GO
GoAutoLogo
MENU

> search

Make / Model Search

Search results for: "lexus" Page 93 of 93

GXE10R (Mk1) IS 200Mar 1999

GXE10R (Mk1) IS 200

THERE is little doubt that the first-generation IS 200 was Toyota’s reply to the 1991-1998 BMW E36 320i.Both were three-box four-door sedans with a 2.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels with particular attention focussed to a near 50:50 weight distribution.As a result, at its introduction some described the IS as a four-door Mazda MX-5/Miata sedan, so positive was the reaction to what became the first youth-orientated Lexus.But, like the derided ES 300, the IS 200 wasn’t actually a ‘true’ Lexus in that it was developed as a compact Toyota for the Japanese home-market (known as the Altezza), until Lexus got into the act and ‘Lexus-fied’ it.At least the IS was as driver-orientated as the ES was just plain bloated. The company honed the car’s dynamics at Germany’s famed Nürburgring racetrack, and fitted double wishbone all-independent suspension and a quick rack-and-pinion steering rack.Its 114kW 1988cc six-cylinder engine produced 195Nm, and relied on plenty of revs to reach that top. Luckily then it was a smooth and fuss-free spinner.The manual gearbox was a lovely metallic-feeling close-ratio six-speed manual, although a less-satisfying four-speed automatic was also made available.Two equipment grades were introduced – the base and Sport Luxury.Besides having the former’s dual airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, climate control air-conditioning, alarm, alloy wheels, body kit, cruise control, fog lights and powered steering/windows and mirrors, the Sport Luxury added side-front airbags, a limited-slip differential on manual cars, larger alloys, sportier trim, velour-like fabric and sports and heated front seats.Critics cheered and sales soared as the IS 200 showed up the BMW 3 Series/Mercedes C-class and Audi A4 triumvirate up as poor value for money.About the only criticism levelled at the littlest Lexus was its cabin, which seemed to lack the high levels of quality-feel fittings that higher-echelon models enjoyed.And it’s no coincidence either that – although the IS was so obviously a Japan copy of a brilliant BMW – the others soon learned from the Lexus by offering palpably better base-model engines and more standard kit.In August ’01 Lexus released a revised IS line-up, with minor visual changes and more standard equipment, including side-front airbags.Body rigidity improved, as did the suspension and brakes. New colours, higher-quality trim and better noise and dust sealing were implemented.The Sports Luxury became the IS 200 Luxury Option, while a 157kW/288Nm 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine model – the IS 300 – also joined the range. The latter only came in a five-speed automatic guise.The IS 200 became increasingly dated as all rivals switched to newer-generation models in the course of its life, resulting in a gradual sales drop.But Lexus didn’t rest on its laurels, beginning with a clean sheet of paper and developing a non-Toyota-based IS Mk2 range for release, initially in IS 250 only guise, in November 2005.

UZJ100R LX 470May 1998

UZJ100R LX 470

LEXUS needed to boost in sales in SUV-crazy America, so came up with the idea of the LX 450 back in the mid-‘90s.This Toyota 80 Series LandCruiser wagon may have had coil spring suspension and a smooth and powerful V8, but it was still a tough go-anywhere vehicle in drag. But tens of thousands were sold Stateside anyway.So the second-generation LX Toyota again donated its LandCruiser hardware, but this time it was the far-more refined 100 Series wagon.Lexus added all sorts of luxury features, including its famous Optitron instrumentation, and then installed a 4.7-litre ‘4CAM’ 32-valve V8 producing 170kW of power and 410Nm of torque.Traction control was added in January ’00, while a raft of running changes heralded the Series II LX 470 in October ’02.These included a five-speed automatic gearbox replacing the old four-speed unit, stability control, self-levelling suspension for a marginally better ride, and a host of other little luxuries.But, compared to the third-generation Range Rover the Lexus competed with, there was no silk purse present in this particular sow’s ear – no matter how good the iconic Toyota LandCruiser is off road.

