Two years after the facelifted version was introduced, the Lexus IS 250 sedan has received another update for 2011, and as before, there are two variants available, the IS 250 Luxury and IS 250.
No changes to the powertrain of the rear-wheel drive vehicle, which continues to the same 2.5 litre V6 with D4 injection offering 205 hp at 6,400 rpm and 252 Nm of torque at 4,800 rpm, or the 6-speed auto tranny.
As before, the exterior and interior tweaks are subtle – changes include a front grille that has been reworked to create more visual depth, while the front bumper and lower grille area now take on a bolder and more 3-dimensional feel. Additionally, each side of the lower grille area has an intake shape that is visually connected to the brake cooling ducts.
For the IS 250 Luxury, two different interior colours with wood trim are available, coordinated with the six exterior colours, one of which is new for 2011 – this is a unique finish known as Starlight Black, which has photoluminescent glass flakes to, as Lexus puts it, “give sparkles like a star-filled night sky.”
Unlike previously, where the HID headlamps were only specified with the IS 250 Luxury (the IS 250 came with halogens), both variants now feature HID as standard fitment, with a dark smoke coating around each headlamp giving a bolder look. New to the car is an arrowhead LED clearance lamp with Daytime Running Lights.
At the rear, there is stronger contrast between light and dark in the character of the bumper. The rear combination lamps now have a more unified colour tone with clear pink-smoked lenses on the indicators and reverse lamps. Also new is the tip of the dual outlet tailpipes, which is now circular and has thicker walls, as well as new 10-spoke design 17-inch alloy wheels, with staggered size rubbers (245/45 rears and 225/45 fronts).
Inside, the IS 250 now features a black metallic high-gloss coating on a number of trim panels, while the IS 250 Luxury continues to have genuine Bird’s Eye maple wood trim. Metallic ornamentation has been added to areas like the steering wheel bezel, meter rings and glove box door, and the steering wheel bezel gets a new silver surface coating, which is also to be found on the paddle shifters. Elsewhere, the speedometer and tachometer now wear new metallic rings.
Some revisions to the sound systems on offer – things have been scaled down somewhat; the IS 250’s standard audio system is a Lexus Premium system with a 6-CD in-dash changer and eight speakers (the 2009 facelift featured a 13-speaker system), with USB and AUX connection points.
Meanwhile, the IS 250 Luxury gets the aforementioned 13-speaker Lexus Premium Audio system. If you’re wondering where the Mark Levinson 14-speaker Premium Surround Sound system has gone, well, it’s now an option for the IS 250 Luxury, and if you opt for this, you’ll also have to install the optional Lexus Navigation package – with reverse camera and Bluetooth capability – as the 7-inch display screen is integrated.
Price wise, no change to the IS 250 Luxury, which continues on at RM305,000, while the IS 250’s features a slight increase, to RM 275,000, both on the road without insurance.
Gallery after the jump.
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1741]
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for the rich n famous only….
Anyone know what platform this sits on? Is it really just a fancy Toyota?
lexus is lexus..toyota is toyota. They enter the market for different purpose tho actually they’re under the same roof. Lexus more to refined performance and luxury.
but to me still the price is way too expensive. ppl will forced to buy bmw,merc or even audi if looking at is250 price.
It sits on the GS300 Platform the same cars use by toyota/lexus are IS250, Toyota Mark X, etc…engine wise they are the same (for IS250 & Mark X) which is the 4GR-SE engine which is a V6 engine, dual vvti and DOHC.
Paul, what do you mean by “intake shape that is VISUALLY CONNECTED to the brake cooling ducts”? So it is not really cooling the brakes?
A good question, ben. The release put it as such – I am inclined to think that it would imply that the intake is shaped accordingly to/with the duct, and that there should be airflow to the braking system.
ben, following your post, UMW Toyota has sent photos of the intake and duct, and there are three photos in the photo gallery that show the assembly clearly. They also sent photos of the car this time around, which were not in the original email. :)
my dream car…
bila boleh beli! bila bila bila bila…. NEVER!!!!!
well, not for me anywayzzzzzzzz…..
Good car
The Lexus IS 250 looks like any other unspecacular business car. Except for black metallic high-gloss coating on trim panels, it appears to be an ordinary car.
true, for that price i’d rather go for BMW or Merc.
Well, it’s meant to compete directly with the 3 series/C class anyway, so saying that at that price blah blah blah is rather redundant. All comes down to preference.
Nice car… but dislike the rear lights, looks odd…
cun giler… tp harga fullamak!
NICE!!…my favourite Lexus model!!
IS250 looks real good in F trim. But I read that it doesn’t drive as well as it looks.
Ah, the slow IS…
Blatant copy of Audi DRL’s…shame shame…
they should copy and improve on the design rather than copy blindly. guess they don’t have any idea how to play around with DRL. so typical of japanese marque to call it “new” when again it’s only facelift. why la why?
don’t they have designers in Toyota and Lexus? The design of the car is so typical, not even close to nice. I’ve sat in a IS 250 before and the engine is very quiet, they only need a good design to sell even more cars.
nice exterior and interior =)
Very refined car, I’ll go Audi A4 for that price…
A really nice car, but at that price its up against really tough competition…
Too expensive for me
Lexus IS 250 or Nissan Teana? interesting..
really nice and beautiful car with an expensive price..I wonder if I can afford this type of car when i start working.
