Lexus South Africa has just introduced a new 3.5-litre V6-powered IS model to fill the middle ground between its bread-and-butter IS250 and high-performance IS-F.
The new IS350 gets its engine from the RX350 SUV that’s been sold in South Africa since 2007, but in this sports sedan application power has been tuned up to 233kW and 378Nm meaning it’s in competition with cars such as Audi’s 3.2-litre A4, BMW’s 335i and the Mercedes-Benz C350. On paper the Japanese newcomer has its German competition waxed in terms of kilowatts, but without turbocharging it suffers a torque deficit when compared to Beemer’s 225kW/400Nm 3 Series.
Lexus claims respectable, if not ambitious 0-100km/h acceleration times of 5.6 seconds.
Lexus launched the IS350 in George, where sea-level barometric pressures gave the naturally-aspirated V6 about 18 percent more power than it would have at Gauteng altitude, but either way the car impresses with its performance characteristics. Throttle response is punchy and the six-speed automatic transmission chooses gears intuitively, but the IS’s suspension, which is probably its strongest attribute, benefits the most from the new engine.
The IS has always had a fairly complex suspension with lightweight aluminium components, multi-link setup at the rear, liquid-filled bushes and anti-dive and squat geometry that naturally adjusts camber and castor with shock travel, but it’s been kind of wasted on the underpowered 153kW/252Nm IS250 model. With the new V6, the engine and chassis complement each other perfectly.
There is plenty of grip in the corners, as was demonstrated over some challenging mountain passes and, even with the stability control system switched on, I was able to push the limits of tyre adhesion without interference from electronic nannies. If I were to criticise one thing, it would be the IS’s paddle shifters which respond slowly to up and down clicks, and sometimes didn’t respond at all. I found it best to leave the gearstick in normal automatic sport mode and let the torque converter do the work.
The new IS350 comes in either EX specification, identified by 17” rims and a leather interior with piano-black trim pieces, or an upper SE spec which adds 18” alloys, higher-quality leather, a moonroof, heated and ventilated seats, wood trim, electric steering wheel adjustment and a retractable rear window blind. Pricing is set at R499 700 and R548 600 respectively.
Along with the introduction of the IS350, Lexus has also adjusted specification and pricing in the smaller 2.5-litre V6. The previous IS250 with S spec falls away to make way for a new IS250 E, which basically means it gets 16” rims instead of 17’s, and the full maintenance plan has been replaced with a service plan. Base IS250 pricing has been dropped by R61 000 and is now R368 900.
Existing IS250 EX models have been reduced by R20 900 with the replacement of maintenance plans with service plans. The IS350 with top SE spec, the IS convertible and the range-topping IS-F, get full maintenance plans. All three plans are for four years or 100 000km. - Star Motoring