BMW 4 Series faces tough competition from Lexus

BMW 4 Series faces tough competition from Lexus


  •   January 18, 2014
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Lexus’ new IS 350 has been beating the BMW 335i in comparisons by leading car magazines lately. Now Lexus is poised to bring a longer, wider coupe called the RC 350 which will be rivaling the new BMW 435i and it was showcased at the Tokyo auto show last month. The RC 2 door sports coupe is not based on IS 350 as speculated and Lexus has announced the power plants and its interior features. The engines are an interesting choice for Lexus. Although the IS 250 has been the sales leader in the IS line, Lexus is not talking about that engine as an option. Instead, it is using the IS 350’s 3.5 liter engine, which presently offers about 6bhp more than the BMW 335i saloon and 435i coupe. This Lexus 306 horsepower engine is an excellent choice. It will be mated to the aggressive, yet economical Lexus-designed, 8-speed, manu-matic locking torque converter transmission that has now migrated from the IS-F to the IS 350 saloon. It was also speculated that the new RC might come in an RC-F version with the Lexus V8 which produces almost exactly the same horsepower and torque as the newly announced BMW M3 and M4 engine does. However, at this point the Lexus announcements have not mentioned that. The new RC is going to have the new hybrid engine found now in the European trim of the IS saloon called the IS 300h. The hybrid will offer more power and much better fuel economy than the small V6 can, and will also be a lower CO2 output vehicle. If Lexus has made anything clear recently it is that hybrids will be part of all new models.