Any 2014 Lexus IS 350 F-Sport owners?

[jbstrd]

In the next 1.5-2 years, my wife and I plan on replacing our 2004 Acura TL 6MT. We are strongly considering the 2014 Lexus IS 350 F-Sport, but I definitely want to check out the 2015 Acura TLX when it is released later this year.

I test drove an F-Sport yesterday and it felt very nice. As mentioned in several reviews, I, too, wish it had a little more power. I am looking at the RWD with the 8-Spd Auto. I only drove it a few miles and it felt great. In Sport + mode, the throttle response, suspension, and steering came alive.

I was just wondering if anyone has more time behind the wheel. Of so, give me your thoughts. Likes, dislikes, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Just noticed [MENTION=48413]Quentin[/MENTION] mentioned an interest in an IS a while back. Did you end up getting one?

 

[mfregeau20]

Hey, so just bought one for my wife back in October. Really can't say there is anything I don't like about the car. Drives great, handles amazing and is super comfortable.

I test drove a BMW 335i as well and yes the BMW has more torque so it seems to shoot out like bullet but the Lexus is no slouch especially in Sport + mode in manual shift mode. The interior is great and functionality of where things are is great including the mouse for the Inform system.

In anything less than sport mode it is very conservative with power but definitely not a negative to me as I use eco on the highway all the time.

Heck they're all great cars so you really can't go wrong, I do like Lexus cause it come with the reliability of Toyota and it is rear wheel drive. Acura is as well but not with rear wheel drive which I like better IMO. Here are a couple picture teasers

 

[Net4n6]

I would get couple years old GS. The interior way much better than the IS.
I almost get the previous model IS for my wife but end up got the E350. My wife glad that she got the E350 instead of the IS.

 

[mfregeau20]

I don't think a GS that is a few years older is going to compare to the new interior of the 2014 IS F sport. Super nice sport seats that "cup" you. I bought it from the a dealer in San Diego and drove 8 hours home to Nor Cal in it. My buddy works at the dealer and gives great deals. The new 2014 is bigger then the previous gen IS so no comparison IMO

 

[Quentin]

In the next 1.5-2 years, my wife and I plan on replacing our 2004 Acura TL 6MT. We are strongly considering the 2014 Lexus IS 350 F-Sport, but I definitely want to check out the 2015 Acura TLX when it is released later this year.

I test drove an F-Sport yesterday and it felt very nice. As mentioned in several reviews, I, too, wish it had a little more power. I am looking at the RWD with the 8-Spd Auto. I only drove it a few miles and it felt great. In Sport + mode, the throttle response, suspension, and steering came alive.

I was just wondering if anyone has more time behind the wheel. Of so, give me your thoughts. Likes, dislikes, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Just noticed [MENTION=48413]Quentin[/MENTION] mentioned an interest in an IS a while back. Did you end up getting one?

My fun car list is this order:
FR-S/BRZ
IS
e46 M3
2008+ STI
e36 M3
S2000
MX-5
EVO VIII/IV

An IS350 F sport is ~$150/mo more than the the FR-S through my company lease. That is more than I want to pay for a "toy", but if the 2.0T comes along, and especially if the 6MT returns, I'll be hard pressed to choose the FR-S/BRZ over the IS. I plan on buying/leasing something in September.

 

[jbstrd]

Hey, so just bought one for my wife back in October. Really can't say there is anything I don't like about the car. Drives great, handles amazing and is super comfortable.

I test drove a BMW 335i as well and yes the BMW has more torque so it seems to shoot out like bullet but the Lexus is no slouch especially in Sport + mode in manual shift mode. The interior is great and functionality of where things are is great including the mouse for the Inform system.

In anything less than sport mode it is very conservative with power but definitely not a negative to me as I use eco on the highway all the time.

Heck they're all great cars so you really can't go wrong, I do like Lexus cause it come with the reliability of Toyota and it is rear wheel drive. Acura is as well but not with rear wheel drive which I like better IMO. Here are a couple picture teasers

Thanks [MENTION=96750]mfregeau20[/MENTION] , yours is identical to the one I test drove, color and all. Beautiful car!! That is just the feedback I was looking for.

The one thing that struck me as odd was the fact you can not get the F-Sport with certain options. For example, you can not get leather, just the Nuluxe material (synthetic leather). Granted, I was very impressed with the look and feel of the Nuluxe. Like you said, the seats are amazing to sit in.

Another odd thing is that you can not get memory seats or ventilated seats with the F-Sport package. Seems like those should be standard for a 2014 Lexus.

Oh well, these are not deal breakers to me since I absolutely have to have the F-Sport.

I would get couple years old GS. The interior way much better than the IS.
I almost get the previous model IS for my wife but end up got the E350. My wife glad that she got the E350 instead of the IS.

I dig the brand new GS F-Sport, but I don't need a bigger car with the same engine. I am stuck on the IS and the new interior for 2014 is great. The only thing I would change are the cheap looking buttons on the center stack.

