What replaces IS?

[bpsorrel]

I’m thinking of replacing my 2018 IS by the end of the year. If the all new IS was coming to UK I’d probably seriously look at it as I like the IS a lot.

However, as we know it isn’t coming here and as I don’t want a crossover or an ES, what do you guys reckon Is a good replacement sporty saloon out of these contenders:  bmw 320i, merc c200 or Volvo S60 t5?  I’m not overly struck on any of them although the Volvo does looK good.  Any other suggestions except Audi, I really don’t like those lol!

[Zotto]

IS is rear wheel drive, ok... but why don't you consider ES? Too big? Or only because it is FWD? I would give a try.

[Mincey]

I'm considering moving to an ES when I replace my IS. I saw a black one the other day and my Jazz Club meter went off the scale.

[Lex_1988]

For variety, what about an Alfa Giulia Veloce? Or a Peugeot 508 GT? two great looking saloons.   

[bpsorrel]

I agree the ES looks really good!  But I like folding rear seats and the more compact size of the IS class cars. 😩

[Las Palmas]

Honda make great cars that are reliable. Accord if you need sporty Accord R.

Or maybe a Civic Type R.

Something sent wrong with this picture:

Does not look that much like a Lexus though.

[Linas.P]

3 hours ago, Zotto said:

IS is rear wheel drive, ok... but why don't you consider ES? Too big? Or only because it is FWD? I would give a try.

Besides being wrong wheel drive ES is significantly worse quality than IS mk3, which was already down on quality from mk2. It does not feel like Lexus inside at all. I am sure it is reliable and being new car it has a lot more toys than IS, but in the end of the day it is just Toyota with fancy badge - and I am not being badge snob... you can feel the cheapness when sitting inside. Further, it is actually more expensive - it starts £1000 below outgoing GS300h which is quite terrible value - GS was in completely different league. 

I have crossed Volvo out of my brands list when they voluntarily limited all their cars to 180kph (111MPH) and fitted ASL with blackbox ahead of deadlines. Just to be clear ASL at the moment merely warns for speeding and records the data offline, but it is capable of reporting the speed directly to say goverment/police in the future and I am sure it is just a matter of time when government will take advantage of that. In short Volvo is car manufacturer which is against motorists and motoring - they make cars for commuters not drivers.

Honda does make reliable cars, but that is single good thing about them, they generally do not make RWD car with rare exceptions like S2000 or NSX and are generally quite basic inside and out. 

If you ask me - new BMW 3-series looks like very competitive and well made car, I would look for 330e and not 320i thought. Mercedes C-Class is as well very competitively priced, but I cannot live with column shifter I just hate the looks and how it operates. I really don't understand why Mercedes decided to move to this type of shifter.

 

[Mincey]

8 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Besides being wrong wheel drive ES is significantly worse quality than IS mk3, which was already down on quality from mk2. It does not feel like Lexus inside at all. I am sure it is reliable and being new car it has a lot more toys than IS, but in the end of the day it is just Toyota with fancy badge - and I am not being badge snob... you can feel the cheapness when sitting inside. Further, it is actually more expensive - it starts £1000 below outgoing GS300h which is quite terrible value - GS was in completely different league. 

If you ask me - new BMW 3-series looks like very competitive and well made car, I would look for 330e and not 320i thought. Mercedes C-Class is as well very competitively priced, but I cannot live with column shifter I just hate the looks and how it operates. I really don't understand why Mercedes decided to move to this type of shifter.

 

Well that's the ES crossed of my list then... I'd have to have my right leg chopped off before I got into a BMW though. I would hate to have my neighbours thinking I was an onanist. Or did I mean organist?

[bpsorrel]

4 hours ago, Lex_1988 said:

For variety, what about an Alfa Giulia Veloce? Or a Peugeot 508 GT? two great looking saloons.   

I do like the look of the 508 but my wife has a 208 and I’m not sure I want to be a 2 Peugeot family lol!!!

