Rendered: The Next-Generation Lexus IS Sedan

Posted by Kevin on October 5th, 2018

Renderings of the next-generation Lexus IS are a favorite of the Japanese automotive press — this attempt by (a currently unknown) magazine was posted yesterday by a Lexus fan on Instagram:

Lexus IS Rear Next-Generation

The differences between this photochop and the existing model are minimal — the only changes are with the front and rear bumpers, making this rendering seem more like a mid-cycle refresh. That said, the design of the current IS sedan has never been a weakness, and maintaining some consistency across generations would not be a bad move.

The magazine mentions a 2021 release along with some preliminary dimensions:

Lexus IS Dimensions Next-Generation

Compared to the current model, the next-generation IS length and wheelbase would grow by 4cm, with all other measurements staying the same. Also mentioned is a 2.5L engine with 181 horsepower, which makes absolutely no sense and I’m choosing to ignore.

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Comments
I
Levi
Rhambler
The 1 series, A3, etc. all bring new excitement to the market.
4 cylinder FWD excitement with Dacia interior?
Check km77. Even the prius is more agile than those overpriced pretenders!
L
I hope Lexus/Toyota's BEVs will have acceleration figures like the Bolt rather than the Leaf, the Leaf is really slow, I reckon it has no liquid battery cooling. But even at 10 sec 0-100 km/h, the Leaf feels faster than 8 sec from ICEVs. That is why TMC hybrids feel fast, even if on paper they are not.
L
I hope Lexus/Toyota's BEVs will have acceleration figures like the Bolt rather than the Leaf, the Leaf is really slow, I reckon it has no liquid battery cooling. But even at 10 sec 0-100 km/h, the Leaf feels faster than 8 sec from ICEVs. That is why TMC hybrids feel fast, even if on paper they are not.
L
I hope Lexus/Toyota's BEVs will have acceleration figures like the Bolt rather than the Leaf, the Leaf is really slow, I reckon it has no liquid battery cooling. But even at 10 sec 0-100 km/h, the Leaf feels faster than 8 sec from ICEVs. That is why TMC hybrids feel fast, even if on paper they are not.
L
I hope Lexus/Toyota's BEVs will have acceleration figures like the Bolt rather than the Leaf, the Leaf is really slow, I reckon it has no liquid battery cooling. But even at 10 sec 0-100 km/h, the Leaf feels faster than 8 sec from ICEVs. That is why TMC hybrids feel fast, even if on paper they are not.
maiaramdan
@Levi
I think Toyota with Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Honda, Subaru, Mazda are working a lot on the solid state and there was rumors that the first product solid state units may appear at 2020 or 2021 at max, so with the solid state you will have a game changer in main 3 cases
1) charging time
2) safety
3) power usage
maiaramdan
@Levi
I think Toyota with Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Honda, Subaru, Mazda are working a lot on the solid state and there was rumors that the first product solid state units may appear at 2020 or 2021 at max, so with the solid state you will have a game changer in main 3 cases
1) charging time
2) safety
3) power usage
maiaramdan
@Levi
I think Toyota with Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Honda, Subaru, Mazda are working a lot on the solid state and there was rumors that the first product solid state units may appear at 2020 or 2021 at max, so with the solid state you will have a game changer in main 3 cases
1) charging time
2) safety
3) power usage
maiaramdan
@Levi
I think Toyota with Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Honda, Subaru, Mazda are working a lot on the solid state and there was rumors that the first product solid state units may appear at 2020 or 2021 at max, so with the solid state you will have a game changer in main 3 cases
1) charging time
2) safety
3) power usage
C
ssun30
In a more general sense, variety is the result of a lack of optimization. The history of mankind has always been a history of optimization. Just like natural selection, inefficient artificial creations are eliminated or marginalized.

