My New Is-F

[Damien7579]

I've recently moved to Ireland (hi Damo!) and a few weeks ago I picked up a 2008 cadoxton slate grey IS-F from Lexus Nottingham and a few days later brought/imported it to Rep. of Ireland - it's likely the 4th or 5th IS-F in Ireland now. The upshot is they're now even rarer in the UK :D

The IS-F was a replacement for my 2009 GTR (R35) that I recently sold before moving here as it just wasn't suitable for Ireland with the extortionate import duty (VRT) and 2.2k road tax per annum (sure the IS-F wasn't much better but it's a far cheaper car to buy, own and run) and I've always hankered after a V8 and what better V8 than a reliable Lexus one with a trick gearbox??

The IS-F is such a jackal and hyde car - easy to live with and pootle around picking up kids and driving in town but press the sport button, stick it in manual and bang! different beast. The V8 sound track is truly marvellous and makes me smile every time I hit 3.7k RPM! Plus being an IS looking car it gets little attention from the unwashed masses who are car clueless unlike the GT-R which sometimes would get surrounded at every petrol station and school parking area - it was getting very annoying when 7 year olds kids where saying 'cool car mister, how much was it?'. Saying that, the GT-R is in a different league and is sorely missed :) The biggest benenfit of the IS-F is it's LACK of modding ability as it was almost too easy to mod the GT-R with an accessport - when I sold it it had a stage 2 tune with 590bhp with only a ECU mod, updated exhaust and a few other small bits.

If anyone Irish member is looking to do the same, shout and I'll be happy to help/advise.

The attached pics aren't very good - Iphone on a cloudy day but there you go.

[noby76]

Nice ride Damien..i do agree a GTR looks fast even when not moving and for 7 year olds to give you compliments means Nissan did a great job with the cars design! GTR is not for the faint hearted as I watched a race between one and a Bugatti Veyron in the streets of Moscow and the speed of both cars was scary. tho the Bugatti took it, it did not have it easy with the GTR on its coat tails all along!

ISF is certainly 'no attention' car which i personally like its more of a 'sleeper car' doesnt shout and not known by the public untill it takes people by surprise with that V8 roar . 420bhp will put a smile on anyones face so GTR wont be missed for long. Enjoy it...

[Damien7579]

@noby76 thanks! It defo is a sleeper car.

If you are into bond movies, the IS-F is also like a 'Q' car in many ways - looks good but not too outrageous/sporty but packs lots of secret weapons under the hood so to speak :)

To give them credit as you say, Nissan did an absolute fab job with the GT-R without question - it really is a marvel of engineering and technology - if they ever do a Irish friendly one I'm there :) I'd say the GT-R is a real thorn in the side of Veyron owners - for 20k or so you can tune a GTR to 1000bhp+and then really the only thing the veyron can do is reach a higher top speed if the road is long enough. Of course the GTR is also a lengend to kids because of gran turismo games.... certainly in the UK/Ireland.

The other thing I love about the IS-F strangely is the fuel econ - I'm getting 26-29mpg on some trips (and < 18 on others hehe). That's quite impressive when you think about it for a 5l v8 beast. I'd be happy with long term of 22mpg so anything higher is a bonus.

[noby76]

yeh!! i dont know how the Japanese do it but they are able to extract ridicilous horsepowers from thier smaller engines and those cars can still run reliably all day long!! strange how my IS300 returns the same mpg figures as your V8 5 litre! will definately get one if the budget permits oneday but for now I am having fun with the IS300!

[MrW]

Nice one, its the same age and colour as mine, although I wouldn't have picked it given the choice IMHO I think its one of the best colours. My average fuel economy is 24.5 at the moment, but have tank averages of between 19 and 28 depending on the trips, Had it up beyond 30 at some stages.

Couldn't agree more with regard to your comments about the two characters, smooth and a little soft in Auto and normal, brutal and sharp in Manual and Sport :)

[Damo n]

Looks very well! That colour is fantastic, really looks great with the wheel colour. It really looks immaculate, I'm getting around 27-28MPG if I do more than around 20 miles and keep under 70mph which is great for this engine. God bless the eight cog on the 'box!!

I've read on another forum that 85mph is the most fuel efficient speed to drive at.

Not sure how true it is, bit I'm at 2100 rpm at this speed. Maybe it's time for a frugal fuel competition! Or would you guys rather a lowest fuel MPG comp??

Had a bit of a fright yesterday in the car.

I was taking the third exit on a large roundabout near where I leave and decided to put the power on a little earlier than I should, the back stepped out which I corrected, but I think I hit a small oil patch and the car continued to slide.

At this stage I now had full opposite lock on and the traction is beeping away, then the fright, the seat belt pulled me hard into the seat and then released me as soon as the car came to a stop!! A quick read of the manual revealed anti collision is fitted to my car, I'm not sure if it's an option, but it's very impressive when it's used. Didn't hit anything or face the wrong way after the event, but find myself teasing the throttle to make it happen again!

[Valkirk]

That's standard - if the car thinks there will be a crash it will tighten the seat belt and close windows & sunroof. For the ISF it also has the advanced from ACC, if you get to close to an object BRAKE comes up in the console and it primes the brakes. If still nothing it even puts brakes on at last second to slow impact speed.

[Damo n]

That's fantastic, I'll visit the offending roundabout during the week with the windows down(dont have a sunroof) and see what happens!

[MrW]

I seem to get the best economy at between 60-70, if I stick to that religiously i've seen over 30 showing on the tank ave. However as soon as i get off the motorway it plummets.

Got a company fuel card now though, so I'm getting some help. :)

[stevet]

Picking mine up on Friday

[Damo n]

Love the silver!! Ha! Ha!

[MrW]

Great Steve looks great.....but then they all do. :zee:

The first one I nearly purchased a year ago was silver, looks good with the dark wheels.

Enjoy, it makes my trip to and from work an enjoyable experience.

You'll get a few looks as well. Some people just haven't a clue what it is, others can't get enough. I had two lads following me in a pug 207 a few weekends ago, and when I looked in my mirror, they both were holding smart phones up taking photos whilst on the move.

A few people were looking in amazement this weekend, when I was pulling countless bags of rubbish out the boot at the local tip too.