IS Three likes/dislikes

[Ian J. Parsley]

I'm not keen on car reviews really but Carwow's do have an interesting aspect of "five likes and dislikes", which are often fun and quirky. 

If we maybe limit it to three for each model, what are ours?

For my recently handed over 3rd generation IS, I would say...

Dislikes

The boot lid is just awful; a big thing you have to slam down, often with a double dose of elbow on the way. Not premium!

There are too many similar buttons in the centre, so you really have to look (for example to check you're clearing the windscreen rather than turning on the rear demister).

The parking sensor on notification on the dash appears on the main display but to one side, leaving it asymmetrical and torturing anyone with even a hint of OCD...

Likes

The turning circle is outstanding; this is a shorter car than most of its rivals and when it comes to U-turns, well, these are U-turns rather than three-point turns...

One of the USB ports works as an ideal key holder - stick a USB stick on your house keys (and your car key in your pocket), leave them here, and you'll never lose them (and you can play music or transfer routes to your nav while you're at it).

The change in dials in sports mode is just cool!

Over to other owners...

[B1001]

Dislikes:

1. Interior is too plastic and cheap. I can see the screw heads when I turn the steering wheel

2. MMI - shockingly poor, Nav is awful, bugs in system

3. Agree with boot comment, very flimsy

 

Likes:

1.  It's exterior look, particularly the F Sport grill

2. Smooth, reliable v6 engine (IS250)

3. Sound system - ML is outstanding 

 

 

 

 

[dutchie01]

dislikes

the electronic boing sounds when i open the door to warn me that the door is open which i know as i just opened it. Also sometimes the system gets confused and keeps boinging ( does that word exist?) without me knowing what for. Switch everything off, open door and close, start up again and shut the system down.

The sunroof that i mainly use to flip open so not slide. I regularly forget to close it and receive a welcome warning boing and message that it is open after it turned off the power. But i can't close it. there is no power so i have to stamp on the brake, igintion on, wait then close roof and shut system down again. And why are there 2 buttons to operate the roof why not one?

The infotainment system. The menus seem created by thesame engineers that did the marantz receivers in the eighties. They had almost one hundred buttons on them and i could never figure it out. I do hope that Lexus will make it more user friendly and intuitive to operate as now i just don't bother.

Likes

chassis. truly excellent roadholding with great balance. Wonderful.

In town driveability. CVT shines there and the Emotor and petrol power let the car shine.

exclusivity. In a world where there is another BMW on every streetcorner this car is a breath of fresh air

 

[Bluesman]

I love it when people try and write what a sound is and "Boinging" is up there with the best.

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, B1001 said:

Dislikes:

1. Interior is too plastic and cheap. I can see the screw heads when I turn the steering wheel

2. MMI - shockingly poor, Nav is awful, bugs in system

3. Agree with boot comment, very flimsy

 

Likes:

1.  It's exterior look, particularly the F Sport grill

2. Smooth, reliable v6 engine (IS250)

3. Sound system - ML is outstanding 

 

Are you referring to the 3rd Gen IS - only reason I ask is that your profile is showing a 2010 IS250 F-Sport and the "Interior is too cheap" comment seems a bit odd for the 3rd Gen. Also, no bugs in the nav or infotainment system if updated to the latest firmware.

 

Dislikes-

1. Low profile wheels on F-Sport - have to be extremely careful when parking otherwise they get kerbed easily
2. Drips - when washed, the car drips like crazy from almost everywhere, especially under the doors so it becomes impossible to dry the car unless left for a 30 mins and coming back to dry up.
3. Gimmicky paddle shifters - no reason for them to be there, they don't work.

Likes-

1. Exterior looks - still looks fresh and new. Ive had a few friends describe it as looking fast when standing still.
2. Huge attention magnet - asks to be looked at, especially in White
3. Its smoooooth...

[Casa1862]

Dislike

1. Heated seats could be hotter

2. Nav screen coating - way too easy to damage

3.  Service cost and frequency 

Like

1. Build quality

2. Comfort

3. Styling

[jimmyrand]

Dislike

1. Standard light bulbs for interior light and boot.  I thought these would be LED.  Not sure how bright the boot light will be when needed to be used in the dark winter months?

2. Firmware update is dealer only in the EU for the Nav system.

3. DAB aerial is on the rear window, the reception could be better around here.  I wouldn't have minded a good aerial on the roof.  Having said that it does work surprising well for a window aerial.

4. Glove box size.  Not sure I will keep both handbooks inside it, not much room left if I do,

 

Like

1. The look of the car, great styling!  

2. Build quality including the interior.  Looks so much better than Infinity.   It feels and looks premium!

3. The Premium Nav and sound system is really good.  Not perfect, could be better but works well for me. 

4. The ride, very little body roll.  Turning circle.  Smooth and quiet.  Very comfortable interior.

5. Reliability.

6 . Lexus dealer support.  

[B1001]

I am referring to the Gen 3, I have a 2014 IS250. Job st updated my profile.

Having come from Audi and BMWs the interior on the Lexus IS disappointing. The glove box is pure plastic and flimsy, the lower door panels are thin plastic which scratches easily. The way it all connects together is solid but the look and feel is low quality - this was a sacrifice I accepted when getting the Lexus, trading interior luxury for overall reliability.

[Ian J. Parsley]

Many of these things are subjective, but I see little to disagree with above. I do see the interior differently - I think it's very good. At one stage I had an Audi A4 in the house as a courtesy car alongside the IS and I wouldn't have swapped. That said, I've mentioned elsewhere that I don't like the very centre - it's really high class as far down as the clock and as far up as the gear lever, but in between it becomes a bit boring and I find the temperature display a bit low grade.

On the "boings" (hoe zegt jij "boings" op Nederlands?!), it would be worth consulting your dealer. You *may* find you can a) turn the "boings" off when the door/roof opens; and/or b) close the sunroof even with the system off from the key fob. But in each case it'll take a dealer intervention. 

[dutchie01]

Tanks Ian, might try to do that. I dont think Boing does exist in Dutch ( youre Dutch is improving!) as it has no meaning just invented set of letters to replicate a sound, a boinging sound. Open your door and you will hear Boing Boing  Boing.

[Ian J. Parsley]

Ik moet toegeven, dat ik alleen Duits kan spreken!

If you hunt through the Internet, there is a list of options specifically for dealer intervention. My wife had her constant reverse beep switched to a single "boing" that way!

[ganzoom]

Likes:

• Chassis is great, has better body control at speed than many 'sports' cars, could handle a lot more power with ease.
• Looks good.
• Don't see many around.

Dislikes:

• Far too many buttons to press/pedals to stamp/levers to pull just to start the thing, and generally far too many buttons everywhere.
• Infotainment system has a user interface designed from the 1980s.
• Not fully electric - Make it a full EV and the two points above can be all forgotten.

[duncand]

Likes:

• Exclusivity - too many Audi A4s and BMWs 3 series around
• MPG - I regularly get 40-50mpg (real mpg), which is pretty good for a heavy 2.5litre auto
• Comfort - driver's seat is supremely comfortable

Dislikes:

• Satnav (standard version) - has stopped receiving traffic announcements and Lexus customer service can't give me a solution: need to visit dealer
• The console setup etc. isn't intuitive - odd since my previous Prius (2012) was fairly intuitive
• Is there a bug in the console - I've had to re-record voice tags on contacts as they had disappeared???

[jimmyrand]

On 24/07/2017 at 3:03 PM, Casa1862 said:

Dislike

 

2. Nav screen coating - way too easy to damage

 

Are UK screens having the same issue?  They fixed this with an updated coating in 2015.

BE-0090L-0915_IR (navigation screen peeling).pdf

[rayaans]

17 minutes ago, jimmyrand said:

Are UK screens having the same issue?  They fixed this with an updated coating in 2015.

BE-0090L-0915_IR (navigation screen peeling).pdf

They used to but been fixed now 

[chris_fletcher]

I had my screen replaced under warranty shortly after buying the car as it was very badly affected car was a 64 plate.

Re likes/dislikes

1. ML sound system unbelievably good at moderate to high volume (initially underwhelmed)

2. Seats and driving position superb

3. Love the way the car looks

Dislikes

1. Boot doesn't open fully when remote released

2. Sun visors don't slide so only cover half the side window,...useless

3. alloys easily curbed even with tyres that have protector ridge

[MONTIMAR]

Likes.

