The recently-facelifted Lexus IS sedan has made it to our shores, replete with updated styling, equipment, and pricing. The IS now bears a design that is largely similar to the RC Coupe, “effectively creating a four-door of the coupe,” or so says Lexus Australia.
The range on offer does not change, with the IS200t, IS300h, and IS350. Each variant is available in three trim levels, those being Luxury, F-Sport, and then topped off with Sports Luxury. The whole range benefits from a more aggressive grille and LED light designs, while the Luxury and Sports Luxury trims enjoy new alloy wheel designs. Also available are two new colours, being Deep Blue and Graphite Black (which replaces Starlight Black).
All 2017 IS sedans will come equipped with Lexus Safety System+ which tacks on things like adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, pre-collision warning, and automatic high-beams. The F-Sport and Sports Luxury trim levels also add blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.
The interior sees some revisions as well, with the central infotainment screen getting upsized to 10.3-inches (up 3.3-inches), a new Remote Touch controller, revised steering wheel, driver instrumentation and non-linear speedometer lifted from the RC Coupe, clock, panel switches, shifter knob, centre console cup holders, door handles, rear view mirror and knee pads. All of these things can now be ensconced in new trim colours too, with Nuance Black, Noble Brown, and Chateau on offer.
More standard kit (we’re really not kidding) includes 10-airbags, rear-view camera and parking sensors, daytime running lights, rain-sensing wipers, hill start assist, wheel-mounted paddle shifters, DAB+ digital radio, Lexus satellite navigation, heated and powered side mirrors, heated and ventilated front seats, infotainment voice control, and tyre pressure monitoring.
The base-model IS, now starting at $59,340 in base ‘Luxury’ trim, comes with a 2.0-litre turbocharched 4-cylinder petrol, with 180kW/350Nm of twist going to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The mid-range IS300h (now starting at $61,890) hybrid sees the same 164kW/300Nm setup as the pre-update IS, which utilises a continuously-variable transmission (CVT) automatic, which sees a ‘six-step’ calibration. The $65,390 IS350 V6 sits at the top of the pile, with 233kW/378Nm on tap. Same eight-speed automatic as the one employed by the 200t though.
There are some minor revisions under the skin too, with some revised springs, dampers, anti-roll bars and aluminium front arms, bushings, and upper bracing. All F-Sport IS’s and the IS350 Sport Luxury will come with an adaptive suspension setup, replete with predictive anti-dive control.
Prices for the IS sedan have risen across the range, with increases from $290 to $950 depending on variant, though with the increased list of standard equipment, value is undoubtedly up too. Lexus Australia predicts that sales of the IS range will be headlined by the IS200t taking up 50% of sales, where the IS300h and IS350 will take up 30% and 20% respectively.
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