John Oxley is thrilled that Lexus has chosen to put its new 2-litre turbo engine into the mid-sized IS.
The Lexus IS has always been a good car, but one of its weak points was that it only came with six-cylinder engines, limiting fuel economy potential, packaging, and overall balance.
This mean the IS250 and IS350 were outclassed by their German rivals in terms of performance and handling, so when Lexus announced it had developed a new turbo-charged four-cylinder motor, complete with trick Atkinson cycle mode for better economy, well the gloves started to peel off.
At first the engine was only offered in the NX SUV, but more was promised, and now it’s available in the IS, in both standard IS200t and the more upmarket IS200t F Sport, as tested here.
And what a corker of an engine it is, pushing out 180kW and massive torque of 350Nm from only 2-litres. What’s more, it’s totally useable power, for the IS gets the power right down onto the road, with excellent traction and great road holding.
I’d say this is the best-handling four-door car in the Lexus stable, were it not for the IS-F; certainly it’s agile and sporty, while offering the superb levels of ride comfort we’ve come to expect from Lexus.
Styling, of course, is subjective, but this is also the first of the “spindle grille” Lexus models that I actually like; the aggressive F Sport front end suits the car, especially when the car is red, as our test vehicle was, ably assisted by the side styling and the titanium-look alloy wheels and strong rear lines.
The interior is luxurious and sporting at the same time, with a fat-rimmed leather-covered steering wheel with contrasting stitching that matches the leather-covered seats and the dash top. The analogue clock in the centre of the dash is a nice touch, but the passenger side of the dash looks a bit old-fashioned and clunky.
Which is in stark contrast to the ieight-inch colour TFT nstrument cluster, for this is a spaceage LCD panel which changes the instrumentation depending on how you choose to drive the car, and what information you want to look at.
Choose the Sport + setting on the drive mode switch, and it becomes a racing machine, with the most important gauge now the rev counter!, while the colour changes depending on how many revs you’re using, becoming red when you top 6,600rpm!
As to be expected, the IS200t comes well equipped, and gets a superb infortainment system operated by the Lexus mouse device between the seats. There’s full Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, as well as voice recognition, plus satellite navigation, reversing camera, satellite controls on the steering wheel, adaptive radar controlled cruise control, lane departure alert, power adjustment of the tilt and reach steering, aluminium sports pedals, lots of F Sport trim bits, dual zone climate aircon with outlets front and rear, and smart key entry with push-button start.
Safety features include no fewer than eight airbags, and there’s also hill start assist, blind sport monitor, lane departure alert, and the pre-crash safety system with pup-up bonnet to absorb collision impact.
There’s an excellent high resolution reversing camera with guidance lines, plus four front and four rear parking sensors.
As with most cars the IS has grown since the original car was introduced back in the late ‘90s, and interior space back and front is much improved. Boot space is good, too, although pretty much average in size, and as with all things Lexus, it’s the attention to detail that counts, sucxh as having four tie-down hooks in the booth, big side pockets in the front doors, and seat back pockets in the rear.
Getting comfy behind the wheel is easy, thanks to eight-way power adjustment, as well as either heating or cooling of the seats, power adjustable lumbar support, and three memory settings.
In summary, as mentioned, Lexus is all about fine detail, and the way things are put together. In the past Lexus models have been a bit behind the eight ball in terms of out-and-out performance, although refinement has always been there; however, this is now changing, and Lexus can challenge the premium car establishment on all levels.
Specifications:
Body type - Four-door sedan
Drive - Rear wheels
Engine type - Inline 4-cyl. petrol turbo
Engine capacity - 1,998cc
Max power - 180kW/5,800rpm
Max torque - 350Nm/1,650-4,400rpm
Fuel consumption - 7.5L/100km
C02 emissions - 175g/km
0-100km/h - 7 secs
Front suspension - Double wishbone
Rear suspension - Multilink
Roof rack - No
ABS brakes - Yes
Air bags - Eight
Stability programme - Yes
Air conditioning - Dual zone climate
Lap/diagonal belts - Five
Satellite navigation - Yes
Electric seats - Yes
Burglar alarm- Yes
Panic button - No
Boot release - Yes
Cargo cover - N/A
Boot capacity - 480 litres
Wheel type - Alloy
Spare tyre - Space saver
ANCAP rating - Five stars
Price - $83,900
