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| The Lexus IS350 F-Sport, aka The Tingly Maker: |
For those who live near Upington’s high speed test roads, the
maximum speed from the Japanese sedan’s unblown 3,5-litre V6 is stated at 225
km/h.
The engine, now in its second iteration, makes 228 kW at 6 400 rpm
and 375 Nm at 4 800 rpm. These are tried-and-tested rather than cutting-edge
numbers, but Lexus did pair the old block with an intelligent eight-speed
autobox, which will make the needle go as high as it says in the side of the
box.
Driving around KZN’s many blind corners (behind which sapiently
challenged mountainbikers often to wobble three abreast), we did not chase that
top speed. Instead, we did what any red-blooded driver ends up doing in the
F-Sport: down-shifted into corners.
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| Junichi Furuyama |
Junichi Furuyama, chief engineer for IS, says on YouTube his
mission in designing the F-Sport was to “overtake the BMW 3-Series as the number
one compact sedan” by making it “fun to drive”.
His team spent weeks driving Mercs, Audis and BMWs around race
tracks, analysing their steering feel, brake feel and speed sensations around
corners. Then only did they set out to build an F-Sport that would be more fun
to drive than specifically the 3-Series. And boy, did they succeed!
Not — it hastily has to be said — in the balls-to-the-wall dynamic
driving department. The F-sport wants its traction control turned off before it
will let you come even close to Audi S3-style fun and even then its official
0-100 run is too close to six seconds for comfort. The twin turbos of BMW’s
super-efficient engines also make a lot more power from a lot lighter engines,
which will always win on a track.
Where Furuyama’s team do blow the Germans out of the water is in
getting all the parts in the F-Sport to saturate your senses with pleasure.
Each
of the components, from the tail end (where the exhaust sound is optimised for
auditory pleasure) to the transmission (which shifts the gears based on
g-forces) to the adaptive variable suspension, do their bit to put the F into
fun.
The engine starts with a delicious warble and then quickly mounts
to a screaming red line at 6,600, where it will stay without shifting in manual
mode.
Lacking long tunnels in KZN in which to thoroughly enjoy such an
ode to internal combustion, we ended up pulling the flappy paddles while driving
between tall office buildings late at night. (To all the security guards who
gave the concert a thumbs up: it was a pleasure.)
The sound is just the cherry on top. Inside, the Lexus has four
seats that hug you like that hot colleague at a conference. Should one thing
lead to another, you know you could easily spend the night. Look around inside
and you will find lots of exquisite little details that all add up to make the
entire cabin an elegant statement of opulence.
In front of the driver the speedometer and rev-counter at first
glance look old fashioned, but these are high definition digital displays, like
those in the much more costly LFA.
Today’s gaming generation won’t even notice how the needle
perfectly imitates an analog system in 3D, but it still blew the mind of this
hack.
Press the button on the steering wheel and the gauges reduce,
shifting to the right to make space for the GPS map or more mundane things like
fuel economy. The F-Sport informs the driver of these real life concerns
because, despite its Monaco-stylish looks, this sedan can do potholes and the
school run too.
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| The 3-series beats the F-Sport in all corners, but its drivers arn't smiling as wide as those in the F-Sport. |
Due to BMW’s premium pricing for optional extras, standard
equipment like the F-Sport’s adaptive variable suspension, tyre pressure sensors
and even headlamp washers can quickly add more than R27k to a standard Beemer’s
price.
Which brings me back to that question on whether the Beemer
3-Series is better around the bends? With respect to the efforts of
Furuyama-san, my answer has to be yes … if you like your corners served
sideways.
For new Beemer cars all drive like they have no limits, which then
has drivers like myself feeling like a demi-god behind the wheel — right up to
that wide-eyed moment where you end up chasing your own brake lights in a bend.
By comparison, even with the traction control off, the F-Sport
always feels poised and in control, leaving klutzes like me inspired to do
another run, and then another — each time pushing harder to find the limit.
Instead, the Bridgestones just kept on gripping.
As I said, it has been three weeks now, and I am still
tingly.
Lexus
IS350 F-Sport vs BMW 335i
Price R588 600 vs
R621 027*
Engine: V6 petrol vs
6-inline bi-turbo
petrol
Displacement: 3456 cc
vs 2 979 cc
Power: 228 kW at 6400
rpm vs 225 at 5800
rpm
Torque: 375 at 4800
rpm vs 400 between
1200 and 5000 rpm
Transmission:
Intelligent 8-speed auto vs ditto
Brakes: 17-inch disk,
ventilated up front vs ditto
Official 0-100 km/h:
5,9 seconds vs
5,5
seconds
* To bring the
Standard 335i on par with the F-Sport spec will add +R27 800)
