2021+ 3rd Generation Lexus IS (300, 350, 500) Megathread

[joepac]

They made some improvements in other parts except for the engine and transmission to appeal enthusiasts, which is pretty ridiculous. As a 3rd gen IS350 fsport owner I find no reason to upgrade, not any. The only selling point to me would be the overall better package, and to the buyers who don't care about specs. The research on the sporting part sounds unnecessary if that's true. However, I really doubt there is any heavy investment here.

As a 2nd Gen IS350 Luxury Edition owner I see no reason to DOWNGRADE either! 😂

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

The one week delay is to avoid using this model release as a cause for looting, just like when the Vancouver Canucks won the Stanley Cup in the 90's.

Had they lost, there would still have been looting, I'm sure.

The Vancouver Canucks never won a Stanley Cup though......

 

[internalaudit]

The Vancouver Canucks never won a Stanley Cup though......

Lol. You are right. That's embarrassing for me. I lived there in 1994.

Looting would have occured either way haha.

 

[spwolf]

new tripple beam headlights look good and will be available in the US as well.

 

[suxeL]

triple beam headlights only available on 1% of in stock inventory

 

[CT200h]

Su

Seems their focus was adding value and styling around the edges. They upped the sound system, and safety systems significantly. In car infotainment is better too.

Are the engines disappointing? Hell yes. Lexus at least make a new engine cowl so it's not so blatant.

Will it sell? I can see it.

The LSS+ 2.0 on it alone gives it near supercruise functionality.

Super cruise , I don’t think so
This car doesn’t even have auto lane change ..... no it’s not the same as supercuise or Autopilot.

 

[CRSKTN]

Su

Super cruise , I don’t think so
This car doesn’t even have auto lane change ..... no it’s not the same as supercuise or Autopilot.

Of all the stuff I don't care about until the car is following navigation, it's auto lane change. That'll come on the autonomous LS later this year anyways. Just give me the lane keep/trace assist and all speed cruise control and i'm happy. Perfect for highway cruising. Get in a lane and motor along with low stress is a selling point for a lot of commuters.

 

[Airplane]

DAMN, it actually looks so good! Why Why Why though? Why is the interior still the same? Almost identical...Why not go out go all out and put the exterior on the GA-N or GA-L platform?
It’s a big excitement but also a huge disappointment and more of the latter, honestly I have my doubts about a new generation of IS after seeing this refresh. Looks to me this will be the last breath of a Lexus sports sedan.

 

[suxeL]

Of all the stuff I don't care about until the car is following navigation, it's auto lane change. That'll come on the autonomous LS later this year anyways. Just give me the lane keep/trace assist and all speed cruise control and i'm happy. Perfect for highway cruising. Get in a lane and motor along with low stress is a selling point for a lot of commuters.

If you have a EPS powered Lexus or Toyota with at least TSS-P try Openpilot for that open source level 2 driving goodness

 

[mikeavelli]

The pro for me is it looks gorgeous. It looks more expensive to me. It doesn't look entry level at all. My heart aches thinking if this was 20% larger as a GS. Would have been splendid.

Alas is there anything to say? Just take 2 minutes to read comments by people on any social media outlet. Better yet go to Lexus own IG and FB pages. People are very upset, let down and they are lost. People cannot fathom so much sameness again. They are perplexed about the same engines. We don't even get the hybrid here. I must have read "TLX is better" 1000 times already.

I read all about the suspension tweaks. Sounds fantastic. Most of these cars are driven to work and to the mall. They are not tracked. And enthusiasts are skipping them since you can't make them faster. People scream and yell and get enthused about H.P. People buy based on H.P. THEY DO NOT BUY BASED ON NEW MOUNTING POINTS AND LIGHTER COILOVERS.

As a die hard I am beyond confused. It's not like the GS was canceled and we got an IS closer in size to it with new engines etc. You know something to maybe have some of us contemplate going into an IS.

I do not understand how Lexus forgot one of the biggest if not the biggest reason for excitement for the 2006 IS was the new 350 model with at the time fastest in class with BMW with fantastic MPG. It got everyones attention. It got buyers. I am beyond perplexed how it is 2021 soon and its the same engine and BMW's comparable model has 70 more hp with BETTER MPG.

MP just text me. He's like "Mike the 2006 Camry made 190hp tops, the IS 350 made 306hp and in 2021, the Camry will make 301hp and the IS 350 will make 311hp.

Mind blowing.......

As a long time Lexus Enthusiast, fan, and owner of current models I just don't have much to go on except "damn it looks good". And for some buyers, that will be enough along with being Lexus reliable.

 

[suxeL]

Anyway know why the central vents were slim down to leave a gap on top and below?

 

[spwolf]

I want to give Lexus credit for how the exterior looks and for the work that was put into the suspension, but among it's competitive set, this IS is a hard sell in the mass market. The comments we've seen about Lexus "considering" an IS 500 with V35A-FTS have to be a joke... if Lexus was going to drop a new engine option, this would have been the day. Next month or next year is not the time considering the lifecycle of this car. V35A-FTS has now been around for long enough that it could have been included in this launch if that was in the plan.

in the long interview that is on Lexus global, they did hint about possibility of more high powered engine. It might be coming in winter as supposed to be announced now (and on sale in fall).

However, unless there is some crazy good price on it, It feels to me that I have to repeat this often - it is base engines that sell in this market.
Everyone talks about M340i and similar, but people dont buy these. Here is current stock of new 3 series in USA:




Since this is very extensive refresh, i think their main deal eventually would be to offer competitive lease rates as well as good looks. But yes, Lexus lovers will like it as well. I am talking about people who buy NX and RX, not just ones that liked IS-F and GS-F.

How many sales per month? Depends on their target and how aggressive they want to be.

 

[krew]

Yeah, I was surprised and annoyed that so many A-list car journalists that normally ask more in-depth stuff were reduced to so many lame softball questions. In fact, Kevin (Krew) asking about the new Shimoyama race track and Jaime Gabaldoni at the end about IS F were probably the only smart questions of the lot. I expected more from everyone else.

They asked for a couple questions, and my other one was about the reasoning behind a refresh rather than a next-generation model. Not surprised they ignored that one. 😢

 

[mikeavelli]

Anyway know why the central vents were slim down to leave a gap on top and below?

The new interface is a touchscreen and its moved 3 inches forward. Maybe that had something to do with it. Not sure.

 

[James]

Man the more I see the outside the more I love and then you look at the rest...gosh just why Lexus? Why did you just not redo the inside and just give an option for a Higher HP? I know a lot care about HP and honestly I don't care if Lexus is the fastest but you have to be in the same ball park of your competition...just damn Lexus this could have been a killer! I hope it sells I really do for the sake of Lexus and they staying in this market but I just don't see enough people buying it...

 

[Faisal Sheikh]

The car is going to be wider and likely heavier, but Lexus gave no additional power to compete with the 340i. It should have at least 350 - 360 HP to even be in the conversation with the Q50, 340i, C43 etc.

 

[Dreski]

The only thing I like is DRL and headlights.
disappointing imo.

 

[maiaramdan]

Guys

Sorry, I tried hard to like it and trying to see it successor to the IS & GS and in the same time the sum of both merging into one

But sorry this thing failed miserably in my eyes, I really wanted to love it or at least like it and trying to make a business case for it , but I can't

 

[CRSKTN]

FYI get the augmented reality app. Good sense of proportions. The car is sharp. It will sell on looks alone.

 

[b.ba]

@Gecko in the photos released by NetCarShow.com (what @spwolf posted), I found two pictures of what appeared to be the 300h powertrain: