Toyota’s luxury arm, Lexus, has been on a roll in terms of sales lately. Despite only having one dealership, located in Bonifacio Global City, the luxury brand has managed to become a leader in sales numbers and as ever, its excellent reputation for customer service. One of the brand’s key drivers for success is its Lexus IS line of compact luxury sports sedans. Benefitting from JPEPA, in which cars made in Japan being shipped to the Philippines will not be imposed with any import tariffs, the Lexus IS is fully able to benefit from this advantage in order to offer a lot more for the money.
For starters, the Lexus IS has always been fully equipped even from the base IS 350 non-F Sport model. Both standard and F Sport models gain an extensively redesigned front fascia. The spindle grille is bolder and more “in your face” than ever, which will truly draw stares even from afar. New LED headlights give the Lexus IS better visibility and a more aggressive face at night, while the three-dimensional 3-bar LED tail lights look very cool, and now closely resembles the Lexus LF-CC concept that previewed the Lexus IS and Lexus RC.
Inside, revisions have been made to further uplift the driving experience. More sections of the cabin are now wrapped in leather, including the knee pads and some parts of the dashboard. For the F-Sport variant, the 7-inch TFT LCD screen from the Lexus Remote Touch Interface has been ditched in favor of a significantly bigger 10.3 inch TFT LCD display.
Powertrain options are unchanged, with both models powered by a 3.5 liter V6 D-4S petrol engine, mated only to an 8-Speed Automatic Transmission with paddle shifters, with the power going to the rear wheels. The engine, however, gets a power boost, 317 hp from 306 hp, and 375 Nm of torque to 378.
As ever, the Lexus IS undercuts its equivalently equipped and powered German rivals by as much as half a million to a million Pesos.
IS 350: P2,668,000
IS 350 F sport: P3,198,000
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