There is ONLY ONE efficient way to make cars, so as we become better and better at optimizing car designs, ineffcient designs get eliminated by the free market. This is already evident from the reduction of ICE variety: V4, I5, V10, V16, H6, and rotaries are heading to their graves; I6, V8, and V12 will follow a decade later, because the ONLY efficient ICE layout is I4 (I3 and V6 will have their niche, but that does not mean they are more efficient).

Similarly, sedans and wagons are doomed because crossovers are objectively more efficient as daily commuters. Minivans will stay because they are objectively the best people mover; pick-up trucks will stay because they are objectively the best cargo hauler. Sedan will basically be competing against coupe (also dying) for a tiny slice of the sportscar market, because apparently there will be more and more performance crossovers.

In the past we have all kinds of smartphone designs also with different OS, network, and internal components. Today all smartphones look the same, use the same component, and are compatible with all types of network. This is because that's the ONLY efficient way to build smartphones. All passenger aircraft are twin-engine, subsonic, and single decked, because that's the ONLY efficient way to build a passenger aircraft.

We as a civilization is becoming better and better at optimizing things, so variety will become a thing of the past.
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
C
ssun30
In a more general sense, variety is the result of a lack of optimization. The history of mankind has always been a history of optimization. Just like natural selection, inefficient artificial creations are eliminated or marginalized.

There is ONLY ONE efficient way to make cars, so as we become better and better at optimizing car designs, ineffcient designs get eliminated by the free market. This is already evident from the reduction of ICE variety: V4, I5, V10, V16, H6, and rotaries are heading to their graves; I6, V8, and V12 will follow a decade later, because the ONLY efficient ICE layout is I4 (I3 and V6 will have their niche, but that does not mean they are more efficient).

Similarly, sedans and wagons are doomed because crossovers are objectively more efficient as daily commuters. Minivans will stay because they are objectively the best people mover; pick-up trucks will stay because they are objectively the best cargo hauler. Sedan will basically be competing against coupe (also dying) for a tiny slice of the sportscar market, because apparently there will be more and more performance crossovers.

In the past we have all kinds of smartphone designs also with different OS, network, and internal components. Today all smartphones look the same, use the same component, and are compatible with all types of network. This is because that's the ONLY efficient way to build smartphones. All passenger aircraft are twin-engine, subsonic, and single decked, because that's the ONLY efficient way to build a passenger aircraft.

We as a civilization is becoming better and better at optimizing things, so variety will become a thing of the past.
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
C
ssun30
In a more general sense, variety is the result of a lack of optimization. The history of mankind has always been a history of optimization. Just like natural selection, inefficient artificial creations are eliminated or marginalized.

There is ONLY ONE efficient way to make cars, so as we become better and better at optimizing car designs, ineffcient designs get eliminated by the free market. This is already evident from the reduction of ICE variety: V4, I5, V10, V16, H6, and rotaries are heading to their graves; I6, V8, and V12 will follow a decade later, because the ONLY efficient ICE layout is I4 (I3 and V6 will have their niche, but that does not mean they are more efficient).

Similarly, sedans and wagons are doomed because crossovers are objectively more efficient as daily commuters. Minivans will stay because they are objectively the best people mover; pick-up trucks will stay because they are objectively the best cargo hauler. Sedan will basically be competing against coupe (also dying) for a tiny slice of the sportscar market, because apparently there will be more and more performance crossovers.

In the past we have all kinds of smartphone designs also with different OS, network, and internal components. Today all smartphones look the same, use the same component, and are compatible with all types of network. This is because that's the ONLY efficient way to build smartphones. All passenger aircraft are twin-engine, subsonic, and single decked, because that's the ONLY efficient way to build a passenger aircraft.

We as a civilization is becoming better and better at optimizing things, so variety will become a thing of the past.
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
C
ssun30
In a more general sense, variety is the result of a lack of optimization. The history of mankind has always been a history of optimization. Just like natural selection, inefficient artificial creations are eliminated or marginalized.

