How is everyone perspective on the quality of materials used int he IS ? Coming from a 2013 GS I was pretty much disappointed with the quality of materials used. But even compared to the out going going IS, the quality of materials is less and seems less durable, I was thinking of trading in my GS but now I am on the sideline...

 

2IS materials are not durable at all so....

 

The materials in the new IS are pretty upscale feeling compared to the previous. A big problem with the 2nd generation is the massive panels of rubberized plastic all over. NuLuxe has improved immensely since its introduction in the CT. The look and feel is really getting close to genuine leather. The biggest bonus of NuLuxe to me is the lack of creasing and wear that leather tends to get overtime.

 

Good to know the Nuluxe gets improved as I sat in a leatherette interior of a Infiniti Q50 the other day in a dealership (they have a one-day preview thing) and I find their version has a feel and look as close as a genuine leather. If IS has the improved Nuluxe, then it is a good sign.

For the massive panels of rubberized plastics in 2IS, why is it a problem?

 

Agree on the Nuluxe. 2.5 years later and my CT's seats look exactly the same as when I bought the car new. Very durable.

Freddy2020: I just saw the 3IS today in person for the first time and to get a view of several pics, see: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ml#post8007664


The GS has finer materials overall in particular the doors, console, and lower dash. No doubt about that. However, it is $10K more and are you getting $10K more quality? Hmm... that can make for an interesting debate. So in short, it doesn't mean the IS has cheap materials. In fact, once I sat in it, it felt very sporty and of high quality especially where it counts - switch gear, armrest, seats, steering wheel, etc. Yes, the piano black trim can be perceived as cheap, but just go for the F-Sport or the higher packages with the real wood and it will look great. I own a CT and the 3IS is a step up in interior much like the GS is to the IS, and the LS is to the GS. I also owned a 2IS and the main difference is it had softer padded materials even at the bottom dash and doors, but does that make it better quality plastic? I've sat in an Infiniti JX 35 and everywhere you touch, it's super-padded but the quality and fit/finish looks and feels similar to a Buick Enclave . So "padded" does not necessarily mean higher quality...

Other areas I went looking for and my feedback:
1. Carpeting feels a little denser and of thicker weight than the 2IS = better! The CT's is sparse in comparison.
2. The headliner is the same high-quality velvety material as in the 2IS. Superior to the CT's (plastic).
3. Finishing of the trunk and under hood are similar to 2IS and good quality.
4. Less plastic coverings in the engine bay Cost-cutting perhaps - but fine with me.
5. Feel of door opening and slam/closure very solid feel and sound to it.
6. Wheel wells might be a negative here. They are no longer covered in the felt material to absorb noise from pebbles and general tire noise. Instead I saw mostly plastic and tar-like covering in some areas. My RX and CT oddly enough have the felt - maybe the "tar-like" material is more effective at NVH reduction?

 

Great observations. Some of the pictures show the details I am looking for if I do see the car in person.

Since the model you saw is without packages, the knee pad is not padded with stitches. I believe that is one of the sources of "cheap plastics" pointed out by a few members here.

 

Finally I was able to see one 3IS in the local dealership today. In the showroom, there is a white IS250 AWD non-F Sport in standard trim. So it has black plastic trim with 17" wheels and no backup camera.

The car does look stunning. Here are my observations:

1. The hand feel of Nuluxe is really great and it is indeed an improved version over the CT. I told my wife it is leather and she believed it. It is because the texture is smooth and silky which is quite deceiving. In terms of texture, it is smoother than the standard leather in our 2011 Lexus RX. I look forward to see the real leather option in 3IS as I am curious what the difference among the real leather in 3IS, semi-aniline leather in 2IS and the Nuluxe in 3IS.

2. The front doors are heavier than 2IS when opening and closing. But for the rear doors, they are about the same.

3. The upper dash looks high quality despite the standard plastic standard knee and the oversized silver trim on each side of the lower dashboard feel a bit cheap. I guess Lexus is good at using curves and different materials to invoke your emotion and makes you feel you are in a luxurious environment. It is something that its competitors fail to match.

