Lexus IS Mid life Refresh

Ok we know the IS wont get redesigned till 2012
little shots of the new midlife refresh comming soon :chug:

Taken From CLUBLEXUS:
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/6302/21739149co9.jpg
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1230/43526180cl9.jpg
http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/5739/80702505bo7.jpg
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/2127/49576061iu0.jpg
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/7192/12140798pt7.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7884/91020991ou7.jpg
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7835/74184819sw1.jpg
http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/3230/p1gv2.jpg

Discuss.
like no like?
not enough?

Rims look pretty nice, though I like the current 350 rims more. The tail lights are gross in the pics, and I can't see anything in the pics for the front.

Love the rims and the new woodtrim. The new front bumper is very subtle and I like the new mirrors. The rear taillights are nice BUT they seem to contradict the IS' design. The IS is very European in design but the new taillights look Japanese imo.

Also it seems the IS will get smaller LEDs rather than the single LEDs that it currently has.

Those mirrors look very familiar, which car is it from?

And the current IS has LED for tail lamps? I thought it was conventional bulbs. I can see that they are switching over to rows of small LEDs.

Prefer no wood trim as I don't think that's what the IS is about.

wood trim might be optional
who knows

Those mirrors look very familiar, which car is it from?

And the current IS has LED for tail lamps? I thought it was conventional bulbs. I can see that they are switching over to rows of small LEDs.

Prefer no wood trim as I don't think that's what the IS is about.

Hmm... the mirrors don't ring a bell, sorry.

Yeah it does but it's the more expensive single LED ones. Switching the smaller ones is cheaper even though you require a lot more of them. All new Toyotas now have LED 3rd brake lights (the 4 bulbs you see at the back are LEDs. They light up faster than the regular brake lights).

Wood trim is optional though.

Hmm... the mirrors don't ring a bell, sorry.

Yeah it does but it's the more expensive single LED ones. Switching the smaller ones is cheaper even though you require a lot more of them. All new Toyotas now have LED 3rd brake lights (the 4 bulbs you see at the back are LEDs. They light up faster than the regular brake lights).

Wood trim is optional though.
speaking of the 4-led brake lights... wtf on that. 4 widely spaced leds? even if they're luxeon leds, i still think they look a bit backwards when compared to some of the other 3rd led third brake lights from other toyotas, which seem to be a long and continuous row of run-of-the-mill smts at the very least- those look a lot cleaner imo. are 4-widely-spaced leds supposed to be more noticeable? or is it a matter of saving money?


/rant-on-extremely-minor-thing

and yeah, the current IS has leds for tail+stop. it's an unconventional setup as far as factory led tails go. the four outer ones (on both sides) are "dual filament" ultra-bright single LEDs (not actually "dual filament", but more like two different voltages to distinguish between high/low). the four inner ones seem to be of a less brighter LED, probably even a SMT. those serve only as taillights, and therefore of a single filament (or brightness in this matter). what irks me is the difference between thw two different types of leds- the brighter outer ones are definitely less focused and more spread apart, while the inner ones seem to be more focused, and are a dead giveaway as leds- sorta like four inner dots.

sorta related- cadillac used to have great led design. a good example was the early 2000's DTS. each taillight probably was composed of over 50 dual-brightness tails. it was a very nice continuous flow of red with very little breaks in between them. nowadays, manufacturers (including caddy) are going for more widely spaced leds in the tails and 3rd brake light as well as less diffusers to de-focus the leds (or no diffusers at all!). it seems as if they want the customer to know that there are fancy leds in the taillights. :thumbdown:

speaking of the 4-led brake lights... wtf on that. 4 widely spaced leds? even if they're luxeon leds, i still think they look a bit backwards when compared to some of the other 3rd led third brake lights from other toyotas, which seem to be a long and continuous row of run-of-the-mill smts at the very least- those look a lot cleaner imo. are 4-widely-spaced leds supposed to be more noticeable? or is it a matter of saving money?

Those are the more advanced LEDs. The reason why we're so used to seeing so many small bulbs is because LEDs weren't bright enough and therefore we needed a cluster of them to make up a set of lights.

These new ones as you can see are sufficiently large and bright enough without requiring 20 bulbs (like you see on a rear spoiler for exmaple). That's why.

...Blink and you may miss the new 2009 model, updates are kept to a minimum. The front bumper has received some minor changes giving it an aggressive spoiler type look, the side mirrors get an update too. Other changes previously reported on but unconfirmed include new 17 and 18in alloys, new exterior colors, and a new Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) stability control system...Source: http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080903.001/first-official-images-of-lexus-is-facelift-emerge

If thats what it looks after 4 years of remodeling-- not impressed.

If thats what it looks after 4 years of remodeling-- not impressed.
This generation of the IS came out for 2006, so it is due for a mid-cycle refreshing (usually no more than a face-lift and some content changes for Toyota's models) for 2009. Typically, the full model change would be expected 2 years after that (if Toyota/Lexus were to follow its usual 5-year cycle), but it has been announced that the next-generation IS would not be out until 2012 (a 6-year cycle).

So, this is not the result of a 4-year re-modelling. Expect the great change to come in 2012.

the mid-life freshener was pretty subtle on the first gen IS as well.

Now where is the 6 speed manual IS350 Version-R with 3.5 Liter 350 HP V6 and a 8000 rpm redline?:lol::lol:

(If there is a version-S then why not version-R?)

Now where is the 6 speed manual IS350 Version-R with 3.5 Liter 350 HP V6 and a 8000 rpm redline?:lol::lol:

(If there is a version-S then why not version-R?)
Cause they use G and S as trim levels?? S usually means "standard"

way too subtle changes.

subtle is enough

the coupe model is also expected to join the lineup for the mid cycle refresh

and the 2012 may be released in early to mid 2011 or I read it wrong somewhere

not bad for very very minor changes
i still am a big fan of the IS