IS/RC [Official] 2014 Lexus IS

[K-A]

Hell, Asia is going to be the world's main economy very soon and even the US economy is doing not bad. Europe is going down the drain, seriously, so expect even more Asian-centric designs to come out of Bavaria, even from the holy big three plus Porsche.

Have you guys forgotten that Audi's shield grille, was made to accomodate the Chinese taste ?

Mercedes' sport grille on every model ?

Europe-centric thinking is not going to cut it anymore. Look at the loss carmakers are making in the Euro region.

Nobody likes change but man, change is coming. NEW WORLD ORDER.

Asia is becoming old movies' neo Tokyo and even the US is becoming Blade Runner style country. Europe ? Could be tourist destinations for old castles sooner than later.

Don't get me wrong, I would love for Europe to be the world's leader again like in the 19th century, but it doesn't look like it will ever be.

Soon, China will be the biggest market for the German big three, so expect more radical designs ahead. Ahoy !

That makes sense but I don't know if it's fully the case. European Car design is stronger than ever in terms of public perception I think. IMO in the early 2000's Asian designs "peaked" in terms of "hotness" and trend-setting.

BMW has gotten immensely more popular since they went back to timeless and European designs, and yes Audi's grilles are crazy, but damn SOMETHING has to be a little catchy on those cars, as they are the most European-ly bauhaus and simple of all.

German Cars aren't going anywhere in terms of design leadership, except for the fact that you have some brands abandoning what made them revolutionary in the first place because too many people copied them, therefore now making it appear like they're copying others. What has made non-German brands popular is how much they've copied the Germans. Asian cars always look crazy (and/or very plain, on the other hand), therefore IMO in many cases boring and/or tacky and then date quickly with no iconic/consistent styling, if you think about it. Lexus is now starting to seem like they're trying to grasp onto those "Japanese roots" more-so. I think it looks terrible but I'm glad that at least Japanese Cars are starting to look Japanese again.

Lexus is getting crushed in market share now, and BMW/Audi are rising more than ever. Europe's economy might be in the tanks, but their designs and engineering are stronger than ever. BMW/Porsche/Audi are a testament to that. Those 3 are all more conservative than ever, and they're doing better than ever.

People expect the Germans to look sexily serious, attractively smart, and focused-ly timeless. That's why BMW/Audi/Porsche 911 have been peaking lately.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Nice proportions but silly details with no new exciting engines to speak of, save for the new hybrid set-up. And let's face it, hybrid doesn't conjure rip-roaring enthusiasm among the enthusiasts.

Regarding the details....the ideas are good, the execution is terrible. For example, the way the rear light extend, or more like over-extends into the side profile is just unneeded. The headlight unit, not the DRLs, but the actual headlight units are too previous-gen Corolla-like. They look like amorphous amoeba-like blobs next to the DRLs, which looks more definitve. I much prefer the LF-CC's take on it. And speaking of the LF-CC....that was great looking car with resolute lines that just needed to be made production-ready. But this IS... it looks too compromised.

The interior....again, great ideas, but too much plastic. I like the all-business, LFA-inspired set-up. But there's too much black plastic. But I do love the seats. Very sporty and unlike Lexus. Lexus needs to get rid of those chintzy looking buttons to the left of the steering wheel.

I had really high expectations for this car as I was secretly hoping of getting a used CPO of this in 7-8 years time. Here's hoping the coupe version will be more faithful to the LF-CC concept and the details look right.

(PS: Since there's a lot of new folks here [BTW, Welcome!] and who may accuse me of hating on Lexus, please refer to my avatar )

 

[Huckfeldt]

Funny thing is, if this is an Alfa Romeo 15x series, I think people will praise it for being unique and so un-german.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Funny thing is, if this is an Alfa Romeo 15x series, I think people will praise it for being unique and so un-german.

I agree with you 100%. Lexus, for the foreseeable future, will be seen as an also-ran. Which is a shame for Lexus as it's plotting out its own identity. In fact, it does not look nearly as European as those models it released not but 10 years ago. And when it did release those models, it was criticised for co-opting/stealing from the European makes, especially Mercedes-Benz. Now, as it carves its own design language, Lexus cannot win over many of the same critics who were critical of them in the past. It's damned if it does and damned if it doesn't.