4. The cost cutting on the door is apparent around the upper window frame where the plastic moulding found in 2IS is missing. I knew it when I saw the 3IS in a autoshow at a distance. But it is when you are close to the door that you can see the details.

5. Lexus is always good at details but in 3IS, there is one feature that I will miss in my 2IS --- the trunk light no longer has a switch. This is a useful feature. I think I will find a way to add it back. IMO, this is a poor decision to cut this feature out.

6. The legroom for the rear seats does improve a lot. Finally I don't have to ask tall passengers to sit in the front and short passengers to sit in the back.

7. In Canada, the split fold-down rear seats(60/40) are not standard. If without this feature, you also will lose the rear seat armrest.

8. The finish of the standard black trim is interesting. CorradoMR2 described it as piano black trim and I couldn't find a better term to describe. It is not actually glossy but matte finish trim with low gloss. I believe it is a difficult decision as they could not use silver painted trim anymore as there would be an overload in the interior. However, if going for completely glossy, someone can mistake it as a wood trim!

9. Overall, it is a much solid car.

 

I thought the interior materials were overall very good, obviously not as good as the 4GS, and I would not trade my 4GS for a 3IS, but as was mentioned earlier the GS is $10-15k more than the IS depending on the options, so obviously is going to be more car.

I think the 3IS has better materials inside than a 6ES at a similar price point.

I agree, I think the NuLuxe feels better than the standard leather on the ES & RX.

 

I personally feel the 3IS is a step back in quality of materials. Door panels are one of the more glaring downgrades. Buttons on the wheel are cheaper feeling and looking, more extensive use of hard plastic. No leather or wood trim options on f-sport models.

 

Having finally had a chance to inspect the 3IS as it was brought to Vossen I feel the interior was solid for the price. Like the ES there are some cost cutting measures but I did not feel it was cheap or missing. I was stunned by how good the NuLuxe was. It felt like a high quality car, I wasn't a huge fan of the stylized fake aluminum (GS has real stuff).

I think the design is sporty and the multi-level dash doesn't look "clean" which can hurt opinion. Contrarily after getting in the 4GS today the design is much cleaner and it looks more uniform to the 3IS. There is no question the 4GS is superior in materials in every way. The 3IS LFA gauges take the win there.

Overall I think for most people at this price its fine.

 

yeah, and now imagine base interiors of old 2IS... they were really bad IMHO if you got it without wood and nav screen, it didnt look great.... so i "had" to get loaded luxury + nav/ml since i wanted it to look nice... with this one, i would be satisfied with "base" F-Sport, because it looks great inside and I dont have to pay up for anything else.

 

AndyL, good review and I pretty much have the same opinions.

I didn't notice the plastic trim missing around the door window frame. Do you see metal and is it color coordinated to the ext paint ?

 

As was I, IMHO the NuLuxe is the best synthetic leather material on the market.

 

The window frame (the portion where you look from the car inside) is made of metal and it is always in black.

Instead of being covered in plastic moulding, only a piece of triangular plastic is used to hide the joint where the two edges of the triangle meet. This treatment also appears in CT and ES. There are still plastic moulding for GS and LS. IMO, it doesn't look so bad but as the other forum members said, it is acceptable at this price point.

While the massive plastic moulding used to cover the edge of the lower door panel in 2I is considered as problematic by some forum members, I think if the window frame is covered by plastic moulding, the perceived quality of the interior will be improved.

Note the 3-series or the Q50 --- They still have the plastic moulding around the window frame.

This kind of thing is usually left out by the majority of the users as the instrument panel inside the 3IS gets all the good attention.

 

AndyL, I'm glad you pointed out the plastic frame (or lack thereof). I had to go check my CT and in fact you are correct. The little plastic triangle is in the upper corner, but it's not noticeable when seated. In all honesty, I have no issues with the black metal painted frame or the plastic corner piece. I don't feel it is lacking or de-contented (pics below). In fact on my RX which has the plastic frame cover, I had to put felt beneath it to stop plastic on metal squeaks it made at times. So might be a blessing in disguise...