 Hey guys, welcome back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I am Goldpony, I do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the new 2021 Lexus IS 300, courtesy of Bobby Ray Hall Lexus in Mechanicsburg PA for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so I am in this one today because earlier in the year I did review the IS 350. And of course that one was a blast, insanely nice steering feel. That was one thing I would definitely remember, but I did want to check out the IS 300 as well because this is essentially a much more affordable version of that, so I wanted to see how it compared essentially. And of course you do have legendary reliability with any of the Lexus IS family. And so in this video I will be testing out and going over everything about the IS 300, including steering feel, ride quality, sound system, acceleration, braking, exhaust clip and everything else essentially. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. And so there are essentially two different configurations available for the IS 300. First one is the rear wheel drive configuration. That one is going to start at $39,050. Then there is the all wheel drive setup. That one is going to go for $41,050. But powering the IS 300 is a two liter turbocharged inline four cylinder, putting out 241 horsepower, 258 pound feet of torque sent to rear wheels or all wheels through an eight speed automatic with paddle shifters, which you guys know we will be testing out in a little bit here. But zero to 60 time comes into 6.9 seconds for the rear wheel drive, 6.1 seconds for the all wheel drive. Then top speed coming in at 143 miles per hour with MPG numbers coming in at 21 in the city, 31 on the highway for the rear wheel drive, 19 city 26 then on the highway for the all wheel drive. But so that before we do any kind of fun paddle shifter test or acceleration tests here in our IS 300, as you would imagine the drive modes and that drive mode dial is located just to the right of the shifter that will give you normal sport and eco and also snow mode. That is pretty cool. That's going to be a button located just behind the dial there. But essentially what those drive modes do is adjust things like the shift points, the throttle response, the steering sensitivity and the all wheel drive system engagement if you were to put that snow mode on. But having now got all of that out of the way, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and put it in full manual shift mode first. What I'm going to do there is just simply slide the shifter all the way to the back and to the left that is actually going to display what gear I am in up on the digital portion of the gauges. By the way, incredible turning radius there. That is excellent. I always make a turn there. Sometimes I can't make it but with the IS 300 that was certainly not a problem. So that is very nice. But anyways, back to the shifting here. I do have it in full manual shift mode. It's going to tell me what gear I'm in. Let's go ahead and put the paddle shifters here to the test and let's see how quickly they're going to react for us here. All right you guys in first gear in three, two, one, go. Whoa. Actually, paddle shifters are decent. Not the very quickest paddle shifters I've ever tested but much better than I expected honestly. A lot of times in luxury vehicles there's certainly a delight to the paddle shifters but with the IS 300 it's not bad. It's pretty much kind of as high expected. They're not the very quickest but definitely not the worst either. They're very nice. I will say that but now let's go ahead and give back full control to the IS 300. Let's do a quick little acceleration test here with the car having full control here. I'm just going to slide the shifter back to the right and let's see how quickly we can get ourselves here up to speed in three, two, one. You know what I love about this already off the bat. Okay, one it's dang quick. Honestly, the IS 350 is a little bit quicker but this is definitely very, very quick without a doubt. Not going to have any issues emerging onto the highway. Anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always, braking is equally important. And so up front you will find 13.1 inch ventilated front discs. In the back 11.7 inch ventilated rear discs as far as that 60 year stopping distance goes that is going to come in at 117 feet which is plenty respectable. Most sedans this size come in at 120s and even upper 120s for that matter. So 117 feet is perfectly fine. And maybe let's go ahead and... Yeah, braking feel is perfectly fine. It might be slightly on the softer side but still that 117 foot number tells you that the braking is essentially excellent here for the IS 300. So once again, well done Lexus. Then touching on suspension and handling up front you're going to get an independent double wishbone type front suspension in the back, independent multi-link rear suspension front and rear stabilizer bar. As far as ride quality goes, that is one of the first things I noticed. So ride quality is very, very nice here in the IS 300. I guess this as to be expected, this is a luxury vehicle. So it just went over the railroad tracks there. Definitely soaked them up plenty fine. So ride quality is perfectly fine even in a compact luxury vehicle like the IS here. As far as steering feel goes, at slower speeds it is weighted incredibly heavy. I love that. Not quite as heavy as the IS 350 but still heck of a steering feel for the IS 300 without a doubt. Lexus did a wonderful job with the IS family here. I definitely want to emphasize that because I love the heavier steering feel instantly points you in the direction that you want to go. So absolutely love that. And as far as cabin noise goes, once again it's pretty much on point. I'm getting a whole lot of nothing as far as exterior wind noise goes, even road noise. So well done Lexus. You definitely insulated this thing quite nicely. Very serene cabin. Then touching on visibility, I can see perfectly fine out the back and that is to be expected in a car of this shape. But it did what I also mentioned, rain sensing windshield wipers do come standard on the IS 300. So essentially what that is, so whenever the IS detects any kind of mist or rainfall it's going to automatically turn on this windshield wipers for you there. So this is one less thing you got to worry about. It's just kind of like automatic headlights for the windshield wipers. Anyways, that about rounds off the performance segment of this review guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2021 