The I-4 comes with the 8 speed, not the 6 speed.

 

The I4 w/8 speed is minivan slow at 6.9s to 60. The V6 is around 5.6 to 60.

 

Used to be, BMW was the ultimate driving machine for car enthusiasts while Lexus was the cushy grocery getter. How the tables have turned.

See Alex on Autos' verbatim assessment at 13:29 - 14:34 of the above review video :

"Even though the Lexus IS is a little bit heavier than some of the German competition but where the IS really shines is the suspension tuning, the steering feel and the handling ability because the IS has a level of steering and handling precision that we simply don't find anymore in the Germans.

BMW has definitely been taking their product line up market and that has meant turning the 3 series into I guess the new Mercedes in some ways and they've certainly given up handling precision. As a result if you have this out on a track or out on your favorite winding mountain road and you start pushing this harder and you're driving a BMW 3 series along the same road,this definitely has a handling precision and handling feel that is not matched currently in the German lineup for the same price.

Now clearly there are going to be some excellent performing German options out there but they're going to be a lot more expensive.Of course the tricky thing is that if you are out on an autocross track or a larger track then the German options are still going to be faster because they're
going to be able to accelerate. They're going to be faster in the straight lines. This will catch up in the corners but ultimately those other options are going to be a bit quicker but if you're looking for something with a bit more steering feel, a better on-center feel I think and just better handling dynamics in general that's certainly going to be the Lexus."

 

Most minivans actually have more power and weighs about the same as this thing.

 

What minivans weigh 3700 lbs?

 

Oh opps my mistake. But yea I think all minivans will have more power than the IS300. Kind of a sad fact.

 

The Honda Odyssey weights ~4500 lbs and has about 280hp to get to 0-60 in about 6.7s. Minivans are slow...i have one.

 

alex has a soft spot for lexus for one thing. he also frequently does the "it's good for the money" qualifier - damning with faint praise?

the refreshed IS is obviously a nice car, smooth, refined, with a very nicely tuned suspension. but it can't hide the fact that it's an old platform with an old (but very very good in its day) engine.

this video gives a good perspective on the interior from a young couple's perspective.


and matt's review overall by himself - exterior looks great! love those lighter weight dark forged rims!

 

Wow...the exterior of that blue Lexus IS looks sensational

 

I reckon the 2013 model year GS has better road feel.

they need to put the new 3.5l hybrid engine in this thing to make it fuel efficiency competitive. Instead they still use the old 2.5l hybrid in other markets.

 

This seems like like a 4th generation than a refresh. However this IS is beautiful. My 2 cents would be the following:
-The IS shouldve been a little larger interior and 2 additional exterior inches to fill in the GS void. (186" L and 2 more cu ft of interior space would be great)
-Still needs memory seating and power folding mirrors
-WE ALL KNOW THE ENGINE NEED MORE POWER so im not going to beat that dead horse.

Had this car had the first 2 points, i would consider trading my GS350. I love the looks of the 2021. The interior design is fine.

 

Its a refresh, they couldnt make it larger.

 

why the size couldn't be increased?

 

Because in a refresh they don't make changes to the main structure of the car. In order to increase the size they would need to do that. The basic car is the same, so all the dimensions are basically the same. When you go reworking the car's structure and increase its size, then its a whole new model not a refresh.

 

Some non F-Sport and F-Sport IS300h in Taiwan.

The silver non F-Sport has the same wheels and exterior as the white non F-Sport IS300 I personally previewed in Singapore. But it is missing the memory seats of the Singapore spec IS.