Any Lexus ISF Owners?

Any Lexus ISF Owners?

Author
Discussion

stedaley

Original Poster:

643 posts

131 months

Sunday 15th December 2019
quotequote all
Hey guys,

Having had my Suzuki swift sport for around a year now, the car is a proper little rally car but having such little power does infuriate me most of the time with my drive. I know its quite a jump but i used to daily a 1.8T TT which will cost around the same to run.

Im looking to try adn furfill my V8 itch with a ISF and was wondering if there are any owners on here? Looking for some user feedback/What to look out for/Change/modify when it comes to it.

Seems like a brilliantly put together car and the prices are that of a ford fiesta ST. Crazy!!

Thanks

Ste


Terzo123

4,444 posts

215 months

Sunday 15th December 2019
quotequote all

stedaley

Original Poster:

643 posts

131 months

Sunday 15th December 2019
quotequote all
Terzo123 said:
I have! Thanks though!

I don't know whats gotten into me but i feel i have to own one!

Heaveho

5,648 posts

181 months

Monday 16th December 2019
quotequote all
I don't think you could do much better as an ownership prospect in that market. I modified the suspension on ours, it was the only thing wrong with the car in my opinion ( well, other than the tragic excuse for a satnav system! ). I put Tein 16 way adjustables on it, and it took the edge off the ride, which generally made the handling better. It was a great car to throw down a road you know, and was dead reliable. It did 30k miles in two years, it's been gone for ages and I still miss it.

It managed a 13 second pass at 116 mph at Thorney Island drag strip when I quarter miled it. Deceptively quick car, and although a slower elapsed time due to relative lack of traction off the line compared to my 400 brake Evo, it had a higher terminal speed. It was really getting onto it's stride at 80mph.

BIRMA

3,863 posts

201 months

Tuesday 17th December 2019
quotequote all
stedaley said:
Hey guys,

Having had my Suzuki swift sport for around a year now, the car is a proper little rally car but having such little power does infuriate me most of the time with my drive. I know its quite a jump but i used to daily a 1.8T TT which will cost around the same to run.

Im looking to try adn furfill my V8 itch with a ISF and was wondering if there are any owners on here? Looking for some user feedback/What to look out for/Change/modify when it comes to it.

Seems like a brilliantly put together car and the prices are that of a ford fiesta ST. Crazy!!

Thanks

Ste
There is a very helpful group of people over on the lexusownersclub.co.uk website. There is a section for the F cars.

stedaley

Original Poster:

643 posts

131 months

Wednesday 18th December 2019
quotequote all
BIRMA said:
There is a very helpful group of people over on the lexusownersclub.co.uk website. There is a section for the F cars.
Thanks! I was hoping for a forum so i can ask all the questions!


ericmcn

1,999 posts

104 months

Tuesday 31st December 2019
quotequote all
stedaley said:
Thanks! I was hoping for a forum so i can ask all the questions!
Dont think you would regret a ISF by a long shot, Lexus owners a very good site for all things Lexus. It will cost quite a bit more than a 1.8 Audi to run but is far far better.

stedaley

Original Poster:

643 posts

131 months

Saturday 4th January 2020
quotequote all
ericmcn said:
Dont think you would regret a ISF by a long shot, Lexus owners a very good site for all things Lexus. It will cost quite a bit more than a 1.8 Audi to run but is far far better.
I mean MPG is similar so i cant see it being a huge jump in running costs! I mean i guessed it would be more but i cant see much difference!

Maintanance maybe?

ericmcn

1,999 posts

104 months

Sunday 5th January 2020
quotequote all
You should check how much 4 tyres would cost for starters, I won't mention the brake pads or discs. Really reliable cars however so any major outlays would be quite infrequent.

llcoolmac

224 posts

107 months

Monday 6th January 2020
quotequote all
Hi, I picked up a low mileage 2008 one last Thursday. First impressions. Very very quick car. Much quicker than anything I've owned before. Previous fastest would be an Alfa 156 GTA and it's in a totally different performance league to that. The build quality is amazing. My brother has a 2014 IS300H and it is better equipped and build than that. The only thing it is lacking for me is Bluetooth audio.

Fuel consumption is pretty high I think, certainly higher than some owners led me to believe. It's not horrific or anything though. I averaged 24mpg on the way home after collecting it. That was all motorway and I wasn't driving fast as it was very wet. I can't see it ever beating that now. Since then on back roads and normal roads I am averaging about 20-22. It drops rapidly if you drive fast or hold on to revs.

I am very impressed with the car overall. It handles really nicely and the engine is great but you do need to be mature with a car like this. It's very easy to get up to license losing speeds. My previous car was a Fiesta ST and I'm not going to lie...there's a lot to be said for a small car that you can bomb around in. My average speed is definitely lower in this ISF than it was in the fiesta and the fiesta burned approximately half the amount of fuel while going full tilt. This is totally different in every way. Does the outright speed make up for the go kart feel if the small car? Do you drive on small back roads often?

I'm not sure if I have made the right call in buying it yet but time will tell. Either way it's a fantastic car.

Edited by llcoolmac on Monday 6th January 13:34

CJ1

468 posts

85 months

Monday 6th January 2020
quotequote all
I also have set my heart on an ISF as my next car, just ticks all the right boxes. Dead reliable, fast, mpg not horrific at 22-25mpg. I also think they are the next car to go up in value. It’s the first ever “F” car and it’s unlikely they’ll make a new ISF , definitely not with a V8 at least.

There’s 714 BMW M3’s currently for sale on Autotrader right now, in comparison there’s only 200 ISF’s in the entirety of the UK. You’ll never see another one on the road.

Tabs

996 posts

279 months

Tuesday 7th January 2020
quotequote all
I had a 2011 version for just over a year.
As IIcoolmac says, a wonderful car, very well put together. I echo the driving comments.
I enjoyed driving it, but it was just too competent, and I couldn't really drive it maturely, despite being 65 years old!
I also had the same fuel consumption figures.
However, one day, I was driving my wife's Aygo down a we'll known country road, and realised I was having just as much fun in that, carrying speed into bends etc and really getting back to basics.
So I now have a hybrid Lexus RC, and cruise about.

llcoolmac

224 posts

107 months

Saturday 18th January 2020
quotequote all
Really enjoying it now. In the last week it's really beginning to make sense to me as I figure out the modes. Sport mode is just the right amount of slip. It's enjoyable to drive quick. Up and down between 2nd, 3rd, 4th gears on a back road letting the tail slide a little. Really fun.

Surprising people in cars they think are faster is fun too. Most people don't know what it is but it gets a lot of admiring glances.

I know I've made a good decision in buying it now.