Most Boring Car of the Week: Lexus IS250

[oidreez]

I'd consider the A7 a big sedan. The A6 is beautiful though, I'd probably take that over the GS. If Jaguar just priced their new I4 XF cheaper, lower 40s, then it would be a big competitor in the market.


As for the G37, I just don't like the overall silhouette, it's like an extended TT and that back with the built in spoiler that comes chrome stock, just looks bad to me. G35 > G37 for sure. Even my friends who owns 35s were all turned off by the G37, as a matter of fact they all left Infiniti.

And Lexus isn't lacking in coupes, they do not have any coupes. The ISC doesn't count (it's a convertible), is terribly shaped and the 250 version is even more sluggish than the sedan.

What about the SC?

 

[rfx45]

And Lexus isn't lacking in coupes, they do not have any coupes. The ISC doesn't count (it's a convertible), is terribly shaped and the 250 version is even more sluggish than the sedan.

What about the SC?

SC is also a convertible and it's been out of production for a couple of years now, which I think the main topic is. I know the Z30 was a coupe but that true coupe has been gone for more than a decade now. I read Lexus has a plan to bring back the SC but in a soft top convertible version. :x

 

[Thats My Word]

We need a new SC that brings back the 1st gen look, it is a CLASSIC. The 2nd gen is TRASH...

 

[heshua]

I cant wait for the new IS. Patiently awaiting for it to be revealed. I hope they make an IS-F version. That would be my future car. Im debating buying a used version of the current IS-F actually but the price is still a little high for me now

 

[dauldierce]

car is luxury. love my Lexus...

test drive the car.

is250 is350 or is-f..

why complain. the a4 , 328i and c300 arent much of a difference.....

s5, 335i, is350 are.

im going to get the new Lexus IS-F in 2-3 years.

 

[rfx45]

We need a new SC that brings back the 1st gen look, it is a CLASSIC. The 2nd gen is TRASH...

When Toyota came out with the GT86/FRS, I thought a Lezus coupe that is a bit longer than the FRS would soon follow, I mean it makes sense to compete with the A5, C-Class Coupe, 4-series but it doesn't look like it might be in Lexus' plans. A good competition for the 6-series would be great but I'm not too sure people are ready to drop $75k+ on a Lexus coupe.

I cant wait for the new IS. Patiently awaiting for it to be revealed. I hope they make an IS-F version. That would be my future car. Im debating buying a used version of the current IS-F actually but the price is still a little high for me now

I'm almost 100% sure they will have an ISF version, it might not come out with the 250/350 but it will come for sure. It made the IS a lot more interesting.

 

[dauldierce]

is-f will be out in 2014.

 

[vietster]

I drive my mom's silver IS 250 for the time being until I save up enough for a new car. The ride is very smooth. The exterior and interior are nice and look high-class. However, the car is way too small for me - something as simple as getting in and out of the car can be annoying. It's more of a woman's car in my opinion.

 

[Mark Antony]

Man the A7 is dope especially with some nice rims. Ya'll buggin.

 

[getyashinebox]

I'm in the market for a sport sedan right now. I agree that the G is probably the worst looking against its competition (335, c350, is350, ...), although the S model with the extra spoilers look good to me.

Its no secret the main draw to the G for many is the value infiniti offers. You get very comparable performance (the G sedan is close or sometimes even beats the BMW or MB in reviews) and amenities for many thousands less, with lower maintenance costs and better reliability.

In Oct, I could've bought a brand new 2012 G37S 6MT sedan for $35800+ttl (this trim comes loaded, nav, audio, suspension, brakes, ...). A comparable BMW at the time would be well over $50k+.

Sure the 335 m-sport or s4 prestige are amazing cars, but infiniti drives a real hard bargain and the Q50 is promising (we'll know come Jan 14)

 

[rfx45]

That has always been Infinitis philosophy and it's what got them to the ranks with Lexus, BMW, Audi. The G35 had around 260hp in the sedan and 280 in the coupe when the 3-series and C-Class were hovering around 200hp and then the G35 bumped the power close to 300hp a few years later when the 3series and C-Class bumped their power to ~230hp. The IS250 and A4 were still behind at this point with ~200hp but at least Lexus' engine was a V6, which is pretty damn smooth and consistent with it's power delivery, this wasn't noticeable until I drove BMWs turbo4 on a daily basis, the difference is huge in smoothness. The V6 doesn't have the same kick and quickness but man that engine is just built to be so luxurious.

