Quote:
Originally Posted by Germanauto
I'm so impressed with Toyota/Lexus. Just a handful of months ago it looked like their F division was going to die. Now we are hearing the opposite, that a slew of new F models are on their way. This IS500 looks sick as hell and wasn't good enough for Akio Toyota to be a true F. I can't wait to see how good the next ISF will be.
Sat in the new IS yesterday....I still can't get over the dated interior, both in design and quality (lot of hard plastic).
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I'm not nearly as enamored. Their original 1st gen IS in 1998 was exciting and a good start to rival the E46 in terms of driving dynamics. But it's been a steep downhill since.
The current IS is the 3rd gen that began in 2013. For context, the E9x was still in production in 2013! Toyota has been sitting on their laurels since then relying on refresh of old platforms, old engines, old technologies, etc. to keep their good reliability reputation going. That's all they got now, frankly.
The IS 500 exemplifies this - putting an old engine in an old platform and calling this combination "new." The same V8 engine has been used for years on the LS, LC, RC-F and now the IS. Their F brand is weak, having no unique engines and, compared with BMW's M, is short on every performance measure except weight. The proposed LC F could've been their showcase for new Lexus performance technology but they abandoned it last year citing COVID as the reason.
If COVID can kill this, it must have been another feeble attempt to begin with.
