Nextourer

It's FWD? Well then it should be more spacious than the IS even if it's the same size.

JessePS

FWD

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

beer goggles...

IS-SV

Sounds like its all about MPG, with a Lexus logo slapped on it.

farquad

i like it.. i'll make it official when better pics come out (Y)

ffpowerLN

iTrader: (1)

So far I am underwhelmed, was hoping to replace my 2IS with this, oh well... I'll keep an open mind until I see the real deal.

It's going to sell like hot cakes though I think.

Faymester

Oh dear, this seems like it's going to fall into the catagory of 'generic car'.

dunnojack

i question that.

they'd have to offer a LOT more than a prius, for a bargain price, or else the "why get an ES350, when you can get a cheaper camry" debate will apply to the 250h too.

how much can tree huggers afford on a hybrid car?

hybrid drivers are savers; silly folks who hypermile.

adding a gas saving hybrid to a luxury line seems contradictory.

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Not all people who purchase Prius are hard on cash. Some do it for the image. Imagine the loads of people waiting to buy a Lexus Prius who want to have a luxury image and also want to look like they care about the earth? I can see a lot of these being sold in the greater Boston area.

Gojirra99

^^Like many of the rich celebrities driving the Prius now(like DiCapprio) may switch to the Lexus hybrid ...

TED_FR

Diesel = 0.899 € / liter
Gasoline = 0.999 € / liter

BMW 316 (122 hp) base price = 27.050 €
BMW 320diesel (177 hp) base price = 34050 € sells like hot cakes
fuel efficiency according to BMW specs = 4.7l/100 outstanding

Lexus IS220d (177 hp) base price =32.250 € does not sell very well, multiple reliability issues related with the diesel engine
fuel efficiency according to Lexus specs =7.4 l /100 (not that good) but the actual fuel efficiency for some drivers is pretty close from IS250's (9.0 l /100 +). Clearly Lexus definitively needs an Hybrid since the IS220d is a major failure and it has been announced that Lexus will stop producing the diesel IS220d when the gen3 IS is released (by 2011).

Nextourer

There's a good chunk that want the fuel efficiency of a Camry Hybrid but want to stay in the Lexus brand for image purposes. This will fill that void. There are plenty of things to make a vehicle a Lexus. It's all in the details.

LexFather

Everything I have show the IS 220d has been a tremendous help to Lexus, its the best selling vehicle. It has the most torque in class. Its the first Lexus diesel hopefully they will get better in the future. Lexus NEEDS hybrids AND diesels to compete better in Europe where they hope to see sales grow to over 100k.

RXSF

a lot of people (including myself) will consider, if not buy this car instantly. i agree with the hollywood celebs, and the richies who dont need/cant afford the RX, GS, and LS hybrids.

TED_FR

The IS220d has been a tremendous headache to Lexus. They sold quite a number of them at launch time, but now a large number of them are for sale.

Just go and read the European Lexus forums, you'll get the idea. As I read in several magazines, there won't be any OTHER Lexus Diesel in the future.

Is220d uses the pretty widely used 177hp diesel engine found on Avensis, RAV4, Auris and Corolla Verso.

The volume sales are mostly RX400h.