In reply to mndsm:
In reply to mndsm:
Thank you guys. I think i'm leaning 2012+ IS-F unless a Gen2 CTS-V 6sp sedan lands in my lap.
My question is, "is there a wrong answer here?" I would go IS-F, but I would also love a CTS-V wagon. I'm not so hot on the Infiniti as might have a been a few years ago given my recent experiences with them, but I'd still drive one.
I'd go with the caddy. High 20s on the highway fuel mileage wise is pretty easy with any LS motor. And the interior will degrade the least as the years go by. Pick any luxury car thats 10 years old, the caddy will be the only one that doesnt have broken E36 M3 (vents, folding cup holders, electronics, etc) or E36 M3 falling apart (bmw door weather seals, door panels, and headliners come to mind come most to mind most).
Smarta$$ McPoopyPants wrote: I've never seen the interior of the ISF, but I seem to remember another car mag and/or top gear saying it wasn't anything to write home about(?)
It isn't, I have yet to be inside a 2-3 year old IS-F that doesn't have random broken/excessively worn parts in it. The engine makes nice noises, but the caddy is indeed in a league of its own if he won't consider m3 sedan/m5/c63/etc.
Leafy wrote: I'd go with the caddy. High 20s on the highway fuel mileage wise is pretty easy with any LS motor.
Bwahahahahahah! Anything over 20 is a pipe dream in the V2 cars. I think I saw 20.1 once for one 120 mile stretch of freeway driving from gas station to gas station. Driving around town mileage is more like 14-15mph. Freeway at 75+ is +-18. And premium.
Yeah, even my lightweight and aerodynamic Corvette gets 15 in the city. You can get high 20s on the highway, but that's really only under roadtrip conditions for me. I need more roadtrips and less 2 mile commute to work. Roadtrips to racetracks also result in poor combined MPG. 7 MPG on the track 
mazdeuce wrote:Leafy wrote: I'd go with the caddy. High 20s on the highway fuel mileage wise is pretty easy with any LS motor.Bwahahahahahah! Anything over 20 is a pipe dream in the V2 cars. I think I saw 20.1 once for one 120 mile stretch of freeway driving from gas station to gas station. Driving around town mileage is more like 14-15mph. Freeway at 75+ is +-18. And premium.
Get long tubes, an intake, and a tune from someone who knows what they're doing. In anything with aerodynamics better than a truck thats the recipe for mid 20s, upper 20s if you're catless (or euro spec cats, because american cats will melt) and turn on the australian/euro tune for lean cruise, or in something aerodynamic like a vette or 4th gen f body.
CTS-V. Responds excellent to mods and sounds NASTY with the right exhaust.
The IS-F's seem to be holding their value exceptionally well. I was checking on their prices for awhile but they never really seem to come down.
My wife drove an IS350 for awhile, it was a very quick, trouble-free car for the time we had it. Interior was nothing special, but I was never very worried about that.
I only have experience with a 1st Gen CTS-V, and even that one needed new mounts, so it wasn't an optimal car to form my opinion.
As others have said, I don't think you can go wrong between the two. Eat some prime rib and wagyu and see which you like more 
I know it's the driver and not the car, but I'm somewhat biased against the IS-F.
Spent more than half of an HPDE session stuck behind one with no wave by at Grattan because he could always run away from me on the straights, then I'd be stuck right behind him again as soon as it was time to brake or turn.
Leafy wrote:mazdeuce wrote:Get long tubes, an intake, and a tune from someone who knows what they're doing. In anything with aerodynamics better than a truck thats the recipe for mid 20s, upper 20s if you're catless (or euro spec cats, because american cats will melt) and turn on the australian/euro tune for lean cruise, or in something aerodynamic like a vette or 4th gen f body.Leafy wrote: I'd go with the caddy. High 20s on the highway fuel mileage wise is pretty easy with any LS motor.Bwahahahahahah! Anything over 20 is a pipe dream in the V2 cars. I think I saw 20.1 once for one 120 mile stretch of freeway driving from gas station to gas station. Driving around town mileage is more like 14-15mph. Freeway at 75+ is +-18. And premium.
I could do all those things, but if I'm headed down the long tubes/tune route then I'm putting on a smaller pulley and I'll end up with worse mileage, not better. It's like suggesting that I could drive more gently and pick up 1-2 mpg. While true, that really defeats the purpose of the car.
All I was really saying in my post is that anyone who buys a V2 should have real expectations about the mileage that the cars get, and it's nowhere close to the high 20's.
