Lexus IS-F Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Lexus IS-F
Prices: £51,105 – on the road
Insurance Group: 20
Emissions: 270g/km
Performance: 0-60mph 4.3s / Max Speed 170mph
Fuel Consumption: [(combined) 21mpg [est]
Safety: Twin front, side & curtain airbags / ABS / VSC / TRC
Dimensions: Length/Width/Heightmm 4575/1800/1425

THE FIRST CUT

Our Rating: 8.0 / 10

Lexus doesn’t have any track record to speak of when it comes to sporting cars but then it’s never been a company to be daunted by challenges. Andy Enright reports on the IS-F sports saloon

Trying to go where the BMW M3 and the Mercedes C63 AMG currently reside is the transparent mission of the Lexus IS-F and, on paper, it looks to have the tools for the job. With a 417bhp V8 up front, the IS-F is no makeweight but simple badge equity may still count against it.

When Lexus first debuted as a marque in the UK, it could have focused on building the brand by knocking over a few easy stiffs, by targeting the weak and sickly. Instead it drew a bead on what was widely acclaimed to be the best car in the world, the Mercedes S-Class, and, through a shameless imitation it has to be said, created a model in the LS400 that equalled the mighty Merc in many respects and bettered it in more than a few. Therefore if there’s one thread running through Lexus’ short but distinguished corporate history, it’s that it never ducks a challenge.

Of course, some have been more successful bids for class leadership than others. For every LS400 or GS class success there have been cars like the first generation RX, which missed the boat by a couple of years, and the SC430 which really should have been left on the dockside in Japan in its doomed bid to topple the Mercedes SL. Lexus is tilting at some of the toughest targets in the motoring business again with the IS-F, a V8-engined supersaloon that has the Mercedes C63 AMG and BMW M3 unwaveringly in the crosshairs.

Received wisdom has it that Japanese performance cars have had a bit of a mixed reputation with UK buyers. Stop and think about the number of success stories there have been and the list is pretty long. Count among them the Datsun 240Z, Mazdas RX-7 and MX-5, the Toyota Supra and MR2, the Mitsubishi Evo, the Subaru Impreza, the Honda NSX, Civic and Integra Type-R, the Nissan Skyline GT-R and the 350Z . There have been nearly cars, like the Honda S2000, the Accord Type R, Nissan 300ZX, the Mitsubishi FTO and the Toyota Celica GT4. Then there have been cloggers like the Subaru XT, the Mitsubishi 3000GT and the Nissan 280ZX. The inescapable conclusion to be drawn from this list is that Japanese companies have been getting better and better as time progresses at building convincing performance cars.

Rather oddly, there has been an exception. Since it ditched the Supra and domestic market MR2 Turbo, Toyota hasn’t really been in the sporting cars game. Its luxury arm Lexus has barely dipped a toe in the water but that’s changing. The awesome LF-A supercar has kept many Nürburgring spy photographers in clover for the past few years but the IS-F is the first serious sports model from Lexus to hit showroom floors.

The specification sheet for the Lexus IS-F looks promising enough. With 417bhp from its 5.0-litre V8, it pips the BMW M3 and the old Audi RS4 by 3bhp but has to give best in the power stakes to the mighty Mercedes C63 AMG. No great surprises there. The engine is a development of the unit found under the bonnet of the LS460 limousine, but has been sent to fit club. Titanium intake valves, lightweight hollow camshafts, and an extra oil pump to keep the moving parts slippery during extreme cornering manoeuvres improve what was already a very impressive motor. The headline figures are par for the class, the IS-F stomping to 60mph in 4.3 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 170mph.

Of perhaps more interest is the way that it does so, and a key element of this is the gearbox. While many enthusiasts will stop reading now, the Lexus’ automatic gearbox is something quite intriguing. With eight forward speeds and a manual mode that offers quicker upshifts than the Ferrari F1 automated manual ‘box, the ‘Sport Direct Shift’ is no lazy lugger. Yes, there is a fully automatic mode for when you’re noodling through traffic but otherwise it’s that rarest of things – a genuinely purposeful sporting auto. Suspension spring rates have been stiffened by 100% compared to cooking IS models and the IS-F features a two stage stability control system with a Sport mode that allows adventurous drivers a little more leeway before the electronic cavalry comes over the hill.

The IS-F isn’t the most overt styling job, but the exterior changes made over the standard