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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
BMW F30 330D VS 2014+ Lexus IS 350 F Sport
- Thread starter brentbmw
- Start date
msm
Well-known member
I'd take the Lexus over the F30. Owned both brands side by side for a few years (but different models). Lexus build quality is far superior.
Had a similar decision a while ago before I bought my 330d. Lexus was first option - however, I struggled to find a clean IS350 F Sport, so eventually settled on the 330d as I needed a car.
Had a similar decision a while ago before I bought my 330d. Lexus was first option - however, I struggled to find a clean IS350 F Sport, so eventually settled on the 330d as I needed a car.
tman
Well-known member
Don't feed the troll.
As much as this is a BMW forum, at the price point, that particular Lexus is a no brainer.. I quite like the sharp design cues and the fact that they are not as common, as the F30.
In your shoes, I would happily purchase the Lexus and use it for a few months, before making my mind up. Pretty sure you might actually have an upside as they are few and far between on the classifieds, none in that price range tbh.
In your shoes, I would happily purchase the Lexus and use it for a few months, before making my mind up. Pretty sure you might actually have an upside as they are few and far between on the classifieds, none in that price range tbh.
IS350 prices have actually gone up from 2019. a F-sport just of of plan for years or millage would set you back around 270-290k. A EX was floating in the 250's and a plain E around the 200-220k mark. Now good luck finding a F-sport sub 300k.
MR_Y
Well-known member
@schalk320d - where can I get these Gerotek results from? I am keen to see results on other cars too. Thanks.
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
Follow Mark Jones on social media. I am sure Schalk will share the repository link. I don't have it.
FerdiBotha
Well-known member
They aren't updating the site anymore and some old tests have been removed, but worth having a look at the link.
Mark Jones, who tests these vehicles, posts results on Twitter and Facebook as well.
Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk
Honestly that seems to be the current car market in a nutshell. Prices are silly atm
Omar HS
Active member
I have a 2014 Lexus IS350 for the past few years, we bought it in 2018 from my uncle and the car had 92K km. They are really good and reliable cars. During that time I had my e90 330d m sport up until last year November so I can give a comparison between those 2 cars.
Just a factor to keep in mind is that my 330d had a madness motorsport stage 1 file.
The ride on the lexus is much softer compared to my 330d, however on that note I think compared to my brothers f30 320d the ride comfort is quite similar.
The lexus has good power on paper and it performs well and accelerates nicely but only at top end, whereas the 330d accelerates hard from the line. The lexus is very nice for cruising and if you not into the speed factor then the lexus is perfect in that regard.
The lexus has many advantages in its own regard, namely its reliability.
The lexus comes with many features standard that are an extra on BMW:
Heated & cooling seats
Reverse camera
Auto lights (with auto fogs)
Auto wipers
Auto dim review mirror
Keyless entry
Bluetooth music
Navigation (terrible system as it doesnāt take you exactly to the address you put in)
Folding rear seats
These features are all nice to have.
The car has been very reliable since we have owned it and in the past 3 years we have done 35k km. The only issues I have had is the passenger side xenon bulb went out and I got it replaced at lexus, the second issue was the battery died on the car and I bought a replacement from Willards and installed it myself, the third and last issue was the batteries on both keys died. Other than that its just been normal maintenance, oil changes, wiper replacement, brakes and tyres.
Overall they really great cars and I feel they are exceptional value for money. The reliability is a he plus and the car is extremely comfortable.
The car does 90% in town driving since im using it full time and according to Fuelly.com my average consumption over the past 5k km is 11.7L/100km. When I took the car to Durban the consumption was 7.9L/100km.
I am a die hard BMW fan and I love the 330d platform, having owned a e46 330d and e90 300d. If I had the opportunity to change the Lexus for a F30 330d with all the same extras, I would change to it in a heart beat.
I hope this helps a bit.
Just a factor to keep in mind is that my 330d had a madness motorsport stage 1 file.
The ride on the lexus is much softer compared to my 330d, however on that note I think compared to my brothers f30 320d the ride comfort is quite similar.
The lexus has good power on paper and it performs well and accelerates nicely but only at top end, whereas the 330d accelerates hard from the line. The lexus is very nice for cruising and if you not into the speed factor then the lexus is perfect in that regard.
The lexus has many advantages in its own regard, namely its reliability.
