2013 Lexus Is Revealed

[Lexus Nerd]

Lots of activity on this car.

Who else has driven one?

Also check FrankyX's experience: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/11976-3is-first-drive

[dis-lex-sic]

Lots of activity on this car.

Who else has driven one?

Also check FrankyX's experience: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/11976-3is-first-drive

Yep read that.

Probably best to keep it all in one thread though.

[FrankyX]

http://www.lexus.com.au/enform

Enform info now on Aus Lexus site.

Free during new car warranty. Destination assist - $2.97 per use (after trial).

Will be interesting to see how it works when available. Also usable it will be while driving.

[dis-lex-sic]

http://ninemsn.carsales.com.au/news/2013/lexus/spy-pics-lexus-is-f-coupe-and-gs-f-37677

Hey Franky-F (formerly X) when do you pick it up?

[FrankyX]

Hopefully this week, if not, early next.

[ilv1004s]

http://ninemsn.carsales.com.au/news/2013/lexus/spy-pics-lexus-is-f-coupe-and-gs-f-37677

Hey Franky-F (formerly X) when do you pick it up?

intresting

the body shape is a IS

front looks like a IS

but the rear looks like a GS

whats going on here

[LEX51S]

So. Today i visited Sydney City Lexus and the awesome team down there.

In 2006 when i was cruising around in my IS200 and saw the 2IS when it came out i said to myself. "I will have one of those"

Now in 2013 the 3IS has landed and i look at it and think hmmm...

personally i dont like the exterior designing. Admittedly i do think the front grille does look better in person. (except for the pimple after thought HID washer) and i much prefer the sports lux set up.

Getting in to the car (IS350 Fsport) the refinement is upto and above expectations as expected with a new Lexus.

But the interior "styling" is "out there" and doesnt really flow. its tacked on alot and very "square". a Blocky Mess!! and the screen in the dash is way too small for the space it occupies.

The Cluster in the Fsport is awesome!! LFA inspired moving tacho and effects are just awesome.

Initial First drive, Lexus quality perfection and refinement to suit. Power, nothing different to the current 350. Dynamic adaptive suspension as in the GS is great. With out experienceing spirited driving around bends i can not comment if the cornering is as marketed "a fun drive". The 8 speed transmission in a 233kw car seems to me pointless and sounds annoying. always changing gears.

First Impression, first drive, quick review, MY honest opinion. . . . I will be buying a GS in the future at time of my upgrade.

Edited July 16, 2013 by LEX51S
add detail

[LEX51S]

Very interested in other ppls first drive opinions though.

Very extensive review Lance. Great work. But. Would you buy one?

[ilv1004s]

well as what we always do

i went to chatswood today

I actually like the rear alot

bulky

front is a yes pretty good for me

still prefer the non F sport front

Interior space

it's bigger than my current 2IS

but end of the day i want a bigger car

so im getting a GS

[FrankyX]

Very interested in other ppls first drive opinions though.

Very extensive review Lance. Great work. But. Would you buy one?

Copied from previous post - to keep it consistent. Updated.

Walking into the dealership I was like a kid in a toy shop looking for that toy he's wanted all year for Xmas.

My first impression was, wow it looks... bigger! And hot! I actually love the front grille; but something needs to be done about the number plate holder; it hides too much of the grille

It looks to sit lower but is actually higher, the rear door is longer giving the appearance of a bigger car.

Sitting inside the 350 F Sport for the first time I noticed that the front seats are grander than the 2IS Fsport and I just seemed to fit better. Tick. On a negative note though, the centre console buttons (air con, volume knobs etc), do not look as though it has been given enough thought and doesn't seem to match the rest of the interior.

I'm 6'1 so in the 2IS you'd be lucky to get a 6 year old in the back seat behind my drivers seat, but in this, with my position set, I sat in the back and there is stacks of room for me with wiggle room. Tick.

Boot is massive and the folding rear seats are impressive, tick tick.

Taking for a drive I was impressed with the overall feel and blown away with the driving modes, it can be felt immediately switching from Normal to Sports +, it just feels tighter and more responsive. I wasn't able to really let loose, but could feel the potential.

Damn happy with my purchase! Can't wait to pick it up.

One thing, who ever comes up with a mod to remove the headlight washers let me know.

[ilv1004s]

Very interested in other ppls first drive opinions though.

Very extensive review Lance. Great work. But. Would you buy one?

Copied from previous post - to keep it consistent. Updated.

Walking into the dealership I was like a kid in a toy shop looking for that toy he's wanted all year for Xmas.

My first impression was, wow it looks... bigger! And hot! I actually love the front grille; but something needs to be done about the number plate holder; it hides too much of the grille

It looks to sit lower but is actually higher, the rear door is longer giving the appearance of a bigger car.

Sitting inside the 350 F Sport for the first time I noticed that the front seats are grander than the 2IS Fsport and I just seemed to fit better. Tick. On a negative note though, the centre console buttons (air con, volume knobs etc), do not look as though it has been given enough thought and doesn't seem to match the rest of the interior.

