Used 2016 Lexus IS 300 Base for sale 

The Lexus IS 300 is a specific model of the IS sedan lineup and comes in a single and well-appointed trim. The price of the base trim starts at $39,700 and comes with a superbly comfortable and feature-rich cabin. For the 2016 model year, the sedan is offered in an AWD layout making it more appealing to a wide range of customers. The sedan can be further equipped to improve the overall experience. The upgrade packages include a Premium Package, Premium Plus package, a Navigation Package, and a Luxury Package. The Premium Package adds LED headlights, heated and ventilated front seats, and a rearview camera. The Premium Plus Package includes LED headlights, heated and ventilated front seats, and a rearview camera. The Navigation Package is quite interesting and replaces the standard infotainment control dial with Lexus' Remote Touch mouse-type controller and adds a navigation system, a rearview camera, enhanced Bluetooth with automatic phonebook download capability, and the smartphone-based Enform App Suite. 

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Since the IS 300 sedan is available only in a single option, we would recommend you to opt for the Navigation Package since it will offer a much more expressive and feature-rich entertainment within the car.

The Lexus IS 300 is powered by a standard 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 motor. The engine generates a maximum of 255 horsepower and 236lb-ft of torque. The motor always has enough power on tap under any given driving conditions and the refinement levels are praiseworthy.

In city driving conditions, the motor remains silent and stress-free and can perform some quick overtaking maneuvers without any delay. Out on the highway, the sedan can cruise at triple digit speeds all day without any fuss. The six-speed automatic transmission lacks the agility required and bogs down the thrill to some extent. The 0-60mph run can be completed by the sedan within 6.2 seconds.

The Audi A4 has a much smaller motor and lower horsepower count but has a better torque output. This, combined with the slick-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission offers a more lively performance and driving experience than the IS 300. The BMW 328i also has a lower horsepower figure than the IS 300 but a better torque which translates to brisk acceleration and an overall punchier performance than the IS 300.

Despite being a modern luxury car, the Lexus IS 300 disappoints a bit in the fuel economy department owing to its bigger powertrain than most of its rivals. The sedan delivers a maximum of 19mpg within the city limits and 26mpg out on the highways. The combined mileage is rated at 22mpg.

The Audi A4 benefits from its efficient and smaller turbocharged motor by offering a much better overall fuel economy rating than the Lexus IS 300 sedan. The BMW 328i has the best fuel economy ratings among the three rivals on the list.

The Lexus IS 300 has one of the nicest interiors among its class. The cabin boasts excellent attention to detail and top-notch quality of all the materials used throughout the cabin. The front seats are superbly comfortable and supportive under most of the driving conditions while the rear seats can accommodate two adults with excellent comfort courtesy of the nice outboard seats and commendable legroom.

The dashboard looks attractive with a contemporary design language and the unconventionally placed center stack induces a sense of spaciousness. The buttons and controls are made out of high-quality materials and are easy to use while the Remote Touch interface bundled with the navigation system can be frustrating to use while driving. 

The Audi A4 has a premium yet classy interior design with an attractive dashboard and superbly comfortable seats for both the front and rear passengers. The headroom and legroom are more than adequate for all the passengers and the cabin is filled with premium quality materials as you would expect from a Audi vehicle. The BMW 328i has a similarly premium and comfortable cabin with excellent headroom for front passengers as well as rear passengers too.

Infotainment

The infotainment system of the Lexus IS 300 comes with adequate features to keep you and your passengers entertained while you take a ride in the sedan. The system features a standard 8.0-inch color display with a control dial placed in the center stack. Some of the standard features include Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, voice command functionality, Siri Eyes Free, and an eight-speaker sound system with a CD player, HD radio, satellite radio, and dual USB ports. The optional navigation package replaces the standard infotainment control dial with Lexus' Remote Touch mouse-type controller and adds a navigation system, a rearview camera, enhanced Bluetooth connectivity feature, and the smartphone-based Enform App Suite which integrates Bing, Yelp, Pandora, and other useful Internet services. A 15-speaker Mark Levinson audio system can be included in the Navigation package as well.

Some highlighted features of the infotainment system include:

• AM/FM Stereo
• Auxiliary Audio Input
• CD Player
• HD Radio
• MP3 Player
• Satellite Radio
• Premium Sound System (Optional)
• Smart Device Integration (Optional)
• Lexus Enform app suite

The exterior design of the Lexus IS 300 blends a luxury sedan design with a sports car design and the outcome is an unconventional-looking luxury sedan. Lexus’ spindle front grille might be a highly polarising design cue but the overall design looks quite sharp.

The grille is flanked by a set of angular headlamp units along with some expressive lines starting off from the front-end and continuing towards the rear in a graceful manner. The LED DRLs at the front are housed separately rather than being integrated into the headlights and the wrap-around taillights feature a sharp and angular design as well.

The Audi A4 has a more humble and smooth design language as opposed to the sharp styling of the Lexus IS 300 and its front end looks quite distinctive as well. The BMW 328i has an ordinary design as opposed to the A4 and the IS 300 but doesn’t turn down buyers either.

Being a vehicle of a brand under Toyota's wing, the safety aspect of the IS 300 is expected to be excellent and the sedan lives up to it. The car secured a perfect 5-star rating from the NHTSA and a best possible “Good” rating from the IIHS as well. The standard safety features of the sedan are antilock disc brakes with brake assist, traction and stability control, front-seat side airbags, front knee airbags, side curtain airbags, and rear-seat side airbags. Lexus Enform Safety Connect, a standard feature as well, integrates automatic collision notification, a stolen-vehicle locator, an emergency assist button, and roadside assistance. Some of the optional safety features include a rearview camera, front and rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and a lane-departure warning system.

Highlighted safety features of the IS 300 sedan are:

• Brake Assist
• Electronic Stability Control
• Daytime Running Lights
• Child Safety Locks
• Integrated Turn Signal Mirrors
• Traction Control
• Blind Spot Monitor (Optional)
• Auto-Leveling Headlights
• Cross-Traffic Alert (Optional)
• Rearview camera(optional)
• Lane departure warning system(optional)

The 2016 Lexus IS 300 is quite a competitive vehicle when pitted against its German counterparts in the market by offering some excellent interior features and a sharp exterior styling as well. The sedan also comes with excellent infotainment features with some tasteful upgrades via the optional packages and makes for an all-rounder, ideal for both city and long distance cruising.