Lexus IS 2021 review: 350 F Sport

Lexus wants you to think the new IS is all-new but it isn't. However, the facelift is a lot more than just a new set of headlights and bumpers.

The car looks more muscular than ever, especially in F-Sport trim, with the big wheels and black aero bits. It's the best looking IS since the awesome original nearly two decades ago and the two cars could not be more different.

The facelift is a lot more than just a new set of headlights and bumpers.

The facelift has given the IS a much more purposeful stance, like its European rivals, and there isn't an awkward angle anywhere.

The front end looks more than a little bit like the genuinely stunning LC500 so I haven't a bad word to say about the styling, even if the core of the car remains identical to the previous machine.

The interior could perhaps have have been paid a bit more attention and is largely carried over from the old car, including the annoying ‘Remote Touch’ control pad on the centre console.

The car looks more muscular than ever, especially in F-Sport trim.

The best part of the interior is the new 10.3-inch touchscreen. Clear, crisp and fast, it also includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto stretched across its lovely wide screen.

To be fair to the IS's cabin, it has never been a bad one to look at, it just feels a little dated. On the upside, Lexus has been bolting these interiors together for a long time now and it feels granite-solid. As just about every Lexus is.

One downside to the new IS is that it's still a bit cosy inside if you're tall, particularly in the rear. While the front seats in this F Sport are quite slim, legroom is still at a premium and the falling roofline combines with the thick-ish C-pillar to thoroughly ensconce you.

It's also a little tricky to get into if you've got limited mobility as you kind of have to post yourself through an awkwardly-shaped gap.

The boot is a thoroughly Germanic 480 litres (VDA), which is thirty more than the hybrid version which gives up some space for the battery.

The IS is a very, comfortable and serene place to be. It's set up to be peaceful - no loud beeps or alarms, everything works the way it should and everything is nice to touch.

While the buttons scattered about the place immediately age the interior, they're easy to work out and it's unlikely you'll ever need the manual, except perhaps for some of the quirks of the media system.

The IS is a very, comfortable and serene place to be.

Front seat passengers score a pair of cupholders which are joined by a slot which makes it good spot to lay a phone if the wireless charging pad under the ventilation controls is already in use.

The rest of the console is taken up with the pointless, irritating touchpad that you can avoid by using the touchscreen.

There are bottle holders in the front door, there's no room in the rears for them but the rear centre armrest does have a pair of cupholders.

Lexus has loaded up the IS with eight airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward AEB (with day and night pedestrian detection while between 10km/h and 80km/h, with cyclist detection during the day and car detection all the way up to 180km/h), active cruise control, lane departure warning, lane trace assist, turn assist (which tries to stop you turning across oncoming traffic), blind spot monitoring, road sign recognition and reverse AEB (up to 15km/h) and reverse cross traffic alert.

Child and baby seats can be anchored with two ISOFIX points and three top-tether points.

Lexus has maintained the five star ANCAP safety rating from 2016 when standards were lower but as mentioned, this is essentially the same car.

The official combined cycle figure for the 232kW/380Nm V6 is 9.5L/100km, running on premium unleaded.

In mostly city and suburban running, I got 11.1L/100km from the IS350, which isn't terrible but most of its rivals will stay well under 10L/100km.

The Lexus warranty spans four years/100,000km. It's an oddity in the segment because it's of longer duration than Jaguar, BMW and Audi, but they each offer unlimited kilometres.

It's shorter than Mercedes and relative newcomer (and Lexus business model copier) Genesis which both offer five years/unlimited kilometres.

Every 12 months or 15,000km, Lexus expects to see your car for a service. For the first three years the amount is capped at $495, which is the same no matter which IS you buy.

The Lexus warranty spans four years/100,000km.

That means a three year figure of just under $1500, which is $250 less than a (significantly more expensive) six-cylinder BMW 3 Series will cost you over five years, which is a bit of a surprise. A more comparably priced Genesis will cost you zip during the same period.

Roadside assist lasts for the three years of the capped-price program.

Lexus will come and get your car from you and leave you with a loan car or you can take a loan car when you go to the dealership.

Show me a cranky Lexus owner and I'll immediately buy us all a lottery ticket. I'm sure they exist, but I'm yet to meet one.