Lexus enters diesel fray

By Michael Moroney

The Lexus brand, while one of the newest car brands on the market, has created some legends of its own. Lexus has developed a reputation for building quality, reliable cars; for leading in the world of luxury hybrid cars.

The strength of the European diesel market has created a new challenge for Lexus; to create a diesel-powered entry model IS220d that can maintain that quality image.

Diesel car sales now account for 50% of the European car market. In Ireland, diesel sales are at 24% and growing. The IS220d is the Lexus response to the diesel demand in Europe.

The IS model is the entry model in the Lexus range. So in a sense, starting at the bottom, Lexus was able to borrow from the Toyota D4D diesel engine experience for the new model.

This engine is a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine using the D4D system, which is designed to give low exhaust emission levels and good fuel economy. The newer generation Toyota diesel engines have a reputation for high power and torque at low engine revs. That reputation is carried through in the new IS220d.

Lexus has tuned the engine to get more power than Toyota has in the standard Avensis model. A T180 powered Avensis and RAV4 version is available with a similar power output in some other European markets.

In this luxury-end diesel market, the real competition for the IS diesel comes from the Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz stables. The Audi A4, BMW 320d and Mercedes Benz 220CDi are the current market favourites in this diesel power league. But the IS220d tops them all in terms of raw engine power and torque.

Through a combination of weight and gearbox design, the A4 and BMW 320d have a very slight (0.4 and 0.2 of second, respectively) edge in terms of the 0 to 100km/hr acceleration pace. The more expensive Mercedes Benz 220CDi is well down the field. But at an acceleration speed of 8.9 seconds in the 0 to 100km/hr stop start, the IS 200d is still a good performer.

Lexus claims that there is more to this engine than just mere performance. It has a unique low engine compression ratio. This, coupled with higher diesel injector pressure, is aimed at lowering engine emission levels and keeping control over the traditional diesel engine noise. Lexus claim that the IS220d is one of the cleanest and quietest diesel cars on the market.

The Lexus IS220d fuel economy levels are good, especially if you’re considering switching from a petrol-powered Lexus. Moving from the new IS250 petrol to the IS220d diesel gives you a 50%+ increase in fuel economy levels.

That equates to a fuel consumption level of 6.3 litres/100km (45mpg) for the diesel model versus 9.8 litres/100km (28.8mpg) for the IS250 petrol. That’s a significant annual running cost difference.

In fuel economy terms, the BMW 320d tops the class, while the Mercedes Benz C-Class 220CDi delivers the poorest economy figure. The IS220d is not far behind the BMW.

I believe that an automatic transmission should be a feature of the diesel car; it has loads of torque and plenty of power to take it in its stride.

The manual gear change was not as smooth as I would like it to be, even though it had a sporty feel to it. Lexus only offers a six-speed manual gearbox in the IS220d, while the petrol-powered counterpart, the IS250, gets the benefit of a very smooth six-speed automatic gearbox.

The IS220d is not a big car. Rear legroom is tight and that’s a function of the size of the car. But it’s a great driver’s car.

Lexus has packed in plenty of goodies into the standard IS models, plus lots of high technology options. The GPS navigation system is impressive and easy to use. Lexus makes a lot of play of the unique Mark Levinson® Surround System, for the on-board reproduction of 5.1 home theatre DVD/CD for video/audio entertainment.

The IS220d has a host of passive and active safety features including Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management system (VDIM), Pre-Crash Safety system (PCS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), dual knee airbags and the world’s first twin-chamber passenger airbag.

And the price; €43,790 (stg£22,2433 in NI) for openers for the new IS220d range. That’s a keener price than the Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz offerings and not much more than the price of a top powered diesel Ford Mondeo, with similar power and acceleration figures.

Lexus has entered the diesel market with a competitive offering that comes with reliability tradition, smoothness and good driving features as standard. This has opened the options in the luxury small diesel market, making the Lexus IS220d is a strong contender.

And you’ll be won over with the impressive styling.