2019 Lexus IS350 F Sport quick performance review

If you’re familiar with the traditional premium sedan set, stepping behind the wheel of the 2019 Lexus IS350 F Sport will be a bit of shock.

Press the accelerator and nothing seems to happen, the steering is disconcertingly vague around the straight ahead and why is the infotainment seemingly impossible to navigate? Sadly, the latter never improves, the process of using your left-hand to operate a clunky mouse always feeling unintuitive.

Thankfully, with familiarisation the driving experience grows on you. The naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 might lack the bulging torque of its turbocharged rivals, but the need to expend a little effort to access some power enhances the involvement and the reward is a rorty V6 note.

Ride quality is excellent, once off-centre the steering responds well and controls a nicely balanced rear-drive chassis. It illustrates the depth of this category.

Against the likes of the impressive Jaguar XE 300 Sport, cohesive Audi A4 45 TFSI and polished Mercedes-Benz C300, not to mention the brand-spanking BMW 330i, the Lexus struggles to trouble the top of the class, but it remains an enjoyable car. And when was the last time you heard about a Lexus reliability issue? Exactly.

Just fix that damn infotainment!

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2019 LEXUS IS350 F SPORT SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 233kW @ 6400rpm
Torque: 378Nm @ 4800rpm
Weight: 1685kg
Price: $72,880