Lexus recently gave its IS sports sedan a freshening, and improved a few things here and there. Still, it's no match for the top contenders in the category, such as the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series, in terms of the driving experience, interior room, or fuel economy.
Rear-wheel-drive versions come with a 241-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and the all-wheel-drive models have a polished but thirsty V6 producing 260 hp. There is also a F Sport with a 311-hp V6. We purchased the AWD version for our test program because driving all four wheels is the trend and customer preference in this class. While on paper the IS300's non-turbo V6 and six-speed automatic transmission might seem “old school,” it actually feels really refreshing to drive a car that possesses such a linear, meaty power delivery along with a smooth, cultivated engine note. And by the numbers the IS300 is plenty quick, dashing from 0 to 60 mph in just over 6 seconds, one of the quickest in its class. The downside is unimpressive fuel economy of 22 mpg overall in our testing, which is between 5-7 mpg less than the A4 and 3 Series.
Handling is fairly nimble during ordinary driving but not all that sporty.
Pick up the pace and the IS feels nose-heavy, plus its steering lacks the tactile feedback to the driver that makes a well-tuned sports sedan a joy to pilot on curvy roads. Even though it's missing a sharp-edged feel, the IS proved quite capable on our track, displaying high limits and tenacious grip in our avoidance maneuver exercise which simulates swerving quickly around a vehicle or obstacle on the road.
The suspension provides a veneer of isolation on smoother roads, but on bumpier surfaces it loses its composure and becomes rather jittery, exhibiting short, quick ride motions that upset the cabin.
The interior is reasonably quiet but not as hushed as we typically expect from a Lexus. The cabin is also very snug front and rear, and AWD versions still suffer from the same center tunnel intrusion into the driver's legroom as the last IS; some of our drivers said they found it so uncomfortable that this factor alone would be a deal-breaker for them. Access is also pretty awkward because the car sits low to the ground and the door openings are narrow.
The infotainment system relies on a distracting touchpad that is very difficult to use while driving, but at least Lexus has now made the screen touch-capable so you can bypass the pad. Still, some controls—such as the parking brake and the trip odometer reset—are oddly placed and tend to frustrate the driver. We're also annoyed that the automatic high beam feature requires activation each time, rather than being automatically “on” when drivers switch to high beams.
A complete roster of standard active driver assistance systems (ADAS) include forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and daytime bicycle detection, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams.