Category: Compact Executive 
Price Range: £25,670 to £25,670
A stylish and high-quality alternative to the usual German line-up.
Diesel not as refined as it should be, rear space not great.
A hugely competent follow up to the original, the latest IS isn't a class leader but does deserve a place on buyers' shortlist.
If you're engaged in a bit of badge warfare with your Mondeo-driving neighbour, the German squad still remains the default choice, so you go for a BMW 3-Series, or an Audi A4, or a Mercedes Benz C-Class. The messages these three project are subtly different, but if the chief aim is to make yourself feel superior to Mr Mondeo, it's job done.
If, however, you have a bit more imagination and measure the worth of a car on more substantial evidence than received wisdom, here's a Lexus to consider. The IS is an all-new car to replace the previous model, which had soldiered on for seven years and was really showing its age. Longer, wider, stiffer, better-made and better-looking, the latest IS is the most credible rival yet to the established order.
There's a 204bhp V6 petrol engine on offer, but much more significantly, the IS offers up the first-ever diesel engine to grace a Lexus of any description. It's an all-alloy 2.2-litre unit with 175bhp.
With the addition of a diesel engine, which the company reckons will outsell the petrol engine by two to one, Lexus is getting very serious about the company car market. That's also why the car has been engineered to be less expensive to repair than rivals, and also less costly to insure.