 

[sreggie101]

The lack of manual transmission in luxury cars kills me. Yes, I know they are out there, but tougher to find. , lazy Americans...

and the worst thing is now some charge the most for the manual option, word to infiniti and acura. this is why i **** with subaru. manual is an option on base models from the start.

41k tho? damn for that kind of money u could drive off with a new GSR or STI with max options. in terms of luxury rides this wasn't a good buy but rfx pretty much explained it already.

 

[friscosfinest]

That has always been Infinitis philosophy and it's what got them to the ranks with Lexus, BMW, Audi. The G35 had around 260hp in the sedan and 280 in the coupe when the 3-series and C-Class were hovering around 200hp and then the G35 bumped the power close to 300hp a few years later when the 3series and C-Class bumped their power to ~230hp. The IS250 and A4 were still behind at this point with ~200hp but at least Lexus' engine was a V6, which is pretty damn smooth and consistent with it's power delivery, this wasn't noticeable until I drove BMWs turbo4 on a daily basis, the difference is huge in smoothness. The V6 doesn't have the same kick and quickness but man that engine is just built to be so luxurious.

yeah but these IS cars have been out WAYY too long, and they need a whole new series of engines. I mean come on, 200hp and 27mpg? From a v6? Thats just laughable! And do they still have the 6speed transmission? 6 speeds are wayy outdated now.

 

[rfx45]

That has always been Infinitis philosophy and it's what got them to the ranks with Lexus, BMW, Audi. The G35 had around 260hp in the sedan and 280 in the coupe when the 3-series and C-Class were hovering around 200hp and then the G35 bumped the power close to 300hp a few years later when the 3series and C-Class bumped their power to ~230hp. The IS250 and A4 were still behind at this point with ~200hp but at least Lexus' engine was a V6, which is pretty damn smooth and consistent with it's power delivery, this wasn't noticeable until I drove BMWs turbo4 on a daily basis, the difference is huge in smoothness. The V6 doesn't have the same kick and quickness but man that engine is just built to be so luxurious.

yeah but these IS cars have been out WAYY too long, and they need a whole new series of engines. I mean come on, 200hp and 27mpg? From a v6? Thats just laughable! And do they still have the 6speed transmission? 6 speeds are wayy outdated now.

Is the V6 version confirmed? Jay Leno talks about a 306hp engine in this vid so it must be the 350 but it also he also mentioned it has an 8-speed auto, which is somewhat surprising, will likely be for the 250 as well?

On another note though, Lexus needs to redesign this asap, and im sure they are. Isnt it debuting soon? I feel like this generation IS has been out for YEARS. Im guessing 6+?

It's coming very soon, next gen IS will be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show on Jan 15, two weeks from now.

Again the model is more than half a decade old so all of those are understandable. It's also understandable that they do not do any engine tweaking until the new gen comes out. Trans will be 8-speed on the next gen and it will likely have an eco button too so that should increase mpg.

 

[auszero]

The 2014 IS that will be unveiled on Jan 15 will have the same engines that are currently offered in the IS. There is a 8 speed transmission for the IS350 but the IS250 transmission will remain the same. The refresh for the 3rd generation IS will get new engine options, one of which is rumored to be forced induction. Handling on the new IS will be different but power will not.

 

[rfx45]

The 2014 IS that will be unveiled on Jan 15 will have the same engines that are currently offered in the IS. There is a 8 speed transmission for the IS350 but the IS250 transmission will remain the same. The refresh for the 3rd generation IS will get new engine options, one of which is rumored to be forced induction. Handling on the new IS will be different but power will not.

Could you post a link to confirm this? No hate, just never read or seen it anywhere. Even the media who has driven the prototype wasn't given numbers or specs outside of the transmission (which I think you might correct that the 8speed is only on the 350).


Just a few snippets from Autoblogs first drive impressions.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/06/2014-lexus-is-prototype-first-drive-review/

One of the reasons for rejection of the current car among shoppers is lack of rear leg room. That has been addressed, with the driver's seat set for a driver nearly six-feet tall, hopping in the back seat still left an inch between the closest part of the driver's seat. Leaving one's legs in the scallops of the back of the seat meant even more space. In the previous gen our knees were hard up against the driver's seatback. There is appreciably more headroom as well. And for the first time in an IS, the rear seats fold down in a 60/40 split.

