Lexus luxury at 170 mph.

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Advice: Selling Points

Shoppers considering a luxury sport sedan will find a lot to appreciate in Lexus’ first attempt at meeting their needs. Among the highlights are the 416-horsepower V-8 with its vicious intake growl, a smooth and quick-acting eight-speed automatic transmission that’s ready for interactive fun or a tranquil ride to work, Brembo brakes that are all business all the time, and a modified suspension system which offers a pleasing balance between a comfortable ride and sports car handling. Then there’s technology such as eight standard airbags and an optional pre-collision/intelligent cruise control system, and a base price that makes the 2008 IS F highly competitive amongst its well-known competitors.

Deal Breakers

After a long bout of testing, we discovered that as much as we loved the aggressive sound the secondary intake makes whenever the tachometer needle climbs north of 3,600 rpm or so, well, that aggressive sound comes out whenever the tachometer needle climbs north of 3,600 rpm or so. There are times when you want to simply drive or have a conversation not interrupted by an explosion of noise from under the hood. Granted, that may be a rare request, but it’s something to consider. There are also the tight rear quarters, admittedly more of an issue for those along for the ride than they would be for you, the lucky driver.

Competitors

Lexus has set some serious competition in its sites as it aims to put the IS F on the shopping lists of car buyers considering the BMW M3, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, and Audi RS 4. Based on pricing for the 414-horsepower M3 and 420-horsepower RS 4, the $56,765 Lexus is well positioned on the affordability scale, and those 416 ponies under the hood put the IS F right on par with the German heavyweights. But for you domestic fans, or horsepower junkies in general with superfluous quantities of cash, the updated 550-hp Cadillac CTS-V soon destined for public consumption will certainly demand equal attention.