arentz07

I've had my 2016 IS 300 F Sport for just about 18 months, and that amount of time has given me time to fully get used to the car and appreciate it for what it is, in terms of both strengths and weaknesses. I've driven the car nearly every day since it first was parked in my garage, and it has seen all sorts of conditions. I wanted to share my experience with forum members as well as lurkers who just want to know more about the third-gen IS. As someone who had no idea what he wanted when shopping for this very car, I could see how this perspective would be useful. So, I'll try to keep things concise but detailed all the same.



So what is this car exactly? If you've ever heard of the BMW 3-Series or Mercedes C-Class, you may think of the IS as Lexus's riff on those quintessential German sport sedans. Lexus introduced the IS in 1998 with stealing sales away from BMW as their goal. While the third-generation car has grown and evolved, it stays pretty close to the intent of the first model. It has tidy overall dimensions with a characteristically rear-wheel drive shape, giving it an athletic look. The overall tuning of the IS is on the firm and sporty side to imply a responsive driving experience. Just like the '99, it has unique styling to set it apart from its competitors as well.

As for my particular car, let's rewind to 2016. I was having a rough year at my job - I was just feeling unproductive and not rewarded for what I did produce. What's more - I was driving a Toyota Camry to work every day! With these two problems, I needed a solution. I decided to push for a promotion. Through working with my manager, doing extra things outside my day-to-day responsibilities, and taking on some high-profile projects, I was able to get that promotion. It was the first time I had been promoted, which called for a celebration. Good-bye Camry, hello, financial mistake! That is, I mean... Hello, Lexus IS!

This really is a "I made it" type of car for people in their 20's. Even Regular Car Reviews referred to the second-generation IS 350 as such. The similarly-priced and -featured 3-series is a dime a dozen with the 20-somethings here in Kansas City who have just landed their first well-paying jobs. The IS is a less common sight than either that Bimmer or the Merc, which is partly what attracted me to it, not to mention Lexus's stellar reliability record. Really though, the reason I went with the IS as opposed to something like a Mustang or BRZ was mainly down to practicality and comfort. I wanted a car that my wife wouldn't mind being a passenger in or possibly driving, as well as something with all-wheel drive to better handle the winters in Kansas City. (To be fair, a rear- or front-wheel drive car would do fine here with snow tires, but if it's going to be rear-drive-based, all-wheel drive is less likely to run into issues.)

The Review

I will be rating attributes of the vehicle on a scale of to .



Exterior

The exterior design of the IS F Sport is an interesting one, with lots of elements which mostly work together to create an appearance that people either love or hate. For me, I wouldn't have this vehicle any other way. Though I've had a couple of individuals refer to the spindle grill up front as being "weird" or "looks like an oversized shield-thingy" (real quote), the car undeniably has visual interest. Even though the car has some overstyled elements, such as the headlight lenses and fake air intakes to each side of the lower portion of the grill (the ones which normally house fog lights in non-F-Sport cars), I think the car has a cohesive design. If you look at one small portion of the exterior, it's recognizable as being distinctively an IS in addition to just a Lexus.


Sorry for the thumb in the bottom-left of this photo...

In addition to the shapes of the exterior, the color I chose, Atomic Silver, is also distinctive, and is unlike many other silvers and grays offered on competing models. The color debuted on the IS for the 2014 model year, and it's easy to see why. Through its dynamic appearance based on lighting conditions, the paint emphasizes the creases and lines of the car without shouting. It also complements the metallic gray F Sport wheels nicely, which are stunning wheels in their own right, with design practically lifted directly from the legendary LFA's wheels.



Overall, I would give this car's exterior a rating of . I choose this mainly because it's a car I look back at after a good drive and also due to the fact that most people I give a ride, if not all, give compliments on it.

Interior

The IS F Sport has a tight, cockpit-like seating environment, with some stylized touches scattered throughout. One of the first features I noticed when test-driving the IS was the seat. To this day, after 18 months of ownership, I still admire the supportive yet comfortable seats, which are soft enough for a day's worth of driving but well-bolstered enough for warm, if not hot, driving. There are some soft-touch plastics in places where metal or vinyl wouldn't have gone amiss, such as the majority of the dashboard and the center console, but fortunately the interior is attractive to the eyes, overall. This attractiveness is helped out in part by the uniquely-colored Rioja Red seating.



