Forging a badge of honour

Motoring editor ALASTAIR SLOANE charts the rise of the Lexus and inspects the latest models from Toyota's luxury brand.

First, the origins of Lexus. The history of the badge starts where Lexus itself was born - August 1983, in a top-secret meeting of key Toyota executives in Tokyo.

The meeting was chaired by Eiji Toyoda, the company's chairman. He asked: "Can we create a luxury car to challenge the very best?"

"No sweat," said the engineers, strategists and designers. That was the beginning of the Relentless Pursuit of Perfection creed and plans for the Lexus LS400 - Japan's answer to the luxury carmakers of Europe.

The badge emerged from that first project. It is a bevelled "L" inside an angled oval and is meant to impart feelings of quality and high technology. The badge made its debut on the bonnet of the LS400 at the Detroit motor show in January 1989. It was a car aimed squarely at the American luxury market.

Subsequent Lexus models targeted that market. More than 206,000 Americans bought a Lexus last year. It was the best-selling luxury car, beating the Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Next year, 217,000 Americans are expected to buy a Lexus.

It is the brand that tops customer satisfaction and quality control surveys. Number one in the J D Power poll in America and Britain. That's what Toyoda and his staff set out to do.

Lexus set up shop in New Zealand in April 1991 with one model, the flagship LS400.

"It was a difficult start commercially because we had no customer base to work from," said Lexus and Toyota New Zealand chief Bob Field.

Its first dealer was in Greenlane, Auckland, then came Wellington and Christchurch. But the exclusive outlets didn't work as well as parent company Toyota had hoped.

The brand remained somewhat anonymous through the 90s. People were asking: "Who is Lexus and why is it saying all those good things about itself?"

Now Lexus has an altogether different dealer network alongside 12 high-profile Toyota outlets. It has seven models, ranging from the compact IS200 sports sedan to the LS430 saloon and LX470 four-wheel-drive. The mid-range four-wheel-drive RX300 is expected to become number eight.

Three of the seven models were launched the other day: the IS300 sports compact, the mid-range ES300 sedan and the coupe/convertible SC430 roadster. Take it as read that each model is lavishly equipped, with every conceivable safety and comfort feature and the best of leather.

The rear-wheel-drive IS300 is the answer to early criticism of the IS200: great chassis, great handler but it could do with more power.

If the IS200 with its 2-litre engine is fun, the IS300 with its 3-litre V6 is a deadly serious driver's car. In the ring at Madison Square Garden, it would punch like Mike Tyson and dance like Sugar Ray Leonard.

Lexus said the $77,000 IS300 was designed to offer sports performance and city driveability, coupled with thrifty economy and low levels of noise, vibration and hardness.

But it is at its best on well-sealed country roads with lots of corners, where the car hunkers down on the throttle and its blend of power and precision can be exploited.

The V6 engine produces 157kW at 600 rpm and 288Nm of torque at 4000 rpm. Channelling this oomph to the rear wheels via Formula One-style shift buttons mounted on the steering wheel is serious fun. Those who want a less involving drive can choose the five-speed automatic mode of the transmission.

The dynamics of the IS300 are its lifeblood. Mid-corner corrections on the worst of sealed surfaces are a piece of cake, the chassis, suspension and stiff bodyshell answering the driver's call.

The interior is quality Lexus, although the layout of the controls on the centre console are too busy for some.

That's not the case with the $82,000 front-drive ES300. The dashboard and instrument panel on the centre console are almost minimalist in comparison. The interior overall is understated, classy, with plenty of head and shoulder room.

The ES300, like the IS300, is powered by a 3-litre V6 with variable valve timing. The ES300 engine produces marginally more power and torque - 158kW at 5800 rpm and 299Nm at 4400 rpm - and is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.

The car's front-drive dynamics are up with the very best and the engine's variable valve timing gives the third-generation ES300 a whole new flexibility.

The SC430 comes with an electric tin lid that turns the car from coupe to convertible in 20-odd seconds. It is powered by a 4.3-litre V8 producing 210kW at 5600 rpm and 419Nm of torque at a handy 3400 rpm.

It bristles with technology and is the first Lexus to come with 18-inch wheels as standard.

The $150,000 SC430 certainly doesn't run out of grip, but it has obviously been tuned to American tastes. The suspension has less damping and cornering forces can unsettle it.

But who cares? It's a luxury roadster with an interior to match, highlighted by special sound and air-conditioning systems.

The standard stereo with its in-dash CD turns the volume up when the roof is open and down when the roof is closed. The optional Mark Levinson sound system does the same.

The air-conditioning unit was designed exclusively for the SC430 and adjusts the flow of air when the roof is open.

On a cool central North Island day with the roof tucked in the boot and wind in the hair, the system automatically directed warm air to the driver and passenger's knees and lap. It was like sitting in a warm bath in the snow.