The Lexus is an emotional play and has plenty of appeal despite its last-place finish. If you can afford to feed it, the powerful, rev-happy V-8 is a jewel. It burbles a seductive low rumble at startup or when you're just prowling around a parking lot, then flips to a hair-raising intake wail when you stand on the gas. The best-in-test seats were also inviting, but the Lexus's advantages were largely undone by its lofty as-tested price. Next to the others, the IS500 comes across as a cushy, high-powered cruiser, which isn't the worst persona to have.