[Christos]

Everyone talks about how bad the Bangled designs of BMW are

Well i got news for y'all the IS F is FUGLY no other words for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Archibald Donnington]

Whoah tiger. I'll take some of that.
aaron

[Staszek]

Originally Posted by Archibald Donnington

No cayman. It would be sweet, but we have a new addition to the family coming any day now and excitement with predictability/practicality and reliability will supercede all others.
Staszek, the M3 still has less torque that the 335 and it comes in wayyy later as well. Torque is nice, but not everything. Which is why I'm not going Merc getInline.
It's funny, but this is the feedback that I expected. It's exactly what I would've said until I gave the F some serious consideration. I'm not yet getting into how bad BMW screwed me over (you have no idea), but perhaps when this is all over, I will share and you will understand...or...maybe not??
aaron

Its only 5 pounds less, and yes I know it comes in later then the 335, but what I am saying is you cant say a car with 300pds of tq has no tq, some people on here are talking like the M3 has no power at all its just not the case.

I personally dont like the looks of the IS-F at all, and when I drove it I was really not impressed. I loved the RS4 although it felt a bit heavy, the C63 was just a monster and it handles very well, if it had a manual it would be number one on my list.

I have nothing against lexus or the IS, its just not for me.

[stressdoc]

Well if BMW screwed you over you are in a pickle. With kids I would start to look at an Audi Avant. If I lived in SoCal or some other hyper-urban place where you are stuck in traffic a lot of the time then Lexus starts to make sense. I don't see much room in the back seat of the IS, and it's probably dumb, but I feel my kids are safe in a BMW.

But do tell us what the nature of your problem with BMW is.

[HighVoltage]

Originally Posted by galahad05

Personally I like the IS-F. I just like the power of the C63 more...
I'm old school: I cut my teeth on stormin' Chevy smallblocks and monstrous bigblocks of yore. We're talking put-it-in-fourth-stomp-the-throttle-at-40-mph-and-go-sideways type of shenanigans.

Ahhh, those were the days...

Yep, same here. Someone mentioned you can't make use of all that horsepower on the street, well its not the horsepower that tends to matter there but rather low end torque. Most of the time on the street will be spent under 3k rpms. 29.2 kind of killed that. When I use to drive my 454 Nova on a daily basis despite the rather spartan list of creature comforts that 500 lbs-ft down low was an asset on the street.

[RockstarDoc]

I agree with the OP. The 335i couldn't do it for me. Coming from an older model M3, the 335i is definitely much faster, but felt more like a grand tourer than a true sports coupe. Some will disagree with me but that's okay...I just didn't enjoy the turbo lag. No matter how minimal it may seem, it's noticeable to me...in normal driving, and worse when really pushing the car (this is from a 6sp manual).

So, I contemplated the new M3, but in my opinion is not close to the drive and feel of the 911s. Now I understand the saying "There is no substitute."

I thought the V8 would kill the flat 6, but not here at least.

So I ended up with this...





Please don't get me wrong... the 335 is nice, but I'm not gonna wait for my HPFP to fail and end up stranded.

[galahad05]

The 911 is a great car. I'm glad you found something that suits you so well...


Now, not to threadjack too much, but: why not the Cayman or Cayman S instead? I've heard pretty knowledgeable people state that the 911's baby brother is the truer sports car--better balanced, etc. What's your take?

[stressdoc]

If I could fit three kids in the backseat and get a great deal on an ED, I might consider a P-car. I still think I'll want the Z2 M though when they're gone to college. For now, with a few mods, the 335 is close enough to heaven for me.

[goemony2k1]

Good luck on your next purchase. Cant go wrong with Lexus's Service.

[josephr25]

Originally Posted by RockstarDoc

I agree with the OP. The 335i couldn't do it for me. Coming from an older model M3, the 335i is definitely much faster, but felt more like a grand tourer than a true sports coupe. Some will disagree with me but that's okay...I just didn't enjoy the turbo lag. No matter how minimal it may seem, it's noticeable to me...in normal driving, and worse when really pushing the car (this is from a 6sp manual).

So, I contemplated the new M3, but in my opinion is not close to the drive and feel of the 911s. Now I understand the saying "There is no substitute."

I thought the V8 would kill the flat 6, but not here at least.

So I ended up with this...


Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

Please don't get me wrong... the 335 is nice, but I'm not gonna wait for my HPFP to fail and end up stranded.

If I had the money, I would definitely go your route. I love 911's.

[Moderato]

Originally Posted by RockstarDoc

I agree with the OP. The 335i couldn't do it for me. Coming from an older model M3, the 335i is definitely much faster, but felt more like a grand tourer than a true sports coupe. Some will disagree with me but that's okay...I just didn't enjoy the turbo lag. No matter how minimal it may seem, it's noticeable to me...in normal driving, and worse when really pushing the car (this is from a 6sp manual).

