schwett

i've driven both, and there isn't much comparison. the is300 is a sports sedan, the tl-s, whatever they call it, is an accord with more power. i would never buy one.

s2kyle

Being a Honda guy, I say TL Type S.

The Professor

This past Jan. I was shopping for a sporting 4 door sedan as I already had a sports car and my wife defers these decisions to me. The BMW 3- or 5- series came first to mind, but they are all so ridiculously over-priced that I dropped the idea. Choices quickly boiled down to the I300 and the TL Type S. I researched and test-drove both extensively and bought the Acura, because it seemed to look better, drive and handle better, had more usable space, and was a better value. Since putting 10,000 mi. on the car, I am even more sold; it is such a great travel car, cruising all day at 100mph with little effort. Since I have an S2000, I like the contrast with the Acura's auto trans., 4doors, quiet operation, etc. I really feel if Honda put rwd and another $5000 of suspension mods, wheels, brakes, etc. into the TL-S it could compete with the BMW M5. (Those Bimmer M's are reeeaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyy over-priced.)

eyescream

WOW......now that's service

Chris S

Blind brand loyalty is for chumps.

If you're a real enthusiast, IS300 easily wins:
- rwd
- man. trans. avail.
- better handling

The TLS is no doubt a great value, but kind of bland IMO. Acura's biggest shortcoming IMO is their over-reliance on FWD for everything but the NSX. FWD is fine in an economy car, but not in a relatively expensive luxury car.

Da Hapa

The sad truth is that's only part of the story. My wife is literally treated like a queen when she brings her car in. No condescending crap at all. At the same time, she's not being treated like a dumb woman. She's simply being treated like a valuable customer and is presented with every courtesy and every convenience known to man. Lexus (at least this dealership) has got their crap together and realizes that customer service still is important in today's world.

In fact, I try not to focus on the fact that we actually paid more for my S than her IS because the disparity between customer service is so great it would drive me to drink (or worse).

BTW, I don't think our excellent customer service experiences are unique. My parents have been buying Lexus vehicles since the very first LS400 debuted in 1989 as a 1990 car. They've bought three LS, one RX and one SC. Two LS vehicles has more than 120K on the odo before being sold. The quality of the product, resale value of the cars, and customer service experiences are simply outstanding. And please note that their vehicles were bought at two different dealerships over time and serviced at three. Moreover, neither of these three dealerships is the same one that we've been using to buy and service out IS. I'm sure that there are bad Lexus dealerships, but we've been really lucky and haven't found them.

Carlson

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Da Hapa
[B]

Da Hapa

I went back and checked my email for the "bids" that I got from the BMW dealerships to substantiate my point.

We paid $30,300 (before tax, lic. registration) for our IS.

A similarily equipped 330i at that time (sport package, leather, seat heaters, HK sound system, CD changer, Xenon headlamps, auto, folding rear seat (an option unfortunately not available on our IS), dark blue paint (yes and option you have to pay for), electric seats, etc.) was $40,500.

My memory isn't that good, I guess because I originally stated $12,000 difference at the real world difference was $10,200. That's a 33.7% premium and should also be looked at as an increase of $200/month in payments (assuming 60 months @ 6.0%).

Without flaming anyone, if you can honestly say to me that the BMW product is worth that kind of a premium over the Lexus I think you should have your head examined.

Again, so that we're clear, I don't argue for a second that the BMW is a nicer car. It's just not that much nicer. Had it been $1,000 maybe even up to $3,000 more I oculd have talked myself into making a poor financial decsion. But more than $10,000? You must be kidding me.

We're doing well for ourselves but not that well.

Carlson

I didn't know that you got the IS300 for $30K. Thats a good deal! Thats even cheaper than a TL-S. Sure, I would do the same. IS300. I thought IS300 was $35K and TL-S was $32K.

GalvestonVTEC

Well, it appears there are two distinct classes here, the $30k-ish sports sedan and the $30k-ish luxury sedan. Some manufacturers make 2 entirely different but similarly priced cars to cover both classes better. Like the IS300/ES300 and G35/I35. The IS and G35 are sporty, but give up practicality. The ES300 and I35 are more luxurious with less sporting intent, despite what the advertising says. I think the TL-S is more of a luxury car, while the IS is most definitely a sports sedan. If I wanted/needed space and a bigger trunk, I would look at cars like the TL, ES300, and I35. Out of those 3, I would defenitely go with the TL-S. It whips the others in a straight line and looks better. That's just my opinion though. If I wanted a sports sedan in the $30k price range, I would look at the 3 series, A4, and IS. Out of those, I think the 3 series has the best performance, but people said its going to end up costing $5-$8k more than a similarly equipped IS or A4. A4s are beautiful cars and the interior is very nicely styled. However, I think the same of the IS (maybe the interior isn't quite as nice). I don't think you could go wrong either way (between an A4, 3 series, or IS). But I do think that comparing a TL and IS is sort of unfair. BTW, I remember you were looking to replace your ITR with something better suited to daily driving. You got an M3?!? Cool!

Edit: Oh yeah, I would also consider the G35 if I was looking for a sports sedan. I think my top 2 choices would be the G35 and 3 series.