Lexus didn't give out power numbers, but the IS 250 sounds faster than it is, the cabin filling with that induction resonance. It also feels faster than before and wastes no time working itself up to a good clip, with good throttle response in Sport and more feedback from the steering even in a straight line. The body and suspension rigidity have helped this car more than the 350; driving it correctly and maintaining momentum will still (as always) bring the greatest rewards, but the added stiffness and better response to inputs give it better reflexes and give you a larger dynamic window in which to operate. In the slalom portion that needed three flicks of the wheel at speed, the current IS 250 would skitter after you finished the slalom and were straightening out, the car's chassis and traction control still trying to catch up with what just happened. There was none of that in the new IS 250. It is still best to shift gears for yourself, though, the reflexes of the six-speed not where we'd like them in a sports sedan. Nevertheless, the IS 250 is composed, supple, chuckable, and can be pivoted around corners, even when you need to adjust your line. It's fun.

Lexus nailed the GS, so we know they can do the IS right – and we'll keep hoping that they do.

There are also a lot of negatives in the prototype they tested but we will all soon see in 2 weeks time.

 

[auszero]

Lexus employees on Club Lexus. Obviously it's not concrete but they've been right about everything so far. They posted info on the f sport lfa style cluster months before pictures released. This was all posted in September, long before interior pics released. In another post the engine carry overs were mentioned. Take it for what its worth but lexus did do the same thing with the new gs.

Interior:
Interior as guessed has the recessed navigation and remote touch as well as similar steering wheel to the GS and RX. It does have the GS/Infiniti clock.*A lot of models probably won't have a navigation (option) but will have a multi media display with a decent sized screen. What's really neat is say when the iPhone5 comes out you can stream its new vectoring map straight to the screen, so there's really no need to buy the extra cost navigation. *The new IS will be the first to use NuLuxe 3 which is the first to have perforated holes unlike the ES and CT. NuLuxe is an Eco friendly material that weighs half as much as leather and the manufacturing process generates 65% fewer CO2 emissions as other synthetic leathers.

Exterior:
The front of course has the corporate spindle grill and while the upper portion is smaller than any of the other Lexus models, the bottom part extents very wide, more so than other models. To be honest it looks like a huge hour glass. Unlike our current 2IS the hood bulges on the 3IS run straight into the grill in perfect lines and then out wards at 45 degree angles. Basically a trapezoid. The bumper bar as far as I've seen is not body colored but dark grey (like Audi) so the transition is seamless. The corners between the headlights and fog area are chiseled and very muscular. Headlights are refined but retain the same sharp shape the current ones have.*The rear tail lights are very sharp. They flow extremely well with the rest of the rear. Looking at the rear from dead on, the tail lights are reminiscent of the 4GS, but much thinner. They have the new "LED tube look" that the GS and ES have. Between them the chrome bar connects the two, but at each side of the bar that touches the tails, the chrome shoots down wards at outward 45 degree angles that look like daggers (trapezoid). The rear deck is prominent and reminds me of a Wald or M3 spoiler. On the lower part of the bumper, the reflectors are still part of the design but also carry a sharper theme to them. The diffusor area is grey/blacked out and the dual exhaust looks to be in a wider position. Overall looking dead on at the rear you can see its stanced nicely with a wide track for a small RWD sports sedan. Coming around to the side, this is where the tails differentiate themselves from anything we've seen. They swoop downward at a sharp 45 degree angle to a dagger point roughly 6-8 inches before touching the rear fender. Meanwhile on the opposite side the side sills elegantly sweep upward at a 45 degree angle as if they were linked. It looks great! Door handles are close to the same shape and don't have the little black buttons anymore. Shark fin antenna is still there.

F-Sport:
I'll say this, the F-Sport will be the most aggressive compact luxury sport sedan on the market. And in Obsidian it looks absolutely sinister. The F-Sport will not have fogs like its GS brother but it will be an easy mod to add, similar to how USDM owners are doing it for their 4GS. Also I'd like to add that the F-Sport seems to have an optional LED headlights with two projectors rather than one (found on the regular IS).

Overall this car looks angry. It's menacing yet elegant. It won't be mistaken for anything else on the road. Stay tuned kids, this is gonna be big!!



