Sporty? Really?
by David Finlay (04 Aug 06)

The second-generation Lexus IS is recognisably similar to the one it replaced at the turn of the year, but there have been quite a few changes. Physically, it's significantly longer and wider (for more interior room and better handling), and in styling terms it features the new L-Finesse design philosophy which Lexus is introducing across its model range.

The old IS was a handsome machine, and the new one is too, but I can't help feeling that one of the effects of L-Finesse has been to make the car look less adventurous than it used to. In particular, I miss the wonderful arrangement of dials on the instrument panel, with its suggestion of a clock whose casing had been removed. Nowadays the dials are . . . well, just dials, really.

Lexus has given the IS a 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine, and expects it to account for two-thirds of sales. It's probably the more sensible buy, but spare a thought for the 204bhp 2.5-litre petrol V6 under the bonnet of the IS250. As with most Lexus engines, it is amazingly quiet, to the point where you're hardly aware of it at all in cruising mode.

Wind noise is very low, too - that was part of the design brief - but there's a lot of road rumble. It could be that you're conscious of this because all the other sound effects have been so well suppressed, but I'm not sure; I think more could be done to stop tyre noise coming into the cabin.

Six-speed manual transmission comes as standard, and there's the £1000 option of a six-speed automatic as fitted to the test car. The automatic is inevitably slower, though there's not much in it. The 0-62mph performance, for example, falls only slightly, from 8.1 to 8.4 seconds.

More . . .

Lexus IS250 SE Auto Video Test
Lexus Gallery
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