It's a while since we tested a Lexus IS 200, and this is a model worth a re-visit, because we weren't impressed with the suspension control of the original Sport model we drove. At least, while there were plenty of other things we admired about the car, the way it responded to bumps and brows wasn't one of them.So now here's the SE, one step down the IS 200 ladder and one group down for insurance. I still think an extra few weeks' work on the front-end styling would have helped the overall appearance, and I haven't lost my active dislike for the scab-on-pale-skin rear light design, but in general this is a neat-looking contender in the compact executive class.You certainly can't fault the IS 200 for fit or finish, inside or out. This is where you have to acknowledge the whole ethos of Lexus, which is to be the Toyota group's premium brand. Build quality of this standard just isn't available in more run-of-the-mill two-litre saloons.And there's no denying that the IS 200 has the most beautiful array of chronometer-style instruments, not just in its class but of any saloon on the market, far more elegant than absolutely any kind of all-digital display. I said at the time of our IS 200 Sport test that if I owned one of these cars I'd want to take the instrument panel into the house with me at night, and that's still the case. The SE even had me paying unusual attention to the fuel economy gauge, as I tried to keep the needle hovering around the 40mpg mark on a long trip on French autoroutes.The SE comes with 17" alloy wheels and the low profile tyres which I think are as unnecessary here as they are on a whole lot of other cars. In daily use, let's face it, ride quality is more important than anything like on-the-limit handling. People who insist on taking the opposite view just aren't living in the real world. Yet the SE felt more composed than the Sport, still with the same very accurate steering, on a trip which also included a fair amount of country-road driving.Mind you, it was country-road driving well away from the CARkeys neck of the woods, and that may be the significant point. Our cousins on the Continent - and in Lexusland - just don't see the point of starting to create a road network by tarring over bumpy bits of landscape. They flatten the bumps out first.The SE interior is well presented, with seats upholstered in a mixture of leather and perforated velour. I thought the leather-trimmed and just-the-right-size steering wheel is the kind of thing some manufacturers would offer as an extra-cost option rather than standard. Rear cabin space is middling for the class, but I was impressed by the amount of luggage the boot would take. A couple of us transferred clobber that had seemed to fill most of the room in the back of a big 4x4, yet the Lexus swallowed it without any problem.As with the Sport, the smooth-running two-litre VVT-i engine sounded really fine, and the metal-topped gear lever of the six-speed manual box snuck sweetly through the well-stacked forward ratios. Wafting along the motorways, the SE was a relaxed cruiser, but on ordinary main roads it didn't seem to have much "bite". There's no sensation of an abundance of torque anywhere in the rev range.Overall, there seems to be something holding the IS 200 back unless you really give it the works, although that may be an illusion brought about by how smoothly it runs.If anything thing I've said here suggests that I didn't enjoy the SE, that's by no means the impression I mean to give. I liked this car a lot, and I can see that running one every day would be a pleasure. You can't beat quality, after all.The standard warranty runs for three years or 60,000 miles, but it can be extended to an extra year for £495, or two years for £870, up to a limit of seven years and 140,000 miles.If you want the Lexus Navigator System, add £2340 to the price. And bear in mind that if you want Navigator plus something from the Bespoke Colour Portofolio then there's a waiting time of up to three months.One of these days I'll ask how much a spare instrument array would cost, just to have as an ornament on the wall somewhere. Engine 1998cc, 6 cylinders Power 153bhp Transmission 6-speed manual Fuel/CO2 29.1mpg / 231g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.5 seconds Top speed 134mph Price £20,235 Details correct at publication date
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