BEHIND THE WHEEL: Lexus IS200t
MONDAY JULY 4, 2016
PRO
Ease of drive
Striking design language
Properly screwed together
CON
Not rewarding to drive quickly
A knob of an infotainment
Expensive
SPECIFICATION
2-litre inline-4
241hp 350Nm
8-speed Sports Direct Shift
0-100 km/h: 7s
Top speed: 230 km/h
RM 349,900
Here’s my confession, I am never a fan of Lexus’. Their cars have always been slower, worse to drive, less efficient and worst of all more expensive than its rivals. In comparison to the recently driven Jaguar XE, the closest rival (in terms of price at least) I could think of is the IS200t. In my eyes the IS is a handsome looking thing while some may argue otherwise. Even if it isn’t, it is the least of things, striking. I very prefer cars to be striking than pulling one of those familiar corporate faces.
Lexus Malaysia is possibly the only dealer here to be delivering their after sales promises to their buyers. Their sales team is one where other car dealerships should learn a thing or two from where the utmost professionalism is practiced regardless of closing the deal or not. I’ve left them my number, made multiple calls to one of their dealerships and all I got was nothing. How much the world has changed over the years because this could very well be the most difficult car to get my hands on.
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When the third generation IS was introduced, no one cared since it only had a new face and borrowed everything from its predecessor. I normally am offered to have the car sent my way but this time, they're stern in wanting me to be in their showroom. Nope, it's not for coffee.
With little surprise the F Sport wasn’t available so the Luxury trim it is. It seems like Lexus has put a higher importance in lending the F Sport model to magazines instead to potential customers who would actually buy their cars.
Once you’re in the IS, it Lexus faire as usual. I must admit I do like the ‘LFA’ inspired interior but I was surprised to find scratchy plastic bits on the steering wheel and throughout its interior where Audi uses softer ones. Comfort access, memory seats that tilt back/forward and ventilated seats are all well and good to provide the best experience with little effort from the driver. Sadly, seats are on the firmer side which made me reminiscence the heavily bolstered seats in the second generation.
I immediately got the signal indicator mixed up since I’m configured to the left side of things. Could it be Lexus is finally proud of its Japanese roots or trying too hard to be different from its European counterparts. Having strolled a hundred meters in the IS, steering is precise, light and everything is easy to get used to. Its passive dampers (active dampers only available on F Sport model) is nearly on par with Jaguar XE’s comfort. Despite that, tyre roar and sound insulation are two things that can be bettered upon. It too lags behind the Jag with no power tailgate.
On Normal mode, the reaction of the car to throttle input is very much docile while Eco mode can be altogether dismissed with BMW’s EcoPro. Dial it into Sport, the steering weights up nicely and the throttle starts to get things right. Even so, the IS is never rapid and traction control does not allow any slip. Fortunately, the 8-speed in-house gearbox shifts smoothly in both modes throughout the rev range which brings me to another problem. The creamy V6 of the past is gone and we are now left with an inline-4 that is slightly better than the heinous sounding A250.
This department is the weakest link in any Lexus, the difficult to use infotainment system. It is seriously not helped by being paired to a low resolution screen. If you want the best in-car multimedia, go to BMW while Audi isn’t much behind them in this aspect. Sure the IS has all-round cameras which can be useful but it’s blind spot system serves little to no purpose. And on the subject of Lexus Premium Audio, I’d say it is only good enough for FM.
When knocking at the door of 350 thousand, one is almost spoilt for choice. Completely ignoring used car at this price point, the IS creeps into 5 series and E class territory which are both higher up in the food chain. Long story short, the IS offers less value for the money. Its closest rival would be the Jaguar XE but an IS-lite could be had for 40 thousand less if you can live without many of the gizmos that are essential to not make it an expensive Toyota Camry. Buying a car is no easy decision especially during these hard times so I would think long and hard for this one.