes they all do it now, still it's good to see that aspect of rubbish bias German car journalism is still alive and kicking....... so I've jumped off my orange box now !

Anyway our tips are functional high quality so there !

And if you've ever wondered what they look like from the other side 🤓

Big Rat

 

Couldn't agree more re the bias - don't recall ever reading an article complaining about the German manufacturers doing it!!.  We clearly need a bigger box for us all to stand on .

Thanks for posting the photo as I haven't actually ever seen them from that angle (surprise surprise being the mechanical genius that I am ). They do indeed look far more substantial than I had imagined, which also helps explain the not insignificant price of a replacement!!

[Big Rat]

@DAW David they are substantial the exhaust hangar bracket itself is bolted up through with x3 m10 bolts you could suspend the whole car in the air from a cable on just one, well maybe two 😁

🐀

[DAW]

That’s the sort of detail that makes me very happy to have a  Lexus