I really feel that Lexus nailed the front end. How did they make the grill now look more integrated into being apart of the car? What I mean is the way they designed the grill makes it seem more apart of the whole front end. It blends so well and the new headlights just make the whole front end from a design point just flow very very nicely. It's almost like your eyes are not just fixated on the huge grill but rather we are seeing the whole front end come together. Does that make sense?

 

How are Turbo engines long term? Do they hold up?

 

Is it any different than people going on and on about how great it is? We all form opinions ....the look of a car for me is almost as important as power. My critiques of the car are mostly about looks.

 

Its true. We have to remember those on this thread are enthusiasts. To the average driver 311hp is a lot. Most "normal" people (family, co-workers, wife, potential buyers) think my 350 is really fast lol.

 

Did they mention anything in the press release about the interior having ambient lighting?
When I saw the round air vents (reminded me of Mercedes ones)
I thought they might add ambient lighting to the inside round air vent, guess we will have to wait and see.

 

My experience with my Performance 3 has been great. Its pushing 550hp at the motors so no idea how much at the wheels. It may be above 500hp as its getting 0-60 under 3 seconds (with rollout) and doing mid-low 11s in the quarter mile. Power in the car is good enough for me but there are many other options now as the new M340 is very fast and so is the C43 AMG and Genesis G70. These cars aren't priced all that much more than the top of the line IS350 (G70 is even cheaper) and they offer a lot more horsepower which is nice. I've seen people get a nicely equipped M340 for $55k right now as the dealers want to move the cars.

 

Turbo engines hold up fine especially those that are conservatively tuned. Subaru has been doing it for many decades and have one of the highest reliability ratings in the industry. Many examples of the BMW F30 engines holding up with high mileage just fine and the Honda 1.5L and 2L turbo engines don't seem to be having any issues either. Also, Lexus own turbo NX and IS300 haven't had much issues. The VW 2L turbo isn't the weak point of the car and many examples of high mileage there too. The maintenance on a turbo engine is higher though so if you neglect the maintenance, it won't do as well as an NA engine.

 

My wife drives the 1.5L turbo Civic. I’m hoping the oil dilution issue isn’t as bad as people are making it seem. The consensus is that it’s mostly affecting people who drive very short trips since short trips don’t allow the car to actually warm up. This causes more build up of unburnt fuel. The good thing is my wife does 10+ minute drives so I’m a little more at ease.I have yet to hear of a bunch of failures though. Time will tell. The MPG on the hwy for the 1.5L turbo Honda engine is AMAZING lol (42 sometimes even 44 MPG) .

 

It is fast compared to most people's car and especially the cars they grew up with. Lol

 

Did any notice that if you get the new IS with the Mark Levinson sound system, the ***** on each side look white ceramic but if you get it without the ML sound system then the ***** look like brushed aluminum.
That's a quick way of telling if the car has ML or not other than the obvious ML badging.

 

I think the "more integrated" look is thanks to the lines in the hood that lead right down into the top of the grill. I like it.

I am getting the sense that there's a high performance version of this car coming. There are the comments about the ability to fit wider wheels, the IS F question in the Townsend Q&A session... I think there's a good chance. Would also be a fitting send off to the 3IS.

 

Always wondered about the *****, brushed aluminum look so much better though

 

Having owned an IS-F, I would definitely consider the new one IF they come out with a V8 in the rumored IS500. But given the current lineup, this reminds me of what happened to the ILX. No redesigns, just multiple refreshes, incremental interior updates, and the same old powertrain. Lexus better have something in store soon, because the new TLX looks mighty tempting.

 

I wonder how much if any the 2020 IS 350 are going down in price.

 

When Acura pulled the same shenanigans with the ILX, they dropped the price by about 10%. I'm hoping Lexus does the same; otherwise this is going to sell about as well as chicken wings at a PETA convention, and give them all the "proof" they need to axe another sedan.