1. Handling. Better than my last Mercedes and BMW

2. Refinement.CVT gearbox is a peach

3. Fuel consumption. Never less than 55 MPG on a full tank to tank

Dislikes.

1 Sat Nav  Bloody awful so use my old TomTom

2 Servicing costs expensive

3 No local dealer

 

 

[PaulWhitt20]

Likes

 

1) Exclusivity

2) Styling

3) Refinement

 

Dislikes

 

1) Flimsy boot lid

2) No spare wheel

3) can't think of another one

 

 

[olliesgrandad]

Likes

Styling 

Build quality 

Ecvt gears

Dislikes 

Wheels easy to kerb

Seats a little firm (f  sport) 

Ride rather firm

[Tel]

Likes--- Style

            Refinement

            Bullet-proof  & the not so good--

            Dealers struggle with non -routine service issues.

           Dealers fitted Options lists are sparse--- part Lexus Spec a BMW & you will see what I mean.

           No Spacesaver.

Tel

[B1001]

Didn't realise you don't get a space saver with the ISh - making room for the Battery I guess. I have one with my Gen 3 250.

[Blisteringblue]

Love the Car as a car,  best car I have ever driven period, so much so just swapped my SE for a new Sport, and although a little firmer and a few mpg less (minimal though) it's still the same car and a great drive.

HATE, HATE, HATE the infotainment.  I know it's been done to death, but it's just sh1te !!  it just is.  And I've downgraded from the premium nav in my SE to standard in the Sport so it seems even worse.   How on earth have they made the Bluetooth phone worse than it was on my 14 plate?  Well they have, and don't even mention the satnav.  I've an old TomTom on a 2003 PDA which is better.   It was almost the only reason I didn't swap to the sport, but as I just use my phone for TomTom, Spotify over Bluetooth and the DAB I decided I could live with it.   The mirrorlink facility I tested is almost a saving grace, but I may not even bother as I have to swap my phone and it did look very "buggy".

My niece has just bought a brand new Peugeot 3008 mid range car with TomTom navigation and the choice of Mirrorlink, apple Carplay or Android Auto.  I just can't fathom out why Lexus are still the Betamax of infotainment systems.

[chris_fletcher]

Whilst the infotainment system can be annoying and the sat nav display is somewhat old fashioned I always found it to be remarkably accurate, certainly in terms of distance to turns and voice warning of an upcoming change of direction.

On premium nav the reversing aids are brilliant and in my is300 premier the ML sound system pretty much made up for the shortcomings elsewhere. The 12 speaker Pioneer in my gen 4 RX F sport is very good and not far off the ML in the is300. Test drove an NX300h with standard nave and audio and IMO it was very poor and not something I could live with

[olliesgrandad]

3 hours ago, chris_fletcher said:

Whilst the infotainment system can be annoying and the sat nav display is somewhat old fashioned I always found it to be remarkably accurate, certainly in terms of distance to turns and voice warning of an upcoming change of direction.

On premium nav the reversing aids are brilliant and in my is300 premier the ML sound system pretty much made up for the shortcomings elsewhere. The 12 speaker Pioneer in my gen 4 RX F sport is very good and not far off the ML in the is300. Test drove an NX300h with standard nave and audio and IMO it was very poor and not something I could live with

The premium Sat nav is OK, better than the full blown Mercedes COMAND system but still light years behind tomtom live. On Friday on the M5 it didn't give me any advance warning of stationary traffic or a detour route. Last month I used my tomtom in a loan car and realised how good it was in comparison. I am going to Scotland soon and will use the tomtom to warn me of all the average speed cameras in the north. The reversing aids are brilliant. Now I have a GS I'm finding it a doddle to park in tight spaces. 

[paulrnx]

Likes

Styling

ML hifi

Not as many on the road as 3 series, A4 and C Class

Dislikes

Harsh ride (my age...)

Steering too heavy and doesn't telegraph what the front tyres are doing

Needs a hybrid performance variant in the range, the 300h doesn't cut it for me. An IS450h would indeed be lovely.