Road and Track Article with IS 300 beating competition
10-06-04, 02:52 PM
#1
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Road and Track Article with IS 300 beating competition
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....&page_number=1
1. Lexus IS 300
580.9 points
On the flip side of the Volvo’s conservative grace, we have the IS 300, which is markedly the most sports car-like in the group. It’s a taut, nimble car that feels smaller and quicker on its feet than any of the others and revs with a silky, high-winding snarl.
The IS 300’s sporting personality is evident the minute you climb in. The seat is comfortable, but firm and supportive as a custom-fitted racing bucket; the shift lever sticks up in a simple chromed ball, like an old Ferrari; and the view down the hood is one of trim narrowness. That sporting theme is reiterated with “drilled-look” brushed metal covers over the pedals and a speedometer face that looks like a Swiss chronograph.
Heading onto the track (or winding road), you immediately notice the quick, accurate steering, a sense that the IS 300 has the least rubber in its joints of any car here. It accelerates hard with a race-car-like wail (the other cars sound as if they are inhaling at speed, most of their fury coming from induction noise, while the Lexus actually has an exhaust note). In corners, the IS 300 is quite tossable and, more than the others, it seems possible to trail-brake the Lexus’ tail out a little to help it rotate in tight corners, but it never gets seriously out of shape, thanks to the usual face-saving — and fender-saving — driveline technologies.
With traction control switched on, the effect is quite pronounced and it’s hard to exit a corner with any authority. Even with TC off, it is still slow to give you much drive coming off slow corners. However, it should be noted that all the cars in this test exhibited a reluctance to lay down any hard, uninterrupted exit power, even in their Sport modes, limiting the amount of racetrack fun we could have, compared with an unassisted bare-bones manual-transmission car. Too much safety, at least for the track.
The bright side to this traction and yaw control picture is that it almost takes an act of God to push or spin any one of these cars off the track, and on the highway — or a mountain road — you’d have to drive off a cliff to lose traction, or commit some other major act of brain fade. We did manage to spin the BMW, but only by aggressively trying to do so — in the rain on an off-camber corner on the Streets of Willow.
A feature unique to the IS 300 (in this group) is a set of manual-mode shift buttons on the steering wheel, sort of like F1 paddle shifters in miniature. There’s a small downshift button embedded in the front side of both steering-wheel spokes, with corresponding upshift buttons on the backside. Theoretically, this should make mountain road driving or track work a breeze, but in actuality the buttons are hard to find under duress (as when the wheel is cranked at hard angles or moving fast), and the system tends to be more a distraction than a help. Larger buttons or paddles would help, but perhaps they would lead to accidental shifts. In any case, the Lexus’ automatic transmission shifts responsively all by itself, so the buttons are not often needed. If you plant your thumbs and keep them there, the manual mode works well.
All four drivers commented that the Lexus was the most fun car of the group, with the sharpest edge, and nearly everyone picked it as first choice for an all-day drive through the mountains. The “fun” factor can also be attributed to the car’s ability to thread through our slalom exercise with sports-car-like results, with the speedometer averaging 65.6 mph. And around the 200-ft. skidpad, its ability to generate 0.91g of lateral acceleration also leads the group in road-holding skills. Several, however, commented that the firmness and slightly nervous nature of the car might make it a second or third choice for a long cross-country road trip.
Lexus LS 300Where the IS 300 scored lowest—at least for part of our group — was in styling, particularly the interior. One editor thought the chronograph-faced instruments, chromed shift gate treatment and drilled-look pedals gave an “imitation jazzy stuff” look to the interior and thought the overall styling might not age well, becoming invisible a few years down the road. But, generally speaking, the younger the editor, the more the styling was liked. Our youngest thought it was the best-looking car in the group and had the most interesting interior, which speaks well for the car’s future market. So does the fact that it’s the least expensive car in this group by an eyebrow-raising margin. Everyone agreed that, functionally, it’s an exciting car to drive, with a foundation of solid, thoughtful engineering under its exuberant and spirited personality.
By the numbers alone, the Lexus IS 300 comes out on top of this sports-sedan comparison test. However, it did so not by winning the Performance or the Subjective ratings, but by closely trailing the BMW and the Mercedes in both categories and pulling ahead with its least expensive sticker price. The second-place 330i, like the other cars in this test — but more so — is a sports car with the impedimenta of practicality attached (or, more accurately, hanging on for dear life), an inspired generalist, not for the middle of the road, but for every kind of road.
1. Lexus IS 300
580.9 points
On the flip side of the Volvo’s conservative grace, we have the IS 300, which is markedly the most sports car-like in the group. It’s a taut, nimble car that feels smaller and quicker on its feet than any of the others and revs with a silky, high-winding snarl.
The IS 300’s sporting personality is evident the minute you climb in. The seat is comfortable, but firm and supportive as a custom-fitted racing bucket; the shift lever sticks up in a simple chromed ball, like an old Ferrari; and the view down the hood is one of trim narrowness. That sporting theme is reiterated with “drilled-look” brushed metal covers over the pedals and a speedometer face that looks like a Swiss chronograph.
Heading onto the track (or winding road), you immediately notice the quick, accurate steering, a sense that the IS 300 has the least rubber in its joints of any car here. It accelerates hard with a race-car-like wail (the other cars sound as if they are inhaling at speed, most of their fury coming from induction noise, while the Lexus actually has an exhaust note). In corners, the IS 300 is quite tossable and, more than the others, it seems possible to trail-brake the Lexus’ tail out a little to help it rotate in tight corners, but it never gets seriously out of shape, thanks to the usual face-saving — and fender-saving — driveline technologies.