There is ONLY ONE efficient way to make cars, so as we become better and better at optimizing car designs, ineffcient designs get eliminated by the free market. This is already evident from the reduction of ICE variety: V4, I5, V10, V16, H6, and rotaries are heading to their graves; I6, V8, and V12 will follow a decade later, because the ONLY efficient ICE layout is I4 (I3 and V6 will have their niche, but that does not mean they are more efficient).

Similarly, sedans and wagons are doomed because crossovers are objectively more efficient as daily commuters. Minivans will stay because they are objectively the best people mover; pick-up trucks will stay because they are objectively the best cargo hauler. Sedan will basically be competing against coupe (also dying) for a tiny slice of the sportscar market, because apparently there will be more and more performance crossovers.

In the past we have all kinds of smartphone designs also with different OS, network, and internal components. Today all smartphones look the same, use the same component, and are compatible with all types of network. This is because that's the ONLY efficient way to build smartphones. All passenger aircraft are twin-engine, subsonic, and single decked, because that's the ONLY efficient way to build a passenger aircraft.

We as a civilization is becoming better and better at optimizing things, so variety will become a thing of the past.
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
L
In @ssun30 comment, 'efficient' means 'cheap'. If 4 cylinders were so great, AMG's 4.0l would not be a V8 but 4.0l I4, like the old Cummins BT4, only gasoline. As a range extender, there are far better engine configurations than I4/I3 that are not exploited.
L
In @ssun30 comment, 'efficient' means 'cheap'. If 4 cylinders were so great, AMG's 4.0l would not be a V8 but 4.0l I4, like the old Cummins BT4, only gasoline. As a range extender, there are far better engine configurations than I4/I3 that are not exploited.
L
In @ssun30 comment, 'efficient' means 'cheap'. If 4 cylinders were so great, AMG's 4.0l would not be a V8 but 4.0l I4, like the old Cummins BT4, only gasoline. As a range extender, there are far better engine configurations than I4/I3 that are not exploited.
L
In @ssun30 comment, 'efficient' means 'cheap'. If 4 cylinders were so great, AMG's 4.0l would not be a V8 but 4.0l I4, like the old Cummins BT4, only gasoline. As a range extender, there are far better engine configurations than I4/I3 that are not exploited.
S
carguy420
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
Unfortunately it has already happened:
https://www.polestar.com/polestar-1
S
carguy420
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
Unfortunately it has already happened:
https://www.polestar.com/polestar-1
S
carguy420
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
Unfortunately it has already happened:
https://www.polestar.com/polestar-1
S
carguy420
So in the future a 600hp sports sedan is going to have a 4 cylinder pile? Screw that!
Unfortunately it has already happened:
https://www.polestar.com/polestar-1
maiaramdan
I think we must start to store some v8s and v12s cars in the crazy future of i4s & BEVs
maiaramdan
I think we must start to store some v8s and v12s cars in the crazy future of i4s & BEVs
maiaramdan
I think we must start to store some v8s and v12s cars in the crazy future of i4s & BEVs
maiaramdan
I think we must start to store some v8s and v12s cars in the crazy future of i4s & BEVs
S
Joaquin Ruhi
Per current rumors, Lexus wouldn't really abandon the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Instead, the ES would broaden its model lineup to add enthusiast-oriented AWD and F-Sport variants to its current comfort-oriented FWD base models. In other words, such a 7ES would be more akin to the FWD-centric Audi A6 (which goes from base FWD to Quattro to S6 to all-out RS6) than to the RWD-centric BMW 5-Series and mercedes E-Class.
The thing is - the F-Sport ES and AWD ES won't be able to compete with the E/5 still. Transverses FWD/AWD is holding the ES back.

