Lexus VS. Audi
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In this cool video from Edmunds the Audi S4 takes on the new Lexus IS-F
None of these cars are my cup of tea.
And besides, I think Lexus should stick with what they’re doing best: make luxury cars.
They make great cars but they are not BMW. Most BMW buyers just want their BMW.
They will not even consider a Lexus no matter how good, fast it gets.
There is nothing wrong with making excellent Luxury cars.
I have an S4 and would have never cross-shopped it with a Lexus. The short list for me was the Audi, the M3 and the CTS-V. The contrarian in me really liked the CTS-V and had the interior of the Caddy been on par with the others, I’d probably have one now. There is something about the Lexus brand that is really lacking. A buddy has a last generation IS and a neighbor has an 06 ES. Neither are well loved and both have had nitpickey issues. Nothing major, but since Lexus sells generic luxury on the premise of perfect quality, the owners are not completely pleased. Especially when get to drive my S4 Cabrio which hasn’t had a single issue in three years. I wish I could get commission on the number of people I’ve converted into Audi owners.
Used to be a big fan of lexus but I’m not much of one anymore. Lexus was a slick car company back in the 90’s but it seems that all of the competitors have caught up with better designs and better features. I don’t think that lexus will ever be able to build a proper european performance sedan because they have never been able to build a proper european luxury car … just a copy of one. Yeah, the cars are smooth, quiet and reliable but there is a different feel to a european car that makes them feel more mature, more polished and just more expensive. Lexus doesn’t have this. The cars are just bland and overpriced at this point and the reliability has tanked as well. And the IS-f is just plain cheesy. The europeans seem to have performance in their dna and at least plan on having a high performance car when they start designing but from what I hear lexus had to extend the front of this car to fit the new engine. That’s poor planning from the “relentless pursuit” and an indicator that this thing is probably not the most integrated, well thought out design.
OTOH I know quite a few Lexus owners, some of which have cross-shopped Audi, some have switched from Audi, and others have not considered Audi at all. In general, Lexus cars are pretty well-ranked in Consumer Reports studies. I was hoping that the Germans improved but the recent CR report showed that new Mercedes such as the S-Class and Audis such as the Q7 had enough poor reliability data to not recommend.
It’s true that the IS-F was not designed according to typical Lexus practices, I read that there was internal debate as to build this car or not and they did not plan for it when the IS was originally built, hence the need for modifications. Also they did not use the same manpower or resources they normally do. Strangely enough the reviews have been pretty good as far as on-track performance.
I can sum up lexus with one word… BORING!
The design is second to none in blandness! Ohhh I loved that they have quad tailpipes but they’re not connected!
Decent attempt though but at the end… yawn…
The vehicle from Audi was an RS4 not an S4. The Lexus would have raped the S4. The RS4 shares the Lambo Gallardo engine. Quite a car. I look forward to seeing their next iteration! By the way how much does the Lexus cost?
“The vehicle from Audi was an RS4 not an S4. The Lexus would have raped the S4. The RS4 shares the Lambo Gallardo engine. “
I indicated I have an S4 in the first post, and I do realize that this is an RS4 in the clip. I guess I was unclear in trying to make the point… who would choose a Lexus over a comparable Audi? Lexus owners are enamored with my car and I continue to be very unimpressed with Lexus.
Yes, the IS-F would easily outrun my car, which “only” has 340hp and is a heavier convertible. The RS4 does not, however, have the Lambo engine. It has the same 4.2 V8 as the S4, albeit heavily tuned to produce 420hp. The S6 is what you’re thinking… it has a de-tuned verison of the lambo V10. As does the S8. Man, I need to get out more.
“Ohhh I loved that they have quad tailpipes but they’re not connected!”
Actually they are connected on the production models, Edmunds has been giving incorrect information…not the first time either.
The is-f still kinda goofy lookin though.
The exhaust pipes are definitely NOT connected. Scroll down to the middle of the page to view pic.https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-f-2008-2014/315246-edmunds-is-f-vs-rs4-3.html
From the SAME website you quoted:https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-f-2008-2014/316810-update-on-the-stacked-exhausts.htmlThe ACTUAL production exhaust tips are connected.That pic is the handbuilt preproduction version, other reviewers correctly noted that the exhaust pipes are real.