Lexus IS 300. All right, you guys, here she is the new 2021 Lexus IS 300 finished in Iridium. In case anybody was curious for our exterior color name and this one has plenty of options on it. So I'm excited to show this to you guys. But anyways, let's go ahead and start up front. Of course that new front grille for the 2021 model year looks dang good. New sharply angled headlights as well for the 2021 model year by LED headlights do come standard. We do not have them. I'll get to that in a second, but automatic feature coming with those headlights meaning when it starts to get dark at night those headlights are going to turn on automatically for you there. LED day 10 running lights also coming standard, but we actually do have a $1,250 option called premium triple beam LED headlights. So slightly better illumination there and they look dang good up front. So definitely a big fan of that. And of course, down to the corners there you will find front air curtains helping direct air around the wheel and tire combination then as well. So that is pretty nice, but overall definitely a very menacing looking front end. And I will say a heck of a lot better looking than the previous model year. Although the previous model year wasn't bad looking, but this is dang good looking. But anyways, that about rounds off the front. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the side of the IS 300. All right, so now since we are around to the side of this one chrome windows surrounds do come standard. When it comes to the side mirrors they are body colored power adjustable side mirrors. They will be heated with LED integrated turd signals then as well. Then take a look down at the wheel setup, 18 inch split five spoke alloys are going to come standard that of course is what you guys are looking at right now. But I love the angles on this thing, specifically the angles on the back door kind of are tilted up towards the back end. Definitely a very good looking crease there. They didn't have to put that there, but it looks so much better that they did. So overall a very nice side profile. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the back of this one. All right, so now since we are around back one of these options I wanted to mention to you guys we have an optional $400 rear spoiler on this one. And I actually haven't seen this rear spoiler on the IS yet. Actually, I think it looks pretty darn good honestly. I mean, it looks good without it, but this looks right at home on the back of that trunk. So I will say that definitely a fan LED tail lights also coming standard on this one as expected. Just below it all, we'll find that matte black bottom portion of the rear bumper into the side's dual exhaust outlets with chrome tips. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around back of the IS 300 when it comes to opening that rear trunk there is a button on the key fob to do that. There's also of course a button on the trunk itself. And there's actually a button by the driver's side left knee then as well. Once opened up, cargo capacity comes in at 10.8 cubic feet. If that was not enough space, there is a 60-40 split meaning the rear seats do fold down for quite a bit of extra space then. If you needed it, did wanna also mention there is some cargo lighting back there. And if you were wondering if the IS 300 does have a fix-a-flat or a spare tire it actually has a spare tire and that is located underneath of the cargo floor in case you were curious about that. But then making our way up to the rear legroom that is going to come in at 32.2 inches which on paper isn't a whole lot. So for reference, I'm even six feet tall. This is how much space I had in the rear seats. They're sitting behind my own driving position and we'll say that. Rear ventilation though does come standard. I do absolutely love that in case you have any rear passengers. You don't want them to be uncomfortable. Rear center armrest also coming standard. However, I will say I was surprised not to see a rear center armrest with cup holders. There are no cup holders on this rear center armrest. It is just simply an armrest, but it's still plenty fine. Front seat map pockets for those rear passengers then as well but then making our way up to the front seats. Eight-way power adjustable front seats do come standard along with new luck seating material. That is what they're going to be finished in. However, there is a comfort package that goes for $1950. That is also going to give you heated and ventilated front seats. We actually do have that with us today. All of those buttons are located just in front of the shifter but overall seats are plenty comfortable. I absolutely had no issues there but I will say the F-Sport seats, those are the most comfortable seats in existence that Lexus makes. They're better than every other manufacturer I've ever tested. But having said that again, these seats are plenty comfortable. But then taking a look at the steering wheel, it is tilt and telescoping. It is leather wrapped and heated if you go with the comfort package. So I didn't want to emphasize that but the 10 and two grips are plenty fine. And again, the weight of the steering feel is absolutely wonderful. But let's now go ahead and make our way to the startup. Let me first start by showing you guys the key. You do have your Lexus logo on the one side of course. And when you flip it over lock, unlock and that button to pop the rear hatch. But essentially it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So therefore all I'm going to do here is simply put my foot in the brake and press that silver engine start button located just to the right of the gauges up top there. And so once started up, tachometer is all the way to your left. Speedometer is on your right. There is a small digital display front and center which can be controlled by using the steering wheel mounted controls found on the right side of the steering wheel. And that'll give you things like how many miles you have left and to hit empty your outside temperature. Of course, trip A and trip B that's to be expected these days. There's also a driving statistics indicator. There is a digital speedometer if you'd rather leave that up there. There is speed limit recognition technology. So that is going to give you the speed of any given road that you're on. Tire pressure information, the list goes on when you need your next oil change and so on. But now let's go ahead and make our way to overall interior quality. A power moonroof is going to come with the comfort package again. We do