With traction control switched on, the effect is quite pronounced and it’s hard to exit a corner with any authority. Even with TC off, it is still slow to give you much drive coming off slow corners. However, it should be noted that all the cars in this test exhibited a reluctance to lay down any hard, uninterrupted exit power, even in their Sport modes, limiting the amount of racetrack fun we could have, compared with an unassisted bare-bones manual-transmission car. Too much safety, at least for the track.
The bright side to this traction and yaw control picture is that it almost takes an act of God to push or spin any one of these cars off the track, and on the highway — or a mountain road — you’d have to drive off a cliff to lose traction, or commit some other major act of brain fade. We did manage to spin the BMW, but only by aggressively trying to do so — in the rain on an off-camber corner on the Streets of Willow.
A feature unique to the IS 300 (in this group) is a set of manual-mode shift buttons on the steering wheel, sort of like F1 paddle shifters in miniature. There’s a small downshift button embedded in the front side of both steering-wheel spokes, with corresponding upshift buttons on the backside. Theoretically, this should make mountain road driving or track work a breeze, but in actuality the buttons are hard to find under duress (as when the wheel is cranked at hard angles or moving fast), and the system tends to be more a distraction than a help. Larger buttons or paddles would help, but perhaps they would lead to accidental shifts. In any case, the Lexus’ automatic transmission shifts responsively all by itself, so the buttons are not often needed. If you plant your thumbs and keep them there, the manual mode works well.
All four drivers commented that the Lexus was the most fun car of the group, with the sharpest edge, and nearly everyone picked it as first choice for an all-day drive through the mountains. The “fun” factor can also be attributed to the car’s ability to thread through our slalom exercise with sports-car-like results, with the speedometer averaging 65.6 mph. And around the 200-ft. skidpad, its ability to generate 0.91g of lateral acceleration also leads the group in road-holding skills. Several, however, commented that the firmness and slightly nervous nature of the car might make it a second or third choice for a long cross-country road trip.
Lexus LS 300Where the IS 300 scored lowest—at least for part of our group — was in styling, particularly the interior. One editor thought the chronograph-faced instruments, chromed shift gate treatment and drilled-look pedals gave an “imitation jazzy stuff” look to the interior and thought the overall styling might not age well, becoming invisible a few years down the road. But, generally speaking, the younger the editor, the more the styling was liked. Our youngest thought it was the best-looking car in the group and had the most interesting interior, which speaks well for the car’s future market. So does the fact that it’s the least expensive car in this group by an eyebrow-raising margin. Everyone agreed that, functionally, it’s an exciting car to drive, with a foundation of solid, thoughtful engineering under its exuberant and spirited personality.
By the numbers alone, the Lexus IS 300 comes out on top of this sports-sedan comparison test. However, it did so not by winning the Performance or the Subjective ratings, but by closely trailing the BMW and the Mercedes in both categories and pulling ahead with its least expensive sticker price. The second-place 330i, like the other cars in this test — but more so — is a sports car with the impedimenta of practicality attached (or, more accurately, hanging on for dear life), an inspired generalist, not for the middle of the road, but for every kind of road.
10-07-04, 12:46 AM
#3
I remember my co-worker sharing that article with me when I was deciding what car to purchase. It was one of the reasons I decided to look at the IS and add it to my list.
10-07-04, 09:56 AM
#4
Super Moderator
Originally posted by rominl
wow that's something! frankly i am surprised tha the is300 surpass the 330i!
wow that's something! frankly i am surprised tha the is300 surpass the 330i!
10-07-04, 10:54 AM
#5
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Originally posted by SexySC
It won the comparison test based on value, but a win is a win, there's nothing wrong with that
It won the comparison test based on value, but a win is a win, there's nothing wrong with that
Can't wait to see the 2nd gen.
)
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10-07-04, 12:16 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
Originally posted by rominl
wow that's something! frankly i am surprised tha the is300 surpass the 330i!
wow that's something! frankly i am surprised tha the is300 surpass the 330i!
Need I say more ?
:
10-07-04, 12:53 PM
#9
Super Moderator
Originally posted by mmarshall
If it surpasses THIS 330i, Henry, just think of what it will do to the NEXT 330i .........a Chris Bangle design.
Need I say more ?
:
If it surpasses THIS 330i, Henry, just think of what it will do to the NEXT 330i .........a Chris Bangle design.
Need I say more ?
:
10-07-04, 01:42 PM
#10
Originally posted by SexySC
It won the comparison test based on value, but a win is a win, there's nothing wrong with that
It won the comparison test based on value, but a win is a win, there's nothing wrong with that
dunno, if you talk about value and reliability, yes. but if you talk about fun factor and the performance, sorry to say but the 330i edge over the is300 easy imho
10-10-04, 10:13 PM
#14
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Posts: n/a
Originally posted by SexySC
I think Bangle designed the current 330 as well.
I think Bangle designed the current 330 as well.
Originally posted by amy011079
wow! awesome article! that is so cool! thanks for posting this Mike!
wow! awesome article! that is so cool! thanks for posting this Mike!
10-11-04, 03:54 AM
#15
Originally posted by 1SICKLEX
THe 330 was pretty much signed off before he got his hands on it. You can see the current Bangle influence on the new updated 3 cars..
Thanks Amy. I get pretty much every magazine possible and buy anyone that has Lexus in it. So it disturbs me when I see so many people just attack Lexus for being boring or not winning, when in fact, they have made cars the automotive press loves.
THe 330 was pretty much signed off before he got his hands on it. You can see the current Bangle influence on the new updated 3 cars..
Thanks Amy. I get pretty much every magazine possible and buy anyone that has Lexus in it. So it disturbs me when I see so many people just attack Lexus for being boring or not winning, when in fact, they have made cars the automotive press loves.