Price Car Lexus IS200d

Lexus IS200d Design

Lexus IS200d F Sport, Well, this is unusual. Not the fact that Lexus now has a cleaner version of its diesel-powered IS compact premium saloon, but that its environmental credentials come at the expense of power and performance, and that you have no choice in the matter.

Lexus’ asking price of £28,290 for the F Sport trim tested here (which also gets some exterior upgrades for 2011) is unchanged from the price of the equivalent IS220d. Although that makes it £1000 cheaper than a BMW 320d M Sport, in every other respect the BMW (181bhp, 280lb ft, 60.1mpg and 125g/km) trounces the Lexus. As does the Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI Sport, even though it is more expensive still. Going in the opposite direction on price, the BMW 318d M Sport, although less powerful than the IS200d, is still faster and more economical.

Lexus IS200d Engine

The IS200d, which replaces the IS220d, retains the same 2.2-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine but with changes to its combustion chamber and piezo-electric fuel injectors. It also now has a diesel particulate filter to meet Euro 5 emissions standards. The result is a claimed combined economy figure of 55.4mpg (up from 50.4mpg) and a CO2 figure of 134g/km (down from 148g/km). However, power and torque have also been reduced; the IS200d’s 148bhp and 251lb ft are 27bhp and 44lb ft down on the model it replaces.