The lexus comes with many features standard that are an extra on BMW:
Heated & cooling seats
Reverse camera
Auto lights (with auto fogs)
Auto wipers
Auto dim review mirror
Keyless entry
Bluetooth music
Navigation (terrible system as it doesnāt take you exactly to the address you put in)
Folding rear seats
These features are all nice to have.
The car has been very reliable since we have owned it and in the past 3 years we have done 35k km. The only issues I have had is the passenger side xenon bulb went out and I got it replaced at lexus, the second issue was the battery died on the car and I bought a replacement from Willards and installed it myself, the third and last issue was the batteries on both keys died. Other than that its just been normal maintenance, oil changes, wiper replacement, brakes and tyres.
Overall they really great cars and I feel they are exceptional value for money. The reliability is a he plus and the car is extremely comfortable.
The car does 90% in town driving since im using it full time and according to Fuelly.com my average consumption over the past 5k km is 11.7L/100km. When I took the car to Durban the consumption was 7.9L/100km.
I am a die hard BMW fan and I love the 330d platform, having owned a e46 330d and e90 300d. If I had the opportunity to change the Lexus for a F30 330d with all the same extras, I would change to it in a heart beat.
I hope this helps a bit.
Morribiscuit
Well-known member
I am a diesel boy, and so you already know the answer.
That is all.
Check ride thread if unsure.
Wait for a good deal. Car market is weird at the moment - dealers recovering. Check trade & retail book values before buying.
That is all.
Check ride thread if unsure.
Wait for a good deal. Car market is weird at the moment - dealers recovering. Check trade & retail book values before buying.
Whatsup guys,
Been a while before I posted what my choice was but I was in the lucky position to test both vehicles eventually before I pulled the trigger on the Lexus eventually.
My buddy was kind enough to lend me the Lexus for 3 days to make up my mind (right after I test drove a F30 330D) so I wanted to give my experience with both vehicles from my point of view.
Firstly I am a huge BMW boy still so this review is in no way biased towards the Lexus just because I ended up going for the Lexus.
Interior
Lexus: Far better made than the BMW by no doubt, no creaks or rattles of any kind and all the materials one can feel and sense are premium and this is something that will last a long time. Ergonomically I really like the F Sport seats and loved the seating position of the Lexus. As I mentioned in my initial post though the infotainment system is not the best, but once you are used to it it's not completely terrible, but miles off the BMW. The dials in the Lexus are amazing, the effect of the LFA gauges definitely didn't get old yet.
BMW: a pleasant place to be but not the level of quality of the Lexus, one can also tell it won't last as long as the Lexus either. For example the 2014 F30 I tested the start engine button was already so faded you couldn't see anything, as was the volume up and down on the steering wheel, and that for a car just shy of 90k km...what also turned me off was the use of lots of cheap plastic, it gave me Ford vibes, it was not on par with my F25 X3.
Engine:
Lexus: A bit gutless down low at highveld altitude but once I kept the car in sport/sport+ it changed its character (something I didn't do initially), the throttle was far more responsive and it didn't feel "laggy", the power delivery was instant and once I got used to using the paddles I never felt that it lacked power by any means, but the platform needs to get worked to get the most out of it unlike the BMW. Once you do get it going nicely it pushes and carries on pushing you all the way up to illegal speeds.
BMW: Wave of low down torque that just carries on pulling giving you the illusion of a far faster car. Overall I liked the 330Ds power delivery far more, but not so far that I would pay 100k more for it.
Gearbox:
BMW wins here, the ZF 8 speed was just sublime and always felt like it knew exactly the right gear to give me, the Lexus felt subdued in normal/eco mode and aggressive in sport, sport+ mode but the changes were not as quick as the ZF.
Performance:
From a standstill I reckon the 330D would have a slight edge because of the low down shove but the Lexus wouldn't be far behind and then the gap would be the same, from a roll (having driven them back to back) in all honesty from what I could feel it would be pretty even stock for stock. The Lexus does feel slower though because of the linear power delivery.
Suspension:
I have to give the edge to the Lexus in sport + mode, the steering is amazing as is the handling in my opinion, the F30 M Sport was good but the steering did not feel as good to me as the Lexus by any means.
Fuel economy:
BMW wins here naturally. I got around 9km/l in town for the 30 odd km I drove it and when I reset it on the highway at 130km/h I got around 17km/l. I did expect the bmw to win by a further margin though. The Lexus I got around 6.5km/l in town and on the open road@130km/h I got 12.8km/l. Which isn't bad at all for a thirsty 3.5l petrol.