I'm sitting in mine right now waiting for the kids school to let out and my fuel monitor reads 14.1mpg. This is the top half of a tank driving the kids to school, grocery shopping, regular car stuff.
mazdeuce wrote:Leafy wrote:I could do all those things, but if I'm headed down the long tubes/tune route then I'm putting on a smaller pulley and I'll end up with worse mileage, not better. It's like suggesting that I could drive more gently and pick up 1-2 mpg. While true, that really defeats the purpose of the car. All I was really saying in my post is that anyone who buys a V2 should have real expectations about the mileage that the cars get, and it's nowhere close to the high 20's.mazdeuce wrote:Get long tubes, an intake, and a tune from someone who knows what they're doing. In anything with aerodynamics better than a truck thats the recipe for mid 20s, upper 20s if you're catless (or euro spec cats, because american cats will melt) and turn on the australian/euro tune for lean cruise, or in something aerodynamic like a vette or 4th gen f body.Leafy wrote: I'd go with the caddy. High 20s on the highway fuel mileage wise is pretty easy with any LS motor.Bwahahahahahah! Anything over 20 is a pipe dream in the V2 cars. I think I saw 20.1 once for one 120 mile stretch of freeway driving from gas station to gas station. Driving around town mileage is more like 14-15mph. Freeway at 75+ is +-18. And premium.
A smaller pulley isnt going to make the mileage any worse. It wont change anything cruising and you'll use the same amount of gas getting up to speed, you just either use less pedal and the same amount of time burning gas, or the same pedal and burn it in less time.
Ok, I concede, there are almost certainly things one can do to improve the mileage of the V2 cars. My point still stands, choosing the V because you think it will save you gas money, even over the other two choices, is not good logic.
Karacticus wrote: I know it's the driver and not the car, but I'm somewhat biased against the IS-F. Spent more than half of an HPDE session stuck behind one with no wave by at Grattan because he could always run away from me on the straights, then I'd be stuck right behind him again as soon as it was time to brake or turn. https://youtu.be/8Ej0hMLb6Zk
Not sure how that qualifies as "stuck" behind the ISF or deserving of a point by.
kevlarcorolla wrote:Karacticus wrote: I know it's the driver and not the car, but I'm somewhat biased against the IS-F. Spent more than half of an HPDE session stuck behind one with no wave by at Grattan because he could always run away from me on the straights, then I'd be stuck right behind him again as soon as it was time to brake or turn. https://youtu.be/8Ej0hMLb6ZkNot sure how that qualifies as "stuck" behind the ISF or deserving of a point by.
Yeah, rub it in...
i was looking at similar and test drove the CTS-V and Lexus.. in my opinion the Lexus was superior in every department. Didnt look at a BM though.... ended up with an F150 for towing too as didnt think they were all that. My advice is buy something for half the price and buy a race car with the difference....its more fun.
The Lexus sounds incredible and picks up BIG power with bolt ons. And is smaller. I like small.
My '08 IS-F gets 18-19 mpg during my normal driving, which is mostly short run city stuff (taking the kid to school, going to the gym). It picks up 4-5 on longer interstate cruises.
For comparison, that is over double what my M5 got doing the same duty.
I hope the F continues to hold its value. I know the M5 is likely at the bottom of the depreciation curve. The F seems to be losing its value much slower than the M5. The caddy, well that's a different story. You can buy a v1 for next to nothing at this point, I can't see the newer one fairing any better. $40k today is only going to be worth $10-15 in a few years. That is a deal breaker for me. Buying a v1 and fixing it up would seem to be the better investment.
I'd go for the IS-F. I asked myself, how can I get an M3 with the reputation of reliability* of my 4Runner, and this is the closest I could come up with. They are the also the least flashy, and least likely to strike up random conversations at gas stations over, because even in the wilder colors, it still looks 'just like an IS350'.
Plan on modifying? CTS-v. I can't imagine anything for the IS-F being cheaper and certainly not as plentiful as LS engine is.
It's a shame the IS-F came in automatic only and that it doesn't have a folding rear seat. Carmax has them in the low 30's. I'd be very interested
After looking at cts and lexii and other such, and wanting but not affording a C63, I started looking at E55 after driving one for a couple hours. A good one with lowish miles and service records can be found for well under 20k and that one one heckuva lotta car for that kind of dough. They are good enough to overcome my lifelong manual-box-only, lightest-is-mandatory-est bias. Them AMG fellers have the iron fist in the velvet glove thing down pat. I'd tell you that I went ahead and bought one, but I still don't believe it myself.
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