Drives: Kick Into High Gear...Eighth
Step Right Up! Behold, the 2008 Lexus IS F!
Those folks at Lexus really seem to know what they're doing.
Unlike, say, this rather large American automotive company you may be have heard something about.
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It was pre-tourist season on Martha's Vineyard, so I had the windswept oceanside roads of Aquinnah, Massachusetts, pretty much to myself. But the whole place might as well have been a giant parking lot for all the attention I paid to it. 
I was much more enthralled with paddle-shifting through gear after gear of the Lexus IS F, a four-door sedan with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It's the hot rod of the Lexus family, a real burner that appeals to the secret Grand Theft Auto-lover in all of us.The IS F's V-8 engine is a thing of beauty. The car boasts an acceleration of 0 to 60 in just 4.6 seconds, and when the dual-path intake kicks in at 3,600 rpm, the engine's mighty baritone roars.
Unfortunately, I had to leave it up to the weekend Dario Franchittis to verify its electronically limited top speed of 168 miles per hour. Still, the shifts -- and the tight corners -- came quickly on the deserted roads, and the IS F responded like a champ. The rack-and-pinion steering was true. It was easier to handle than a Wii controller. Though the IS F is a bit of a rebel (at least, as far as Lexus cars go), it doesn't skimp on luxury. It has a rich interior, with black leather trim and blue stitching, heated front seats, and subtle luminescent gauges.
Sticker Price: $56,000; $62,160 as tested
Vital Stats
Five-liter 416-hp V-8 engine; 371 pound-feet of torque at 5,200 rpm; 16/23 mpg
Good Stuff
The 19-inch aluminum wheels by BBS, which makes racing wheels for Formula 1 cars, lend the IS F some racing cred, and bucket seats in the rear ensure everyone has a comfortable ride. Although the optional 14-speaker Mark Levinson stereo produces a rich sound, no musician makes sweeter noise than the engine.
Drawbacks
It takes premium gas, so two fill-ups ran me $98. Also, the IS F has strong brakes, so it felt a bit jerky in heavy traffic. The chrome stacked quad exhausts are cosmetic.
Second Opinion
"Who knew Lexus had such a wicked alter ego? Manual-only purists will be unable to resist the endorphin-releasing throttle blips while downshifting," says Michael Spinelli, editor-at-large of Jalopnik.com. "But eight gears? Really? I'd be fine with six."
(Inc., July 2007)
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