One month and 2,000 miles later, the 2006 Lexus IS350 has proven to be a magnificent sports sedan. It is one of the best combinations of sports, luxury, technology and refinement in the sports sedan market today.
The exterior L-Finesse design is modern and beautiful at every view and angle. There is not a single bad side of this car. The front and the rear are bold and aggressive, the sides smoothly shaped, even the shape of the door handles are artful. My only very slight criticism of the design is its gigantic side mirrors, for which my wife and I have lovingly nicknamed our IS350 "Dumbo". Inside, the L-Finesse design theme continues with its modern and smooth door panels and ergonomic dash layout. The touch screen controls for our Mark Levinson audio and navigation packages, which in my opinion is a must have in any IS, are quite simple to master and within good reach from the driver's seat. The seats are comfortable and provide great back support once adjusted. The cabin has proven to be a quiet safe haven to relax and enjoy the sounds from the Mark Levinson audio system even during bumper to bumper Los Angeles traffic.
On a performance level, the IS350 is built to thrill. Equipped with the sports package, the suspension is developed for tight and responsive handling. This sedan doesn't feel like the typical old man Cadillacs that handles like a yacht on wheels. Body roll, while definitely present, is minimal for a sedan. The IS handles better than some sports car, such as the latest generation Ford Mustang and its live axle rear suspension borrowed from 1970's technology. Power and acceleration provided from the 3.5 liter V6 engine producing 306 HP and 277 lbs-ft of torque are vast and plentiful. Driving it in S mode with the paddle shifters provides some manual control over the transmission. The shifts are quick and responsive but it is disappointing that Lexus opted not to have an optional 6-speed manual in the lineup. In automatic Drive mode, the IS tends to run very short gears, by 40 mph, you will already be in 6th gear sometimes. Real world fuel efficiency is a far cry from Lexus' claim of 21 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. In reality, it is 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. At 2,000 miles my average liftime mpg is 18.2 mpg city/highway.
Technology is where the IS350 truly excels. I couldn't live without the GPS nagivation system. It is simply a joy to operate. There are multiple ways to find your destination, either through direct address input, name search, category search, reverse lookups. Even if you miss a turn, the system will automatically recalculate itself. As a $2,000 option, the navigation system is definitely worth the price of admission. The touch screen LCD is the center piece of the cabin. It contains controls for the climate, audio and navigation systems. Bluetooth connection is also featured in the IS. Once you pair it with a bluetooth enabled mobile phone, the IS will act as a speakerphone when on a call in the car. When you dial out or a call comes in, the audio system will automatically mute itself and pause. Once the call is finished, the audio system unmutes and the play continues. This component works nicely with my RAZR and Treo phones.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the 2006 Lexus IS350. I can't wait to see the release of the IS500 or IS-F, as it has being rumored and possibly trade up.
Like any of my cars, I have already begun to modify it. So far, Dumbo is equipped with red overlays on the rear lights, yellow overlays on the foglights, bumper plugs and Lumar 35% tint. In the near future, I'm planning to mod it further with 19" BBS wheels, Lexus front spoiler, Lexus black badges and possibly an intake.
Labels: Car Review, Lexus IS350
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