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| 2006 Lexus Is350 Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
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Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
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| Inside & Out | |||
The new car's reserve also reflects in its dress. As someone who found every inch of the outgoing IS bold, sharp, and funkyfresh, I thought Lexus could have just tinted the taillights a milder color for the country club crowd and been done with it. Instead, they penned a mini-GS imitation shape, tacked on a set of anycar taillights and a Japan, Inc. front end, and doubled the wheel spokes. The wind tunnel's finding of a 0.28 Cd means this car is still cutting edge, but the eye has a different opinion.Likewise, every trace of inner individuality has been sucked straight out. The controversy of chronograph watch-style instruments - which most of us could read just fine, thanks - has subsided for the safety of twin gauges. Lexus's Optitron lighting makes them a model of legibility, but could their lettering be any plainer? That cool chrome ball shift knob is also gone, replaced with a mostly-leather piece that should at least prove cooler literally. The drilled racing-style pedals are out, and the whole heavy metal thing we kids digged has been mellowed into what those in the music business call "adult contemporary." Hmm, see you in 20 years! Hopefully I'll have elevated to a higher echelon of society by then, because this new interior has done just that for the IS. The leather is butter soft, the wood has the perfect gloss, the buttons and compartments are perfectly damped, and should a wandering hand touch anything - the plastics, the dashboard material, the headliner - it will be rewarded with immense tactile satisfaction. Nothing is inappropriately coarse or shiny anymore, all four windows now have auto-down modes, and the tilt-telescoping steering wheel, power rear sunshade, 3-position seat memory (for driver and passenger), 3-level seat heaters/coolers, rear air vents, and rear center console are all very worthy additions. The overhead lighting is gentle yet potent; even the grab handles are double-hinged. Lexus did not overlook one millimeter on this masterpiece of an interior, and it's every bit as warm and welcoming as an Audi's. Except, of course, the controls make a hell of a lot more sense. Lexus demonstrates more mastery here, placing every switch where you'd put it and making it work how you'd have it - something deserving of explicit appreciation in this new age of frustrating German cars. The touch-screen, voice-activated navigation system is now seamlessly integrated into the center stack (instead of popping out from atop the dash) and is as easy to use as in any Toyota, but Lexus included some key upgrades: a QWERTY keyboard, more configurations, and faster speed in screen switching and map scrolling. Only a few things keep the IS's interior away from a perfect A: a climate system that constantly starts in recirculated air mode, a navigation unit that stole too many buttons from the other systems, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror that doesn't dim enough. (And to get picky, the center console could be bigger and get a normal-opening lid.) I'm not a big fan of auto-locking doors, auto-pivoting steering wheels, or push-button ignition switches either, though many Lexus shoppers might be. Yes, folks, even the most affordable of Lexi is now one you can open, close, start, and stop without the agony of reaching for a key. It's now also a Lexus with a double-digit speaker count: 13 to start (194 watts RMS), 14 optionally (300 watts with its inverted subwoofer) now that the IS has joined the Mark Levinson 7.1 DVD Audio surround sound club. This tester was so equipped, and it is with great enthusiasm that I report the IS's stereo sharing none of the craptastic AM radio-like sound quality of the GS's Mark Levinson. The IS instead rises to the Lexus standard with its deep, crisp soundstage, then two-ups the GS by featuring MP3 CD playback and an iPod Aux jack in the center console. Treble and bass junkies might want more pure punch or some kind of equalizer, but this is good stuff. And with better comes bigger, as the IS grew by 3.5 inches in length, 3 in width, and 2.4 in wheelbase. There's definitely more wiggle room width-wise and the 0.6 height increase helps a little. Still, these gains seem a bit overshadowed by the 242-pound weight gain (to 3,527), and they didn't do the back seat any big favors. Row 2 sees just 0.4 more inches of legroom (and lost twice that amount in both head and shoulder room), and quality has matched quantity in the total lack of thigh support, cramped toeroom, and the sensation of being pinched. The old car's only issue was a dearth of space for large folks; the new car's contribution is one-size-fits-all pain. At least everyone's in safer hands now. In addition to ABS, EBD, BA, DRL, ALR, PCS, TRAC, VSC, and VDIM, every IS protects its occupants with a whole lot of SRS: dual front airbags, dual front knee airbags, dual front side-impact airbags, and side curtain airbags for both rows. What's special about the IS is that the front passenger's bag is a twin-chamber design to more evenly distribute impact forces. And the nicely square trunk (with a pass-through port) grew noticeably, from 10.1 cubic feet previously to a solid 13. Looks like we've found where all the extra room went. |
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