I've been lurking around this forum for the last year, bought a 2008 IS-F last October and this forum has been a great resource whenever I have occasional curious questions about the car.
For the benefit of others that might be researching an IS-F:
I'm not a huge car guy, although I've loved driving a BMW for a while. A friend talked me into testing the F and I can honestly say a year later it's the best thing I've ever purchased in my life. I tested the same year m3 and c63-amg against it, and while each had their upsides (IMO: m3=pro driver's choice, c63=rocket), the F's price blew them both away at least with the dealers in my area. I think for me it was the ideal choice regardless of price as a daily commuter that can open up on frequent drives to the airport on a very empty and smooth tollway.
Plus it fits 2 carseats in the back so you can tell your wife it's a family car! I asked my 4 year old how he liked driving fast in it when I first got it, and he said (and I'm not making this up) "It makes my p*nis tickle!". Kids cut right to the chase, don't they?
As much as car purists want to trash it seemingly online, I love "easy mode" 100ms shifting and blowing the crap out of just about anything I come up to the red light with. I've had numerous guys in coupes of all makes be shocked when I leave them admiring my big fat sedan's fake exhausts, even a few times people have caught up at the next light and asked "what kind of turbo I've got in there?" LOL.
So unless you spend every week at the track, you can safely ignore the haters and get one, you won't regret it.
Downsides:
2 speeding tickets already (although i've avoided about 6 more, thanks Valentine One)
Fake exhausts? WTF.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again for the community around the F out there posting lots of great info here, as a "racing layman" I really appreciate it.
-Ryan
For the benefit of others that might be researching an IS-F:
I'm not a huge car guy, although I've loved driving a BMW for a while. A friend talked me into testing the F and I can honestly say a year later it's the best thing I've ever purchased in my life. I tested the same year m3 and c63-amg against it, and while each had their upsides (IMO: m3=pro driver's choice, c63=rocket), the F's price blew them both away at least with the dealers in my area. I think for me it was the ideal choice regardless of price as a daily commuter that can open up on frequent drives to the airport on a very empty and smooth tollway.
Plus it fits 2 carseats in the back so you can tell your wife it's a family car! I asked my 4 year old how he liked driving fast in it when I first got it, and he said (and I'm not making this up) "It makes my p*nis tickle!". Kids cut right to the chase, don't they?
As much as car purists want to trash it seemingly online, I love "easy mode" 100ms shifting and blowing the crap out of just about anything I come up to the red light with. I've had numerous guys in coupes of all makes be shocked when I leave them admiring my big fat sedan's fake exhausts, even a few times people have caught up at the next light and asked "what kind of turbo I've got in there?" LOL.
So unless you spend every week at the track, you can safely ignore the haters and get one, you won't regret it.
Downsides:
2 speeding tickets already (although i've avoided about 6 more, thanks Valentine One)
Fake exhausts? WTF.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again for the community around the F out there posting lots of great info here, as a "racing layman" I really appreciate it.
-Ryan