I'm one of those people on the other side of the fence. The enthusiasts in me wants an AWD ES but the business-sense in me (as I have been investing in Toyota for a long time) is that they won't.
Toyota sees green and that's all they see. If the ES AWD won't produce enough sales for the worth of development, they won't make it. Considering if the AWD the ES, they'll have to AWD the Camry/Avalon too. The question is - will they net profit from giving AWD to 3 vehicles? Is there a demand for it? Previous sales numbers suggest AWD is not an in-demand item for ES. 6ES still gets insane sales.
The F-Sport ES is a good niche. It'll likely lure in younger buyers.
S
Joaquin Ruhi
Per current rumors, Lexus wouldn't really abandon the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Instead, the ES would broaden its model lineup to add enthusiast-oriented AWD and F-Sport variants to its current comfort-oriented FWD base models. In other words, such a 7ES would be more akin to the FWD-centric Audi A6 (which goes from base FWD to Quattro to S6 to all-out RS6) than to the RWD-centric BMW 5-Series and mercedes E-Class.
The thing is - the F-Sport ES and AWD ES won't be able to compete with the E/5 still. Transverses FWD/AWD is holding the ES back.

I'm one of those people on the other side of the fence. The enthusiasts in me wants an AWD ES but the business-sense in me (as I have been investing in Toyota for a long time) is that they won't.
Toyota sees green and that's all they see. If the ES AWD won't produce enough sales for the worth of development, they won't make it. Considering if the AWD the ES, they'll have to AWD the Camry/Avalon too. The question is - will they net profit from giving AWD to 3 vehicles? Is there a demand for it? Previous sales numbers suggest AWD is not an in-demand item for ES. 6ES still gets insane sales.
The F-Sport ES is a good niche. It'll likely lure in younger buyers.
S
Joaquin Ruhi
Per current rumors, Lexus wouldn't really abandon the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Instead, the ES would broaden its model lineup to add enthusiast-oriented AWD and F-Sport variants to its current comfort-oriented FWD base models. In other words, such a 7ES would be more akin to the FWD-centric Audi A6 (which goes from base FWD to Quattro to S6 to all-out RS6) than to the RWD-centric BMW 5-Series and mercedes E-Class.
The thing is - the F-Sport ES and AWD ES won't be able to compete with the E/5 still. Transverses FWD/AWD is holding the ES back.

I'm one of those people on the other side of the fence. The enthusiasts in me wants an AWD ES but the business-sense in me (as I have been investing in Toyota for a long time) is that they won't.
Toyota sees green and that's all they see. If the ES AWD won't produce enough sales for the worth of development, they won't make it. Considering if the AWD the ES, they'll have to AWD the Camry/Avalon too. The question is - will they net profit from giving AWD to 3 vehicles? Is there a demand for it? Previous sales numbers suggest AWD is not an in-demand item for ES. 6ES still gets insane sales.
The F-Sport ES is a good niche. It'll likely lure in younger buyers.
S
Joaquin Ruhi
Per current rumors, Lexus wouldn't really abandon the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Instead, the ES would broaden its model lineup to add enthusiast-oriented AWD and F-Sport variants to its current comfort-oriented FWD base models. In other words, such a 7ES would be more akin to the FWD-centric Audi A6 (which goes from base FWD to Quattro to S6 to all-out RS6) than to the RWD-centric BMW 5-Series and mercedes E-Class.
The thing is - the F-Sport ES and AWD ES won't be able to compete with the E/5 still. Transverses FWD/AWD is holding the ES back.

I'm one of those people on the other side of the fence. The enthusiasts in me wants an AWD ES but the business-sense in me (as I have been investing in Toyota for a long time) is that they won't.
Toyota sees green and that's all they see. If the ES AWD won't produce enough sales for the worth of development, they won't make it. Considering if the AWD the ES, they'll have to AWD the Camry/Avalon too. The question is - will they net profit from giving AWD to 3 vehicles? Is there a demand for it? Previous sales numbers suggest AWD is not an in-demand item for ES. 6ES still gets insane sales.
The F-Sport ES is a good niche. It'll likely lure in younger buyers.
Gecko
Merged. This is the official 4th gen IS discussion thread.

G