JZS160R (Mk2) GS 300Nov 1997

JZS160R (Mk2) GS 300

LEXUS’ assault on the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-class came in the form of the GS, a mid-sized four-door sedan.Proving that Lexus was serious about rivalling the Germans, it developed the GS with rear-wheel drive and independent wishbone suspension all-round.Motivation came courtesy of a 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine with variable-valve timing offering 166kW of power and 298Nm of torque, and mated to a five-speed automatic gearbox.All GS’ included dual front airbags, anti-lock brakes, climate control air-conditioning, front-side airbags, traction control, alloy wheels, cruise control, remote central locking, and powered front seats.From December 2000 a revised GS arrived with minor exterior and trim changes, a higher level of standard features and a sequential-shift function for the automatic gearbox.Sadly we were denied the V8-engine GS 430 for this generation.In fact Australia also missed the first-generation GS model all together, released in Japan as the Toyota Aristo in 1991.And until the IS 200 arrived in early ’99 it was the sportiest Lexus available locally.Sales were strong initially but a lack of new-model activity from Lexus and an avalanche of it from rivals resulted in the GS almost vanishing from luxury buyers’ minds – until the completely redesigned Mk3 GS arrived in early ’05.

E39 5 SeriesApr 1996

E39 5 Series

Probably the best car of the 1990s, the E39 5 Series was a towering achievement in dynamics, performance, refinement, all-round capability and value, even at the high prices BMW demanded.Dimensionally the E39 grew, liberating cabin space and increasing efficiency, yet BMW’s engineers managed to up torsional rigidity by 50 per cent while maintaining the E34’s body-in-while weight.Initially the BMW seemed too conservative for some, as all its traditional rivals – Mercedes E-class, Audi A6 – as well as some of the newer ones – Lexus GS 300 – followed wearing more modern and fashionable clothes.But the E39 endured at the top of its heap until the controversially styled E60 arrived in late ’03.One famous badge returned with the two all-new in-line six-cylinder powerplants on offer.Despite the inaccuracy of the name, the 523i offered 125kW and 245Nm from a 2.5-litre twin-cam 24-valve engine combined with the five-speed automatic that also featured throughout most of the E39 range.This entry-level sedan came complete with dual front and side airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control and climate control air-conditioning.Next up came the return of the 528i badge, powered by a 142kW/280Nm twin-cam 24-valve in-line ‘6’ in either sedan or – from April ’97 – Touring wagon guises.BMW also reissued the 535i badge, but this time with a V8 – 3.5-litres of it delivering 173kW and 320Nm.And speaking of badges, it got the name wrong on another one – the 210kW/420Nm 4.4 DOHC 32V V8 540i.The 528i proved to be the most popular 5 Series at the time. But the greatest, without doubt, was the E39 M5.Released in March ’99 and available until October ’03, it wasn’t the satellite navigation, TV, leather upholstery or even bespoken lightweight body parts that made this model arguably one of the best German cars in history.Nor was it the hand-built, 294kW/500Nm, 4941cc DOHC 32-valve V8 mated to a superb six-speed manual gearbox.Instead it was the way every little piece came together to make the hewn-from-solid steel M5 an electrifying supercar sedan for four lucky adults.A thorough round of revisions resulted in the E39 Series II from December 2000 to late ’03.Gone was the confusing 523i and classic 528i badges, replaced instead by 141kW/245Nm 525i and new 170kW/300Nm 530i nomenclature that accurately denoted the powerplant sizes lurking ahead.This time BMW split the latter sedan and Touring wagon into luxury-focussed Executive and be-spoiled Sport variants.The same was applied to the 535i, now with an 180kW/345Nm 3.5-litre V8, while the 4.4-litre 540i gained 20Nm more, to deliver 210kW and 440Nm.

AE102 CorollaOct 1994

AE102 Corolla

The seventh-generation Corolla was the last small car to be built in Australia, this time at Toyota’s high-tech Altona site in Melbourne.It also spawned a Holden Nova version in its first two years until the British-sourced TR Astra replaced that in Holden’s line-up.Although it arrived three years after its Japanese premiere, the AE102 benefited from Toyota’s Lexus program trickle-down effect, so it was big on refinement, comfort, durability and – for a Corolla - space.This time only a single five-door hatch (called Seca) and four-door sedan were offered, although the extended liftback-look, short-lived, fully imported Sprinter from May ’94 to November ’96 was the spiritual successor to the old Seca models.It shared the same 85kW 7A-FE 1.8 litre engine with the local models, which included: CSi 1.6, CSi 1.8 Conquest and Ultima 1.8 sedans and Seca CSi 1.6, CSX 1.6 and 1.8 and sporty RV 1.8 hatches.The smaller engine was a reworked version of the 4A-FE 1.6-litre fuel-injected unit producing 78kW of power. All autos were now four-speed, while on the safety front there was now the option of airbags and anti-lock brakes.But a big weight hike meant the popular 1.6 autos were no rockets.Special editions included the Corolla World Cup Seca of early ’95, the CSX-based Advantage from October ‘95 and the Spirit from early ’96.

