Lexus Magic: The New IS 250

I am a staunch conservative when it comes to automobiles.

Elegance ranks as a chief component to what makes a car great and classic – hence the favor I heap on many of the British marques.

I have never in the past considered cars from Lexus or Infiniti to be particularly elegant. That said, the early 1990s Infiniti advertisements with Jonathan Pryce certainly made the carmaker appear elegant, even if the truth was quite different.

Today, despite the lack luster LS-flagship, the put-together-by-committee SC Convertible, and the arcane LX SUV, there cannot be any denial that Toyota’s premier brand produces some of the best luxury cars on the market.

Never would I ever have thought that a Lexus would sway me into thinking that it was a better car than a BMW.

Times change.

And how. The new IS 250, the sports sedan that is meant to go toe-to-toe with the BMW 3-Series, is just terrific. The latest Lexus, new to the market by only a few months, is similar to the Bavarian competition except softer, quieter, and far more luxurious and bolder in its image.

Almost any 3-Series, save those special Nappa leather editions, looks and feels austere in comparison to the plush new IS.

The new Lexus probably will not perform as well as the 3-Series in terms of handling, braking, road holding, and general driving feel. Those are BMW strengths that no other luxury car maker has been able to best.

But for those who would not mind 8/10ths of a BMW’s performance in trade for a more dampened, luxurious approach to the sporting saloon; the Lexus IS is the car.