So long as it is in CBU form, it will always be a niche player, catering for those who just want to be different.
As for their flagship model, they put in a 4.6 litre motor and expect Malaysians to jump in and buy, whereas the Merces, Audi, and BMW have their 3 or 3.2 litre models catering for the entry level market.
apa pun..is tetap keta..ssiapa yg nak beli and mampu..beli la..ssiapa yg tak minta beli or tak mampu cari la option yg lain..your money, your decision…haha..
Between this and merc/bmw/audi, i will go for lexus anytime.
Call me a noob, but the ownership cost and “ownership headache” of lexus is much less than merc/bmw/audi.
Yes. Germans are ahead in technology, but in terms of reliability, the japs are many many miles ahead.
Before u shoot me, ask anyone who owns a Merc/BMW/Audi/VW before for medium/long term.
jap car reliability is a thing of the past decade.
my neighbour suffered really badly with his lexus RX gearbox problem. car still sitting in the workshop. now he drives his wife’s myvi to work.
Your neighbour`s car having issues with the gearbox doesn`t represent the whole group of japs owners who drives their car to 200k km without any issues.
One out of 10000 who are having problems, vs 9500 out of 10000 who are having issues.
I think conti ( bmw, merc, audi, VW ) or ex conti car owners will know which side conti cars are.
den go to other auto forums and check out yourself…i see hundreds of fellers suferring and crying out for help. not 1 out of thousand.
toyota / honda just don’t make cars like they use to anymore since cost cutting and profit is their main goal.
i don’t deny that conti cars are problem free instead the contrary is true( due to more advance technology) …but at least nobody is making false claims that conti cars are super reliable.
Well. perhaps its not 1. Perhaps its 500 out of 10000.
But have u been to a conti forum?
I know cause im a conti convert.
wait until u can afford a Lexus then only u start making noise here, k?
Typical malaysian mentality and style of arguement.
Personal attack and whether u can afford it or not. U don know if i can afford so don assume i cant afford.
Can you afford? Or have u driven a conti before?
when I was studying in the US, I owned a 1991 LS400 Mark 1,arguably the most reliable Lexus ever made.But even it had a few issues during my 4 years of ownership.The 3d instrument cluster went blank(expensive), power steering pump failed, and at the time I sold it, the starter was starting to hang.The car was 8 years old when I bought it with 135k miles(216k km).
Currently, I drive a 1993 Mercedes E220 W124.I’ve had the car for 5 years.Also has had a few issues.Power steering hose leaked, wiring harness(expensive), and rear power window motor. I bought it in 2005 with 242k km.
So, do I consider my old Lexus reliable? Absolutely. But so is my Mercedes.
the biggest advantage of having CBU cars… the distributor can change to latest model at a very fast rate. no need to clear stock what-so-ever.
a very good example is singapore. and not so good example is our own country laa.. many CKD cars must clear stock first then only introduce new model.
Sob sob…I just got my IS in July and now a facelift with LED… T.T
Very nice car. The handling and ride is superb but with the price I think most of people in Malaysia will go for Audi A4.
I will go for Lexus rather than BMW with reliability issue.. who said over price? if u compare with A4 B8 2.0TFSI Quattro CBU RM309,800 w/o Insce and BMW 325i Local/CKD RM309,800 w/o Insce. If BMW CBU I dont think can get RM309,800…
The problem to me only, My MoF really love A4 B8 2.0TFSI Quattro RM309,800 + RM23,000 (optional equipment)… what to do
no thanks, my recon is250 is good enough..
nice gentleman’s car.price is expected cos it is a V6 2.5L CBU car. those who say people should but BMW or Merc are missing the point-you cannot compare CKD and CBU car prices/quality.it’s a pity that we Malaysians have to pay so much for a car due to taxes!
Why Malaysian car they dont design it nice nice ahh? Maybe the designers are all old already, and need to be exposed more
BMW F10 alot of complaint on reliability & defect by owner even just came home from showroom. When complaint to AB, they give a thousand of stupid reason.
Actually, I want to put some money/deposit at AB Sg Besi for 535i but I cancel it due to alot of complaint in bmwclubmalaysia about reliability issues. AB should recall the F10 from market like Lexus & Toyota did before but they dont do coz BMW is “Ultimate Driving Machine” and tarak telur.
What will happen if “Ultimate Driving Machine” has to recall from market????
But still got smart enough guy put order even he notice the problem has been rise up.
simply put, only car enthusiast will appreciate the technology behind a marque. most ppl buy BM bcoz it’s “BMW”. enuf said.
I love this car
itz a 2 yrs untold luv i hav in my heart on this sexy lexus… hope 2 get it soon once completed my house loan in another 17 mnths
I used to own a Honda but never Toyota..perhaps one day…currently driving Benz for the past 2 years..and I don’t have reliability issue…looking forward to own a beemer or a cayenne in the next few months…I think reallibity is not an issue neither conti nor japs…its all down to individual preference..with current production technology…all cars are perfectly built…it is just that conti represent status and evergreen design…again, it lies on the eyes of beholder…you make own choice…