Taste of Lexus

[Redwood]

https://www.tasteoflexus.com

October 22 & 23rd at Texas Stadium. Drive the new IS, new GS, and RX400h.

Signed up for 2:30pm on Saturday. Spots are filling fast!

Note: This event is FREE

[Redwood]

Re: Taste of Lexus

Alright, it's this Saturday at 2:30. The signup says get there 15 minutes early for check in. Do we all want to caravan over there? Who all is going? Fair says they are probably out due to chores to do.

[Redwood]

Re: Taste of Lexus

The ToL event was very nice. It was reminiscent of the Mercedes one from a couple years ago.

Deena, Paul, Steve, and I drove over in Paul's STi. Paul did a good job of scaring the non-hardened passengers, which made the event seem sedate. Jason, Melinda, and Melinda's dad showed up shortly after we got there.

Walked into a large, air conditioned tent. Lots of free Fiji water (great stuff, already buy it), Coca Cola products, tons of great bite sized food. They even had a massage area, but that was booked solid from I'm told. Anyway, they had areas inside to show off the Mark Levinson sound system in the GS, a racing IS300, an area to explain hybrid tech, an IS250 people could just sit in, optional wheels display, video screens, etc.

Sitting in the IS250 inside: Lexus made it clear it was developed by tiny Asians. The car is a tiny bit more cramped than an E36 3-series, despite exterior dimensions similar to the new E90 3-series. The knee room was about the same for me as in my old E36. That's to say it was not really roomy, but I wasn't hitting my knees. Headroom was a different story, even with the seat all the way down. My head had a finger's width between it and the headliner. One good bump while driving and I'd get bonked. This was a bit less than in the E36 (both with sunroofs). However, the seating and positioning was very comfortable/well done. Anybody a few inches shorter than me and down should be just fine in this car. The back seat is very cramped, especially for headroom. The leather is very sumptuous and quality inside is top notch. The glowing blue Lexus logo on the door sill was silly, but cool looking (and completely unnecessary). Power steering wheel adjustment was nice to have and made fine adjustments possible.

Driving: Different driving areas includes the Lexus LX/RX SUVs with a mini off-road type course, IS 250/350 vs. BMW 330i, Lexus GS300/GS450 vs. BMW 530i and Mercedes E500, and Lexus RX400h hybrid course.

IS: I drove the IS350. It definitely has great acceleration, though didn't feel as fast as I expected. That could be due to the weight and/or subdued exhaust note. The car definitely rolls and the stability control kicked in very subtly when needed. Sporty, but more toward the luxury side. I forgot to try the paddle shifters, unfortunately. Paul did, so maybe he can add his thoughts. The steering was also too light for my taste, since I could move it with one finger on the wheel. Overall, a very nice car. It would make a great daily driver, other than the lack of room. I'll never be able to buy an IS, even if I wanted to. The course had some elevation changes, which was fun. The old asphalt was marbling from the abuse.

BMW330i: not my first experience racing around in this car. The room in this thing is amazing. More headroom than in my E46 3-series, and I didn't even put the seat all the way back to get comfortable (a first for a car). Germans really can make roomy interiors. Acceleration obviously couldn't compete, being 50 down. This Lexus interior is "nicer", but this car clearly handles better. I could drive through the course faster in this vehicle as it inspired confidence, had heavier steering, and rolled a lot less. Props to Lexus for having the cajones to put this car up against the new IS. Everybody seemed to agree the IS looks better than the 330. The one person with us really looking at these cars (and having narrowed down to the 330 and IS350) decided on the IS350. He previously has had 2 BMWs and the old IS300).

Lexus GS430: This car was sportier than I expected. The mostly wood steering wheel was anti-sport, but it had a heavier feel. You'd never know this car had a V8 from the sound, it was so quiet. They were showing off the rain sensing wipers with a sprayer showering the windshield with water. My 1999 BMW 3-series has that feature. Give me a break folks. If that's the tech they're touting, they need to try harder. Unfortunately I didn't want to hold up the others with me, so I didn't drive the Merc or the 530i.

Lexus Rx400h. This car was CUSHY, all about the lux. It is for the environmentally conscious soccer mom. The LCD display showing when the car was running on battery, engine/batt, or recharging was cool, if distracting.