O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Not workin' with me here..........

LexFather

You're right, let me make a drink

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Took me 5 to get here.

dsp979

I know I'm in the minority here, but I like small cars. I agree that it should be about Audi A3 small.

I love my IS300, and was disappointed that the 2IS got porkier. I say the 3IS be downsized.

The C class replaced the 190e, iirc. Gotta love the 16 valve, 2.3L 190e models.

IS-SV

I agree, careful moves into slightly smaller cars can be profitable for Lexus.

FKL

It's worth a shot in Europe (as ISICK mentioned). Not sure if it would do much anything but dillute the brand in it's largest market though (america).

Parker Gen

I think if Lexus went into small cars, it would be a good move. But I would like to see a small car with the same quality as the large Lexus vehicles, and with the same amount of features. Small, but not ugly. Small but not slow. I could see people buying a small Lexus if it looked like a 50k car; big seats, plush interior etc. If they were built, to resemble individualism and not replicas of current other manufacturer luxury small vehicles like Audi and BMW, than I think it would be a good stepping stone for the future of the company. Limiting the amount of small Lexus models would be a big yes to keep the company exclusive. I think just because the car is small, doesn't mean it needs to lose value and build quality. If Lexus were to build a small luxury car for sale, I'd say, keep the price high but give the buyer everything you'd expect for the price.

mmarshall

I've said for years that, IMO, Lexus should do at least one compact model, other than the sporty, RWD, IS series. My posts on this subject are a matter of record. Infiniti, for a number of years, did a nice small FWD sedan based on the Nissan Sentra.....the G20. Acura does the TSX.....a redone version of the smaller, non-U.S.-market Accord (about the size of the Civic). There's no reason, IMO, why Lexus can't do it with the Corolla. BMW has its small 1-series. Audi has its A3, about the size of a 5-door Jetta wagon. The G20 had a firm suspension and was essentially a small sports sedan. So is the TSX, to some extent.....ditto the 1-series and the A3. Lexus doesn't need another small sports-sedan like that; it already has the IS250/350 to fill the sport-sedan role, so a Corolla-based Lexus, as I see it, could be comfort-biased for those who want luxury-car comfort in a small and relatively inexpensive package (I'd estimate 25K to start). There are those who may claim this would hurt Lexus' so-called "image". I disagree (you guys already know my views about automotive "images"......I won't go into that again). I think it would actually help Lexus, and bring in more potential sales, which EVERY automaker needs right now.

Parker Gen

I think Hyundai have done it right actually. They have built their sales and reputation up quite well, and now are moving into the proper automotive fields to compete with the big guns. Extensive sales on what I in the past would never had said quality, but indeed is quite good quality on cheap cars that Hyundai produce and sell on the market today, have built their company up enough to now experiment in new designs, and more expensive models to choose from. All those dodgy little Hyundai's of the past have built the future for them today. And we can see this in cars like the Genesis (also the coupe Genesis which I think is such a great step from them). I wonder where Hyundai will stand in 10 years time in the field of automotive glory?
Back to Lexus though, they would be doing the opposite, yet they already have the reputation for quality, comfort and performance so bringing out a proper compact luxury Lexus would not exactly hinder the company.

Squirrelz

I agree with you completely. I loved the size of the IS300, couldn't believe they made the 2IS look bulkier. If the 3IS ends up downsizing around the size of the 1IS, I'll be all over that.

mmarshall

I don't know how you can call the 2IS porkier than the first-gen model, except, maybe, for the added weight of the AWD system in the IS250 AWD. Both of them are quite small, by Lexus standards. The gen-2 model doesn't look, to me, any larger than the first-gen model, and the rear-seat room seems to be even worse.

Squirrelz

Well, porkier in the sense that it looks like a longer and wider vehicle by design. I'm not sure of the exact length and width of the 1IS and 2IS. To me, the 2IS looks bigger than the 1IS. Keyword is "looks" here; not factoring in weight. I agree with you there about the rear seats of the 2IS.

IS-SV

2nd gen IS weight/size including length, width, height, wheelbase, track width is very close to the rwd competition (including 3 series, C-class).

If porker mean bigger, more substantial-looking, with a wider more aggessive stance, I guess I see what you mean. Yes it looks bigger and more expensive as it should.

Lexmex

At one time I could see this with Lexus, but I think right now Toyota would probably leave this to Toyota cars itself or Scion.

I worry that possibly putting one in the Lexus lineup might cheapen the image depending on the prices. Thats kind of what happened with the Mercedes A series, though I really liked that vehicle.

VIP_ES300

i wouldnt mine driving in a mini lexus. if its nice and affordable ill be all for it