To sum it up the Lexus did not excite me as much as the BMW did when I first thought of it, but the BMW left me wondering why I would spend an extra R100k and the Lexus pleasantly surprised me.
Reliability:
I cannot give a clear winner here because I could not fault my E90 330D but I do feel like the Lexus could easily each 300k km or more with little more than regular maintenance, with the build quality of the F30 it didn't give me that same confidence.
I will give an update in some months for those who are interested in the Lexus.
Cheers!
Been a while before I posted what my choice was but I was in the lucky position to test both vehicles eventually before I pulled the trigger on the Lexus eventually.
My buddy was kind enough to lend me the Lexus for 3 days to make up my mind (right after I test drove a F30 330D) so I wanted to give my experience with both vehicles from my point of view.
Firstly I am a huge BMW boy still so this review is in no way biased towards the Lexus just because I ended up going for the Lexus.
Interior
Lexus: Far better made than the BMW by no doubt, no creaks or rattles of any kind and all the materials one can feel and sense are premium and this is something that will last a long time. Ergonomically I really like the F Sport seats and loved the seating position of the Lexus. As I mentioned in my initial post though the infotainment system is not the best, but once you are used to it it's not completely terrible, but miles off the BMW. The dials in the Lexus are amazing, the effect of the LFA gauges definitely didn't get old yet.
BMW: a pleasant place to be but not the level of quality of the Lexus, one can also tell it won't last as long as the Lexus either. For example the 2014 F30 I tested the start engine button was already so faded you couldn't see anything, as was the volume up and down on the steering wheel, and that for a car just shy of 90k km...what also turned me off was the use of lots of cheap plastic, it gave me Ford vibes, it was not on par with my F25 X3.
Engine:
Lexus: A bit gutless down low at highveld altitude but once I kept the car in sport/sport+ it changed its character (something I didn't do initially), the throttle was far more responsive and it didn't feel "laggy", the power delivery was instant and once I got used to using the paddles I never felt that it lacked power by any means, but the platform needs to get worked to get the most out of it unlike the BMW. Once you do get it going nicely it pushes and carries on pushing you all the way up to illegal speeds.
BMW: Wave of low down torque that just carries on pulling giving you the illusion of a far faster car. Overall I liked the 330Ds power delivery far more, but not so far that I would pay 100k more for it.
Gearbox:
BMW wins here, the ZF 8 speed was just sublime and always felt like it knew exactly the right gear to give me, the Lexus felt subdued in normal/eco mode and aggressive in sport, sport+ mode but the changes were not as quick as the ZF.
Performance:
From a standstill I reckon the 330D would have a slight edge because of the low down shove but the Lexus wouldn't be far behind and then the gap would be the same, from a roll (having driven them back to back) in all honesty from what I could feel it would be pretty even stock for stock. The Lexus does feel slower though because of the linear power delivery.
Suspension:
I have to give the edge to the Lexus in sport + mode, the steering is amazing as is the handling in my opinion, the F30 M Sport was good but the steering did not feel as good to me as the Lexus by any means.
Fuel economy:
BMW wins here naturally. I got around 9km/l in town for the 30 odd km I drove it and when I reset it on the highway at 130km/h I got around 17km/l. I did expect the bmw to win by a further margin though. The Lexus I got around 6.5km/l in town and on the open road@130km/h I got 12.8km/l. Which isn't bad at all for a thirsty 3.5l petrol.
To sum it up the Lexus did not excite me as much as the BMW did when I first thought of it, but the BMW left me wondering why I would spend an extra R100k and the Lexus pleasantly surprised me.
Reliability:
I cannot give a clear winner here because I could not fault my E90 330D but I do feel like the Lexus could easily each 300k km or more with little more than regular maintenance, with the build quality of the F30 it didn't give me that same confidence.
I will give an update in some months for those who are interested in the Lexus.
Cheers!
MR_Y
Well-known member
Well written review.
7000km Update.
Hey guys, for those who are interested in the BMW to Lexus trade over I wanted to give an update after 7k km of ownership. I drove a bit more than expected but this gave me more opportunity to write a solid used review.
Mods I Have Done - Removed Cats so it can flow better and had a proper exhaust system fitted for a bit of growl.
Fuel Economy - Let me start with in town consumption average which was around 7.1km/l or 14.3l/100km which is bad, but if I take into consideration what my E90 330D gave me in town it isn't too bad. I had several long trips of over 800km a time and I was highly impressed, I set the cruise control to 115km/h and we averaged 13.1km/l. It is heavy by some standards but for what it is I couldn't be happier.
Driving experience - Once I got over the nuisance of having to manually downshift to overtake (those who read my initial review know about the frustration of the Lexus not having a proper kickdown, instead it only kicks down some times and other times it doesn't, leaving you out of your powerband where as BMW when you floor the kickdown switch it downshifts every time) and made a habit of doing it myself that became a thing of the past.
Power wise I honestly cannot complain, even at highveld altitude where I stay it has more than enough power, especially once you get used to that linear pull compared to turbo torque curve, what I find absolutely great is when you hold it at around 4200/4400rpm in manual shifting mode waiting for a gap or on a roll with another vehicle then it really gives you that sense of instant power. For those interested I've had these runs since getting the car:
G7 GTI (Performance/Clubsport? - Had Red GTI Badges, bone stock I imagine though) Gapped him easily from a roll
F20 125i - He caught me napping but I reeled him in and passed him pretty quickly
8V Audi S3 - Destroyed me off the line and I had no chance of catching him after that.
F30 335i - This one was my favorite, I knew he was gonna win but wondered by how far. We set off from the robot and I hooked up better and got about half a car ahead, by the time we reached 160 (on a deserted stretch of road that happened to have a robot of course š never on public roads) he had only gapped me by about 2 car lengths. I felt quite satisfied with that loss.
Ownership Experience - I am VERY pleased with Lexus's customer service, and this is one of the main reasons I think I will be sticking to this car for quite a while to come. One simply downloads the Lexus App and you book your service through them (mine is going in around 2 weeks) they give you the cost broken down in a quote already on the app but for me was the price, R3800 incl of labor for a major service...This is everything excluding the cabin filter as the previous owner replaced that the service before, it also includes a diff oil change, service plan is paying for it but it is nice to see what it would have cost as this is the last service before the plan expires. Meaning I will keep the car maintained at the dealer for the rest of it's life.
Now I don't know what a BMW would cost at the dealership out of service plan but I imagine a whole lot more...I remember my late fathers Mercedes costing over 8k for a major service... All the BMW's I owned I serviced at indys.
The only problem I have had so far is the rear pads are wearing out and need replacing, quoted R1050 for parts w/o labor at Lexus themselves, but this I will just do myself.
Interior has held up beautifully and there are no rattles, squeaks or fading materials anywhere in the car.
Summary - To summarize my entire ownership experience I will put it like this - It is not as fast as a 335i, it is not as economical as a 330D, it is no sports car but it is also no slouch either, the biggest draw for me is the fact that it is made solidly and you can feel it, all the materials inside and out are great and that translates to the engine too, one has that confidence that this will be a minimal issue ownership experience, you can't do much to this platform in terms of modifications because it does not have a turbocharged engine, but it is fast enough for a daily. I had that confidence with older bmw's but nowadays the quality has gone miles down in the 1 and 3 series especially. Look I will not lie, I will probably always be a BMW fanboy and a BMW is a nicer car to drive from a performance perspective, but I am at a place in my life where reliability, quality and cost of ownership are more important to me then driving a faster car.
I hope I am not going to get roasted too much for praising Lexus too much this being a BMW forum, but for those interested really go and try out a Lexus and compared it to the comparable BMW, you will thank me.
Cheers guys
Hey guys, for those who are interested in the BMW to Lexus trade over I wanted to give an update after 7k km of ownership. I drove a bit more than expected but this gave me more opportunity to write a solid used review.
Mods I Have Done - Removed Cats so it can flow better and had a proper exhaust system fitted for a bit of growl.
Fuel Economy - Let me start with in town consumption average which was around 7.1km/l or 14.3l/100km which is bad, but if I take into consideration what my E90 330D gave me in town it isn't too bad. I had several long trips of over 800km a time and I was highly impressed, I set the cruise control to 115km/h and we averaged 13.1km/l. It is heavy by some standards but for what it is I couldn't be happier.
Driving experience - Once I got over the nuisance of having to manually downshift to overtake (those who read my initial review know about the frustration of the Lexus not having a proper kickdown, instead it only kicks down some times and other times it doesn't, leaving you out of your powerband where as BMW when you floor the kickdown switch it downshifts every time) and made a habit of doing it myself that became a thing of the past.
