Autos Canada recently drove the 2014 Lexus IS 350 F SPORT AWD along the British Columbia coast to the remote town of Tofino:
When we pull into Tofino, the mutant aggression of the Lexus’s slashed and grilled face makes the car stand out like a sore thumb. It’s a surfer’s paradise here, and the year-rounders – bearded, tattooed men and wind-blown, tanned and athletic women – all drive older cars.
We do not blend in. The bruised red paint and wild styling make this car as incongruous as if it was painted with a sign reading, “GET A JOB, HIPPIES.”
However, over a weekend of sudden downpours, rain-slicked pavement and winding forest boardwalks, the Lexus did actually feel adapted to its environment. The all-wheel drive never put a foot wrong, and the car was composed, and comfortable, and complacent – and, in the end, a little bit compromised.