This example has some appreciated comfort features, such as automatic two-zone climate control, power lumbar support for the driver, and heated and ventilated seats along with a heated steering wheel. While the seat temperature controls are welcome features, I often wish they would operate somewhat more quickly. In addition, the ventilation sometimes blows warm air instead of cool when the ambient temp is high. Included on every IS is also a power sunroof, which definitely enhances the boulevard cruising side of driving this car.

Oh, and there's a lovely, smooth, soft, black headliner included on the F Sport. Actual quote from me to my wife when test-driving it: "Ah, the headliner feels nice. That's how you know you're in a luxury car."



Rear seats are not exactly capacious, but they do the job for anyone six feet tall or shorter. The headroom is quite good for the class, and the rear doesn't feel cramped to me, a 5' 11", 155-lb guy. The folding rear seats also made it quite easy to transport a 40-inch television and its TV stand (in its box) home from the local Best Buy. Overall, the practicality of the IS isn't any appreciably less than your average mainsteam compact.



The rear doors maintain the same material quality as the fronts, meaning soft-touch upper sections, padded leatherette armrests, and "Silver Performance Trim" around the window switches. Though cheesy and obviously not real, the trim does serve to brighten things up. Edit: I've since learned that this trim is made of real aluminum. Nice job, Lexus!

Overall, the interior gets a solid . This isn't the highest-quality interior in the class, but it stands out in terms of appearance and has some unique touches.

Infotainment and UX



If you read any major car reviewer's publications, you might be familiar with the woes of the Remote Touch Interface employed by this very vehicle. Using the joystick/mouse-like mechanism to make menu selections can take some practice, but within a couple of weeks I was flying all over the menus. Sometimes intentionally.

Joking aside, it's not a complete failure of a system, but it makes for clumsy moments, especially when typing in search terms during destination entry. It's quite a shame, since the navigation guidance itself is rather awesome. It features visual previews of road signs for exits and not-terribly-annoying narration. Thankfully, aside from the controller itself, the menus are not hard to understand, if a bit slow to navigate, and there are a surprising number of features, such as 3-D rendering of buildings and an "Areas to Avoid" setting. I guess I don't need to drive through Troost Avenue or Prospect Road ever again, at least not in this Lexus.

The temperature controls are nifty touch-sensitive metal sliders which are a big wow-factor for new passengers. They work well enough, but most of the time set it and forget it is my approach with climate control. I rarely have to touch the temperature or direction of the air except when turning it completely off or forcing the defroster to operate. When I do have to make said adjustments, thank the Lexus gods that they included physical buttons for everything climate-related.

And of course, we have to mention the F-Sport instrument cluster. Is it a silly inclusion on this not-an-LFA? Probably. But, "It's still cool" as one of my friends said. As far as actual information, it doesn't offer much over a standard multi-information display, but it presents it in a crisp, stylized format. The sliding tachometer ring is a nifty touch, even if it adds nearly nothing functionally.

Overall I'd give the UX another solid . While it has its foibles, it is usually pleasing to operate this car's gadgets.

Driving Experience



The real star of the IS show is how it drives. From the moment I test-drove the car, I knew it was going to be a special car to drive in many different scenarios. After testing out a 328i and an A4 Premium Plus, I was convinced the IS was the most special of the three. Here's why.

Let's start with the steering. The IS F Sport's steering is nice and heavy, which was its first attribute I noticed compared with cars I had previously piloted. It didn't feel unnaturally heavy, but rather gave the sense that I was making something happen when turning the wheel. The steering ratio is quick enough to make most turns less laborious than they would be in a Nissan Sentra, but the IS never feels darty either. Out on the highway, the car felt stable, but not reluctant to change lanes. Sport mode increases the feeling of stability by removing some of the electric power assistance. The steering wheel itself, too, is wrapped in a decently soft leather and is a good size for some sporty driving. The steering may well be the part of the car that drew me to it the most initially.