[bpsorrel]

Choices are getting more and more limited if like me you like saloons and coupes!  I have a Merc roadster so do like the MB look but the C does lleave me a bit cold if I’m honest and a BMW is very cliche around where I live!   What to do.....  maybe buy the last IS F Sport and see what’s around in 3 years or so.... 😳

[Zotto]

Meanwhile, a new ES video:

(28) The All New Lexus ES | World Premiere | Lexus Europe - YouTube

[bpsorrel]

I know I said no audis,  but a friend of mine just got a ‘21 A5 Sportback 40tfsi and I have to say it looks and drives very nice! 😳😳😳

[Bounce75]

I must say I looked around before I bought my IS a couple of months ago & the only car that really attracted me was the S60, but most of what I was looking at had a list price of over 40k, so higher road tax.

My last 2 cars were Volvo & I found them very good, but the Lexus is more comfortable & just seems a little bit better built.

[Rabbers]

Before going over to an RC, which is another model Lexus has disappointingly now withdrawn, I had two IS300Hs, both of which were

borderline choices for me in respect of a GS.  Had the ES been on the market at the time as what was intended to be the replacement

for both the IS and the GS, and had I not fallen in love with the RC, I would almost certainly have bought one despite what were, and

remain drawbacks of size, cabin materials and design (though not of comfort and easy driveability).  And I still would, not from sentiment 

but from an appreciation of the level of service, exclusivity and quality, diminished though the latter may be, that Lexus still offers 

compared to its competitors.

[Robertdt]

Hey Barry,  Does your next car have to be rear wheel drive? Its not like you will have been drifting around in your IS, well I hope not with the nature of the power delivery of the hybrid system. I had the same issues when changing cars a couple of years back, dwindling choice of good looking saloon cars that suited my needs. Eventually I ordered a new IS F-sport which I love though its taken a bit of getting used too.

On 4/19/2021 at 4:34 PM, Linas.P said:

Honda does make reliable cars, but that is single good thing about them, they generally do not make RWD car with rare exceptions like S2000 or NSX and are generally quite basic inside and out.

Damn if only I had known. I came to my Lexus from a boring old reliable Honda Accord and Honda had already jumped ship and stopped selling new ones in the UK or I would have bought another. The biggest negatives I noticed going to the IS is that its slower and more cramped inside, both of which don't matter to me. My remit was a great looking car, as reliable as a Honda, cheap to tax and fuel with plenty toys. Inside the Lexus is without doubt a nicer place to be although my generally quite basic inside and out old Honda did have full leather, fronts heated, climate control, touchscreen, nav etc, adaptive cruise control, drive by wire throttle and active engine mounts, just the basics I suppose every mid range saloon had in 2003.

Lots to choose from out there Barry if you don't mind a Jag, or Eurobox German mark though personally I wouldn't recommend as I wanted something a bit more exclusive. You say you like the IS a lot so why don't you pick up one of the last IS models, keep it a couple of years, depreciation should be limited somewhat as there is no newer model replacing it.

Just a shame were not 25 anymore as that new Civic type-R does look blisteringly reliable !  😉

  

[bpsorrel]

Indeed!   I actually really like the styling of the IS.  Of course i’d love the 350 v6 they get in the US but I find the 300h ok most of the time.  I have an AMG MB for fun so the hybrid is fine for cruising in comfort 😋

ive had lots of German cars and several Saab’s and Volvos over the years but I do like the Lexus ‘thing’!  I think maybe a last IS F Sport with premium pack might do me for three years or so and then see what’s out there after that 😋😋

I just wonder if there’s any cars  I’ve overlooked?

