Acura Integra Type S vs. Lexus IS 350 F Sport Track Test: Sport Sedan Showdown

• What's new: The Lexus IS 350 got a significant update to its interior and technology, but it seems like performance upgrades took a back seat.
• Why it matters: Both Japanese sport sedans cost about the same, so we'll be able to choose between them without caveats.
• Edmunds says: If you're looking to enjoy your time from behind the wheel, there's one very clear choice.

This was a bloodbath. The Acura swept the Lexus in all our tests — and it's not just down to the 600-pound weight difference between the two. It's worth noting that both cars were about half a second off their manufacturers' estimated 0-60 mph times, highlighting the importance of our impartial instrumented testing.

Though it's down two cylinders, the Integra Type S was by far the quicker car to both 60 mph and in the quarter mile. Its braking margin was smaller than we thought it might be, but it took a big lead again on our skidpad. Considering that both sedans were wearing summer tires, the Lexus was particularly disappointing. Just 0.91 g (when the Acura pulls well over 1 g) ties it with the Nissan Altima, a sedan that nobody will be turning to for performance.

Behind the wheel

As much as the numbers leaned the way of the Acura, the experience from behind the wheel tilted things even more in the Integra Type S' favor. For a FWD car in particular, the Acura's dynamics are spot on. Its steering is well weighted and accurate, delivering plenty of feedback. Despite all that power, there's barely a hint of torque steer — even if you drive it like a hooligan. With traction control off, you can rotate the rear end and give it a controlled, entertaining slide through corners.

Topping that off is an excellent six-speed manual with short throws and a great clutch feel. It also includes a well-tuned rev-matching system for those who haven't quite mastered the art of the heel-and-toe. Frankly, I left it on for most of the laps because it makes driving the Integra quickly a simpler exercise and gives you more bandwidth to enjoy the handling and steering. 

By stark contrast, the Lexus was really disappointing. The RWD model comes with sharper transmission tuning than the all-wheel-drive versions, and it had the F Sport Handling package equipped as well, a $1,090 option that brings an adaptive suspension, a limited-slip differential at the rear, and additional drive modes. But all those extra goodies can't mask over an aging platform and its inherent reluctance to be fun.

There were two big problems: First, the V6 makes all of its power way up in the rev range, and the transmission does its best to keep you from accessing it. Left to its own devices, the transmission loves to upshift and take you out of the powerband just as things are getting good. The Lexus isn't just sluggish off the line; downshifts also take a beat too long, and it's tricky to keep the IS moving with any real momentum through corners. 

The second issue is Lexus' super-invasive traction and stability control. At any hint of rotation, it immediately cuts power (even if you try to turn it all the way off), and that's also in part why we weren't able to put up a decent number on the skidpad. It's a big wet blanket over the whole experience, and, when combined with the transmission's issues, it didn't let me get a good sense of the car's handling capabilities.

Which one should you buy?

The choice between these two sedans should be pretty obvious by this point, even if enjoying your time behind the wheel is only a secondary or tertiary concern.

Even with the Lexus offering the superior interior, with much better materials, comfort and technology, it was so aggressively unenjoyable to drive around our track that I was turned off by the end of a few laps, let alone by the end of the day. There's a lot of catching up to do for a new version of the IS, and I hope it gets there because I actually like the way it looks and feels.

But, at the end of the day, both sedans get "Fs" — it's just that for the Integra Type S, that "F" stands for "fun," while in the case of the IS 350, it stands for "frustration."