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The Dallas Morning News Terry Box column: Lexus IS-F can run with BMW and other big dogs
(Dallas Morning News, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 8--The term "hot Lexus" rings about as true to me as "comedian mugger."
The words just don't mesh. We all know Lexus, which for 20 years has assembled some of the tightest, quietest, most polished luxury sedans on the market. But what Lexus serves up in its somber cruiser sometimes tastes to me like boiled Buick.
Do you remember some of the big Buick sedans from the '60s? As I recall, they were large, softly sprung cars with immensely capable engines, power everything, nice interiors and decent -- sometimes even striking -- styling. Point a big, finned, chrome-laden Buford down an interstate, and you could ride it with ease for 600 miles.
If you took a Buick and melted off the chrome and the various fins and protrusions, I'm convinced the lump that would be left would resemble a Lexus ES 350. Sculpt a couple of character lines down the slab sides and your work is done.
Like Buicks of old, Lexuses glide with utter silence and competence down the road, easing their passengers along in a silent, well-furnished transportation compartment. The last LS 460 I drove was so refined I felt the urge to reach for the lamp switch, my reading glasses and a book when it got to cruising speed.
But I've got some shocking news: You will never feel encapsulated or disconnected in the 2008 Lexus IS-F, nor will you find it lacking in flavor -- and that is very good for us enthusiasts. This is the dark anti-Lexus, a stiff, snarling, gas-guzzling sports sedan with a 170-mph top speed and an exhaust note that will curl the blue hair of some of Lexus' traditional buyers.
This is also the BMW-fighting Lexus that the Japanese automaker has promised -- and largely failed to deliver -- for the last decade. Lexus knows the feel of buttery leather and thick wool carpets, and how to achieve an unbelievably smooth ride. But when it comes to sizzling performance and world-class handling, Lexus knows only the all-too-familiar sight of a BMW's taillights.
One loud bark
That may change. The $56,000 IS-F is Lexus' best, most credible attempt to run with big dogs like the BMW M3, Audi RS4 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.
Lexus -- Toyota's luxury division -- started with the highly respectable rear-wheel-drive IS 250/350, yanking the engine and many suspension pieces out first.
The F gets its big bark from a 5-liter version of the Lexus V-8 with hotter cams, more compression, direct injection and 416 high-strung horsepower. It is bolted to an eight-speed automatic that in the manual-shift mode can change gears in a tenth of a second, Lexus says.
The car is lowered, stiffened, treated to 19-inch forged aluminum wheels and gets bigger, stronger brakes. In a debatable move, Lexus also flared the fenders to clear 225/40 tires up front and 255/35 meats in the rear. (The front flares, with fake vertical vents on the back sides, look a bit goofy.)
My silver IS-F arrived recently wearing good-looking black-chrome 10-spoke wheels, rather bizarre stacked quad exhausts and a macho, aggressive stance. In fact, at long last, this may actually be a Lexus that you can drive wearing a T-shirt with all the windows down. The car's got grit.
As you could probably predict, the IS-F is not likely to be included in any greenie newsletters, with its fuel consumption of 16 miles per gallon city, 23 highway.
But don't worry about it. Toyota's got the Prius to offset what you're doing with the IS-F, so consider it money well spent. (Besides, I'm sure Big Oil is using a considerable portion of our inflated $4-a-gallon gas money on new production. Right?)
Functional interior
As I climbed into the IS-F, I couldn't figure out whether the interior was dark blue or black. (I sometimes have the same problem with slacks and socks.) But whatever, the seats were stitched in a nifty blue thread that matched the blue "F" in the car's nameplate -- a letter I suspect will generate some interesting slang and nicknames.
Though the plastic on the doors and dashboard seemed kind of average for a $60,000 car -- undermined further by garish silver carbon-fiber- looking material on the console and armrests -- the wraparound leather seats and three-spoke steering wheel looked and felt great.
Moreover, unlike some ultra-high-performance sedans, everything inside was functional. Get this: You can climb in and instantly use the climate control system and stereo. I really liked the big round tach and speedometer with their dancing blue needles.
As you would expect in Lexus, the fit and finish were simply superb. But every notion you have of Lexus as a cushy snoozer of a cruiser will disappear the second the IS-F's magical motor growls to life.
On this Lexus, you won't need to look at the tach to make sure it's running. The good-size eight is a little flat below 3,000 rpm, but it literally howls from there to the 7,000 rpm redline -- pulling as hard as any American muscle car I've driven.
One of the car's neatest features is a flap on the intake air-box beneath the hood that opens above 3,000 rpm, emitting a wild, flat intake moan under acceleration. (Didn't Plymouth have a similar setup on the '69 Road Runner?)
High praise
In a recent Car and Driver test, the IS-F blasted to 60 in a scorching 4.4 seconds and shot through the quarter-mile in 12.8 seconds at 114 mph.
Better still, the IS-F thunders flatly through corners with balance and grace, stopping with the resolve of a Porsche if you happen to encounter something official on the other side of the curve (like one of our newest area revenuers, radar-running Dallas County constables).
Even more shocking, this is a Lexus with quick, lively, tight steering to complement the great brakes. The IS-F, in fact, is truly a Lexus that need never again fear the neighborhood bully, a 3-series BMW.
But there's a price to pay for all this competence -- over and above the $56,000 entry charge. The high-performance suspension, to be kind, is tight. I drove around with it set in the "sport" mode, resulting in a ride similar to that of a Tundra with no load in the bed.
It's not exactly harsh, but you will never worry about falling asleep at the wheel. Consider it a safety feature.
I also wasn't entirely enamored with the eight-speed automatic. In manual mode, it is as swift and sure as a $5- million-a-year plastic surgeon in Hollywood. Even in full automatic, the car would get second-gear rubber in its shifts from first to second with the traction control on -- or so I'm told.
But every now and then, I would stomp the accelerator at about 70 mph -- in a controlled environment, of course -- and the transmission was a little slow to downshift. However, when it did, the ensuing booster-rocket rush to speed was well worth the wait.
Few will ever call the IS-F beautiful. But it has presence and personality, and no one will ever mistake it for a modern Buick -- much less boiled Buick.
This is a Lexus that tastes of steak and salsa.
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Dallas Morning News
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