Moving on to the engine and power, there's an elephant in the room that must be addressed. The 2016 IS 300 AWD uses a nerfed version of the IS 350's 3.5-liter direct- and port-injected V-6 engine, producing 255 horsepower compared with the 350's 306 horsepower. However, at the end of the day, it's still the same engine, and it should drive mostly the same, except for the power at the top of the tachometer. In "normal" sedate driving, it's a smooth operator, with no grainy sounds at low RPMs or unwanted loudness. There was a slight whine from the engine, which has been supposed to be normal for IS, RC, and GS models with this engine, but otherwise, it's refined. When the gas pedal gets used, the engine responds quickly. Thanks to only having six gears, it takes no time at all for the transmission to find the proper gear for passing. While this car won't prepare you for NASA with its levels of G-forces, it does have enough power to satisfy once in a while and won't embarrass itself versus a modded diesel F-250. Don't ask me how I know that...

Next, the gearbox. The six-speed transmission is quite an interesting one, with some quirks that take a bit of getting used to. It tends to hold first gear a bit longer than second, which can make the car feel somewhat sluggish if you try to drive it like every other car. I usually will gradually press the pedal farther as second gear engages to even out the acceleration. When my wife drives, it always feels a bit jerky through first gear, since she hasn't adjusted to it yet. However, the transmission's gearing helps to make the car feel like it is eager from a stop. The manual shift mode contributes to this less so. When driving in a relaxed manner, manual shifts are delayed and not smooth. For trundling the streets, automatic shifting is the best way to go. However, if you plan to really flog the IS on some fun roads, manual mode works well. The gearbox seems to respond more quickly when the engine RPMs are higher, and the shifts are executed more quickly as well.

Finally, I'd like to talk briefly about handling. This might be a predictable part of this review, but suffice it to say that the IS strikes a great balance between commuter-friendly and back-road-ready suspension and overall tuning. It's shockingly a great handler while remaining good as a commuter car. However, when you push the car past about 80%, you can tell it was designed with this compromise in mind. There's noticeable body roll when cornering hard, and the steering can go a bit numb unless you are well into that body roll. The steering has a modicum of feedback in Sport mode, but it isn't half as telegraphic as a last-generation 3-series, though still manages to be much better than the current 3-series. Go figure. The car does very well for itself in neutral handling situations (off-throttle), and exiting corners with early power is possible. However, understeer is inherent in this car's handling profile thanks to its aggressive stability control, above-average curb weight, and conservatively-tuned all-wheel-drive system. That isn't to say this car isn't fun to drive on twisty roads, but the actual abilities of the car don't make it fun. The engine sound, the firm shifts of the transmission, and of course the dual personality of the car are what make it more exciting to drive hard. Make no mistake, the IS 300 AWD F Sport doesn't get 1.0 G of lateral grip on a skidpad, but it doesn't need to in order to provide an experience that is honestly addicting. For that reason, the driving experience get a rating of .

Other Stuff

I ended up parking in show parking at KC Cars and Coffee once, in a somewhat-accident, somewhat-"Why the heck not?" event. I missed the turn for spectator parking and just kept driving,oblivious to what I was doing. Luckily some nice people remarked that I should come back, since they rarely see newer Lexus models at the meet.

I took the IS on an eight-hour, twisty road trip on the MO-76 highway. I didn't push the car very hard in the turns, since it was somewhat new at the time, but it felt confident despite the elevation changes and tight corners. The combination of that amazing road and this car was sublime. Not to mention, I didn't have any back pain! The seat did its job well.

Conclusion

Overall - would I buy this car again? Probably not! Let me explain...

To clarify, I like this car a lot, but it does feel somewhat held-back. I think the IS 350, in either AWD or RWD form would offer a more complete experience. I would especially prefer the RWD model, given its eight-speed transmission and lower weight, but I'd also like to be realistic about its usability in deep snow. Nonetheless, I like the car enough to go all-in on a fully loaded model, but that's assuming some of the competition doesn't woo me first. There are some really compelling, higher-performing, more luxurious options out there... In a vacuum, the IS is amazing, but it has some great alternatives which I am already considering for its replacement.

