IS220d Review by Autocar Mag
01-02-06, 01:26 PM
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IS220d Review by Autocar Mag
Lexus IS Saloon 220d 2.2 SE-L 4dr
Test Date 20/12/2005 09:00:00
Price when new: ?27,800
HISTORY
By its own admission, for the 15 years it has been in the UK market, Lexus has been happy to be the luxury brand with the least easily defined image. It has meant that while you need to be a certain sort of person to want, say, a BMW, anyone might have a Lexus on their shopping list.
Its more than a little telling that not only do lead characters in shows as gritty as Spooks and Waking The Dead drive Lexus products, but so too do rather more lightweight comedic small screeners such as Martin Clunes in Doc Martin and that most famous of all fictional Lexus drivers, Alan Partridge.
These product placements have been made because Lexus has twigged that to want a Lexus, first you must know what one is. And this very anonymity with which Lexus has hitherto been so comfortable is responsible for the fact that, in the UK, the marque has a brand recognition of just six per cent. It seems that topping the JD Power customer satisfaction survey five years in a row is just not enough.
So it has been decided that Lexus needs to embrace the automotive mainstream and this, the new IS220d, is the car that?s going to do it. You spotted that little ?d?, didn?t you? We will find out during this test whether the fact that there is now a diesel Lexus says more about how far diesel technology has progressed, or how desperate Lexus is to offer a product that does not automatically exclude the majority of its potential customers ? as petrol power does in this and most of the other classes in which Lexus competes. For now, however, be advised that this is not only Lexus?s first ever diesel, it is its first ever four-cylinder car.
Is this a big leap for the Lexus faithful brought up to believe that refinement was the one Lexus immutable? Maybe, but we have seen already that Lexus needs to widen its scope beyond the narrow traditional confines and, besides, Jaguar did exactly the same in 2003 with the fine X-type diesel.
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
The IS220d goes on sale next month, and while it can be had for as little as 22,200, our test car came in range-topping SE-L spec, for which a rather more eye-opening 27,800 will be required. For the record, we?d say that the still well-equipped mid-spec SE is the model we?d choose if, indeed, we?d put any IS220d on our short list.
It may seem odd even to cast doubt on the issue given that the subject is not only a Lexus but, to ours and many other eyes, the most attractive yet to wear the badge of Toyota?s premium brand. But, and as we shall see, Lexus?s first foray into the diesel mainstream has by no means been without its problems.
The car itself is entirely new and replaces the old IS200, which has done slow but steady business in the UK market since its introduction six years ago. The latest model challenges the established players from Merc, Audi and Jaguar, but the only question on everyones lips right now is can Lexus?s first diesel beat the BMW 320d, a car with as good a claim to being the best on sale as we can think of. Weve already compared the V6 petrol IS250 to the 325i and it came closer than many would have thought to toppling the acknowledged class leader. But the 320d is a tougher challenge altogether.
Certainly there?s no doubting that the Lexus has come to battle properly prepared. It doesn?t matter whether you look at the multi-link suspension, six-speed gearbox, eight standard airbags or the plethora of active safety equipment, the IS220d is right at the cutting edge of customer expectation. And with those looks, Lexus quality and likely glacial depreciation, the showroom charms are as manifest as they are multiple.
ON THE ROAD
What you really want to know is whether a diesel engine really can sit happily under the bonnet of a Lexus and the answer, bluntly, is no. Or, at best, not this one. We make no complaint about power, as with 175bhp from 2.2 litres it more than bests the 163bhp of the 2.0-litre BMW. Theres plenty of torque, too: a fat 295lb ft of it at 2000rpm, again comfortably outscoring the BMW?s 251lb ft at the same revs.
No, the first part of the problem is the job that engine is asked to do, the second the way in which it does it. For while the bigger Lexus engine may outpoint the BMW power unit, once you factor in the whopping extra 155kg of weight carried by the Lexus, it is clear it will need every advantage it can find.
While wet weather prevented us reaching 60mph in the IS220d in less than 10.0sec, you could have put it in the middle of the Gobi Desert and it would not have got close to the 8.1sec the 320d managed in our hands. We reckon it might just crack 9.0sec in optimal conditions.
Flat out, where weight matters very little and power very much, the 220d still failed to match either expectations or the BMW, acceleration ceasing at 129mph. However, in the real world these measures are perhaps less important than those recorded in each gear, and here the alloy-block engine is at last in its element.
From 50-70mph in top gear took 9.2sec, compared to the 9.6sec required by the smaller-engined 320d, while 30-50mph in fourth calls for no more than 4.5sec, or over a second less than the 320d. This engine may have a rather narrow powerband, but there?s no missing the urgency when it is on boost.
