This is my review of: a) today's Taste of Lexus "performance driving" event in Miami; and b) the new 2006 Lexus IS350 sedan.

First, for those who have not read it, here's my review for the BMW driving experience event in June to launch the 3 Series: https://g35driver.com/forums/showthr...rossed+bmw+330.

I don't mean to sound too harsh, but the Lexus event did not hold a candle to the BMW event. Lexus had comfortable facilities and was a bit more posh. Unfortunately, it fell far short as a performance driving event because the way they set it up made it very difficult to gather an accurate sense of a car's capabilities (I will explain why I think they did this later).

The bottom line is that my cousin and I drove 10 very hard long laps in 1.5 hours at BMW versus 4 single puny laps in 2 hours plus I got reprimanded twice. With BMW I learned about the cars and about driving, with Lexus I had to develop my own take aways.

BMW had one driving instructor per 3 people whose goal was to show you how to take the vehicle to its limits versus Lexus who had no instructors and just let people drive one at a time and you were not allowed to knock over any cones or squeel the tires. BMW encouraged you drive the cars all out and never complained about knocking down cones. BMW had the apex marked versus Lexus with no markigns. BMW's course was 5 times the size of Lexus and you got two runs per car versus one run with Lexus. BMW minimized down time and you were constantly driving, in, or changing various cars versus Lexus where you waited in line for one puny run. BMW took time to point out differences between their cars and the competition, Lexus did not. BMW had two other cars against their 3 series (G35 and Audi A4) verus Lexus who brought one BMW 330.

Now on to the cars. I honestly think Lexus used a different format because they did NOT want to truly compare the IS against the 330 or the G35 for that matter. For all those who wonder if the IS350 is a contender, I'm telling you now we have nothing to worry about!

And here's why . . . I discovered the VDIM system in the IS350 prevents you from ever driving the car near its limit. Unlike the G35 VDC or BMW DSC system that you can turn off, the Lexus VDIM cannot be turned off; it's on all the time. To make matters worse, unlike VDC or DSC which are reactive systems, VDIM is proactive in that it anticipates what it thinks is about to be a problem before it even happens and progressively intervenes.

The Lexus staff lauded their system as unintrusive, progressively phasing in, and safer because it's proactive. After driving it hard I can tell you this is B.S. Indeed on one turn where I felt I was still in control and could correct using technique, the VDIM system engaged very early with multiple lights, loud buzzers, a long long shuttering episode (where it braked, adjusted throttle, and even pressured the steering wheel to turn a certain way), and unbelievable cinching up of all the seat belts. It was so ridiculous my cousin riding shotgun quipped that he was expecting oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling while the airbags deployed!

In other words, there is no way you can drive this car the way it was meant to be driven. VDIM wants to drive the car for you, and this is just not my cup of tea. In fact, another group experienced the same thing and remarked to us that they felt VDIM was actually unsafe by preventing the driver from truly controlling the vehicle. All this means I cannot really compare this car to the BMW 330 or my G35.

Aside from this serious performance issue, the IS350 is too small inside with poor headroom; smaller than even the 330.

I like the styling and quality, but Lexus does not have a BMW nor a G35 contender here. At the end of the day, I rode home in my 2004 G35 thinking this was the best choice I made.

 

Interesting, but was there anything about the IS350 you liked?

Power??

 

I'm a big Toyota fan and my wife is on her 2nd Lexus, so I went into this thing with high expectations. The event issues I can live with, but the VDIM I cannot; this spoiled the whole experience for me.

Other than quality and styling, nothing else struck me as special about the car. The power, while smooth, is overrated and in my opinion means nothing without handling.

 

What you said is on par with what I've heard in all the reviews. The IS350 is fast in a straight line but cannot be driven with any passion without the car trying to stop you. I'm still curious how it drives at 75% and what the general feel of the car is like.

 

It drives very solid at 75%, but then so do alot of cars including non-performance ones.

 

Your synopsis was better written then mine, but we came away with the same conclusions. The VDIM is too intrusive and effects the handling of the IS350 very negatively. If it weren't for the straight line power (which I did feel, and do like), the IS would be pretty bland.