have that package. So we do have a power moonroof that is pretty cool. Dual zone climate control is going to come standard. And I like the way they set up that dual zone climate control. It's different. Essentially there's kind of like touch sensors located to the left and the right there. And you just touch them and that'll put the volume up or down. So I do kind of like the way that is set up. Black metallic trim is going to come standard on this one. You can see that right around the window buttons, the power window buttons on both of the doors there. And overall it is finished plenty fine. This is a Lexus after all. A lot of soft touch material. I like the contrast stitching found just above the passenger side glove box. There is this very soft leather finish with contrast stitching just on top of the gauge cluster here. That is probably one of my favorite parts there. We do have homelink controls for up to three different garage doors found at the bottom portion of that rear view mirror. There's actually a CD player, believe it or not. Funny seeing those still in cars here. It's going to be located just in front of the shifter. So if you like CDs still, go ahead and play those. And just behind the shifter, you have dual cup holders. And if you were wondering where you can actually plug in your phone, there are two USB charging ports located within the center armrest. That also gives you an auxiliary port and a 12 volt power outlet within that center armrest as well. And even the center armrest is very soft touch with contrast stitching as well. So it's finished pretty much like you would expect a Lexus to be finished. And I love the analog clock front and center. It's always a nice touch, but let's now go ahead and take a look at the infotainment screen here. Eight inch color touchscreen display does come standard, but with either of the two navigation packages, which we do have, you will get a 10.3 inch color touchscreen display. So that is actually what you guys are looking at right now. And like I said, it is touchscreen, but there actually is a touchpad controller and buttons located just behind the shifter. That is a second way to go ahead and control what is on that screen. And probably the easier way if you're actually driving down the road, because therefore you don't have to do that long reach. But anyways, Bluetooth and audio streaming does come standard Android Auto Apple CarPlay as well. Factory navigation system is going to come standard with the 10.3 inch screen. And again, that is what we have today. Weather information you can check out up there along with your radio information, of course. And by the way, when it comes to the sound systems on the IS 300, 10 speakers is going to come standard. However, 17 speaker Mark Levinson sound system is going to go for $2,750. We actually do have that today. So I'm quite excited because you guys know we always have to test out the sound system. And by the way, that one comes with 1,800 watts. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and turn on the radio and see what we got playing today. And let's test out the clarity of this one. That was wonderful, wonderful sound system there in the IS 300. Plenty of bass, it was rumbling the seats. So you got massaging seats when you turn up the radio. That's pretty cool. Intense amount of clarity. I absolutely love it. So that was a brilliant sound system. Mark Levinson always kills it though. So it was to be expected, but it's a wonderful sound system without a doubt for the IS 300. But last thing I wanted to mention on the infotainment screen at least is when you do put this one in reverse, you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board. But there is a package option that we do have today that actually gives you a panoramic view monitor as well that package option gets for $1,365. So it's gonna give you a little bird's eye view I guess on the right side of the screen there as well as your traditional view to the left side and kind of front and center. So as always, that is going to lead us into safety. And so to start, first thing I wanna mention is the IS 300 actually is an IIHS top safety pick plus which by the way is the very highest designation given by IHS that pretty much does it all right there. But front side side current airbags do come standard but driver and passenger knee airbags as well. You don't always get that. In the back, you're gonna have latch AKA lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks, tire pressure monitoring system, it's all pretty boring. But the fun comes in with Lexus safety system plus 2.5 and that is going to come standard. That gives you a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane tracing assist, lane departure alert with steering assist, road sign assist, dynamic radar cruise control, automatic high beams and a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert then as well. And so overall when it comes to my final thoughts here of the IS 300, great safety, that IIHS top safety pick plus, it doesn't get better than that so that pretty much says it all there. Steering feel is not quite as good as the IS 350 and I really wanted to experience that. It's a much heavier feel to the IS 350 but having said that, this steering feel ain't bad for sure. It's still better than the majority of other cars in its class, but not quite as good as the 350. So I will say that great exterior styling on this one. The redesign for the 2021 model year with Lexus, they killed it for the IS. It looks absolutely amazing. So far as room for improvement goes, the rear seat legroom is minimal but the ES kind of fixes that. So if you wanted more rear legroom, just bump up to the Lexus ES rather than the IS. So really that's not even a room for improvement for that reason, but wireless phone charger would be kind of cool. I didn't see one of those in here but certainly wouldn't have minded that. Also multi-color ambient lighting, I think would be pretty cool and some digital gauges would be pretty sweet as well because you can customize those. But anyways, that about rounds on my review here of the new IS 300. Let me know what you guys think in the comments section below. Feel free to follow me on TikTok if you wanted to see short clips of these vehicles before they actually get to YouTube. Be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button. If you're into new car reviews, that is what we do here on this channel after all. Do appreciate you guys watching more than you know when I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay gold.