2003 Lexus IS300 Driving Impressions Review at Automotive.com
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Lexus
IS300
2003

2003 Lexus IS300 Review: Road Test

Below is a full, detailed 2003 Lexus IS300 review and road test from New Car Test Drive. A full evaluation of price, equipment, the driving experience, and specs are all here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with limitless ex ...     read more
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2003 Lexus IS300 Review

The driver's Lexus.
Driving Impressions
Nobuaki Katayama, the chief engineer for the Lexus IS 300, 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. We were impressed by the agility of the E-shift sedan, and the SportCross corners even better, thanks to its slightly more balanced weight distribution (53/47 versus 54/46) and wider rear tires. But the five-speed sedan, with its stiffer sport suspension, should corner best of all.

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

But it was the car's balance that downright dazzled us. We drove it very aggressively through our favorite remote twisty section in the wet, and we kept trying and trying to get the tail to hang out, but the IS 300 resolutely refused to oversteer. The Bridgestone Potenza summer radials did a great job gripping corners in the wet. 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.)

Review Sections
• Introduction
• Lineup
• Walkaround
• Interior
• Driving Impressions
• Summary & Specifications
Get Your Free Quote on a Lexus IS300

The SportCross handled better in the wet than the front-wheel-drive Acura TL-S did in the dry. We found the IS 300 more fun to drive than a lot of sports cars.

We loved using the steering-wheel buttons to change gars, but the E-shift transmission will override some of your decisions. Drive into a corner hard, begin clicking the button on the steering wheel to downshift, and often it won't respond. It's designed 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, when accelerating out of a curve, it even leaves you below the powerband, which is reasonably broad. Also, it won't do short-shifts when you want heavy throttle at low rpm. Bottom line: If you really want to shift for yourself, get the sedan with 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. On high-speed ripples it was firm and steady; on low-speed bumps, firm and never harsh. Out on the freeway, it delivered a nap-inducing smoothness.

And the brakes (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 dove 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 continuously variable valve timing, delivers keen acceleration, but the three models are not equal. The five-speed is quickest, the E-Shift sedan next, and SportCross the slowest because it's the heaviest. According to Lexus, 0 to 60 mph acceleration times are 6.8, 7.3, and 7.4 seconds respectively, and quarter-mile times are 15.1, 15.3, and 15.6. Any one of them is considerably quicker than a Lexus ES 300.

We were impressed by the performance of the traction control with optional limited-slip differential. The rear wheels will slip on wet pavement, when accelerating from an uphill stop sign for example, but pound the throttle and the limited-slip kicks in and prevents the wheels from spinning any more.

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2003 Lexus IS300