STANDARD
- HID Headlamps
- LED DRL's
- Driver Mode Select
- Moonroof
- 17" wheels
- 60/40 split folding rear seats
- 8-speaker, with single CD audio system
- Bluetooth and dual USB ports
- Anti scratch paint
- Analog clock
- Improved shiftlogic on 6-speed auto transmission
- 8-Speed auto on 350 RWD only
- Paddle shifters
- NuLuxe3 interior trim
- 7" multimedia display screen (non navi) - first Lexus with 13CY Multimedia
- pushbutton start
- 10 air bags

OPTIONS
- Blind spot monitor with cross traffic alert
- back up camera
- Available 18" wheels (all season or summer tire available)
- power rear sunshade
- heated and ventilated seats
- LED headlamps (requires luxury or F-sport package)
- lane departure alert with auto high beams
- navigation with enform
- park assit
- pre-collision system with dynamic radar cruise control
- VRGS (IS350 RWD only - Fsport)
- Mark Levinson navigation (requires luxury of F-Sport package)

PACKAGES
- Base
- Luxury
- F-Sport

COLORS
Starfire Pearl
Ultra White (F-Sport only)
Silver Lining
Glacier Silver
Nebula Gray Pearl
Obsidian
Matador Red Mica
Deep Sea Mica

SIZE:
3.1" longer, 2.8" wheelbase increase, 0.5" wider

OTHER NEWS
- Driver Mode Select ala 4GS ie Eco, Normal, Sport, Sport+
- Roughly 3in, 2in, 2in bigger L/W/H
- AWD models get headlight washers and heated steering wheels as standard equipment
- Speedo/Tach move like in the LFA (like a video game!)
- Grey, Black, Flaxen, and Red interior options
- 8-Speed Auto for 350 RWD models ONLY
- 6-Speed Auto for 250 models (reprogrammed for faster shifts ala 4GS)
- Late May release, June launch date

 

[jookz]

Wouldn't a simple test drive and quick look at the specs let the person know this isn't the car for them.

+1
how you gonna buy a car without a test drive. this dude deserves the slow appliance he bought. the IS250 is exactly what you think it is; an underpowered but reliable front engine rwd lexus with a slushbox designed for econo driving, but well equipped with creature comforts. how DF did he think otherwise... what site was this posted on again? i want to block it from chrome so i never have to read the trash this guy writes, cause he clearly has no idea wtf he's talking about. troll article has me fuming

 

[dauldierce]

cant waittttttt

 

[rfx45]

Well the interior and exterior guesses are easy, itll be heavily based on the GS especially since Lexus themselves said the future of Lexus will have the spindle grill and will pretty much be the same theme. This is also obvious on the concepts so far.

More curious about the engine though. Any engine info? Then again they did use the same V6 on the new GS but with mpg improved? Wouldnt be surprised if it is justa slightly tweaked V6.

Thanks for the info though, good to read some of the details on the upcoming car.

 

[dauldierce]

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Makes me want to trade mine in for this...

I rather just wait for IS-F though....

 

[auszero]

Well the interior and exterior guesses are easy, itll be heavily based on the GS especially since Lexus themselves said the future of Lexus will have the spindle grill and will pretty much be the same theme. This is also obvious on the concepts so far.
More curious about the engine though. Any engine info? Then again they did use the same V6 on the new GS but with mpg improved? Wouldnt be surprised if it is justa slightly tweaked V6.
Thanks for the info though, good to read some of the details on the upcoming car.

I dont think anyone would have guessed the LFA cluster on the F-Sport. For tech like that to trickle down to almost the bottom while skipping every other product line is pretty unheard of. Not to mention the 8 speed ****** and exterior design cues that you can see now in the camouflaged pics. The new engines supposedly arent going to be seen for another two years but have been hinted at being turbo 4cyl and 6cyl with no manuals being offered at any point.

 

[andy206]

lexus cars have always been bland and boring. whats new?

 

[rfx45]

LFCC hinted at the video game like cluster and thise pics came out around September (maybe even before?). People from Lexus also stated the IS will be somewhat based on the LFCC. Might just be a conincidence but it really isnt a big surprise.

As for the exterior, again the theme of a more aggressive car has been established. The only giant surprise with the exterior is if it comes to looking like the LFCC.


One thing I would be surpised on is if the V6 engine doesnt have any mpg improvements, that is almost a guarrantee given the competition.

 

[auszero]

LFCC debut was October. To describe the way the rear bumper meets the body and shape of taillights its pretty intense for speculation. Either way its two weeks away so well see. I would imagine the transmission tweaks could lead to mpg improvements.