So what's the verdict on the new Lexus IS? Stud or Dud?

THE BEST CARS MADE AND SOLD IN THE USA.. THE GERMANS CAN NOT KEEP UP .. THE LEX WILL NOT BREAK.. CAN NOT SAY THAT ABOUT THE BMW OR THE MB THEY STAY IN THE SHOP!!!! ROLL ON LEXUS

Definitely looks more like a Scion than the current model. Long live Scion. I like the wheels, interior seems decent (wood grain only on the center console though?), and not as boring as other Lexus models, but I didn't think the current IS was boring per se anyway. This will only come with about a 200 hp engine though right? Can someone confirm or deny this?

I don't see how the IS will ever touch the 3-series as long as they stay that underpowered. At least Infiniti had the decency to put a big (compared to the 3) engine with more impressive numbers in their G35s. Not that people care they have a ton more power than the 3-series...

It DOES look like a Solara! Too bad, with so much to go on from the current design, Lexus went conservative (too many focus groups?). Getting better, fo sho!

Looks sporty, better than the 3 series but this design will be boring after 2 years.

First Lexus disappoints us with the GS and THAT design, now we were expecting the IS to look like this:

http://www.autospies.com/article/index.asp?articleId=3817


And OMG another letdown! It should'nt be a mini GS, it should be in a class by itself!

WHERE is the Finesse in LF-S?

Gorgeous


Beautiful


Hot


Even hotter

Lex1,

Toyota has decided to build the all-new FJ Cruiser, which was ALSO just a CONCEPT previous to that, so to say that the LF-S was just a concept and should therefore stay that way is not a valid arguement.

Fact is, The Toyota FJ Cruiser was a CONCEPT at one point and now that CONCEPT is becoming reality. Since Lexus is a part of Toyota, Lexus SHOULD HAVE done the same thing with the LF-S and bring it into PRODUCTION.

Now we are left with our jaws dropped, but not because of how beautiful the new IS currently is, but because Lexus decided to not put that GORGEOUS LF-S concept into REALITY, like they are going to do with the Toyota FJ Cruiser.

Makes me wonder if they are going to do the same thing to the Toyota FT-SX concept and instead of doing the perfect thing for the company by releasing that concept similar to the way it is, they'll wrongly tone it down and suffer in sales as a result.

Close...but no cigar.

3 series has a winning formula that cannot be matched by a mere make-over from Lexus. While it may look impressive, I doubt the overall package will live up to expectations.

The IS will be successful - at least compared to the previous Lexus IS model - how can it fail - it needs to sell less than 1000 a month in the US to beat the old model.

Now whether the new IS can match the 3 series or the Infiniti G35 in sales in the US, I doubt it. However since the Infiniti G35 is aging, the Lexus ES is aging, the Jaguar X-Type is aging, the Cadillac CTS is aging, the Mercedes C class receives only a moderate update and the Acura TL is also aging - I think the IS can do 2,000 - 3,000 sales a month. It won't approach the BMW sales in the US of around 8,000-11,000 3-series per month.

Now for anyone in the US who is still in love with the Mercedes brand - you folks need to become familiar with the latest Consumer Reports study of reliability. To my knowledge it is not associated with JD Powers. The April 2005 edition of Consumer Reports has some interesting lists:

For example "most satisfying" - out of 32 cars which were scored highly by owners of vehicles in this area, only one Mercedes (the SL) made the list compared to 5 Lexus models (LS, SC, RX, GX, LX). BMW had 2 (Z4 and M3).

Predicted reliability - the top 3 are Scion, Lexus and Toyota. The bottom 3 are Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Land Rover

Individual model predicted reliability for 2005 models -

Most reliable sporty car: Lexus SC

Least reliable sporty car: Mercedes SL (Mercedes
CLK was also in the top three least reliable)

Most reliable sedan: Lexus LS (Lexus IS and
Toyota Camry were the others in the top 3)

Least reliable sedan: Mercedes S class

My understanding is that the Consumer Reports research is conducted among thousands of real folks who drive real cars and have real world opinions. Unlike Autospies, Consumer Reports is not swamped by advertising from Mercedes.

Other real world data, check out Mercedes sales calendar year to date both worldwide and in the US - down 10-20%. Remember Autospies predicts a strong 2005 for Mercedes!!!

I remember last year when they revealed the GS to us and we were EXPECTING it to look like the LF-S as even 001 and all the journalists were dumbfounded when the GS resembled nothing like the the gorgeous concept.

We all forgave Lexus because we were lead to believe that the LF-S would DEFINITLEY be the next IS.

The day has come for the new IS and I for one do not forgive Lexus for refusing to release the LF-S.

Toyota is releasing the FJ Land Cruiser which was also a concept once upon a time. Lexus is not releasing the LF-S even though they are part of the company. UNFORGIVABLE.