2014 Lexus IS 250 F Sport

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Having shamelessly modified a classic idiom for our subtitle, we presume there's explaining to be done. We just had our first 2014 Lexus IS in for testing -- an IS 250 F Sport. The bad news first: Since the car doesn't drop to the public until this June, we can't attest with hand over heart to the value proposition, because pricing was unknown at time of writing. Also, the test car is an early-build vehicle and hopefully not production-representative (we'll get into this later), and as the IS 250 doesn't reinvent itself mechanically over the 2006-2013 model, some of its newness is lost on the enthusiast populace. So, symbolically, the holdover 2.5-liter V-6 and basic mechanicals are the lamb that hasn't yet grown into a sheep. Now, the good news. Lexus bills the latest IS as having "[kicked] it up a notch with true sport sedan driving dynamics, state of the art onboard technologies, and an all-new design that makes it look fast even when it's standing still." The design certainly plays a big role in an attempt to shake things up in the world of sporty luxury sedans. The cabin's modernization brings a familial but fresh take to the center stack and console. Neat electrostatic switches (a first for the brand, says Lexus) manage the dual-zone automatic climate control's temperature settings, perfect for the generation used to finger-swiping their smartphone touch screens. The F Sport tachometer needle's color can be changed to red, white, or blue. Backseat space in the 2013 model was laughable. For 2014, the IS is noticeably more spacious for passengers astern, with 0.2 inch more headroom, 0.3 inch more hip room, 0.7 inch more shoulder room, and, most conspicuously, 1.6 inches of additional legroom. Only time will tell if the exterior design -- with its aggressive stance and fascias, elongated wraparound taillights, and enormous, pinched front grille -- will age as gracefully as the safely styled IS 300 and IS 250, but there's no doubt the 2014 car has attitude. The big(ger), bad(der) IS 250 F Sport has its wolf's clothing.

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Here's how the First Test went down. The early-build IS 250 F Sport was delivered to us after it partook in the 2014 IS media launch in Austin, Texas -- the navigation system had Texas destinations programmed into it. Snooping around the infotainment system with the Remote Touch mouse controller (which could really use a physical 'back' button) is how we found glitches in the interface software. Our past experience with the Remote Touch multimedia system has been generally positive, though the mouse could stand to be more precise. But this IS 250's screen froze twice as we tried to cycle through apps and functions. The first time it happened, we were on a long drive and the nav showed us locked in the same position for several minutes (we were still barreling down the highway) before unfreezing of its own accord. Control of the sound system went missing, too -- neither the steering wheel switches nor the center stack's volume or tune/scroll knobs could change what we were listening to or the audio level. (At least it wasn't magically increasing the volume.) In the second instance, the display suddenly went blank (it was set to the nav as well) but rebooted in less than a minute. Another oddity in the car was the Snow button below the Drive Mode Select dial (Eco, Normal, and Sport) and stability/traction control switch on the center console. Pressing it didn't start the car in second gear, but then again, we didn't have the all-wheel-drive IS 250. To make sure we weren't part of some funny game, we checked for half-shafts behind the front wheels, and there weren't any. These two head-scratcher moments brought variety to this First Test before we headed to the track. Flat-footing the accelerator and brake pedals (not at the same time) and timing the paddle shifts just right (tap early to cover the shift delay, right before bouncing the rev limiter) on the dragstrip yielded no surprises, with 0-60 mph clocked at 7.2 seconds, the quarter mile at 15.6 seconds with a trap speed of 89.4 mph, and a stop from 60 mph in 113 feet. The last 2011 IS 250 F-Sport we tested did 0-60 mph in 7.2 seconds, the quarter mile at 15.6 seconds in 89.6 mph, and braked from 60-0 mph in 114 feet. Both cars are powered by a direct-injected 2.5-liter V-6 with 204 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque and share identical gear ratios in the six-speed automatic transmission. The 2014 IS 250's axle ratio is about 5 percent taller and its curb weight is 93 pounds more, but no measurable effect from the differences was found here. Under acceleration, the engine pulls smoothly, but the thought of the IS 350's 306-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 is always in the back of the mind. There's greater induction noise at higher load and revs as a result of the F Sport intake sound generator, but it's nowhere near as obnoxious as it is in the Ford Focus ST.

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But we were scratching our heads again around the figure eight. The 2014 IS 250 with revised, F Sport-specific suspension could only find 0.85 g to 2011's 0.91 g, despite both cars utilizing Bridgestone Turanza ER33 grand touring summer tires (225/40-18 fronts and 255/40-18 rears). The new one trailed the older car by a hefty 0.9 second on a flying figure-eight lap, implying it's losing precious time in the corners. The root cause is up for debate. Maybe the 2014's 2.7-inch-longer wheelbase or 0.6-inch-wider rear track played a part. Maybe the alignment was off. The 2014 car gives up nothing in terms of sensation and feedback from the driver's seat. It slices and dices and feels planted all the time. The steering is direct, predictable, and communicates enough information to the driver. No one would call this sedan overpowered, especially not with 255mm meats in the rear. It'll lift-throttle oversteer if forced, but should drifting be your IS 250 obsession for whatever reason, you'd probably be better off with a square-stance model.

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Electronics teething troubles aside, the IS 250 F Sport works for the real world. It's an energetic handler, firm yet compliant, and not uncomfortable. It's decently quiet. You can show off the F Sport's sliding, LFA-inspired meter/thin-film transistor display to friends and family -- the display's information panel features three fuel economy-related tabs, one for tire pressure, and most coolly, one for gear position. There are now two console cupholders instead of one. You can seemingly sit lower than in the older model, which can be helpful for taller drivers. However, the low hip point combined with the high center console height can make the interior feel cramped, even though the 2014 version is statistically ahead in all regards. We hope a fresh powertrain is under consideration. So the lamb is about ready to go on sale, and we anticipate quality control will snuff any potential issues. We weren't expecting the new IS 250 F Sport to be a car transformed. But we can't say our expectations are the same for the 2014 IS 350 F Sport. We foresee that one being more of a mouflon ram in wolf's clothing.

2014 Lexus IS 250 F Sport
BASE PRICE	$39,000 (est)
PRICE AS TESTED	$42,000 (est)
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, RWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan
ENGINE	2.5L/204-hp/185-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6
TRANSMISSION	6-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3594 lb (53/47%)
WHEELBASE	110.2 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	183.7 x 71.3 x 56.3 in
0-60 MPH	7.2 sec
QUARTER MILE	15.6 sec @ 89.4 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	113 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.85 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	27.1 sec @ 0.65 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON	21/30 mpg (est)
ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY	160/112 kW-hrs/100 miles (est)
CO2 EMISSIONS	0.80 lb/mile (est)