[paulrnx]

On 4/21/2021 at 6:49 PM, bpsorrel said:

Indeed!   I actually really like the styling of the IS.  Of course i’d love the 350 v6 they get in the US but I find the 300h ok most of the time.  I have an AMG MB for fun so the hybrid is fine for cruising in comfort 😋

ive had lots of German cars and several Saab’s and Volvos over the years but I do like the Lexus ‘thing’!  I think maybe a last IS F Sport with premium pack might do me for three years or so and then see what’s out there after that 😋😋

I just wonder if there’s any cars  I’ve overlooked?

Jaguar XE?

[Mincey]

7 hours ago, paulrnx said:

Jaguar XE?

Aren't they engineered to fall to bits?

[paulrnx]

4 hours ago, Mincey said:

Aren't they engineered to fall to bits?

Great cars to drive. A lot of fun. Certainly way more fun than an IS, last generation ISF excepted.

[noby76]

On 4/21/2021 at 12:32 PM, Robertdt said:

Damn if only I had known. I came to my Lexus from a boring old reliable Honda Accord and Honda had already jumped ship and stopped selling new ones in the UK or I would have bought another. The biggest negatives I noticed going to the IS is that its slower and more cramped inside, both of which don't matter to me. My remit was a great looking car, as reliable as a Honda, cheap to tax and fuel with plenty toys. Inside the Lexus is without doubt a nicer place to be although my generally quite basic inside and out old Honda did have full leather, fronts heated, climate control, touchscreen, nav etc, adaptive cruise control, drive by wire throttle and active engine mounts, just the basics I suppose every mid range saloon had in 2003.

 

  

I said exactly the same about my previous 2.4 Accord and got laughed at by the same person who says "they generally don't make RWD cars"..  like a RWD IS250 will hold a massive driving advantage against a 2.4 Accord in the real world. those Accords do move like RWD's and i have owned an IS300 of the same era of Accord to compare driving dynamics.. shame the last edition of Accords sold in UK did not have the 3.5 litre 300bhp engine from the Legend ..

@bpsorrel if you're not too concerned about having a "new" reg car then have you considered last edition GS450h's 

 

[LenT]

On 4/21/2021 at 12:32 PM, Robertdt said:

I came to my Lexus from a boring old reliable Honda Accord and Honda had already jumped ship and stopped selling new ones in the UK or I would have bought another.

Me too!

I had an Accord for six years - and a Prelude for 15 before that - and would have ordered another the day after it was written off, except Honda had stopped selling it in the UK.

As it happens, I’d had an MR2 for three years before the Prelude but knew nothing about Lexus.  It just happened that the Lexus dealer was the first one I passed when I set aside a day to tour the usual suspects.

And the one I bought proved to be the only one I tried!

Turned out alright in the end, though. 🙂

[Mincey]

1 hour ago, paulrnx said:

Great cars to drive. A lot of fun. Certainly way more fun than an IS, last generation ISF excepted.

I'll admit that when they came out, I did think about one. I think the dark metallic blue suits them nicely. My sensible head said stick with Lexus though.

[bpsorrel]

My issue with XE is it’s looks and the interior, they just don’t appeal, but I’m sure they drive well.  Many years ago I had an XJ and loved it (old school xj40) but the new ones don’t float my boat, except the f type..... 😋

[paulrnx]

9 hours ago, Mincey said:

I'll admit that when they came out, I did think about one. I think the dark metallic blue suits them nicely. My sensible head said stick with Lexus though.

I had. British Racing Green Portfolio 2.0i 240. It was an amazing car to drive and a lot nicer than an IS200T I owned for 6 months. It let me down by refusing to start one night. Had to go because nothing bothers me more in a car than unreliability. A wonderful car to drive though.

[paulrnx]

8 hours ago, bpsorrel said:

My issue with XE is it’s looks and the interior, they just don’t appeal, but I’m sure they drive well.  Many years ago I had an XJ and loved it (old school xj40) but the new ones don’t float my boat, except the f type..... 😋

Take a look at the new interior now. It’s quite different and very upmarket in my opinion. A lot nicer than an IS I think. Much more modern.