2009 Lexus IS250 Luxury Review

Many agreed that the IS200 was also the perfect place to start if one were to go upmarket with prestige cars. And by the time the IS300 was introduced, enthusiasts had identified a genuine sports-sedan that was almost capable of uprooting the Germans.

But the model's run was about to end, and there was much ado about the new IS, which hit our shores at the end of 2005. Despite the IS200's success, buyers had already moved on and in turn, wanted something more distinctive.

So the new one came shrouded in acres of leather, was richly specified and had low-profile wheels - a complete package for your typical high-flying Singaporean. It was a little flawed in quality, and little was mentioned on its Corolla-like door panels and switchgear.

But some of us will remember how it was. We motoring journalists are a spoilt bunch. Being in a position to inform potential buyers accordingly, some are often bolstered by various car-makers who want free positive publicity. They spend good money trying to convince us of their product. Flamboyant PR stunts, sumptuous product launches and press trips overseas on business class - we often have full access to everything we need.

Newer, younger players in this tug-of-war naively try to conquer with all their objectivity in the world. Well, that is until they sit down at a ten-course lunch with wine and pralines. Suddenly, high praise and superlatives are all translated wholeheartedly into their 'reviews'.

But the local internet media has yet to achieve the reputation they sorely ought to have, despite being the first points of research. A few believe that the internet is second-rate to newspapers and magazines; hence you might call us slightly "impoverished."

Now keeping that in mind, we're going to tell you, in all honesty, that this so-called "minor update" of the 2009 IS250 is a marked improvement in terms of interior quality and refinement.

We can no longer say that it bears resemblance to the Camry in plastics. We can no longer depress the door panels downwards, and the switches no longer feel like they're going to snap when the car's given to a ham-fisted goon.

But its good points haven't changed. We still feel like we're wearing the perforated leather seats rather than sitting on them, and there's the air-conditioner that comes through those perforations in order to cool a person's posterior. As before, every single surface is soft and appealing. It's somewhere we didn't want to move from - smooth leather, firm but comfortable seats, good driving position™

All we needed was a Sony Playstation, Nintendo Wii and perhaps a plasma screen TV, and there we have your typical Lexus cliché - comparing the IS250 to a living room.
But when it came to space in objective terms, the seats will house a total of five - two contented and three uncomfortable adults. The rear seats were cramped enough to make us wonder if the front seats had any sort of massage function that was permanently set to "knead." Front headroom was also found to be a little lacking even though I'm only 1.7 metres in height, and my seat was adjusted all the way down.

But that's where the complaints end - our test car had all sorts of options on board. High intensity discharge lamps, an adaptive lighting system that swings into corners to help you see better, rain sensors, illuminated scuff plates, power-assisted driver and passenger memory seats, electro-chromatic mirrors on both the inside and outside, rear sun shade and a really expensive Mark Levinson 14-speaker sound system that even an audiophile like me can't fault.

It's all very plush even for a baby Lexus. Very comfortable. Very chick™

Driving Impressions

Brakes - depressed. Start button - pushed. The IS250 comes to life with a muffled roar, and settles into a nice V6 chatter. The 2,499 cc engine might be rated at 205 bhp, but the rear-driven car has 1,500 kg against it. Even so, we'd managed to get it to 100 km/h from rest in less than 8 seconds while it still had half a tank of petrol in the middle of the night - 0.4 seconds faster than the car's factory claim.

Its weight also means it has a good amount of momentum at speed. You'll have to prod firmly on the well-tuned brakes in order to slow it down, and even then it will continue to roll as if you were feeding the throttle in.

Given that it generates 252 Nm at 4,800 rpm, you might think that one has to work it fairly hard to get genuine in-gear push. You might not be far wrong, but no matter as the engine is a joy to rev.

There's even a touch of hard-core. In manual mode, the transmission doesn't automatically shift up unless you command it to. The 6-speed automatic rev-matches on downshifts, although it does get caught off-guard when you force the cogs down too quickly.

A secondary LED ring illuminates in amber and then red as the tachometer needle approaches the limiter. Combine that with paddle shifters, cabin insulation that doesn't let road or wind noise in at speeds past 150 km/h, and a nicely-sized steering. Then you'll get something that's really easy to punt around. And very chick™
The Lexus carves corners like an ice-skater, with a responsive (but fairly numb) steering that guides it gracefully into anything. The double wishbone front and multi-linked rear suspension gives a firm enough ride without being jarring over sharp bumps. We struggled to find any form of body-roll, but don't expect it to do any tricks. You can only turn the traction control off whilst stationary. Then, it'll cut in rudely the minute it detects any form of slip, so no drifting, sliding and certainly no hand, err, footbrake turns.

What you do get at the limit is excessive understeer that pushes the front end right out of line. And so it continues to be safe, elegant and refined even in this aspect. And very chick™

How so?

But maybe that's why the IS250 feels like such a chick car. Lexus designed it to be a very accomplished sedan that does everything well, but without the drama. For instance, take the handling - it corners really well, and doesn't put a foot wrong at the limit. It lacks danger, excitement and everything else your mother told you not to do when you were young and diving into water-filled limestone quarries.

But clearly, no one's going to chuck it into a bend at twice the speed of light, or even run it up to the redline. Lexus built an IS250 that's safe, comfortable and refined. And safe. Just the way their clientele fancy it.

Prices start at $129,500. For that amount of money, you won't be getting any of the abovementioned options - that will cost you another eleven grand or so, bringing the total to $140,000 for the luxury-specified variant. But even if you decide to go for the standard one, there are just too many safety features to count. A hill-start assistant, four different computers that manage the car's stability, child restraints, and at least eight different airbags are all just the beginning of the list.

So we might have been a little unfair with this chick-flick, but there's no doubt that we can say once again, in all honesty, that the Lexus IS250 is the single most refined, most accomplished and definitely the most comfortable entry-level luxury car that you can buy, even for people who hate driving.

It might lack our "manly" brand of adrenalin-related exhilaration, but we only said so based on our expectations of a luxury-sports sedan. It's the kind of car that the most hard core of drivers will derive pleasure from getting pampered in, and then start hitting himself or herself for doing so. So much for chick-flicks™