I'm 6'1 so in the 2IS you'd be lucky to get a 6 year old in the back seat behind my drivers seat, but in this, with my position set, I sat in the back and there is stacks of room for me with wiggle room. Tick.

Boot is massive and the folding rear seats are impressive, tick tick.

Taking for a drive I was impressed with the overall feel and blown away with the driving modes, it can be felt immediately switching from Normal to Sports +, it just feels tighter and more responsive. I wasn't able to really let loose, but could feel the potential.

Damn happy with my purchase! Can't wait to pick it up.

One thing, who ever comes up with a mod to remove the headlight washers let me know.

once i again buddy

congrats on the new purchase

first 3IS member!

[ISF-350]

Well, I just took a 350 F Sport for a drive and have ordered a White Nova 350 F Sport with Dark Rose trim and enhancement pack 2.

Paid my deposit and stipulated that I want 2014 production and am happy to wait 12 months for my order to be filled... Gives me time to save the rest (and an incentive to save too).

It was also no where near $93k on road here in Tasmania - more like mid to high $80k's

I was so suprised how different it looked in real life - everything works, everything flows. LFA speedo looked a lot smaller in real life than the images I've seen online, but the interior is leaps and bounds and more leaps again above the 2IS interior...

Love it!

And FINALLY - the euro-inspired 3 flash lane change function for the indicators is here!!

[samsung001]

hopefully no more rattling issue on 3IS. I might get one when the price is dropped to early 70K (drive-away). so maybe another 2-3 yrs lol

[FrankyX]

Well, I just took a 350 F Sport for a drive and have ordered a White Nova 350 F Sport with Dark Rose trim and enhancement pack 2.

Paid my deposit and stipulated that I want 2014 production and am happy to wait 12 months for my order to be filled... Gives me time to save the rest (and an incentive to save too).

It was also no where near $93k on road here in Tasmania - more like mid to high $80k's

I was so suprised how different it looked in real life - everything works, everything flows. LFA speedo looked a lot smaller in real life than the images I've seen online, but the interior is leaps and bounds and more leaps again above the 2IS interior...

Love it!

And FINALLY - the euro-inspired 3 flash lane change function for the indicators is here!!

Congratulations!!! I totally agree with you on seeing it in person and especially the interior. I love it! White with rose interior, nice. I just couldn't pass up on black though ;)

I am lucky enough to be picking mine up tomorrow morning. Looking forward to that drive home.

[LEX51S]

Well, I just took a 350 F Sport for a drive and have ordered a White Nova 350 F Sport with Dark Rose trim and enhancement pack 2.

Paid my deposit and stipulated that I want 2014 production and am happy to wait 12 months for my order to be filled... Gives me time to save the rest (and an incentive to save too).

It was also no where near $93k on road here in Tasmania - more like mid to high $80k's

I was so suprised how different it looked in real life - everything works, everything flows. LFA speedo looked a lot smaller in real life than the images I've seen online, but the interior is leaps and bounds and more leaps again above the 2IS interior...

Love it!

And FINALLY - the euro-inspired 3 flash lane change function for the indicators is here!!

Congratulations!!! I totally agree with you on seeing it in person and especially the interior. I love it! White with rose interior, nice. I just couldn't pass up on black though ;)

I am lucky enough to be picking mine up tomorrow morning. Looking forward to that drive home.

how is it frankyX

[FrankyX]

how is it frankyX

Firstly big thanks goes out to @dis-lex-sic at Sydney City, car was wrapped up and presented perfectly. Impeccible service, as expected.

Before even driving out, and going through a brief overview of the system, i was blown away by how quickly all my phone contacts, call history etc was uploaded. It was instant and no down time.

Also the bluetooth media/music was impressivly quick also.

Plugged in the iPod into the USB and am very happy with detailed search options. It allows for a more direct search of artists etc. Plus it syncs the album artwork and shows on the screen. A nice touch and a major improvement over the 2IS system.

A current Lexus owner understands and appreciates the quality of the current sound systems, especially the ML systems... HOWEVER, this new 15 speaker 835w ML system just blows it away. It is a deeper yet crisper sound. Just perfect!

The interior is stunning and is a pleasure to look at while driving, the LFA instrumentation looks fantastic and the detail behind the dials is great.

I am so impressed with the comfort of the bucket seats and the overall driving position. There is so much more head room now that the seats go lower than previous. It feels completely different from the 2IS.

Driving off, i'd be lying if i said i didn't have high expectations. With only 10km on the clock, i could feel it was a little tight and will take some time to show its real potential, but it totally met my expectations. It jumps well off the mark and responds quickly when you put the foot down. Oh and that sound... it is soooo sexy!!!

Heading down the M2 on a Saturday, not much traffic and time to use the drive modes, set in Normal, it is just that, normal and comfortable, not ready to pounce but just nice. In Eco mode it just seems to float and is beautifully smooth on the freeway. Off the M2 and kick into Sports S+ mode and wow, you can feel it instantly tighten up the suspension and steering and is ready to pounce.

