A previous IS-F owner's comparison with the M3

I discovered a forum post of an old IS-F owner that decided to trade in for a 2010 M3. His insight is greatly appreciated, since it's a very hard decision to decide between the BMW M3, the Lexus IS-F, and the Mercedes Benz C63 AMG. I was pleased to read his commentary, and to see what he likes about the M3 and what he misses about the IS-F.

Here are a few excerpts from hsi commentary:

"There are a few things I find myself missing from my F. I really liked having front parking sensors and the backup camera, neither of which you can get on the US spec M3."

"There are some things the M has that I feel the IS-F is lacking. The biggest is EDC (Electronic Damping Control). It works pretty well on the M and makes for a more comfortable car on crappy roads."

"Now the important part. Which one drives better? Well, it depends on what you are looking for. The F is flat out better at squirting around town in traffic. It feels faster off the line and the engine is more responsive at lower revs."

"When revved the M engine feels a bit more special and focused than the F's wonderful power plant. "

And finally, the most important:

"One final thing I will touch on is value. Here I think the IS-F wins hands down. If I had speced out my M3 to match all the features I had on my F it would have had a sticker price north of $70k. By leaving off the sunroof and premium audio I saved $3k, but still ended up with an M3 that was almost $5k more than my F if comparing sticker to sticker."

Throughout sports tuner magazines, and now from the consumer, it is evident the BMW is more comfortable and handles better, but costs significantly more and is not as fast. I think this provides solid confirmation for all the IS-F owners on where they stand with their vehicle. I am happy with my purchase and am ecstatic with my choice. You should be as well.