Power wise I honestly cannot complain, even at highveld altitude where I stay it has more than enough power, especially once you get used to that linear pull compared to turbo torque curve, what I find absolutely great is when you hold it at around 4200/4400rpm in manual shifting mode waiting for a gap or on a roll with another vehicle then it really gives you that sense of instant power. For those interested I've had these runs since getting the car:
G7 GTI (Performance/Clubsport? - Had Red GTI Badges, bone stock I imagine though) Gapped him easily from a roll
F20 125i - He caught me napping but I reeled him in and passed him pretty quickly
8V Audi S3 - Destroyed me off the line and I had no chance of catching him after that.
F30 335i - This one was my favorite, I knew he was gonna win but wondered by how far. We set off from the robot and I hooked up better and got about half a car ahead, by the time we reached 160 (on a deserted stretch of road that happened to have a robot of course š never on public roads) he had only gapped me by about 2 car lengths. I felt quite satisfied with that loss.
Ownership Experience - I am VERY pleased with Lexus's customer service, and this is one of the main reasons I think I will be sticking to this car for quite a while to come. One simply downloads the Lexus App and you book your service through them (mine is going in around 2 weeks) they give you the cost broken down in a quote already on the app but for me was the price, R3800 incl of labor for a major service...This is everything excluding the cabin filter as the previous owner replaced that the service before, it also includes a diff oil change, service plan is paying for it but it is nice to see what it would have cost as this is the last service before the plan expires. Meaning I will keep the car maintained at the dealer for the rest of it's life.
Now I don't know what a BMW would cost at the dealership out of service plan but I imagine a whole lot more...I remember my late fathers Mercedes costing over 8k for a major service... All the BMW's I owned I serviced at indys.
The only problem I have had so far is the rear pads are wearing out and need replacing, quoted R1050 for parts w/o labor at Lexus themselves, but this I will just do myself.
Interior has held up beautifully and there are no rattles, squeaks or fading materials anywhere in the car.
Summary - To summarize my entire ownership experience I will put it like this - It is not as fast as a 335i, it is not as economical as a 330D, it is no sports car but it is also no slouch either, the biggest draw for me is the fact that it is made solidly and you can feel it, all the materials inside and out are great and that translates to the engine too, one has that confidence that this will be a minimal issue ownership experience, you can't do much to this platform in terms of modifications because it does not have a turbocharged engine, but it is fast enough for a daily. I had that confidence with older bmw's but nowadays the quality has gone miles down in the 1 and 3 series especially. Look I will not lie, I will probably always be a BMW fanboy and a BMW is a nicer car to drive from a performance perspective, but I am at a place in my life where reliability, quality and cost of ownership are more important to me then driving a faster car.
I hope I am not going to get roasted too much for praising Lexus too much this being a BMW forum, but for those interested really go and try out a Lexus and compared it to the comparable BMW, you will thank me.
Cheers guys
Morribiscuit
Well-known member
Takeaways....
BMW 3 series beat you
BMW 30d has better fuel consumption
Good, as you were
Jokes - glad you are enjoying the car and nice updates!!
///M Individual
Well-known member
Glad you enjoying the car bud. Still waiting for pictures.....
MR_Y
Well-known member
Another well written review.
The latest IS models are all 4-cylinder hybrids with CVTs, so you have the last of the best breed right there!
VinceM
Well-known member
Well written, thanks for sharing.
On the quality aspect, have to agree with you. Itās more obvious after I owned a F10, love the size of the 3 series and driving characteristicsā¦.I find my F10 a better place to be in.
On dealer maintenance costs, I find BMW pricing a lot reasonable vs the Alfa i owned many years ago. I paid R6500 for a major service including pollen filter, diesel filter, and various other standard items done, my next service will cost around ~R1,700
Enjoy the Lexus.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
On the quality aspect, have to agree with you. Itās more obvious after I owned a F10, love the size of the 3 series and driving characteristicsā¦.I find my F10 a better place to be in.
On dealer maintenance costs, I find BMW pricing a lot reasonable vs the Alfa i owned many years ago. I paid R6500 for a major service including pollen filter, diesel filter, and various other standard items done, my next service will cost around ~R1,700
Enjoy the Lexus.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
jayaynikkal
Member
When you guys say the interiors of the Lexus' are better than BMW's, what exactly do you mean? Is it the quality?
To be honest, as much as their engines are reliable, I've never managed to come to terms with the interior styling of the Lexus models, even on something like the LC500.
To be honest, as much as their engines are reliable, I've never managed to come to terms with the interior styling of the Lexus models, even on something like the LC500.
