We see signs of life at Lexus with the 2013 Lexus ES. Looking over the brand’s lineup over the past five years though, there is only one model the interests us. That is the IS. The IS is rear-wheel drive and still stylish despite being pretty aged (it was introduced in 2005).
It is the most youthful model in the lineup, and definitely the lone bright spot in our opinion. It has served a similar role for Lexus as the CTS has been for Cadillac. Given it is getting long in the tooth though, it is time for a redesign. Well, one is on the way. We know – what you see below (via Autoblog) looks exactly the current car. Nothing new to see here. But, what it does show is that Lexus is hard at work on a new IS. Testing probably began about 18 months when some of the first IS mules showed up.
The IS holds a lot of promise for a host of reasons. Lexus is really getting its act together as far as driving experience. The new GS is an example of this, as the manufacturer aims to inject some life into its cars. That effort is complete, from handling to power trains and design inside and out. The IS should be the best example of this, and reports are saying that the car is being developed based off the FR-S/FT-86/BRZ platform. That gets us excited.
The current car has a luxury slant and we could see more of a performance slant return to it like the original. What’s more is that the IS-F variant is set to be taking a top billing in the car’s development process, right from the beginning. This all has us more excited for the IS than any new Lexus we can remember. No word yet on when the car will show up. With IS needing a replacement soon though, it should be around the corner. Maybe Los Angeles in November?