That said, there?s grip aplenty from the standard 225/45 R17 tyres, excellent body control even without sport suspension and well-weighted, precise and direct steering. Blank out the limitations of the engine and transmission and theres genuine fun to be had. The ride quality is pretty impressive, too, at least once the car is up to cruising speed.
LIVING WITH THE CAR
Leaving the statistics aside, we have to question the suitability of this engine for a car wearing the Lexus badge. It?s noticeably rattly at idle and even at sustained motorway speeds there?s a quiet but constant thrum in the cabin, hurting otherwise impressive levels of refinement. This may be acceptable in the Toyota Avensis, RAV4 and Versos that will also use this engine, but in a Lexus? We think not.
We?re also far from happy with the gearbox, which spoiled the potential of its six sensibly spaced ratios with a balky action. To be fair we have driven other IS220ds which had better transmissions, but if the test car is at all indicative of what customers will receive, we?d recommend taking particular notice of the change quality on the test drive. Unlike in the petrol IS250, there is no auto option.
On the fuel front, the heavier, more powerful and larger-engined IS220d was never likely to come close to the 320d?s astonishing 56.3mpg test touring figure, though its 49.5mpg is not a poor result. But CO2 emissions of 168g/km place the Lexus three tax bands higher than the 320d.
It is those more interested in a car?s static qualities that will likely find the IS220d most appealing. The seat and wheel can be widely adjusted for an ideal driving position, from where you?ll find excellent ergonomics and electronically illuminated dials that are paragons of clarity.
There?s no evidence of cost-cutting in the quality of this entry-level Lexus?s construction, nor is there any doubting it possesses a genuine luxury feel fully in keeping with the price and badge. However, why did Lexus feel the need to chuck the entire palette of interior materials at the cabin? In this SE-L model, leather, wood, plastic, brushed aluminium and chrome all play their part in compromising the cohesion of what would otherwise be a very smartly designed and well-executed interior.
VERDICT: 3.5 out of 5
Lexus?s first diesel is a likeable car, but one whose abilities range from the exceptional to the really rather mediocre. Unfortunately for Lexus, the standard set by one of the ubiquitous German saloons is now stratospherically high and the IS220d, for all its merits, fails to provide not only the brilliance but also the consistency with which to combat it.
http://www.autocarmag.com/RoadTest_S...p?RT_ID=217969
Test Date 20/12/2005 09:00:00
Price when new: ?27,800
HISTORY
By its own admission, for the 15 years it has been in the UK market, Lexus has been happy to be the luxury brand with the least easily defined image. It has meant that while you need to be a certain sort of person to want, say, a BMW, anyone might have a Lexus on their shopping list.
Its more than a little telling that not only do lead characters in shows as gritty as Spooks and Waking The Dead drive Lexus products, but so too do rather more lightweight comedic small screeners such as Martin Clunes in Doc Martin and that most famous of all fictional Lexus drivers, Alan Partridge.
These product placements have been made because Lexus has twigged that to want a Lexus, first you must know what one is. And this very anonymity with which Lexus has hitherto been so comfortable is responsible for the fact that, in the UK, the marque has a brand recognition of just six per cent. It seems that topping the JD Power customer satisfaction survey five years in a row is just not enough.
So it has been decided that Lexus needs to embrace the automotive mainstream and this, the new IS220d, is the car that?s going to do it. You spotted that little ?d?, didn?t you? We will find out during this test whether the fact that there is now a diesel Lexus says more about how far diesel technology has progressed, or how desperate Lexus is to offer a product that does not automatically exclude the majority of its potential customers ? as petrol power does in this and most of the other classes in which Lexus competes. For now, however, be advised that this is not only Lexus?s first ever diesel, it is its first ever four-cylinder car.
Is this a big leap for the Lexus faithful brought up to believe that refinement was the one Lexus immutable? Maybe, but we have seen already that Lexus needs to widen its scope beyond the narrow traditional confines and, besides, Jaguar did exactly the same in 2003 with the fine X-type diesel.
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
The IS220d goes on sale next month, and while it can be had for as little as 22,200, our test car came in range-topping SE-L spec, for which a rather more eye-opening 27,800 will be required. For the record, we?d say that the still well-equipped mid-spec SE is the model we?d choose if, indeed, we?d put any IS220d on our short list.
It may seem odd even to cast doubt on the issue given that the subject is not only a Lexus but, to ours and many other eyes, the most attractive yet to wear the badge of Toyota?s premium brand. But, and as we shall see, Lexus?s first foray into the diesel mainstream has by no means been without its problems.
