As in multiple "mode" for sexylexy's ride & performance, not the female panty liner thing.
Four in total: Eco, Normal, Sport & Sport+. I'm hard pressed to tell any major differences in the ride & performance. However, in eco, it certainly is the most comfortable & smoothest gear changes. Penchant to change up at the earliest moment for the sake of economy. In normal mode, it feels almost the same. I can only assume the ride is made less cushier, but the gear changes is noticeably more responsive & more willing to change down after trundling in cruising gears. In sport & Sport+ I can't tell the difference between the two. For sure it is stiffer than eco but the difference between normal is not huge. However the tendency to down change gears is more responsive. More so in Sport+ down changing to bring revs closer to the redline for optimal performance & control.
Which brings me to this car's forte or Achilles heel, depending on where you sit on the fence when it comes to performance, at revs above 4000 rpm the character of the engine changes from smooth & docile to snarling & well, to be honest, still fairly unruffled. Ultimately the 2.5L V6 creamy smooth engine is a adequate for brisk & borderline fast progress. Complete with the adaptive damping & Interior, it's more a comfortable sporty sedan as opposed to a focused Sports sedan. Unlike the 3.5L V6 in the GS350, which even with its greater girth, is still frighteningly fast in comparison. More ample grunt & needs 1000 revs less to get the same level of progress, yet still has more on Tap & the snarl sounds more "angry"... OK the snarl has more bass.
Therein lies the true essence of the IS250 F-sport, Sporty sedan. It's looks promises more than it can deliver (complete opposite to the GS350), more refined than you'd expect. Not surprising that most motoring scribes fall for the driver focused BMW's, albeit in my opinion, drab looking inside & out. For me the IS250 F-sport is not a bad proposition for the daily traffic grind. I've come to my senses too much power might be wasteful especially in this "demerit points" days. I think the IS250 has just enough poke to get you out of trouble if & when you need it, and 9 times out of 10 you'll be cruising along, merging at a comfortable pace... and yes an IS350 would hit the spot too!
