I had one of the first reviews of the 3IS here on the forums.
(Post #3)
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ration-is.html

Suffice to say the 3IS is an improvement over the 2IS in most every category except cabin material quality. Not design, not assembly. Material grade. Perhaps that could have been better articulated in previous posts but that's all what it comes down to as has been stated in my reviews of the 3IS.

 

I disagree, I find the material quality is better in the 3IS. My 2IS started having the sticky melting dash syndrome. Although the 2IS still looks great inside for a 8 year old car.

 

Your car is new though. We haven't seen longevity of the 3IS yet. 2-3 years will give us a good idea on how well the interior wears - though you do live in a hotter climate so some cars may be subjected to harsher conditions than someone with the same car in a different State. Anyway point is a good number of plastics are rougher (gives less of a premium feel) and can mar easier.

I did convince a couple who's driven BMWs for 30 years earlier today to buy a 3IS. They came to our BMW store looking at a 3-Series and a X3. Came over to Lexus because they didn't like the run-flats that were standard, so looked at the RX and liked it but not the most exciting, so as they were in the market for the 3-Series I suggest a 3IS. They were skeptical because they knew past Lexus sedans to be snoozers. I brought up a IS350, reviewed some specs and features..Done deal

 

I drove a'13 250 F Sport loaner today, approximately 100 miles (the distance from my house to the closest Lexus Dealer). It has about 7K on the clock. I have it for the week while my '14 350F gets its radio/nav system replaced. I had never driven a previous generation IS until today, and while I agree that the 3IS is a better car, I don't think the old one was bad. It reminded me quite a bit of the E30 3-series Bimmers, which were fun cars. The steering wasn't bad (am I right to assume it was hydraulic?) and even let through some "feel." The ride was firm but livable, and the car seemed tossable, although most of my driving was on the interstate. Could the 2IS compete with the 3-series? Not the E90, but certainly the F30, which may have the worst steering in its market segment. Lexus did a great job with the 3IS, but after some wheel time in a 2IS car, I'm not ready to dismiss it.

 

I miss my 2IS. Despite its flaws which I will get into I greatly miss it.



+ More storage space than the 3IS (sunglass, glove & cubbyhole)
+ Liked the emergency brake implementation better
+ Liked the gas pedal better than the NON-F-Sport 3IS
+ LED cabin lighting
+ I liked that LED that made my water bottle glow at night in the cupholder (you may laugh )
+ Good power curve making sure there is power at all ranges

+ + + The great one upstairs, my dad and this car protected me from that accident

It was a pretty violent accident. From the pictures you can see where I went under the truck bed and then immediately hopped the curve into median.



- Missed the LED DRL by 1 year which always bugged me, almost modded it
- I always hated the backend ...thought it might grow on me but never did
- No coin space ...outside of the awkward quarter holder
- Didn't feel sporty enough (transmission shifts and throttle response)
- Really needs more HP and Torque
- Cupholders were so bad even my friends didn't want to use them
- Back was small
- Leather could have been better
- Air Conditioner was weaksauce

--- The old fogy GUI drove the living **** out of me

That Nav/Radio System GUI drove me insane! I hated that thing. The buttons were big but only seemed to hold 10ish characters because the font was so big. You could have easily fit more than 6 radio station presets if they didn't take up so much space. In addition it had to be extremely bright gray on top of stupid looking. The touch interface was ok but still sluggish. My friend's Ford had horrible touch interface but at least her's looked nice. At least the system went to a black color scheme at night but you couldn't keep that color scheme during the day which was stupid. On top of that the text that radio stations marquee would many times get stuck anywhere from a few minutes to months. I think I had "We Are Youn" stuck on my button for 2 months. I honestly cannot remember but it seemed like it was stuck like that forever. Maybe that is OCD but it drove me freaking bat insane!

