Lexus, a brand whose cars were once derided as Toyotas with fancy badges on 'em, is now one of the world's premier luxury nameplates. The marque that once nipped at the heels of brands like Mercedes and BMW has become the benchmark against which all other luxury cars are judged. From its vault-like silence to its impeccable fit and finish to its Toyota reliability, it's hard to find any faults with Lexus. If you're over the age of 50, that is.
While there is no denying the fact that a Lexus can deliver a serene, comfortable ride, Toyota's luxury division sure doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of excitement. People buy Lexuses because they dislike driving; they want to sit in the most comfortable chair possible on their way to the golf course. And as we said, if there's one thing that any Lexus does well, it's delivering that library-quiet, hyper-cushioned ride-perfect for the elderly. When we get old, we hope to cruise to Bingo Night in a Lexus of our very own.
However, old people generally don't buy lots of cars because, well, they die. But there is a whole new generation of WRX and Evo owners who are now flushed with cash and have many years of auto purchases ahead of them, and Lexus is hoping to attract these buyers to its brand with the introduction of its IS-F. On paper, this car is the antithesis of what the brand is all about, and even Lexus makes no bones about the fact that this car wasn't even supposed to exist. Engineered by a small skunk works team and built atop an existing IS platform (duh), the IS-F packs some serious heat in the form of an aggressive aero package, a 416-horsepower 5.0L V8, a hard-core sports-tuned suspension and some of the finest brakes known to man.
But it's not the prettiest Lexus out there. Yes, the power bulge hood, sloped nose and air ducts are all functional and necessary, but they all have this "tacked on" look, because they were just tacked on. The Lexus' sedan-on-steroids design just isn't as immediately clean as, say, the ripped look of the Audi RS4. While we're sure that the IS-F's more extreme dimensions will grow on us in time, we don't think we'll ever be accepting of the quad exhaust. These tips are fake, kids. Look closely and you'll see a single exhaust pipe resting behind each pair of ovals.
Strap yourself into the high-bolstered buckets, press the start button and things change for the better. The IS-F checks all the boxes that a sports car fan/Internet forum master debater could want: the big-honkin' V8 sports more low-end torque than its Audi RS4 or BMW M3 rivals, its dual-clutch paddle-shifted 8-speed automatic transmission upshifts faster than a Ferrari F430, and it has a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 170 mph. Best of all, you can actually turn all the traction control aids completely off.
We got a chance to sample this car on both the roads of Monterey, CA and the world-famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (gotta add "Mazda Raceway" before we get in trouble... again). While we found the suspension to be a little too jarring (especially for a Lexus) on the streets, the overall package was really good on the track. Laguna Seca is a tough course to master, and though we didn't conquer the track, the brakes grabbed strong and never faded, and the IS-F's direct steering and 371 lb.-ft. of torque let us power through corners and fly through the course at a pace that didn't completely embarrass us-as long as we kept the car in Sport mode.