We never thought there was much of a gap in Lexus’ luxury SUV lineup.  The RX300 fulfilled the needs of the buyer who wanted a midsize sport-ute that could tool around town like a car, and the LX470 took care of the large end of the market, as well as offering the Toyota Land Cruiser’s off-road ability combined with great freeway manners.  What more could one ask for?

Apparently, Lexus thought of something.  For 2003, an all-new sport-ute is shoehorned into the lineup right between the RX300 and LX470.  Called, perhaps …

Warning:  This review may seem a bit enthusiastic and unabashed in its praise of the 2002 Lexus IS300 SportCross.  That’s because it is.  I liked the IS300 sport sedan when it made its debut in 2001, gunning for the BMW 3-series and largely finding its mark.  I’m also a big fan of station wagons, partly because they make good cargo-carrying alternatives to SUVs and minivans without sacrificing handling, and partly because they just look cool.  So it should be no surprise that a Lexus IS300 station wagon would be met …

Talk about irony; the much-anticipated arrival of the Lexus LS430 test car coincided exactly with the arrival of my fourteen-year-old sister for a visit.  So much for playing hot-shot auto journalist for her, I figured.  What could be less interesting to a fourteen-year-old girl than a big, boring old man’s car?  A rich old man’s car, to be sure, but Lexus clearly didn’t have the Britney Spears generation in mind when they designed the LS430.

Much to my surprise, young Ashleigh hopped into the LS430’s back seat, raised the side and …

Look at any street; a parade of Taurus after Lumina after Corolla after Accord, and back again.  Boring, boring, boring.  It’s easy to be nostalgic for the classic era of automobiles.  Pictures of movie stars like Clark Gable and Gary Cooper with their big, custom Duesenbergs practically define the word glamor.  Back in the day, those handcrafted ultra-luxury cars spoke volumes just sitting still.  “Why doesn’t anyone build cars like that any more?” you ask yourself.

Oh, don’t ask yourself silly questions like that.  Duesenberg and Pierce Arrow may be long …

If you like the sublimely decadent Lexus LS430, but aren’t so excited about its titanic proportions and fuel consumption, chances are you’ll feel right at home in the all-new 2002 Lexus ES300.

Somehow, the Lexus ES300 has always seemed like the “cheap” Lexus.  Even after the introduction of the smaller, less expensive IS300, the ES300 seemed to occupy a niche below it in the pecking order, perhaps because of a distant but still obvious relationship to the bread-and-butter Toyota Camry.  The ES300 was never actually a cheap car, but it suffered …

So, you’ve made your fifth or sixth million, and you love your LS400, but wish Lexus built an all-wheel-drive station wagon?  An urban assault vehicle to scramble up to the ski resort in, but still flash that all-important circle L to the wannabees?  Well, hold on to your IPO, my friend, the answer to your prayers is here.  The 2000 Lexus LX470 is just dying to help shout your status to everyone around you.

It’s based directly on the Toyota Land Cruiser, but by all means, don’t hold that against it.  …

Bright, screaming yellow.  It’s a big responsibility for a car to be painted such an uncompromising, in-your-face color.  It conjures all sorts of expectations for a car.  Not every car can be bright yellow successfully.  Think of the past and present bright yellow cars out there: BMW M3, Volkswagen New Beetle, Porsche 911, Ford Mustang Cobra, Ferrari 360.  Even Volvo’s hot-rod 850T-R was most memorable in bright yellow.  When it comes to yellow paint, posers and shrinking violets need not apply.

With the 2001 IS300, Lexus jumps into the yellow car …

The letter F has always been a special one at Lexus. The first prototype Lexus was codenamed “Circle-F,” after all. So, when it came time to select a name for a new, high-performance skunk-works mircrobrand to compete with Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s M division, among others, calling it F was a natural choice.

Make no mistake, the new IS F is not just a one-shot factory hot rod. Lexus promises that more vehicles will emerge bearing the F badge, and has already made a line of “F” performance …