My fun car list is this order:
FR-S/BRZ
IS
e46 M3
2008+ STI
e36 M3
S2000
MX-5
EVO VIII/IV

An IS350 F sport is ~$150/mo more than the the FR-S through my company lease. That is more than I want to pay for a "toy", but if the 2.0T comes along, and especially if the 6MT returns, I'll be hard pressed to choose the FR-S/BRZ over the IS. I plan on buying/leasing something in September.

I love the FR-S, but it would not be practical for me to replace my Acura with one. I already have a Scion tC, which may be replaced by an FR-S wayyyyy down the road.

Thanks guys, keep the experiences and opinions (good and bad) coming.

 

[mfregeau20]

Thanks [MENTION=96750]mfregeau20[/MENTION] , yours is identical to the one I test drove, color and all. Beautiful car!! That is just the feedback I was looking for.

The one thing that struck me as odd was the fact you can not get the F-Sport with certain options. For example, you can not get leather, just the Nuluxe material (synthetic leather). Granted, I was very impressed with the look and feel of the Nuluxe. Like you said, the seats are amazing to sit in.

Another odd thing is that you can not get memory seats or ventilated seats with the F-Sport package. Seems like those should be standard for a 2014 Lexus.

Oh well, these are not deal breakers to me since I absolutely have to have the F-Sport.


Yeah it does suck not having the memory seat and the cooling seats but like you said not a deal breaker and the seats in the none F sport suck.

If you go for one shop around look for a good deal, I got mine from my buddy for around $ 44,000 OTD on a lease. If you don't mind it you can have it delivered. Call El Cajon Lexus in SD and ask for Trevor Perkins.

 

[jbstrd]

Thanks [MENTION=96750]mfregeau20[/MENTION] , yours is identical to the one I test drove, color and all. Beautiful car!! That is just the feedback I was looking for.

The one thing that struck me as odd was the fact you can not get the F-Sport with certain options. For example, you can not get leather, just the Nuluxe material (synthetic leather). Granted, I was very impressed with the look and feel of the Nuluxe. Like you said, the seats are amazing to sit in.

Another odd thing is that you can not get memory seats or ventilated seats with the F-Sport package. Seems like those should be standard for a 2014 Lexus.

Oh well, these are not deal breakers to me since I absolutely have to have the F-Sport.


Yeah it does suck not having the memory seat and the cooling seats but like you said not a deal breaker and the seats in the none F sport suck.

If you go for one shop around look for a good deal, I got mine from my buddy for around $ 44,000 OTD on a lease. If you don't mind it you can have it delivered. Call El Cajon Lexus in SD and ask for Trevor Perkins.

Still a ways out on the purchase, but I will definitely keep your buddy in mind. That sounds like a good deal. Does yours have the Mark Levinson sound and LED Headlights?

 

[Quentin]

I think LED headlights are part of the F Sport package on the IS350. ML and Nav are not included but can be purchased with the F Sport.

 

[mfregeau20]

Still a ways out on the purchase, but I will definitely keep your buddy in mind. That sounds like a good deal. Does yours have the Mark Levinson sound and LED Headlights?

So mine does have the LED Headlights as they should all come with them on the F Sport but from what my Buddy told me none of them have the Mark Levinson that he has seen so far.

He is the finance manager and should be there for a while so whenever your ready man give a call and he will get you a great deal just mention me. Delivery should be inexpensive from there to PNW.

 

[jbstrd]

So mine does have the LED Headlights as they should all come with them on the F Sport but from what my Buddy told me none of them have the Mark Levinson that he has seen so far.

He is the finance manager and should be there for a while so whenever your ready man give a call and he will get you a great deal just mention me. Delivery should be inexpensive from there to PNW.

Yea, the F-Sports must all come with the LED Headlights. It is definitely an option to get the Mark Levinson since the one I drove had it.

I will definitely keep in touch and take you up on that offer when I am ready to buy.

Thanks, Jason

 

[mfregeau20]

Yea, the F-Sports must all come with the LED Headlights. It is definitely an option to get the Mark Levinson since the one I drove had it.

I will definitely keep in touch and take you up on that offer when I am ready to buy.

Thanks, Jason

So interesting I just went and built one and if i a reading it right the Navigation system is the Mark Levinson system so it must be in mine and just not say anywhere inside that it is this brand. Either way the surround sound is amazing!

Either way it trumps the 2003 IS300 we had

 

[NoDak]

before i bought my 2014, i was in the market for a GS350 and IS350. granted they were not F sport in the GS or IS.

i would compare the GS vs the IS if you can.

now mind you alot of nice options you can get in the normal GS/IS are n/a in the F sport versions and vice versa.

IS350 F has that cool animated dash which is exclusive to the 2014 IS350F

 

[jbstrd]

So interesting I just went and built one and if i a reading it right the Navigation system is the Mark Levinson system so it must be in mine and just not say anywhere inside that it is this brand. Either way the surround sound is amazing!

