If that's the case I guess they did not learn from Acura and how their hideous front end/grill made their sales go down.

 

Worthless? Did you see the picture on the Lexus website of the GS and how Lexus says that, "with styling cues such as a distinctive new front grille, that will soon be seen on all future Lexus vehicles". I'm pretty sure the new IS grill will look something like the new GS.

Lexus' words, not mine...

 

I like the new design. It looks very aggressive. Let's hope that the road feedback will improve.

 

The new 2013 GS has been officially revealed!!!

http://www.lexus.com/GS-2013/

Lexus has said in an official press release that they are using this grill on all new lexus models. In my opinion, the new GS is a great indicator of the changes to come on the new IS.

What do you all think of the new GS and of the IS looking more like that?

 

^^ it looks sexy but from this angle it looks...old? like an old fella giving you the snake eye.




Still like this shot best

 

5 series rear?

 

I like it. Interior is much more luxurious and they finally got rid of hideous digital clock.

 

^have to agree the old school digital clock is the worse part of the interior...same type used back in the 90's

 

I like the rear- the front...need to see it in person, some pics look good, others less good.

Things I dislike (assuming they translate from the new GS to the new IS):

Engine is basically the same

Transmission seems the same except for some new ECT modes- haven't seen anything suggesting an IS-F style directly shiftable auto as I'd have expected.


So really they're providing little if any reason to upgrade besides a bigger nav screen and the sorta-mouse controller for it... (and if my loaner RX is any judge, they still cripple half the features when the car is in drive anyway even with the mousestick controller, so who cares?)

 

I hope they integrate the passenger airbag sensor with an override for the NAV disable in motion. Mercedes does this... fingers crossed

 

That would be GREAT! I will keep my fingers crossed for that one too


I like the new GS and hope that it means that I will love 3IS

 

At the reveal, they said the tranny locks the tourqe converter out. (isn't that the exact same thing as the ISF tranny?)

 

I hope you mean locks it up, not out

And while that is one thing the F transmission does, it isn't the most important one... which is the true M mode, which I've not seen mentioned for the GS.

What I'm seeing is this:

The press release does mention a "manual" mode, but Edmunds has this to say about it:

So again, it gets a few new features, but not the big one.

It'll be better than the existing GS/IS tranny (the downshift blips alone accomplish that) but it won't be the beauty that is the F transmission.

And the pretty much identical engine they've been using is also disappointing... though maybe they'll pull what they did with the first-year 3rd gen GS and only use the "old" engine for a year then use the "real" higher performance one afterward...

I just can't imagine them carrying over the same 306 hp for the 3IS and expecting folks to be happy about it.

 

Now that BMW has released info and pixs of the latest gen 3 series, Lexus will have it's work cut out for themselves. The 3 series def looks sharp although I'm not sure about how the kidney grills flow into the headlamp. I'll have to wait until I see it in person for final judgement but as for everything else, they seemed to have done a really good job. I think the biggest improvement goes to the interior as the latest gen 3 series looks light years ahead of the E90.

I sure hope that the recently released 4g GS will give some hints of what Lexus will do with the 3g IS. The interior looks fabulous and the ext finally shows emotion.

My biggest gripe with the 2g IS is with how Lexus executed the side door panels. There are no creases or anything and it basically looks like a slab door. I hate that and wish they would put more design into the doors. It's easy to just simply put a slab door and call it a day and I hope Lexus doesn't do that for the 3g IS.

 

I actually didn't find anything particularly compelling or exciting about the 2012 3-Series, and nothing that made me think "Uh oh, Lexus needs to step it up."

I'm not a fan at all of the new front end, or the rear for that matter, but the front end is where the biggest changes took place. The whole headlights-flowing-into-grille thing is not doing it for me at all. That said, I haven't liked the exterior of any non-M 3-Series since 2003/2004. As is usually the case, I predict that I won't really like the 3-Series exterior until the M3 is unveiled, which will look great, and that will forgive the more bland siblings for me.

The interior is still trademark BMW, and I don't really notice any revolutionary changes here. I still find it rather cold and uninviting. Something about the IS interior makes me feel comfortable and like I'm connected to the car. BMW interiors have always left me feeling distant from the car. I think a major reason is that the BMW dash is just like a big wall in front of you with some electronics thrown in. The IS center dash area marks a distinct break in the dash and actually juts out toward you and comes down to blend in well with the center console area.

The only variant I'm really interested in (short of the M3) is the 335i, and I guess I didn't realize that in 2011 they went from a twin- to a single-turbo on the 3.0 liter 6? In any case, if you're going to throw in the added cost and complexity of forced induction with BMW's reputation for reliability, I'd at least want to get more power than the naturally aspirated IS350, but it doesn't (I understand there's a displacement difference). I wonder if they've fixed the HPFP issues?

In any case, it doesn't look like the power output's changed on the 2012, they've just added some new technology to improve fuel economy. BMW says 32.6 MPG highway on the 335i, but EPA numbers aren't out yet. This is one area where Lexus will have to step up if that number holds true. But having had 6 years since the first IS250/350, I figure Lexus will have some tricks up its sleeve with the 3G.

In the end, nothing about the 2012 3-Series makes me want to switch. The only thing that could make me want to switch brands is if Lexus doesn't fix the glaring shortcoming of the 2IS, which in my opinion is the build and material quality. Overall I think the car's excellent and the design and material quality are as well, but they cut corners in areas that really detract from my enjoyment of the car, specifically the dash (I've never been in another car with a dash that flexes when you push on it, nor one that sounds like such a cacophony when you drive).

If Lexus can slightly improve on the 2IS with the 3IS in the performance and fuel economy area AND correct the design/quality issues, I'll remain a loyal customer.