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"Third time is a charm" -- great 3IS article/review

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Old Sep 23, 2013 | 08:03 PM
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Default "Third time is a charm" -- great 3IS article/review

http://dailyfreeman.com/articles/201...mode=fullstory
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Old Sep 23, 2013 | 08:18 PM
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Nice find.
"Overall interior quality has improved as well, with better materials and finishes throughout the cabin."
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Old Sep 23, 2013 | 08:29 PM
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Good article but they messed up the picture with an ES and the label ”Toyota Lexus IS350” lol.
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Old Sep 23, 2013 | 09:09 PM
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Overall interior quality has improved as well, with better materials and finishes throughout the cabin.
Absolutely laughable



Let's see..

rough coarse cup holder plastic and surrounding remote touch





again poor choice of plastic for the glove box AND its extremely light and flimsy





hard rough plastic and check some other IS's and the two tier is misaligned



matte black trim looks and feels cheap, speaker and plastic towards bottom flex





most of this plastic has a terrible waxy feel to it



and finally the piece de resistance.. steering wheel control bezels. some of the worst grainy rough plastics I've ever had the displeasure of seeing and touching in a supposed "Luxury" badged car.

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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 01:04 AM
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Still better than 2IS, so the statement is correct.
And quite frankly, with those concerns you should get a >$70k car.

The IS isn't perfect, but what to expect from a car that's priced below its competitors? And the plastic isn't that bad. It's better than the A4 i had before, and that was a really well built car.
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 01:33 AM
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Lets wait to see if the infamous "melting dash" has been fixed (ie, cheap plastics)
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 01:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Hoovey2411
Absolutely laughable



Let's see..

rough coarse cup holder plastic and surrounding remote touch


again poor choice of plastic for the glove box AND its extremely light and flimsy

hard rough plastic and check some other IS's and the two tier is misaligned


most of this plastic has a terrible waxy feel to it


and finally the piece de resistance.. steering wheel control bezels. some of the worst grainy rough plastics I've ever had the displeasure of seeing and touching in a supposed "Luxury" badged car.

It's not a rolls royce you've bought. Neither is it a mercedes S class, or a lexus LS.

This Lexus IS can compete with bmw 3 series, audi A4 and mercedes C class. Get inn them and see if they are better built
There is a reason this car is "cheap", they have to save the money somewhere.
Where I live, the IS costs about the same as a toyota camry. Guess how the toyota compares to the IS when it comes to the interior build quality
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 02:30 AM
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man, those photos do make the IS350 interior look very cheap.

I like the 2014 Q50 and the TL interior much better. Much more elegant and classy. The 2014 IS350 interior just looks weird.
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 03:59 AM
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Originally Posted by magne
It's not a rolls royce you've bought. Neither is it a mercedes S class, or a lexus LS.

This Lexus IS can compete with bmw 3 series, audi A4 and mercedes C class. Get inn them and see if they are better built
There is a reason this car is "cheap", they have to save the money somewhere.
Where I live, the IS costs about the same as a toyota camry. Guess how the toyota compares to the IS when it comes to the interior build quality
Agreed. The interior is not really bad at all, much much much improved from the 2IS and Lexus also has to set a quality boundary between the 3IS and the next higher up GS, otherwise why would anyone buy the GS if they made almost everything just as good as the GS but $10k cheaper?
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 04:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Hoovey2411
Absolutely laughable



Let's see..
Only noticeable lower quality parts are lower part of the doors and LED lights in the interior.

Overall, 2IS had worse cabin... and it didnt wear well either, with all the rattles and squeaks.

In 2IS, people had to buy Navigation if they didnt want their interior center stack to look like Toyota.

If we look at everything together, 3IS has nicer cabin than my IS Luxury and I would trade in a second.
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 04:09 AM
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Not to mention that IS has a LOT nicer interior than comparable 3 series, while also being cheaper.
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 07:09 PM
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Originally Posted by vbx
man, those photos do make the IS350 interior look very cheap.

I like the 2014 Q50 and the TL interior much better. Much more elegant and classy. The 2014 IS350 interior just looks weird.
If dash stroking is important to you, sure go for the Q50. The IS will be the better car to drive though.
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 07:25 PM
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Lfa inspire interior.. It's the best ! Acura TL interior is so confuse too many buttons imo.. q50 has very basic gauges.
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Old Sep 24, 2013 | 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by EthanV
Lfa inspire interior.. It's the best ! Acura TL interior is so confuse too many buttons imo.. q50 has very basic gauges.

Confusing? You should see the sales guy trying to work the IS350 Navigation with the mouse. lmao
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Old Sep 25, 2013 | 12:14 AM
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Originally Posted by jhs82
Still better than 2IS, so the statement is correct.
And quite frankly, with those concerns you should get a >$70k car.

The IS isn't perfect, but what to expect from a car that's priced below its competitors? And the plastic isn't that bad. It's better than the A4 i had before, and that was a really well built car.
For an F-Sport IS350 nearing $50K, there is no excuse for the quality of the plastic steering wheel control bezels. 3 Grand more nets me a base GS which has fine quality cabin materials. And any pricing advantage Lexus has over competitors should be put back into the car with materials and features. Up in price solidifies Lexus's Tier 1 status and forces other automakers to follow suit. We have the bean counters to thank for all this :/

Originally Posted by magne
It's not a rolls royce you've bought. Neither is it a mercedes S class, or a lexus LS.

This Lexus IS can compete with bmw 3 series, audi A4 and mercedes C class. Get inn them and see if they are better built
There is a reason this car is "cheap", they have to save the money somewhere.
Where I live, the IS costs about the same as a toyota camry. Guess how the toyota compares to the IS when it comes to the interior build quality
No it's not any of the above you mentioned, but it's still a "Luxury" badge and some of the cabin material choices are the same grade as my 2003 Explorer. That is not acceptable even if it is "entry level".

You're confusing my topic of "Materials used" with "Build quality aka assembly".

Originally Posted by vbx
man, those photos do make the IS350 interior look very cheap.

I like the 2014 Q50 and the TL interior much better. Much more elegant and classy. The 2014 IS350 interior just looks weird.
Well any marketing department will doctor up photos to make the car look more appealing. It's like make-up hiding blemishes which are overlooked because the 3IS has a superior riding chassis.

Originally Posted by Alius
Agreed. The interior is not really bad at all, much much much improved from the 2IS and Lexus also has to set a quality boundary between the 3IS and the next higher up GS, otherwise why would anyone buy the GS if they made almost everything just as good as the GS but $10k cheaper?
Because the GS is physically bigger and people will always find a need or want. If Lexus was smart they'd expand the powertrain options quickly.

Originally Posted by spwolf
Only noticeable lower quality parts are lower part of the doors and LED lights in the interior.

Overall, 2IS had worse cabin... and it didnt wear well either, with all the rattles and squeaks.

In 2IS, people had to buy Navigation if they didnt want their interior center stack to look like Toyota.

If we look at everything together, 3IS has nicer cabin than my IS Luxury and I would trade in a second.
It didn't wear well because it was the second of the L-Finesse beginning which suffered many quality issues 2006 - 2010. Material quality though was good. Build quality (assembly) is better on the 3IS however

Originally Posted by spwolf
Not to mention that IS has a LOT nicer interior than comparable 3 series, while also being cheaper.
They're all cheap but that doesn't excuse automakers and bean counters to get away with that
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