I hope this giant post had at least a couple of useful nuggets for new and old owners alike, and that it wasn't too long. Thanks for checking it out.

UPDATE: 10/1/2018

If there was any complaint I had about the car's handling before, I've pretty much sorted said complaint out by switching to new and improved tires. After 22,000 miles, my Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02 tires were shot, at least in the front. I decided to go ahead and replace all four with something offering more performance. I picked up a set of the BFGoodrich G-Force Comp-2 A/S, and so far, they've proven to be superior to the OE tires. The only downside I have found thus far has been some faint humming while at highway speeds (i.e., 65-75 MPH). That said, it's obvious from the first time you take a corner that the BFGs have more grip reserves, and the additional sidewall stiffness improves the steering feel considerably. So if you're going to mod this car - start with tires!

RKSTRAT

Great review! But it was disappointing that you wouldn't buy it again :-).

Just to add, I got a great deal on my 2017 IS300, and they didn't have any 2017 IS350 leftovers.
For me the deal was part of the choice. I wanted a 2017 IS350, but overall I probably saved over $5K versus
a 2018 IS350. I rationalize it with the only difference being above 4000 RPM. You really need manual shifting
to hold the higher RPMs anyway.

"While this car won't prepare you for NASA with its levels of G-forces...."
Remember, our IS300s do have the G-force gauge! :-)

arentz07

Well, to be fair, I neglected to talk about Sport mode, which will hold the revs high if you really get hard on the gas and brakes. I might edit that into the review somehow. Sport mode is pretty good for sporty driving. I just prefer manually shifting.

Stewm785

Flash5

Xanadu350

GNS

Thanks for the detailed review, I particularly liked the driving / handling section along with the mention of the steering feedback. Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

GNS

I'm also waiting for the 4th gen IS350, it's supposedly coming very soon. Someone over on Lexus Enthusiast said that it'll be a 2020 model year, so in 2019 calendar year. Some say that it's likely going to be 2021 model year, so right on 2020 itself. Either way, I'm hoping for the 10 speed transmission for both RWD/AWD models, the TNGA platform, and hopefully some power boosts to the V6 (if not, a full upgrade to a detuned 943F TTV6 would be sweeter).

unknownkid

Interesting review, yours is one of the more positive ones out there. People like to hang the negatives over our heads but reliability will always be on the top of my priorities.

jmull3r

iTrader: (1)

jennypenny

Awesome review. Very detailed.

arentz07

I wish I had gotten the RWD 350 F Sport from time to time, but then again, I am not an expert driver and am glad the winters are a non-event for this AWD one. But yeah, it's pretty rare to see the 3IS in KC - other than maybe in the Plaza I guess? That's where I've seen them the most, but it makes sense, since that's also the only place I have seen some high-end cars like Bentleys...

Anyway, cheers to a fellow KC area resident!

Stewm785

arentz07

Since writing the original review, I've had the car another 10 months, in that time, I've had a lot of things happen:

First of all, I got new tires. I replaced the OE Bridgestone Turanza EL-400-02 with BFGoodrich G-Force Comp-2 A/S. The OE tires had pretty bad inner tire wear by 21,000, so it was time to move on - and upgrade. The new tires really allow the IS to grip the road a lot better than the stock all-seasons, especially when it's wet or icy outside. It's a lot easier to hold a line around a corner in the snow now. Dry grip is also particularly impressive when it's warm. Overall these tires lean on the sporty side, and consequently improve the driving enjoyment of my IS. Since then, I've driven in the snow several times and am impressed at how easy it is to drive the IS in snow - even with all the systems shut off.



I've also tried cleaning the steering wheel using Lexol, which seems to provide temporary relief from the tacky feeling that can crop up over time. It definitely works, but I think I might be trying out E46CT's method of using 1z as well.



All in all, the IS has been doing fine. I definitely think the tires have improved it a ton over the stock tires. I am realizing more and more that the 350 isn't mandatory for fun driving in terms of the IS line. Just need to find a good road.

aniks

Great review! I have to ask, do the BF Goodrich's still make the noise at higher speeds? I'm thinking of upgrading my tires in the next few months and those had been recommended by a friend (although that friend has an outback).