The car itself is entirely new and replaces the old IS200, which has done slow but steady business in the UK market since its introduction six years ago. The latest model challenges the established players from Merc, Audi and Jaguar, but the only question on everyones lips right now is can Lexus?s first diesel beat the BMW 320d, a car with as good a claim to being the best on sale as we can think of. Weve already compared the V6 petrol IS250 to the 325i and it came closer than many would have thought to toppling the acknowledged class leader. But the 320d is a tougher challenge altogether.
Certainly there?s no doubting that the Lexus has come to battle properly prepared. It doesn?t matter whether you look at the multi-link suspension, six-speed gearbox, eight standard airbags or the plethora of active safety equipment, the IS220d is right at the cutting edge of customer expectation. And with those looks, Lexus quality and likely glacial depreciation, the showroom charms are as manifest as they are multiple.
ON THE ROAD
What you really want to know is whether a diesel engine really can sit happily under the bonnet of a Lexus and the answer, bluntly, is no. Or, at best, not this one. We make no complaint about power, as with 175bhp from 2.2 litres it more than bests the 163bhp of the 2.0-litre BMW. Theres plenty of torque, too: a fat 295lb ft of it at 2000rpm, again comfortably outscoring the BMW?s 251lb ft at the same revs.
No, the first part of the problem is the job that engine is asked to do, the second the way in which it does it. For while the bigger Lexus engine may outpoint the BMW power unit, once you factor in the whopping extra 155kg of weight carried by the Lexus, it is clear it will need every advantage it can find.
While wet weather prevented us reaching 60mph in the IS220d in less than 10.0sec, you could have put it in the middle of the Gobi Desert and it would not have got close to the 8.1sec the 320d managed in our hands. We reckon it might just crack 9.0sec in optimal conditions.
Flat out, where weight matters very little and power very much, the 220d still failed to match either expectations or the BMW, acceleration ceasing at 129mph. However, in the real world these measures are perhaps less important than those recorded in each gear, and here the alloy-block engine is at last in its element.
From 50-70mph in top gear took 9.2sec, compared to the 9.6sec required by the smaller-engined 320d, while 30-50mph in fourth calls for no more than 4.5sec, or over a second less than the 320d. This engine may have a rather narrow powerband, but there?s no missing the urgency when it is on boost.
That said, there?s grip aplenty from the standard 225/45 R17 tyres, excellent body control even without sport suspension and well-weighted, precise and direct steering. Blank out the limitations of the engine and transmission and theres genuine fun to be had. The ride quality is pretty impressive, too, at least once the car is up to cruising speed.
LIVING WITH THE CAR
Leaving the statistics aside, we have to question the suitability of this engine for a car wearing the Lexus badge. It?s noticeably rattly at idle and even at sustained motorway speeds there?s a quiet but constant thrum in the cabin, hurting otherwise impressive levels of refinement. This may be acceptable in the Toyota Avensis, RAV4 and Versos that will also use this engine, but in a Lexus? We think not.
We?re also far from happy with the gearbox, which spoiled the potential of its six sensibly spaced ratios with a balky action. To be fair we have driven other IS220ds which had better transmissions, but if the test car is at all indicative of what customers will receive, we?d recommend taking particular notice of the change quality on the test drive. Unlike in the petrol IS250, there is no auto option.
On the fuel front, the heavier, more powerful and larger-engined IS220d was never likely to come close to the 320d?s astonishing 56.3mpg test touring figure, though its 49.5mpg is not a poor result. But CO2 emissions of 168g/km place the Lexus three tax bands higher than the 320d.
It is those more interested in a car?s static qualities that will likely find the IS220d most appealing. The seat and wheel can be widely adjusted for an ideal driving position, from where you?ll find excellent ergonomics and electronically illuminated dials that are paragons of clarity.
There?s no evidence of cost-cutting in the quality of this entry-level Lexus?s construction, nor is there any doubting it possesses a genuine luxury feel fully in keeping with the price and badge. However, why did Lexus feel the need to chuck the entire palette of interior materials at the cabin? In this SE-L model, leather, wood, plastic, brushed aluminium and chrome all play their part in compromising the cohesion of what would otherwise be a very smartly designed and well-executed interior.
VERDICT: 3.5 out of 5
Lexus?s first diesel is a likeable car, but one whose abilities range from the exceptional to the really rather mediocre. Unfortunately for Lexus, the standard set by one of the ubiquitous German saloons is now stratospherically high and the IS220d, for all its merits, fails to provide not only the brilliance but also the consistency with which to combat it.
http://www.autocarmag.com/RoadTest_S...p?RT_ID=217969
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