When i got back home i had to put the baby seat back in and heading out for the day with the little one in the back, you can see that there is so much more room in the back. It is amazing how much bigger the legroom is.

Well, all this after only half a day of owning it, i am completely blown away! Yet to discover so much more and experience it day in day out.

But! And yes there are a few but's...

The remote touch is slow and a little frustrating, it has never been one of my favourite features of a Lexus. I'd rather just touch the screen.

Another thing, i noticed there was a bit of a lag between switching between screens and general browsing. Pretty slack actually, surely this could be updated with a firmware update maybe?

I've made it known before, the headlight washers... don't like them. But seeing the LFA at Chatswood on Monday, this has them also, however they are colour matched. Maybe this could be an option?

Centre console compartment is small and awkward to open and access anything inside. The positioning of the cup holders is a little silly due to the arm positioning to use the remote touch if there is a bottle of water in them. It just seems as though they were another last minute thought like the headlight washers.

Home button cannot be assigned to full Nav screen, only split screen. Will take some getting used to.

Overall though, initially it is recognisable as an IS; but stripping it down bit by bit, it is a totally different car in performance, appearance, comfort and technology; there is no doubt that this will give the Europeans a serious run this time around.

I love it!

[BlakTegra]

I am so jealous right now! Can't wait to check it out in the flesh.

Hope there's going to be some software update available to fix the lagginess!

[ilv1004s]

Paul!!!
pics mate PICS!

[coconut2001]

A lot has been said about the increased rear legroom. Yes, it's increased from that of the 2IS; it's nothing like that of the GS, but one can expect to receive fewer complaints from rear passengers about legroom. There is also enough cabin height to allow a 6" tall front passenger to sit upgright, and lift the front seat high enough so as to allow ample foot space beneath the frons seat.

I haven't test driven the IS 300h, but it's worth noting that you can't tell the difference in boot space between the IS250/350 and IS300h, at first glance, so Lexus have done a great job hiding those batteries. You may have also read about the new 60:40 split fold rear seat. While the portal height looks appreciably good, the axis of rotation for the rear seats is well above the boot floor. In other words, you can't lay anything flat across the boot floor and folded-down seats.

All in all, the new IS is very impressive, and there's plenty of new features to offer to existing IS owners to convince them to upgrade. I haven't driven the competitors yet, but given that their prices are over $70,000 each when options are added to provide equivalent equipment to the base-model Lexus IS for under $60,000, the new IS will definitely compete on price, before even considering the features on which the Lexus might be superior.

I found that although rear legroom has increased, the height in the rear seemed smaller, my head was nearly touching the headlining making the rear 'feel' cramped. Also the design of the dashboard of the front passenger makes the space feel abit cramped but footspace is alot better.

It's also odd the exclusion of the lumbar adjustment on the passenger seat where the 2is had it in every trim. But those are the only negatives i found in the interior which is otherwise great.

[FrankyX]

Paul!!!

pics mate PICS!

Just a couple of quick snaps from this arvo after another beautiful day of driving.

[ilv1004s]

Paul!!!

pics mate PICS!

Just a couple of quick snaps from this arvo after another beautiful day of driving.

fu kyeah

nice!!

once again congrats champ

[FrankyX]

The live traffic is spot on. On the M2 this morning and the traffic markers were exactly where the traffic started and the notification changed from red to yellow when it started to flow again.

Very impressive

[samsung001]

The live traffic is spot on. On the M2 this morning and the traffic markers were exactly where the traffic started and the notification changed from red to yellow when it started to flow again.

Very impressive

Nice. its good to hear that function is working...........just wondering how would the system collect the live traffic data? where is it linked to ?

[FrankyX]

The live traffic is spot on. On the M2 this morning and the traffic markers were exactly where the traffic started and the notification changed from red to yellow when it started to flow again.

Very impressive

Nice. its good to hear that function is working...........just wondering how would the system collect the live traffic data? where is it linked to ?

It uses radio frequencies, I checked mine at the time and I was using Mix 106.5.

[Lexus Nerd]

Let's wrap up this topic with some news of the recent dealership launch events.

Lexus of Chatswood ran up to 13 sessions last week, inviting about 50 people at a time to listen to a short address, watch a couple of videos and then test-drive the new IS.

Lexus of Parramatta also ran five sessions. While they wouldn't have entertained as many people in their showroom, there was enough activity there to keep all of their sales consultants busy when I visited last Saturday.

Meanwhile, it was literally "standing room only" for a while at Sydney City Lexus' launch event at The Rocks.

You don't see a picture of the crowd here, because a picture of a sea of heads would look pretty boring. But it certainly looked like a cracking night at a pub for business people, rather than a vehicle launch.

But they did have Lexus Australia's product manager speak for a few minutes on some of the features of the new IS.

How many of the guests will actually buy the 3IS remains to be seen but, compared to the LS and GS launch events, it's clear that the dealerships are expecting the new IS to be their volume seller.