EZZ

Its not crappy but its also low tech compared to a lot of the other powertrains out there. Kia has the 3.3L turbo, Nissan has the variable compression turbo, BMW has the I4/I6 turbo, Audi has the 2.9L V6 turbo, Honda has the 1.5L turbo, etc... I can't understand why Toyota doesn't put its 3.5L turbo into other applications.

JDR76

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never really considered turbocharging to be high tech. I would not necessarily view a direct and port injected V6 that can run in Atkinson or Otto Cycles to be of lower tech than a direct injection only Otto cycle 6 cylinder with a turbo.

AJT123

Agreed it's low tech, but it's also indestructible and plenty potent still.

And yeah I agree, and I'm sure they will.

LeX2K

Cost? Otherwise can't think of a good reason.

EZZ

Well, by not being competitive, they've pretty much spelled the death of most of their sedan lineup. GS dead. LS dead. IS dying. ES is an appliance for non-enthusiasts so its doing okay.

mmarshall

Low tech is one reason (but not the only one) WHY it is indestructible.

AJT123

Precisely. Toyota's 3.5 is sort of like a modern day 3800 but not OHV.

But then again the V8 in my LS430 was high tech when new.

EZZ

Just because something is high tech doesn't mean it's unreliable. The 2L turbos from the Germans have been reliable and high tech for awhile now.

AJT123

Would you rather take a Land Cruiser on a desert safari powered by a nice, big NA Toyota V8, or a G-Wagen with the ultra complex TTV8?

Toys4RJill

Land Cruiser for sure. But I must point out the Land Cruiser comes with turbo diesel.

Toys4RJill

Just my thought. It has to do with profits. A new engine in the IS line will not move the sales needle compared to where it was when the current gen debuted. Sedans are declining and I think there is no example anywhere of a multi gen model selling better late in the model cycle compared to when the gen model debuted or the model before it. Toyota is still making big profits on their sedans even though they are really decreasing in sales.

EZZ

It seems to me that they are degrading their brand in the long term to sustain high profit in the short term. Lexus is losing its reputation in building sporty cars with the younger demographic now. Let's not kid ourselves...the powertrain is woefully inadequate for sports sedans and coupes. They've really dropped the ball in this market segment. They nailed their core segment which is luxury SUVs but this myopic view is limiting their growth in the future.

AJT123

Well, yeah. But it's a Toyota motor and a diesel at that.

Do you or does anyone know the specs on it?

It's a 4.5 liter V8 is all I know.

Toys4RJill

Nowhere as competitive as German or American Diesel engine. Debuted in 08, it is the first diesel V8 by Toyota.

With IS, maybe. But the Lexus LS with the new V6TT has not done anything for sales. Sedans slowing sales is the bigger issues I think. If the IS were to go away, Lexus would not hurt.

EZZ

I disagree simply because the IS is a gateway product for the young. It's to bring in a younger demo. If it goes away, Lexus risks being the next caddy when all of its buyers die off. The UX and NX serve to provide this too but they don't cater to auto enthusiasts. The enthusiasts drive word of mouth sales for great products and strengthen brands.

A strategy deployed by Tesla was to win the enthusiast market by making the Model 3 very sporty which helped cater to the enthusiasts. They adopted the car and drove scale and brand. Now the car and brand are very common giving regular buyers confidence in the company enabling Tesla to offer the Model Y to win non-enthusiasts. Everyone knew crossovers were winning even when the Model 3 was revealed. It's likely that Tesla thought going too mainstream without establishing the brand was risky. I think they did a masterful job of finding the right demographic to strengthen their brand.