Australian New Car Buyer – June 2019

AUSTRALIAN NEW CAR & SUV BUYER’S GUIDE | 87

T

he Lexus IS sedan range
opens with the 180kW
2.0-litre turbopetrol four-
cylinder IS 300, available in
Luxury, F Sport and Sports
Luxury grades, priced at
$59,340, $66,820 and $77,380
respectively.
The 233kW 3.6-litre V6 IS 350
is available in the same
grades, priced at $65,101,
$72,880 and $83,500.
Hybrid power is also available
as an alternative to diesel with
the IS300h, priced at $61,890 for
the Luxury, $70,310 for F Sport
and $81,160 for Sports Luxury.
Two door coupe RC models
open with the RC300 Luxury at
$69,874. F Sport is $74,529.
RC350 Luxury is $69,874; F
Sport is $77,529.
The go fast RC F, with a 351kW
5.0-litre V8, is $134,129; the
Track Edition is $165,690.

The Lexus petrol/electric

drivetrain, which uses a 2.5-litre

four-cylinder engine, develops

164kW, drives the IS to 100km/h

in a respectable, if hardly sporty,

8.5 seconds and averages fuel

consumption of 4.9L/100km.

I haven’t yet driven the IS 300

but I’d suggest that it is probably

the pick of the range because

the four’s lighter weight will

have a less detrimental effect

on the car’s handling than the

3.5-litre V6 in the IS350.

This engine has several

redeeming features, not the

least of which is a potent,

responsive and very tuneful top

end, characteristic of a naturally

aspirated six, and an eight-speed

automatic that, in day-to-day

driving, effectively compensates

for its lack of lower midrange

and bottom-end torque by

unobtrusively picking the right

gear most of the time.

It does get confused when

you want to exploit the IS’s

performance potential on a tight

road, though.

Lexus still does not properly

understand what Sport means,

and in this mode, or the sharper

Sport+, the shifts are too late and/

or too slow because of relatively

dimwitted programming.

BMW’s eight-speed auto and

Audi’s S-Tronic transmissions are

faster, smoother and much more

in sync with your intentions when

driving enthusiastically.

As with the previous IS, the car

feels secure and agile, however

it’s still nose-heavy.

Diving into a tight corner at

speed sees prodigious understeer

and intervention from the stability

control, in part also because the

Bridgestone Turanza tyres (on the

IS 350 F Sport test car) aren’t the

stickiest in the world.

The steering itself is precise, if

S LEXUS IS FROM $59,340

THINGS WE LIKE

 Loaded and excellent value

 Rev-happy atmo six-power

 Outstanding quality, reliability

and customer service

 Luxurious driver’s seat

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE

Eight-speed is slower than the

rest of the car

Thirsty

Understeer in tight corners

Limited storage

SPEX (IS 350 F Sport)

Made in Japan

3.5-litre V6 petrol/eight-speed

automatic/rear-wheel drive

233kW or power at 6400rpm/

378Nm of torque at 4800rpm

0–100km in 5.9 seconds (claimed)

7.4L/100km highway; 13.7L/100km

city; 95 octane premium; CO 2

emissions are 225g/km

Warranty: Four years/100,000km

Standard: 10 airbags, stability

control, leather upholstery, 18-

inch alloy wheels with 225/40

(front) and 255/35 (rear) tyres,

leather upholstery, Bluetooth

with voice control, Mark Levinson

audio, DAB+, navigation with

SUNA traffi c updates, reversing

camera, blind spot monitor

Redbook future values: 3yr: 43%;

5yr: 31%

compare with ...

Audi A4, Alfa Giulia, BMW 3 Series,

Mercedes C and CLA, Jaguar XE

Safety

ANCAP

Green Vehicle Guide

Performance

Handling

Quality and reliability

Comfort and refi nement

Value for money



Overall



STARS

quite remote in feel, the ride (on

the F Sport’s low-profi le tyres) is

slightly terse but tolerable, and

the brakes are up to the job.

In the F Sport you sit in a

luxurious, fully-bolstered sports

chair with suffi cient travel to suit

anyone and good vision around

the car. The world’s grooviest

thin-fi lm-transistor instruments

are clear and informative, but the

infotainment system is complex,

gimmicky and light years behind

the German equivalents. There’s

not a lot of oddment storage

close at hand either.

Legroom in the back seat is

comparable with a 3 Series.

Boot space is adequate, there’s

a 60/40 split-fold rear-seat

extension and a temporary spare.

The IS 350 F Sport has a

strong price attraction against

the likes of BMW’s 340i and the

Mercedes CLA45 AMG, both of

which cost around $90,000.

However, the bottom line here

is that, as a drive, the Lexus

remains a less than convincing

effort against its German rivals,

and Alfa Romeo’s Giulia.