Lexus IS 350 F-Sport. New ownership. Management Fleet

Ownership of our long term Lexus IS 350 F-Sport has changed hands this month as ninja extraordinaire Abdulla finally gets a go behind the wheel.

Davison knew when the Lexus IS 350 F-Sport first arrived on The Management Fleet that he had a fight on his hands. Offering a four-way drive mode system, a stiffer chassis and 308bhp from its 3.5-litre V6, it was only a matter of time before the IS 350 F-Sport became the main prize in a crankandpiston.com arm-wrestling competition. Like a hawk though. Davison has kept the key fob close to his arsenal of camera bodies and lenses, and it was only with the most perfected of my ninja skills that I managed to wangle the Lexus away from him for a few weeks. How glad I am that I did.

As a photographer, the IS 350 F-Sport offers so many opportunities for juicy shots thanks to the strong body lines, aggressive features and low stance, and those awesome twin-spoke alloys: you just don’t want to stop looking at it.

But I’ve not just been spending my time on the daily commute. A few weeks ago for instance, chance – and some much-needed location scouting – meant the Lexus and myself took a spin up and down the winding Jebel Hafeet mountain road, on which I could feel that superb balance and Sport+ aggression being put to the test. Cooler temperatures meant excellent grip, allowing me to place the front end where I needed. Pushing the car hard as I was in my low driving position – thanks to those supportive pseudo-buckets – it was difficult to understand how 1678kg (plus my own bodyweight, which I won’t mention here) could move so elegantly, yet put so many horses to work when hitting the loud pedal.

As of late, I’ve been thinking a lot about Lexus’ other performance bruiser, the RC F. If the IS 350 F-Sport represents what a current sports saloon from Toyota’s premium little brother can offer, I can only imagine what surprises lie in wait with the RC F.

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