So, I contemplated the new M3, but in my opinion is not close to the drive and feel of the 911s. Now I understand the saying "There is no substitute."

I thought the V8 would kill the flat 6, but not here at least.

So I ended up with this...

Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

Please don't get me wrong... the 335 is nice, but I'm not gonna wait for my HPFP to fail and end up stranded.

I definitely agree with you regarding the 335i feeling more like a GT then a sports coupe. Granted it's a very, very nice GT with beautiful modern lines and an awesome engine (even if the throttle & clutch are a bit vague) but I miss that race car feel that my E46 M3's had. I'm planning to get either an E92 M3 or a 997. Tough decision to make now, IMO because the E92 M3 is still new and I'd like to wait for slight improvements which will come in the 09 or 10 model year. I'm also considering a 997 but it's the same situation, with the 997.2 just coming out now, I'm afraid to buy a CPO 997 because of depreciation, however the 997.2 brand new is a bit out of my budget (110K when I "build my own"). Congrats on the purchase, please post some more reviews of the car after you own it for a couple of months and the "honeymoon" is over.

[Archibald Donnington]

I haven't bought it yet, but the end of the month is coming up and dealers beware.
aaron

[Heat00]

I am in the same boat... love my 335i to death however I'm at 27k since Dec. so this time next year she will have to go..

my 2 choices as of now (if I can afford them lol): M3 or IS-F.
both have pluses and minuses however I think both are good choices.
C63 and Rs4 are not even in my considerations. just my opinion here.

love the interior of IS-F, nav etc, however a bit tight
I think M3 is way better track car etc, better handling, feel, typical BMW vs Jap feel.
speed seems close, I've read articles that have the M3 beating the ISF in 0-60 and 1/4 but sometimes the mags can be biased I think.
the IS has tons of power and torque, just wondering about the 8 speed and shifting every second.
for the street however, I think the IS will be great, haven't driven either yet so i can't really say how I'm leaning.

I know this is probably no help to you but I felt like rambling on as every day the same thoughts go through my mind... m3 vs isf lol

all that being said, man, the M3 is a bad machine! only downside so far seems like the lack of torque.... I mean, if I'm going to get an M3 for street use, why not just get a new 335i and tweak it for a few bucks, and be ahead of both is & m for a lot less cash.

only problem there is longevity of turbos, warranty etc. issues....

man, this will be tough decision when the time arrives lmao

[Archibald Donnington]

I wonder how the IS-F would compare with the 335 and a (JB3, ProCede V3, Dinan, etc) on the track?
aaron

[Moderato]

Originally Posted by Archibald Donnington

I wonder how the IS-F would compare with the 335 and a (JB3, ProCede V3, Dinan, etc) on the track?
aaron

It wouldn't.

[ironic]

c63 + 1

[fdiprete]

I'm not sure what "fudge their toddlywhankers " means but it sounds kind of bad.

[JOe335i]

in no way should a C63, RS4, 335i, really be consider a sports car, there all GT's. the M3 is def the closest to a sports car, but still a GT in my book.

335i def had GT in mind when being built.

[goemony2k1]

Have you decided on what car you want to get?

[audiprotein]

Or b7 rs4

[Archibald Donnington]

I'm 95 percent on the IS-F meatwad. The other 5 is on an E90 M3. As soon as I get rid of my 335, it's go time, one way or another!

Hey heat, you really need to get out and drive both. They both have their qualities. The M3 optimizes what BMW truly is, whereas the IS-F is just about fun giddyness. Both times I drove the IS-F I felt completely enthralled by the on-road experience. The first time I drove the 335 I felt the same way. Then when I actually pushed my 335 on the canyons/track, it completely affirmed what I felt. The IS-F has that same initial appeal and many testers including race drivers would agree that feeling lasts off the streets as well. It's not an M, and will not perform like an M on the track, but the M3 also did not give me that overwhelming giddy feeling the 3 times I took her out for a test. I even looked for an M3 that was already broken in because the two prior were brand new and I presumed that's why they weren't as torquey as I thought they should be. The broken in demo was noticeably better than the brand new M3, but still not as FUN overall as the IS-F. Granted the IS-f I drove twice had over 3K miles on the ticker, so I drove a brand new one to make it fair. Again, it was not as quick as the broken in model, but still a bawl-and-a-half! Honestly, I am still not completely sold on the front end, and I really wanted to like the M3 that much more (notwithstanding my mediocre service experiences with BMW), but the Lexus just fits what I need in a car for now, I think. Merc's and Caddy's are just not my thing right now. The C63's styling and last but not least AMG resale value don't attract my money one bit. The caddy is a heavy beast, and looks like one too, in a kinda clunky way. And sigh, if only the GTR's were really $70K; if only.
aaron

[ngl1145]

Here are a few pictures I've taken before. I have an IS-F and absolutely love it. For a day to day driver it's fun! Good luck with your decision. Either way the choices of cars you are choosing from are all great.