2012 Lexus IS-F gets a more comfortable suspension
Lexus has updated their range-topping IS – the Lexus IS-F – for 2012 with a revised chassis and softer suspension.
Every family has a black sheep, and the Lexus IS-F is the black sheep for Toyota’s posh brand. Unlike the LFA – which pretends to be nothing other than a supercar – the IS-F does a very good impression of a posh rep-mobile.
Until you mash the throttle, that is, and the IS-F unleashes power you’d never expect any mainstream Lexus to offer. And proves that Lexus can do more with their cars than give them a green halo. If only they’d play in a similar way across the range.
With the IS-F it’s as if Lexus had a brainstorm and asked Hiromu Naruse to have a play with their then entry-level car and see what he could come up with. And what he came up with was as close as Lexus are ever going to come to an M3 – much to the surprise of one and all.
The Lexus IS-F gets the V8 from the LS 600h shoehorned under its bonnet – tweaked and fettled – endowing the Lexus sales-manager-mobile with a very healthy 417 horses and a 0-60mph of 4.6 seconds. And something resembling granite for the suspension.
This time last year (well, a bit earlier) Lexus updated the IS-F for 2010 /2011 with a new dash and some tweaks to the lights. Oh, and a white leather option (yes, really). But the 2012 IS-F changes are a bit less cosmetic – and a bit more appealing for it.
Lexus has update the chassis on the IS-F for 2012 and say it makes the whole driving experience much more appealing. In come new shocks, a bigger stabilizer bar and revised suspension geometry to make the ride a lot more compliant, apparently without affecting the dynamics.
On the cosmetic front, Lexus has added a new set of alloys to the options list and you can now specify black and red leather. Which sounds a lot better than last year’s white.
In addition to the chassis tweaks, Lexus has added two new features to the options list – a set of 19″ alloys in a 14-spoke design from BBS, and two-tone, black and red leather.
Now if only you didn’t have to service the IS-F every three weeks, the appealing Lexus IS-F might be even more tempting.
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