2022 Lexus IS 500 First Test Drive: Rethinking Expectations

“Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance” may not come out as well out of the tongue as “Lexus IS F”, but there is a lot to be said for the truth in the ad. Despite a number of similarities in design and execution, the new IS 500 is not a direct successor to the beloved IS F sold from 2007 to 2014. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on your priorities.

Like the IS F, the new IS 500 F Sport Performance is the result of Lexus using its 5.0-liter V8 under the hood of its compact IS sedan. This engine is indeed the same 2UR-GSE V8 from the original IS F, as well as the GS F sedan and RC F coupe that followed. In this application, the engine is tuned to produce 472 horsepower and 395 pound-feet of torque, sending that power exclusively to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The behavior of the V8 is very familiar. Peak horsepower and torque come in at 7,100 RPM and 4,800 RPM, respectively, which means you have to really dig into the throttle to keep this engine boiling. And you’ll know when you’re at the heart of the power strip, as the sound quality of the V8 changes drastically. Send that tachometer needle above 3,500 RPM and that big 5.0 liter lets you know it’s ready to party. When launching the IS 500 from a standstill, 60 mph should come in 4.4 seconds.

At low revs, the IS 500’s V8 is fairly quiet, making it ideal fishing for city driving or highway cruising. The tail does not wag the dog here; the 5.0-liter engine never feels like it needs to be braked. Likewise, the eight-speed automatic transmission behaves well, never skipping or downshifting inappropriately in an attempt to avoid unnecessary heckling. You can enjoy the confident power of the V8 without looking like a chotch if you decide to walk away from a traffic light with enthusiasm.

The problem is, when you want to loosen the neck of the IS 500 and have fun, it kind of crumbles. As smooth as the drivetrain is under normal driving, it’s way too slow and sloppy in lively races, even when switching to the Sport S or Sport S Plus driving modes. The steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters help a bit, letting you choose your own adventure, but the shift and downshift controls take a while to register. Overall, this powertrain really doesn’t feel like it wants to be pushed around.

The rest of the IS 500 is a similar story. Adaptive suspension shocks keep this sedan beautifully composed over bumps and highway expansion joints, but the IS 500 leans and rolls around tight corners. Management has good weight in its actions, but it is totally devoid of feedback. The large 14.0-inch front and 12.7-inch rear brakes are easy to mod but quickly wear off after a brief run on my favorite canyon road. The only thing about the IS 500 that really stands out is its limited-slip rear differential, which quickly and precisely shifts power sideways between the rear wheels, keeping that rear-wheel-drive feeling alive while eliminating oversteer in the wheels. fast turns.

Like any good Lexus, the IS 500 is rock solid on the road – smooth and comfortable, as if it could swallow miles for hours. The seats are plush and the cabin is super quiet, and this sedan comes with a whole bunch of standard driver assistance technologies, including lane departure warning, adaptive full-speed cruise control, monitoring of blind spots, parking aid and rear cross member. traffic alert.

A 10.3-inch touchscreen handles infotainment tasks, so you don’t have to rely on Lexus’ awful touchpad anymore. However, the Enform infotainment system still leaves a lot to be desired, with a confusing menu structure and low-res graphics, and like many Toyota / Lexus products, the IS’s low-res rearview camera is one of the worst parts of the world. you can buy today. Fortunately, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration are included (but not wireless), as is a Wi-Fi hotspot. The IS 500 Premium also comes standard with Lexus’ impressive Mark Levinson 17-speaker sound system, so do not hesitate to throw these jams.

Overall, the interior of the IS 500 is not much different from what you would find in a less powerful IS 300 or IS 350, with the exception of the standard F Sport logos and some more heavily weighted seats. reinforced. The IS 500 doesn’t look that different on the outside either, with the only dead giveaways being the unique 19-inch wheel set, the little black trunk lid spoiler and those super cool quad exhausts – another IS F return key.

It all comes back to my starting point: the IS 500 is not a full-fledged sports sedan like the IS F, nor a suitable rival to performance cars like the Audi RS5 Sportback, BMW M3 or Mercedes-AMG C63. It’s simply an IS with a bigger engine, though the 500’s reduced price appropriately reflects that. Lexus is asking $ 57,575 (including $ 1,075 for the destination) for a 2022 IS 500, significantly reducing German competitors, especially since all of the aforementioned multimedia and driver assistance technologies come standard on the reasonably priced Premium model of $ 62,075. The IS 500 also has the excellent fit and finish and proven reliability that are hallmarks of Lexus, and there is much to be said for the increasingly rare appeal of a V8-powered compact sedan.

By itself, the IS 500 is not a bad car. It simply cannot match the performance of its main rivals, nor does it hold the candle to its ancestor. But here again, Lexus has deliberately made the choice to forgo the IS F nomenclature, as if to admit that the IS 500 is not quite there. Of course, this also theoretically leaves the door open to a full-fledged IS F in the future. Hoping that Lexus pushes the performance envelope of this car a bit more.