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Luxury brands’ bean counters have severely stretched their products’ DNA. Merc’s bank vault gestalt took an enormous hit over the last twenty years. Bimmer’s SMG gearbox, iDrive multi-media controller, run-flat tires, SUV and dumbed down steering are a worrying divergence from their Ultimate Driving machine ethos. The aforementioned Lexus IS’ harsh driving dynamics bear scant resemblance to their magic carpet LS flagship. Only Audi creates a range of automobiles with brand-faithful consistency. – TTAC

I’m referring of course to the Motor Trend long-term update that has a lot of people talking…

Now granted, automotive journalists are an agressive bunch, but I can’t see how a company known for products that don’t require much in the way of care and feeding can spec brakes and tires that wilt so easily… Not that soft tires and brakes are a bad thing – they usually bring with them better handling, stopping and feel from the driver’s seat. It’s just that in the LS’ case it has no excuse – no one’s every penned a flattering word on the car’s handling or braking; it’s not the car’s M.O…

Not even a Lexus is immune to the laws of physics…

As long as the road is smooth, it’s a serene ride, but sealed cracks and potholes in the pavement kill the serenity. Even in its soft setting, the adjustable suspension can’t compensate for the reinforced sidewalls of the Dunlop run-flat tires. – Car And Driver

It’s a more subtle, grown-up pleasure than, say, charging around in an Evo or Impreza WRX STI, but good fun nonetheless. The IS F is also pleasingly unique: this does not look or feel like a German car, an M3/AMG/RS imitation, but a complete, comprehensively-conceived product in its own right. – 4car

With V8s like the ones in the new M3, the RS4 and the new line of AMG 63s you have to wonder if 8 pistons isn’t enough.

Not – apparently – if you are looking to compete (on paper?) with the likes of the M6 and the upcoming V10 powered Acura.

Click here for a video of the upcoming bruiser not cruiser from Lexus.

(Thanks to reader lamx for the link).

Seen on MPH’s site:

The electric-assist (as opposed to conventional hydraulic assist) steering feels strangely artificial in operation. It doesn’t feel heavy exactly, as you’d expect a car with big, sticky tires like the 18-inchers on the 430 to, just sort of like it doesn’t really want you to turn it. The electrically activated brakes are touchy, making it hard to stop smoothly. But it’s an impressive handler even if it feels a bit like the car is driving itself—at least it’s a good driver. The GS300, which is powered by an excellent and all-new direct-injection 245-hp V-6, is, oddly, the better driver’s car of the pair. Its steering also uses electric assist, so it should feel as odd as that of the V-8 car’s, but it doesn’t. It feels light and accurate and requires fewer midcorner corrections. The suspension is nonelectrically controlled, and while the V-6 car rolls a little more, it feels more natural—sort of like a car. Lexus also adds an optional all-wheel-drive system to the GS300, turning it into the cleverly named GS300 with AWD. We know what your uncle told you, but he’s lying. You don’t need allwheel drive. The AWD version is also the least fun to drive of the otherwise rear-drive GS lot.

‘It’s like the design brief was, “Can you just get everything a bit wrong?”’ – evo’s Ten Worst Cars

For a car that some of us thought might win going in, [last] place seems astonishing. the variable-ratio steering was… cited for its uncommunicative nature… and the electrohydraulic brakes were similarly peculiar in operation, producing longer-than-expected stopping distances. Persuading the Lexus to negotiate our famous lane-change test was akin to driving a coach. When the vehicle-dynamics system (VDIM) is switched off the LS460L indulges in long, wide slides. Leave the system on, and it still allows the car to get well out of shape before stepping in to confuse the driver. – Car and Driver

Commentary: The original LS was comfortable, yes, but when you whipped it it shrunk around you and cleaved resolutely to its intended path. But perhaps most surprising: after the flack BMW’s received for its Active Steering and Mercedes’ headaches with electrohydraulic brakes, Lexus pursued these imperfect technologies anyway…

seen in Car and Driver Forums:

Q) Why doesn’t Lexus offer a manual transmission in the IS 350?  Any plans to do so?

A) The IS 250 is our core model, representing over 80 percent of sales. With this volume, we believe the IS 250 with manual transmission (M/T) will meet the needs for those consumers desiring a 6-speed manual and provides a very competitive value.  The volume of M/T sales within the segment the IS 350 will compete is very small, and we do not forecast enough demand to warrant production of a M/T choice for the IS 350.  If the market should change, we will, of course, consider a M/T for the IS 350.

Commentary: A driver who choses a manual is generally an enthusiast, so we’re surprised that the more powerful car comes as an auto only. That said, manual transmissions are a relative afterthought to Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Proof: the foot activated parking brake makes it impossible to keep the car from rolling back when starting off on a hill in a manual…

(BMWs and Hondas tend to make better manuals, Benz and Toyota better autos).

UPDATE: AutoExpress has driven the manual IS250, and find it the weakest link in an otherwise compelling package…

...the engine’s tendency to hang on to the revs means making smooth progress requires concentration – and this isn’t helped by the clutch’s heavy action at the top of its travel, or the fact that the gearlever is angled, and takes some getting used to. Thanks to the auto’s closer gearing, the manual car is thirstier…

UPDATE 2:

you can opt for a manual IS. That said, you probably shouldn’t. Lexus’s command of super-smooth auto transmissions is unquestioned, but it doesn’t have a good manual. The shift lacks the positivity and involvement of the 3-Series, feels notchy and cheap and is set at a weird angle that, although arguably ergonomic, upsets the otherwise effective cabin symmetry. And this isn’t an option that does any favours to that fabled Lexus refinement… [buy] the manual and you end up with a hell of a lot less car. source: Top Gear

Unlike the BMW’s 3.0 liter, the Benz’s 3.5… has the low-end grunt to pin your ears off the line as well as the high-rpm horsepower to pin your grin as you chase the horizon. As Walton noted about the Teutonic sixes, “The BMW I-6 is, indeed, smoother than the M-B V-6; however, it takes what feels like twice as long to reach the redline and only begins to make power above 4000rpm.” The Lexus 3.5, similar to the Mercedes’, has power on hand throughout the rev range – just a lot more of it. source: Motor Trend, 02.06

(One could argue that rivals focus on their engines to make up for BMW’s clear lead in chassis feel, but this torque deficit is another reason BMW inline sixes tend to be better when paired with manual transmissions while competitors do just fine with an auto).