Article: Has the 3-Series met its match?

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4 Jan 06

 Has the 3-Series met its match?
Conor Twomey
The BMW 3-Series pretty much created the small executive saloon class back in the mid 1970s and, in the intervening 30 years, no manufacturer has even come close to matching the BMW's tremendous mix of good looks, excellent build quality and sharp dynamics.

It's still the benchmark sports saloon and, as a consequence, it's still one of Europe's best selling cars, but now there's a new pretender to the 3-Series' throne and this one's got everyone talking.

Could the all-new Lexus IS250 be the car to topple the 3-Series? The first IS200 was a fairly shameless copy of the 3-Series, with its straight-six engine and rear-drive chassis, but it failed to connect with customers.

The interior was too Toyota, the dynamics weren't up to par and the range was limited to just one engine and transmission for most of its lifecycle. The new car is less of a BMW knock-off: Lexus wisely ditched the straight-six engine and stuck to what it knows best: V6s. It retains the rear-drive format and six-speed manual transmission as that's seen as essential to buyers in this segment.

The interior is much classier now, even if you can still play a game of "Spot The Toyota Bits" if you're bored in traffic. The electric window switches, the stalks, the door handles and the sunglasses holder all look strangely familiar, while the whole dashboard centre stack is lifted right out of the GS-series.

Sadly, the range still isn't expansive enough. The smallest petrol engine you can get is the 208 bhp 2.5-litre V6 and while we all rejoice at the news that the IS finally gets a diesel engine, it's the Avensis' 177 bhp 2.2-litre D4-D unit, putting it in a high tax-bracket in Ireland and giving the insurance companies cause to rub their hands together in glee.

At least the IS is good value. The cheapest model is the diesel-powered IS220d at �43,800, but it's got 55 bhp more than the �41,400 BMW 318d and wipes the floor with the Beemer in terms of standard equipment. The Lexus has 17-inch alloys versus the 318d's 16-inch steel wheels; keyless entry and push-button start versus an old-fashioned key; heated and ventilated leather versus cloth seats and a 13-speaker sound system versus a 6-speaker stereo in the BMW.

The �44,950 IS250 also compares well to the 218 bhp BMW 325i, which is only available in SE spec in Ireland and costs a whopping �50,850 without leather trim or many of the IS's standard toys.

Of course, the only way to properly evaluate the IS250 is to put it up against the class leader, so I rustled up a 3-Series to drive back-to-back with the Lexus. I'm going to avoid the whole subject of looks because one man's F430 is another man's Rodius, though I will say that in terms of stance and proportion, the BMW has the measure of the Lexus. The Lexus lacks originality, too. The bonnet shape; the way the grille's positioned and even the kink in the rear quarter-light all indicate that the 3-Series influenced its design. Buyers want an alternative to the 3-Series; not a clone of one.

Inside, the two cars are more distinctive, though neither will set your world alight in terms of style. The BMW's interior is the epitome of Teutonic simplicity, un-encumbered by BMW's i-Drive and devoid of any superfluous garnish. The Lexus isn't quite as sober, but that's mostly down to the funkier, glowing dials and the different shades of plastic - the BMW is a relentless wall of coalface black.

On the move, the two cars are as different as two cars can be. The 3-Series is lithe and lively, darting this way and that at the slightest tug of the wheel, urging you to turn off the stability control and hang its rear end out.

The IS isn't nearly as playful and is much less eager to change direction, with a slower steering and you can't even turn the stability control off.

More significantly, the Lexus' drivetrain is a mess, with a flywheel so big it won't let the revs drop between gear-changes, while the shift action wouldn't feel out of place in an '83 Transit. I hope the D4-D's drivetrain is better than this because if it isn't, there's going to be a lot of unsold ISs.

Overall, I'm disappointed in the new IS. I'm tired of the BMW 3-Series being the class leader, but it seems that no other carmaker is capable of building a better car.

Lexus had a bottomless pit of resources to build a better car than the 3-Series, but it only managed one as good as it needed to be and no better. It will no doubt sell by the bucket in America (doesn't everything?), but Lexus will never topple BMW in Europe until it puts a little more passion into its cars.