Believe it or not, I almost LOVE the front end. The design is terrific.
I am not sure about the rear design (bumper, trunk, taillights). I think the best looking tail lights is the 2008 model.
Big Fuss:
1). Windows on the sides are huge. The 2nd gen IS has high sides (doors) and low window profile design which is perfect for many of our tastes. But sadly the 3rd gen IS has "decreased" the height of the doors and made the windows taller. Especially the rear door windows are too big. The base of the window line towards rear is virtually level instead of pointing up. I bet the Lexus did this to increase visibility from inside. For driving this is good but bad for fashion.
Medium-High Fuss:
2). They made the wheelbase whopping 3 inches longer over the previous gen which is a bad news. This means the rear leg rooms will be increased, unfortunately. They turned the car into a GS model. issed: Also the rear shoulder room appears to be bigger and the upper seats look flat. It just doesn't look chic as the 2IS. 2IS had tight legroom and seating space in the rear and the seats had more shape to it, not flat like the 3IS. It's like getting in a bus.
Lexus lost the whole idea here. The reason why I got the Lexus is because of the small leg room and tight seating space in the rear. Lexus has gone opposite. You can make rooms bigger on the GS and LS models, don't do that on the IS model.
Minor Fuss:
3). The car has gotten 0.4 inches wider. It seems there might be an increase in wheel gap (width-wise), meaning the wheels tugged in a little deeper. I haven't measured this so I'm just making a rough judgement here.
4). Due to increase in size of the vehicle it gained at least 100 lbs. But then it has 8-spd auto transmission. I hope the gears are tighter. Is it? I can't find the gear ratio yet. With closer ratio gears it can make up for the increased weight for acceleration. I can't wait for the real-world acceleration tests from the reviews and the vehicle owners.
Lexus says they've made enhancements in the handling of this vehicle so I hope it compensates for the increase of weight of the vehicle for handling. Another thing to note is that, with longer wheelbase the turning will be slightly less responsive / agile. Improved suspension tweaking will help, but shorter wheelbase is also important in certain part of the race tracks. 111 inches is long in my book.
Question: Is the single-ring tach reader in the instrument panel found in F-Sport package from the factory? I saw some videos of the 3rd gen IS that show Two-rings in the instrument panel. Is that for the non-F-Sport then? I like the single-ring that moves left and right. very neat. And yes, I love the dash design on the 3IS.
cheez
I am not sure about the rear design (bumper, trunk, taillights). I think the best looking tail lights is the 2008 model.
Big Fuss:
1). Windows on the sides are huge. The 2nd gen IS has high sides (doors) and low window profile design which is perfect for many of our tastes. But sadly the 3rd gen IS has "decreased" the height of the doors and made the windows taller. Especially the rear door windows are too big. The base of the window line towards rear is virtually level instead of pointing up. I bet the Lexus did this to increase visibility from inside. For driving this is good but bad for fashion.
Medium-High Fuss:
2). They made the wheelbase whopping 3 inches longer over the previous gen which is a bad news. This means the rear leg rooms will be increased, unfortunately. They turned the car into a GS model. issed: Also the rear shoulder room appears to be bigger and the upper seats look flat. It just doesn't look chic as the 2IS. 2IS had tight legroom and seating space in the rear and the seats had more shape to it, not flat like the 3IS. It's like getting in a bus.
Lexus lost the whole idea here. The reason why I got the Lexus is because of the small leg room and tight seating space in the rear. Lexus has gone opposite. You can make rooms bigger on the GS and LS models, don't do that on the IS model.
Minor Fuss:
3). The car has gotten 0.4 inches wider. It seems there might be an increase in wheel gap (width-wise), meaning the wheels tugged in a little deeper. I haven't measured this so I'm just making a rough judgement here.
4). Due to increase in size of the vehicle it gained at least 100 lbs. But then it has 8-spd auto transmission. I hope the gears are tighter. Is it? I can't find the gear ratio yet. With closer ratio gears it can make up for the increased weight for acceleration. I can't wait for the real-world acceleration tests from the reviews and the vehicle owners.
Lexus says they've made enhancements in the handling of this vehicle so I hope it compensates for the increase of weight of the vehicle for handling. Another thing to note is that, with longer wheelbase the turning will be slightly less responsive / agile. Improved suspension tweaking will help, but shorter wheelbase is also important in certain part of the race tracks. 111 inches is long in my book.
Question: Is the single-ring tach reader in the instrument panel found in F-Sport package from the factory? I saw some videos of the 3rd gen IS that show Two-rings in the instrument panel. Is that for the non-F-Sport then? I like the single-ring that moves left and right. very neat. And yes, I love the dash design on the 3IS.
cheez