Regarding the design....I like a lot of the ideas but I do wish it was executed better. I'm hoping seeing real life pictures or maybe not having a white car that's photographed in front of a white background wll change my mind.

 

[Gianclaudio]

Funny thing is, if this is an Alfa Romeo 15x series, I think people will praise it for being unique and so un-german.

Funny thing is, Alfa 15x series were the oposite, design wise. Clean, simple designs.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Just noticed something in the interior pics...a foot-operated parking brake. I mean, it's kind of trivial in the grand scheme of things, but even a Ford Focus has an electronic parking brake.

 

[Sunny]

You know how car companies usually make lame ass claim that eyes of some member of the wildlife was the inspiration behind the headlights? Well, here is what inspired Lexus for the new IS headlights-

 

[Smithee]

This car looks like The Predator playing the Harmonica

 

[Gianclaudio]

^
LOL, these two last post were pure magic.

 

[klier]

Funny thing is, if this is an Alfa Romeo 15x series, I think people will praise it for being unique and so un-german.

Would be a real winner if this were an Alfa. RWD, nice proportions and great interior. Just tone down some of the exterior design and add Alfa DNA and it would be something Alfa currently can only dream about....

 

[Giannis]

You know how car companies usually make lame ass claim that eyes of some member of the wildlife was the inspiration behind the headlights? Well, here is what inspired Lexus for the new IS headlights-

It's actually much simpler. They had one guy designing the lights. At some point he snizzed and made a mess with his pencils. He looked at the messed-up sketches, then he turned the paper around, twisted it a bit, said "what the hell" and continued drawing. At some point he snizzed again, but that didn't stop him. It seems that the designers of the IS have massive alergy issues.

 

[lukeswiss]

As I just saw this my heart completely sank. The interior is nice, the exterior is just a mess. WTF. They've come so far from the original IS which I think had a really fresh and unique design. Such a shame.

 

[Tumbo]

Seriously.... Is this a joke? Are they really gonna have it looking like that? Oh my Lord..

 

[martinbo]

As lukeswiss remarked, the interior is nice. I think it's well set apart from that of its rivals and successfully evokes LFA connotations.

I've been wanting to comment on the exterior for some time now but never got round to it. Straight up: the face of this car is preposterous. It's not zany or even arresting (in both the best and worst contexts of the word) it's just damn ugly and nothing more than a dog's breakfast. I strongly dislike the wonky headlight clusters and their "artistic juxtaposition" with those frankly ridiculously formed daytime running LEDs. Good heavens but this is just creative license too far. The frontal DRG is just so jarring that people will stare at it just for the sake of morbid curiosity.

And this is a great pity because the rest of the car's styling actually bears some merit. The typically-RWD proportions that comprise short front overhang, pleasingly sleek silhouette and a short rear deck make for a good looking shape that's imbued with its forebear's Lexus DNA. I like the "twisting ribbon" effect of the rocker panel and how the top edge of this creates an imaginary curve through the rear wheel to meet with the sweep of the rear bumper shutline-tail light taper. The overall shape of the tail lights is also pleasantly organic and the dramatic taper reminds one of a brushstroke flourish in Japanese writing.

Like the BMW F20 1 Series, this is a car let down by "nice body, pity about the face".

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Like the BMW F20 1 Series, this is a car let down by "nice body, pity about the face".

In Australia we refer to this as a prawn. A beautiful (read delicious) body with an ugly face.

 

[lukeswiss]

In Australia we refer to this as a prawn. A beautiful (read delicious) body with an ugly face.

Isn't it because you remove the head and keep the body ??

 

[martinbo]

A prawn!?! Ha ha ha. Priceless. Gotta love them Aussies.

 

[Tumbo]

I still cant believed that they dared to make it like this. It's like this is worse then the F20 1er... Or at least at the same level.

 

[Sunny]

In Australia we refer to this as a prawn. A beautiful (read delicious) body with an ugly face.

Haha, here it would be "butter face" as in "but her face". Prawn would be slang for a small male orgain.

 

[lukeswiss]

At least it seems as though the stupid detailing is in the bumper, so they can give it an early facelift.... that is what all the luxury car companies are doing now these days anyway.