2002 Lexus IS300 Luxury Car Reviews & Ratings

We were less than impressed by our test model's $1845 Leather/Ecsaine interior trim package with power front seats; earlier we described it as being suede-like, but it could also be considered cloth-like. Another $300 for the full leather seems like a bargain (which is not to say that $2145 for leather and power seats is a bargain).

The cockpit reflects an attempt at driver-oriented and contemporary styling in a theme of graphite-tinged plastics and machined metallic finishes. Drilled aluminum pedals, a polished metal ball shift lever rising from a notched gate rimmed by chrome, and doorsills covered with stainless steel scuff plates studded with rubber cleats add an appearance of high technology. A graphite plate on the driver-side door panel surrounds rocker toggles that power the windows, door locks and both exterior mirrors.

The instrument panel includes a round analog speedometer containing three smaller analog gauges: temperature, voltmeter and instant fuel mileage. It's designed to resemble a sports chronograph wristwatch, and in its attempt to be cute, cool, clever, unique, whatever, it fails the no-nonsense test: the instant fuel gauge is too small to be useful, as a tiny needle flips in a tiny semicircle between 0 and 80 mpg. The watch face cluster stands between a half-moon tachometer on the left, whose clarity is compromised by the clutter of the faux chronograph, and quarter-circle fuel gauge to the right, above a digital display for gear selection and trip odometer.

The vents and pods for audio and climate controls drop down from the center of the dash to the console, with a new armrest for 2002. The power bucket seats felt a bit hard and wide, compared to the fantastic optional sport seats in the BMW Z3 Coupe we had just climbed out of, but they felt better as that memory faded. When we drove the SportCross hard through the curves, there was adequate lateral support, and the suede-like cloth-like Escaine surface was good and grippy.

A very attractive stitched leather three-spoke steering wheel (spokes at 3, 9 and 6 o'clock) tilts manually and contains left and right sets of finger buttons that enable the driver to shift up or down one gear at a time without removing his or her hands from the wheel. The front button downshifts with the thumb and the back button upshifts with the middle finger.

The sedan's firm rear bench will accommodate three in a pinch, and has a fold-down armrest that conceals a small pass-through portal to the trunk.

The SportCross model's five-door configuration, with the 60/40 rear seatbacks dropped, produces 21.8 cubic feet of cargo space, more than twice as much as the trunk of the sedan. The wheel wells protrude quite a bit into the cargo area, making the space hourglass-shaped, which reduces cargo capacity.

Chief engineer for the IS 300, Nobuaki Katayama, is a passionate racing fan who admits that his personal driving style is dynamic; he likes to pitch his car. So he designed the chassis and suspension of the rear-wheel-drive IS 300 to accommodate such a style. He did a great job. Last year we were impressed by the agility of the sedan, and the 2002 SportCross corners even better than the sedan, given its slightly better weight distribution (53/47 versus 54/46) and wider rear tires. But the five-speed, with its stiffer sport suspension, should corner best of all.

Katayama started by mounting the engine (and battery) as far back as possible. The double-wishbone independent suspension was specifically designed to resist lateral roll in corners and front-end dive under hard braking, and it thoroughly succeeds. Meanwhile, the speed-assisted rack-and-pinion steering provides precise cornering with excellent feedback.

But it was the car's balance that was downright dazzling. We drove it very aggressively (Katayama-san would have approved) through our favorite remote twisty section IN THE WET, and we kept trying and trying to get the tail to hang out, but the car would not oversteer. Our SportCross was not equipped with the optional Vehicle Skid Control, but it did not seem to need it, and that's saying a whole lot. Still, for $350, the VSC option remains a steal. Think fail-safe. Think ice.

The SportCross handled better in the wet than the front-wheel-drive Acura TL-S, for one, did in the dry. Of all the cars we tested in the last year, only the all Subaru WRX was more fun in corners; and that list includes such excellent sports cars as the BMW Z3, Audi TT, Honda S2000, Toyota MR2, Mazda Miata, even the BMW M3.

