Lexus IS 250 Getting Turbocharged Engine, Name Change
Company Finally Jumps On The 2.0T Bandwagon
Jonny LiebermanWriter
Lexus IS 250 Getting Turbocharged Engine, Name Change
Company Finally Jumps On The 2.0T Bandwagon
Jonny LiebermanWriter
The new, third-generation Lexus IS debuted last year and one aspect left us shaking our heads: the tiny but underpowered 2.5-liter V-6 in the IS 250. That engine, the 4GR-FSE, was a bit novel when it debuted a decade ago in the second-gen IS. Showing up in the then-new 2013 model year IS seemed not only out of date, but out of touch. We realize there are advantages to small displacement engines in markets where cars are taxed based on their engine size. But in the U.S., they ain't, and we're far and away Lexus's (and Toyota's) largest market. Why not do what everyone else is (successfully) doing?
Audi, BMW, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz are all selling IS competitors sporting 2.0-liter I-4 turbos (fine, Mercedes had a 1.8-liter turbo in the C180 but that car's been replacedby the new C200 featuring -- you guessed it -- a 2.0-liter turbo). Why is a 2.0-liter turbo better? Consider horsepower. The $37,000 IS 250 makes 204 hp and a paltry 185 lb-ft of torque. The $35K Cadillac ATS with a 2.0-liter turbo makes 272 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. You tell us. And we're not even mentioning efficiency.
Last week in Beijing Lexus showed the world their new NX small crossover and under its hood sits a -- surprise! -- 2.0-liter turbo kicking out 235 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Yes, less than the Cadillac ATS mentioned above, but roughly equal to what powers the BMW 328i (241 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque), though that BMW motor is notoriously underrated. Anyhow, Lexus has officially said that the new, small turbo 4-cylinder will make its way into other cars. Unofficially what they're telling us is that the new motor shows up first in the IS.
The question then becomes what are they going to call it? To answer that we'd need to know if Lexus is killing the 2.5-liter V-6 or not. We'd guess not, as Cadillac has their own 2.5-liter ATS (though an I-4, not a V-6) and BMW makes a neutered version of their 2.0-liter turbo for the 320i that only creates 180 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque. If the 2.5-liter V-6 soldiers on, expect the new turbo IS to be called the IS 300. If the old engine dies however, we'll hedge because Lexus could then either call it the IS 200 or the IS 250. We just can't say for sure. As for when this will happen, bet on 2016.
When I was just one-year-old and newly walking, I managed to paint a white racing stripe down the side of my father’s Datsun 280Z. It’s been downhill ever since then. Moral of the story? Painting the garage leads to petrolheads. I’ve always loved writing, and I’ve always had strong opinions about cars. One day I realized that I should combine two of my biggest passions and see what happened. Turns out that some people liked what I had to say and within a few years Angus MacKenzie came calling. I regularly come to the realization that I have the best job in the entire world. My father is the one most responsible for my car obsession. While driving, he would never fail to regale me with tales of my grandfather’s 1950 Cadillac 60 Special and 1953 Buick Roadmaster. He’d also try to impart driving wisdom, explaining how the younger you learn to drive, the safer driver you’ll be. “I learned to drive when I was 12 and I’ve never been in an accident.” He also, at least once per month warned, “No matter how good you drive, someday, somewhere, a drunk’s going to come out of nowhere and plow into you.” When I was very young my dad would strap my car seat into the front of his Datsun 280Z and we’d go flying around the hills above Malibu, near where I grew up. The same roads, in fact, that we now use for the majority of our comparison tests. I believe these weekend runs are part of the reason why I’ve never developed motion sickness, a trait that comes in handy when my “job” requires me to sit in the passenger seats for repeated hot laps of the Nurburgring. Outside of cars and writing, my great passions include beer — brewing and judging as well as tasting — and tournament poker. I also like collecting cactus, because they’re tough to kill. My amazing wife Amy is an actress here in Los Angeles and we have a wonderful son, Richard.
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When I was just one-year-old and newly walking, I managed to paint a white racing stripe down the side of my father’s Datsun 280Z. It’s been downhill ever since then. Moral of the story? Painting the garage leads to petrolheads. I’ve always loved writing, and I’ve always had strong opinions about cars. One day I realized that I should combine two of my biggest passions and see what happened. Turns out that some people liked what I had to say and within a few years Angus MacKenzie came calling. I regularly come to the realization that I have the best job in the entire world. My father is the one most responsible for my car obsession. While driving, he would never fail to regale me with tales of my grandfather’s 1950 Cadillac 60 Special and 1953 Buick Roadmaster. He’d also try to impart driving wisdom, explaining how the younger you learn to drive, the safer driver you’ll be. “I learned to drive when I was 12 and I’ve never been in an accident.” He also, at least once per month warned, “No matter how good you drive, someday, somewhere, a drunk’s going to come out of nowhere and plow into you.” When I was very young my dad would strap my car seat into the front of his Datsun 280Z and we’d go flying around the hills above Malibu, near where I grew up. The same roads, in fact, that we now use for the majority of our comparison tests. I believe these weekend runs are part of the reason why I’ve never developed motion sickness, a trait that comes in handy when my “job” requires me to sit in the passenger seats for repeated hot laps of the Nurburgring. Outside of cars and writing, my great passions include beer — brewing and judging as well as tasting — and tournament poker. I also like collecting cactus, because they’re tough to kill. My amazing wife Amy is an actress here in Los Angeles and we have a wonderful son, Richard.
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