 

Thanks for your review. That really helps alot. However, do you think the IS350 would be a good car for someone who doesn't drive the car at 9 10ths or 10 10ths? I mean there are only a few places where you can actually come anywhere near the limits of these cars on open roads. If someone just wanted to go fast getting on an on ramp or take a few mid speed corners would the IS350 be a good choice for them? Does the nanny system kick in when you are not driving the car at the limit? That would really be a bad thing if it does. The IS350 sounds like a good car for someone who doesn't actually want to go fast they just want to tell everyone that they can go fast if they wanted to.

 

I was asking myself the same thing. I think given that level of driving just about all ~35k-40k sedans are pretty much the same. The decision then is based more on styling and comfort than power and handling.

 

I would also think that it wouldn't be too long before the aftermarket tuners
can remove the nannies from the ECU system with computer reflashing.

That then might make for a pretty thrilling ride (with some suspension and tire changes I'm sure).

 

Hey, I was at the event on Saturday as well. Here's my opinion:
IS350 < G35 6MT < BMW 330i
The Lexus is a great car, and I honestly don't think the VDIM is that much of a strict babysitter. You can push a button that supposedly turns it off. The first time I drove the car I forgot to turn it off and I coudn't do a damn thing. As soon as the tires started to kick out, a beeping sound went off and the computers took over to keep me in check. When I drove it a second time I pushed the button off and I never heard the beeping sound again. And I had more control over the car. I'm not sure if the car would ever let me go completely sideways though. My biggest complaint with the IS is its steering. WAY TOO LIGHT! You could honestly steer that car hard with just two fingers, which I actually did at one point. Not much input from the road at all.

Saturday was also my first time driving a BMW 330i. This car deserves every bit of hype. It's a freaking athlete around corners, and has a nice meaty steering wheel with a nice heavy feel to it. I can't say enough about it. And it sounds nearly as mean as a G35 6MT.

After driving the IS, I really think the IS250 is the better bargain. It feels much faster than 204hp, and it's available in manual.

 

[QUOTE]Let me be very specific here: there is no way to turn off the VDIM, period. The button that you're refering to is located below and to the right of the steering column and it turns on and off the TRAC feature which has to do with controlling wheel spin off the line, that's it. Perhaps you did not replicate what you did the first time so the system did not activate. Without a doubt, the VDIM is a VERY intrusive system and it does so in a more comprehensive way (way more than VDC or DSC on Infiniti and BMW, respectively).

This is interesting because the IS250 does not have the VDIM system, it has traditional VDC-like safeguards such as on our G35. When I drove this hard I got the same response as our G: a light went on, there was mild correction, and in the Lexus you get one little low beep. The VDIM in the IS350 is a whole other matter with multiple lights, multiple buzzers, major and lengthy shuttering, and motorized retraction of the seatbelts.

 

Yes the nanny system threshold is way too low. It is inherently designed to kick in BEFORE the vehicle starts to lose control. VDIM anticipates what it thinks could be a controllable loss situation and progressively intervenes. When I drove it to the point when all hell broke loose, and my cousin was wondering when the oxygen masks were going to drop from the ceiling, I knew I was about to lose control and I knew exactly how to correct it; the problem is the VDIM prevented me from driving the car because it was so proactive and so layered (brakes, throttle, steering, seat belts, visual alarms, audible alarms) . . . I was like "what the hell is this, are we under attack by a surface to air missile." I am not exagerating, it was that bad.

I know other posters say it's not that bad, but they did not drive it to the same limit I did.

As far as most IS350 owners not driving it to the limit, I don't buy this argument. I don't drive my G to limit either, but I have had an emergency maneuver or two in order to avoid an accident and I can see where VDIM would be my foe not friend. VDIM cannot "see" your situation. God forbid you "see" a choice between hitting pedestrian and hitting a bunch of bushes and the VDIM (not knowing the difference) corrects your vehicle and hits the pedestrian or at least interferes with your decision to intentionally hit the bushes over hitting the pedestrian.

The bottom line is that a sports sedan is for drivers who want to drive under all conditions, however remote. VDIM is an anethema to a sports sedan driver.

 

https://g35driver.com/forums/showthr...ht=TASTE+LEXUS

I was there saturday...


-Shawn

 

Ummm why did they not use a sport package model G35? LOL!

More pics here...

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4912

 

damn is it just me or those beemer guys think they have the greatest car ever