It probably wasn't Katayama-san who programmed the IS 300 transmission. We loved the operation by buttons on the steering wheel, but the mapping of the five-speed manual automatic gearbox is problematic. Manual is a misnomer. Even in the manual mode, it's often automatic, which is both frustrating and confusing when you're driving hard. It overrides you, especially downshifting, and when it does, the digital readout on the dash often doesn't change, so it's actually inaccurate; the readout indicates the last gear you selected (the gear you want to be in), not the gear the car actually is in. Drive into a corner hard, begin clicking the button on the steering wheel to downshift, and often it won't respond. It's a mechanism to prevent abuse to the transmission and/or over-revving, but it's set way too conservatively; one time it wouldn't even downshift for us at a modest 3800 rpm. Sometimes, accelerating away from curves, it even leaves you below the powerband, which is reasonably broad. Also, it won't do short-shifts when you want heavy throttle at lower rpm.

Bottom line: If you really want to control shifting with the IS 300, you should get the manual transmission.

Turning to the ride and brakes, the IS 300 gets great again. The ride presented remarkable equanimity, which is to say it felt the same over every kind of surface. High-speed ripples, firm and steady; low-speed bumps, firm and never harsh. Out on the freeway, it delivered a nap-inducing smoothness.

And the brakes, with big ventilated discs in front and solid discs in back, were always there. The anti-dive suspension design works. We abused the brakes during our longest cornering session and they never faded; we drove into rain-slicked second-gear turns too fast and too late, relying on the anti-lock system to save us, and it did, with rock-steadiness and without protest.

The engine, using Lexus's continuously variable valve timing system, offers keen acceleration, but the three models are not equal. The five-speed is quickest, the sedan next, and SportCross the slowest because it's the heaviest. According to Lexus, 0 to 60 times are 6.8, 7.3, and 7.4 seconds respectively, and quarter-mile times are 15.1, 15.3, and 15.6.

Finally, we were both puzzled and impressed by the performance of the traction control with optional limited-slip differential; the rear wheels spun quite easily on wet pavement (accelerating lightly from uphill stop signs, for example), but when we pounded the throttle to see just how bad it was, the limited-slip kicked in with a shudder, and prevented the wheels from further spinning. We can't say what role the Bridgestone Potenza summer radials played in this. But we can say that they did a great job gripping the wet road, back on those memorable curves.

For 2002, the IS 300 sedan with the five-speed E-shift automatic retails for $30,805, with front side-curtain airbags added as standard equipment.

The SportCross starts at $32,305 for that same level of standard equipment, and features slightly wider rear tires on half-inch wider rims, and a sturdy rear window washer/wiper.

Major options for all IS 300 models include black or ivory leather seats with full power in the front ($2145), a leather/Escaine (suede-like) version for $1845, DVD GPS voice navigation system ($2000), power moonroof ($500), heated front seats ($440), Vehicle Skid Control ($350), and a limited slip differential ($390).

The IS 300 sedan with the five-speed is a sports model that includes a sport-tuned suspension, and sells for $29,435 with all the same standard stuff. Drivers, you're in luck: more sport for less money. Driver jocks are not so lucky, however, since the five-speed doesn't come in the SportCross body style. So much for sport, at least for 2002.

Standard equipment includes four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes (ABS) with electronic brake distribution (EBD), halogen foglamps, high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights, five-spoke alloy wheels, traction control, a premium eight-speaker (nine in SportCross) audio system with cassette and in-dash six-disc CD, and all the power-oriented paraphernalia of a luxury car: automatic climate system, cruise control, power windows and door locks, auto-dimming rearview and driver's sideview mirrors, heated external mirrors, remote entry, security system and more.

Active and passive safety measures in the IS 300 include an energy-absorbing structure surrounding the passenger compartment, three-point safety restraints with locking retractors for five seat positions, a collapsible steering column, frontal and side-impact airbags for the front seats, plus the new front side-curtain airbags.