76E Eunos 800Mar 1994

76E Eunos 800

MAZDA had plans to tackle Toyota’s luxury division Lexus with its Eunos premium brand.Launched in Australia in late 1992, Eunos was going to feature four distinct model ranges – the 500 compact sports sedan and 30X sports coupe that were introduced at that time, as well as the 800 medium sedan and the luxury ‘Amati’ 1000 complete with an all-new V12.Of course the early ‘90s recession and subsequent crippled Japanese economy sent many companies – including Mazda – down to their corporate knees. Mazda axed Eunos, killed its stillborn Amati and allowed the other models to languish.But the Eunos 800 (Mazda dropped the Eunos badge from July ’96) was a interesting failure.Driving the front wheels via a four-speed automatic gearbox, the 800 was offered in two V6 engine guises.But while the base model featured a regular 125kW/215Nm DOHC 24V V6, the 800M (for Miller) introduced a special-induction Miller Cycle supercharged 2.3-litre V6 delivering 148kW and 282Nm.The latter was promoted as an engine with the power and torque of a 3.3-litre six-cylinder engine and the economy of a 2.0-litre ‘four’ – with significant emission falls to boot.Four-wheel steering, anti-lock brakes, dual front airbags and a traction control system were also part of the 800M package, on top of the standard 800’s driver’s airbag, climate control air-conditioning, cruise control, central locking, leather trim, powered front seats and sunroof.But all this was not enough for Mazda to find sufficient buyers. Confusing the issue more was the almost identically sized and priced rear-wheel drive Mazda 929 sedan of the same period, which at least proved a little more popular.In March ’98 Mazda Australia introduced 30 special edition 800M SP models, with an overt sports-sedan orientated presentation, while the 2.5 V6 800 was discontinued in October ‘98.Minor trim changes were introduced to the 800M in March ’99.

JM ApolloMar 1993

JM Apollo

Toyota spent a fortune developing the redesigned, third-generation, “wide body” Camry range for the early ‘90s, utilising dynamic and refinement lessons learned during the multi-billion dollar Lexus LS program. The result was a larger, wider, stronger, safer, roomier and more comfortable family-sized sedan and station wagon.And like before, Holden offered a virtually identical version, this time as the JM Apollo range.The grille, tail-lights, bumpers and minor trim set the Apollo apart.Like the Camry, a 95kW 2.2L 5S-FE four-cylinder was the base engine, while a 139kW 3.0L quad-cam V6 auto was also available, except on the SLX wagon.Power steering, central locking and a radio/cassette player were standard on all models, while anti-lock brakes became an option.From June ’94 a driver’s airbag, cruise control and power windows became GS inclusions.

Search results pages:

GoAuto Search Words

Search will attempt to find all articles within the system that contain any or all words you are looking for.

You can include words like "and" + "or" for boolean style searching. Some search examples as follows:

  • "Ford v8" - Results will contain the text as it appears in the search "Ford v8".
  • "Ford and v8" - Results will have both "Ford" and "v8" within its contents but may not be sequential as per previous example.
  • "Ford or Holden and v8" - Results found will contain "v8" and also contain either "Ford" or "Holden".

You may also use wildcards represented by an asterisks. For example:

  • "Turbo*" - will find all documents that contain words like "Turbocharged", "Turbo-Diesel".
  • "Ford and v*" - Results will have both "Ford" and any word that has "V", so you may find documents about Volvo that mention Ford.

Please note: Due to the number of articles, searches may take a few moments to respond.

Research cars by brand

Catch up on all of the latest industry news with this week's edition of GoAutoNews
Click here