2012 IS F

[Headhunter.M3]

Anyone owned an e90 and an IS F? How do they compare?

[DanMpower]

Originally Posted by Headhunter.M3

Anyone owned an e90 and an IS F? How do they compare?

I had a 2012 IS-F, a great car with a meaty torque curve, and the 2UR-GSE V8 sounds fantastic, on par with the S65. The interior didn't age very well as far as design compared to the E9x which still looks fresh IMHO. The brakes were awesome, way better than the stock M3 brakes. The Lexus Aisin 8spd Auto can upshift VERY fast when WOT but in every other situation it's lazy and slow AF. The steering feel was nowhere near close, E9x M3 is much better. Overall, the E9x M3 feels more special and motorsport-derived, IS-F feels like a very sporty Lexus with aspirations to be an M3.

2UR-GSE is not bulletproof, set aside about $2500-3000 unless you can DIY for the valley plate coolant leak, which WILL happen. I owned the IS-F for almost 2 years and around 20k miles, no major problems. I had both headlights replaced under warranty for bubbling inside and a belt tensioner went bad. Didn't own it long enough to experience the valley plate leak.

Overall it was a very cool car to own and experience but if I had to choose between an E90 M3 and the IS F, E9x M3 all day, every day.

[bkfastwagon]

I briefly owned 2008 IS F, had E90 M3 until recently which I traded in for 2020 GS F. I definitely miss the e90 for its steering feel and transmission. On the other hand, I was getting a bit tired of things to fix on my e90 and had no interest in newer M3's. IS/GS F will hold their value as they are rarer.