Either way it trumps the 2003 IS300 we had

The one I drove said "Mark Levinson" towards the bottom of the center stack. I have attached a pic of what it looked like. Just forward of the shifter.

I agree, I was never really into the older IS 300.

before i bought my 2014, i was in the market for a GS350 and IS350. granted they were not F sport in the GS or IS.

i would compare the GS vs the IS if you can.

now mind you alot of nice options you can get in the normal GS/IS are n/a in the F sport versions and vice versa.

IS350 F has that cool animated dash which is exclusive to the 2014 IS350F

We are pretty stuck on the IS. We like the looks, price, and size better. Don't get me wrong, the GS is beautiful.

Oh, and the IS 350 F-Sport gauge is bada$$!!

 

[grey_ghost]

I've owned Acura products; both an MDX and a '05 RL, and a few years ago I had a new '08 Lexus IS250. I know, not the same as the new version you're looking at but my experiences might be helpful.
Overall, we had a few issues with the Acuras, whereas it just seemed to me Lexus has a slight edge over Acura as far as quality/finish/reliability. The interior of my IS250 was immaculate and just incredible quality, I had the manual, which was a lot of fun to drive. If i had one complaint, it was the 250 (at 210 hp at the time) was just somewhat under-powered. I have to echo the comment that Acura hasn't embraced rear wheel drive so that's a problem for a performance car.
Of course one problem (with any of these high-end vehicles) is if you own it beyond the warranty and something breaks.... it tends to get very expensive.
Case in point on my old Acura RL: one time one of the touch sensitive auto-unlocking door handles quit working. Cost to put on a new door handle= $700 !! Ouch!

 

[grey_ghost]

Oh and I just saw your post on the stereo: I have to say compared to any car stereo either factory or aftermarket, those Lexus Mark Levinson sound systems are better than anything I've ever heard in a vehicle, hands down.
So if you're into music, shelling out extra for the Mark Levinson option is worth it!

 

[NoDak]

have to piggy back on the out of warranty work. if you intend to keep it outside of a lease or longer than the factory warranty, i would look into the ext warranty.

reason is that the ML headunit/amp tend to go out on these across all the models prematurely from what i have read on the clublexus.com forums.

i have read on the GS/LS/GX sub forums they go out alot compared to the standard headunits.


google search : lexus mark levinson amplifier repair

but its best to do a search on the clublexus.com sub forums to get a better view.

 

[jbstrd]

I've owned Acura products; both an MDX and a '05 RL, and a few years ago I had a new '08 Lexus IS250. I know, not the same as the new version you're looking at but my experiences might be helpful.
Overall, we had a few issues with the Acuras, whereas it just seemed to me Lexus has a slight edge over Acura as far as quality/finish/reliability. The interior of my IS250 was immaculate and just incredible quality, I had the manual, which was a lot of fun to drive. If i had one complaint, it was the 250 (at 210 hp at the time) was just somewhat under-powered. I have to echo the comment that Acura hasn't embraced rear wheel drive so that's a problem for a performance car.
Of course one problem (with any of these high-end vehicles) is if you own it beyond the warranty and something breaks.... it tends to get very expensive.
Case in point on my old Acura RL: one time one of the touch sensitive auto-unlocking door handles quit working. Cost to put on a new door handle= $700 !! Ouch!

Oh and I just saw your post on the stereo: I have to say compared to any car stereo either factory or aftermarket, those Lexus Mark Levinson sound systems are better than anything I've ever heard in a vehicle, hands down.
So if you're into music, shelling out extra for the Mark Levinson option is worth it!

Thanks for the input. I would agree the Lexus vehicles seem to be a little higher class than the Acuras. However, my '04 TL has not given me any major issues.

It looks like most of the F-Sport models come with the Mark Levinson system and it is definitely something I would like.

As far as power, I have read the new IS 250 feels horribly underpowered. I am certain I want the 350. Power is more important than gas mileage to me, especially since the 250 only get 1-2 MPG's better.

have to piggy back on the out of warranty work. if you intend to keep it outside of a lease or longer than the factory warranty, i would look into the ext warranty.

reason is that the ML headunit/amp tend to go out on these across all the models prematurely from what i have read on the clublexus.com forums.

i have read on the GS/LS/GX sub forums they go out alot compared to the standard headunits.


google search : lexus mark levinson amplifier repair

but its best to do a search on the clublexus.com sub forums to get a better view.

I will look into the issues with the ML systems. You would think they would fix the bugs over the years. An extended warranty is something I want to look into since I usually keep vehicles past their warranty periods.

 

[toyo]

This Fall I will have the new RC-F in my garage. This car looks and seems to be very impressive.

 

[LandCruiser]

I really don't understand why people buy luxury cars with harsh race/sport tuned suspensions.

In the real world you'll just be hammering your ass and spine to a pulp unless you're Kim Kardashian.