2009 Lexus IS 350 user reviews

3.0 stars

"Solid ride but dreadful cabin technology!" on February 10, 2010 by potomacjack

Pros: Very solid feel - what you would expect from a luxury car. The 350 has a strong engine and handles well, and there is little road noise.

Cons: Oh, the dreadful cabin technology. Plus you can only drive with midgets in the back seat. But, see below.

Summary: Where to begin? Toyota wants to drive the car for you. Speed monitors, safety belt chimes, slip override that shuts off at 30 mph (good luck on snow/ice), plus, in case you haven't heard, the touchscreen lockout! (If you haven't heard, visit http://www.lexusisnotmymother.com ). Some call it a "nav system lockout" but good luck accessing the phone or your music library either.

What else? The menu architecture of the touchscreen is abysmal. Imagine a scale of utility that goes from, say, an Etch-a-Sketch at the bottom to an iPod at the top. Or a Google phone. Whatever. The Lexus menu architecture falls somewhere between the Etch-a-Sketch and a first generation Tandy computer. The point is: Lexus has a long way to go to make an easy, intuitive, and useful interface on its touchscreen. For example: to dial your phone, would you click "menu" or would you click "information?" Or, to choose a city center to drive to, do you just want to enter the city and go, or do you then want to sort through a list of thousands of addresses you know nothing about? In addition: I also was not able to use the "upload addressbook" feature.

I don't mean to gripe. The IS 350 is a great car. It has a solid feel, a strong engine, decent mileage, good lucks, plenty of cachet, and enough room in the back to drive around with people less than 5'5" tall. But the lack of understanding about customer's desire for modern technology in the cabin is stunning. Toyota - get your head out of the sand! Look around you - technology is supposed to make life easier - you need to throw out your entire drive interface and start over. Hire someone form Apple so they can teach you how to make an intuitive interface. And please, get rid of the lockout and the other "technology" features that prevent people from being able to drive their own car.