IanP

On my way back to Northern Ireland from Germany today, I passed by Lexus Hatfield in the south of England and took pics of the new 3IS hybrid model, launched in Great Britain today.

Before I post them from my PC tomorrow,*I would concur absolutely that photographs do not do justice to the car*.

1. The back is a lot higher from top to bottom than it looks in pictures.

2. The front grille is simply superb and I defy anyone to say otherwise - nothing whatsoever to fear there (note front plates in EU style are compulsory across Europe).

3. The side is perhaps marginally less dramatic, but still markedly different from previous.

4. Best of all, the interior. Wow! Right up there with the 4GS.

The most notable thing for me was the front panel inside the car with the buttons (below the screen) is much flatter than it appears in pics. You are almost pressing down on the buttons. In the pictures this looks like empty space in the front console, but in reality it's anything but.

As I say, will post tomorrow once home.

IanP

New IS (UK) - back low comparison versus 2IS and 4GS; here we can see the real differentiation in shape from the previous car.

IanP

New IS (UK) - back high comparison; for me, the car is higher from boot (trunk) lid to lower bumper (fender) than I had imagined.

IanP

New IS (UK) - front low comparison; a clear look at the grille, taken from low down.

IanP

New IS (UK) - front high comparison; here we see how the grille really looks on the road. It isn't quite as dramatic as some of the images suggest because you are rarely looking at it at eye level. Certainly no reason to be put off the 3IS!

IanP

New IS (UK) - side front comparison; unfortunately the way the GS was parked meant I always had to amend the angle slightly, and in this case I simply couldn't get at it at all from the side I wanted. Still, you can see the distinctions, I think.

IanP

New IS (UK) - side back comparison; again, I couldn't quite get the GS full length. Here, for me, is the one very minor disappointment - for the "all-new" IS, I would have changed the door handles and perhaps inserted some chrome.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Nice rear diffusor on that 300h

IanP

I had a few more too, but they are too big to upload.

The 3IS was a non-F-sport model; there was an F-sport there too (although it was actually in a lower spec otherwise, I reckoned). Both were 300h hybrids.

IanP

Funny, I hadn't actually noticed that! Very true.

corradoMR2

Nice pictures showing the comparisons on each angle. Much appreciated!

AndyL

IanP,

Great comparisons and good pictrues.

For the GS, I happened to come across one the other day in a parking lot and I was surprised to discover some new curves and lines on the hood despite I have seen this car many times. The left and right arms of spindle grill actually get their curves/lines extended somewhere on the hood. I believe what I saw was a GS450h in Liquid Platinum.

IanP

Initially I only took the two ISs, but then I saw the merit of adding the GS. What was really striking to me was how the IS seems to build on the GS styling rather than merely mimic it. It is of the same basis but is a different car.

For all that, I was delighted by the IS interior because it is so similar to the GS's. The GS is the nicest car I've ever sat in (at least with the vague intent of buying!)

1QWKGS4

iTrader: (3)

Def, New IS is the most aggressive and has more bold lines. looks sharp, makes the old IS and new GS kinda boring looking in comparison.

IanP

I saw my first one "on the road" here in Northern Ireland yesterday (not sure whether it was owned or on test drive, I suspect the latter); it passed on a single-carriageway road coming the other way.

It was mercury grey.

It certainly really does stand out - not just from other cars, but also from the CT and GS. It was unmistakable what was coming from a distance!