Despite those annoyances with the 2IS I actually really loved that car. Still miss it tbh. Was a great car, treated me right and I could trust it. It handled that accident like a champ and me feel like if I was in a cheaper car I would have walked away with injuries more serious than a stiff neck, grumpy stomach (guessing the stress) and headaches.



Loaner - 2014 IS 250 (not an f-sport)

This would be the younger version of my car since it is almost the same gray.

Things I'm not fond of include almost zero storage space (no sunglass holader, small glove, no cubbyhole, etc.), the mouse thingy (glad I only need it for a few things), the small cupholders (need to be wider with those re-sizable bumpers), the cabin lights aren't LED, missing foglights (even though I never used them in my 2IS) and despite my desire for a newer engine with 50 more HP for each model it comes with the same engine.

Outside of that I would say that I really like the redesign. They did a good job improving many things with the 3IS.

I've said what I like in many other threads so I will just say something new. This is probably going to sound silly but I'm really digging the headlights on this car. A lot of range in addition to the bluish tint making everything look cool. The tint even makes the white stripes on orange barrels look kinda cool lol. Makes me wonder if I will miss these headlights when my F-Sport comes in. Do the LED versions have a bluish tint to them as well or just the HID headlights?


^ to Spud
The 2IS uses electric steering as well. I think both cars give decent amount of feedback. Obviously not as much as hydraulic where you feel it every step of the way but I feel it when I need to.


Parting 2IS pics...

 

yea I dont like the hinge on floor pedal, but thats to mitigate any future intended acceleration crap. Also on the floormat there was this big yellow mattress tag that you couldnt hide again related to the IA stuff. So I cut the tag off.

 

Me too! I cut that tag off right at the dealership!

 

I came from an 08 IS250 to an 11 IS350 F-Sport and now to the 14 IS350 F-Sport. I loved the 2IS, and still wouldn't mind having one, I miss both my 2IS' to this day but I must say that the 3IS is a better car overall, more fun to drive and addicting. There are certain things I really wish they had kept for the 3IS like the interior lightning, the door pockets (or however you call them) etc... but overall I'm very happy with my 3IS.

 

Yea the LED lighting isnt as good as the 2IS, but fixable with aftermarket. I just changed out the footwell LEDs in 5 minutes. I ordered a custom fit LED panel for the front and rear dome lights. There is a coupon code for this place if you google it

http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Vehicle-Spe...us-is-df35.htm

 

Actually the hinge on the floor pedal is a performance thing. BMWs and other high performance cars have always used floor hinged pedals, its a more natural motion for your foot, reduces fatigue, allows for more precise throttle inputs, makes heel and toe driving much easier. If you look at pretty much all high performance cars, you'll find a floor hinged pedal. LFA has all the pedals floor hinged...

LFA:


Porsche Carrera GT:


Porsche 911 GT3:


BMW M5:


I think once you get used to it, you will prefer it.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2010...news/100909977

 

I'm loving the floor hinged pedal. My previous cars didn't have that and I definitely like the change. My calf muscle is more relaxed this way since my foot can rest on its heel without feeling like it's getting elevated when applying pressure to the pedal.

 

I agree. The hinged pedal is nice.

 

Hinged Gas Pedal FTW !!

 

While I am disappointed with Lexus USA's decision to withhold a lot of the options available to everyone else, I do love the 3IS. I have been stubbornly hanging on to my USB 2IS but am probably about to pull the trigger on a MRM 3IS because I need to try to lower my lease payments by negotiating a better deal on the new one. I expect the 3IS to be different but not by much so I guess I don't understand how this could be a generational thing or any other significant difference in ideology.

That said, I can't wait to test drive the 3IS and try the floor hinged gas pedal!

 

I've always had a car with the pedal on lever design. Maybe I'll warm up to the floor on hinge

The differences were bigger than I thought. Even though the engine is the same, everything else is very different. Suspension is smoother but handles better, chassis stiffer, 2IS steering feels like an ES compared to this one.

Another reason its there is to to mitigate unintended acceleration BS, since the floor hinge pedal cant really hang up on a floor mat