Through the years, Lexus has constantly improved the vital link between man and machine, but a giant leap forward in this endeavor has resulted in the creation of the Lexus Driving Signature or LDS. This development marks a brand-new chapter in the evolution of the Lexus brand. Creating the LDS was a task given to the brand’s chief engineers, who then used the Shimoyama Technical Center Test Track—where the toughest and most challenging roads in the world have been recreated—to fine tune every aspect of a Lexus’s character. The key elements of LDS are responsive and linear control with integrated throttle, brake, and steering reactions; exceptional handling, grip, and confident control in any condition; and refined ride quality and discernable quietness.

The Lexus IS—the first model in the Lexus lineup to showcase LDS—is a luxury sports sedan that is engineered for exhilaration.

“What we had foremost in mind in developing the new IS was to make it a car that excelled in communicating with the driver and, as a car with wide latitude for providing such, would never fail in doing so, regardless of the road conditions or driving status,” says Lexus International Chief Engineer Naoki Kobayashi. “Toward achieving this, we retained the compact body that had been well received, and, with our team united, we endeavored to bring such to maturity by developing the new IS on a new test course. We aimed to make the new IS a Lexus compact sports sedan that provides high-quality riding comfort while offering a high level of vehicle control. We wanted it to be a car that enables people to make new discoveries, such as the discovery that the longer the new IS is driven the more one can experience the fun of driving. And we wanted it to be a car that enables people to feel the aspirations of those who created it.”

“With an aim to pursue the fun of driving, and based on the philosophy that ‘roads make cars’, we brought the new IS to life by thoroughly driving it in harsh environments, including at Shimoyama Technical Center, which opened in 2019,” says Lexus International’s Takumi Yoshiaki Ito. “We paid particular attention to aesthetic and emotional values, which cannot be measured using numbers alone, so as to pursue linear operation that is faithful to driver intention, such as during successive driving operations and in terms of driving rhythm. In creating the desired driving sensation, we examined elements of impurity, such as unpleasant vibrations and noises, from every possible direction, and we thoroughly investigated and eliminated their causes, returning to the basics so that we could evolve a comfortable driving sensation.”

A perfect synthesis of form and function, the Lexus IS is engineered for exhilaration. Since its debut in 1999, this exceptional sports sedan has pursued the fun of driving and served as a whetstone for honing drivers’ reflexes. Earning its popularity with high-level driving performance and sporty styling, the latest evolution of the IS lets you rediscover the thrill of driving. This uncompromising attention to detail has resulted in the most exciting IS yet, and a driving experience that’s superb both on and off the track.

With performance you can feel, and responses that are faithful to the driver’s intentions, the IS ensures a seamless transition from deceleration to steering and acceleration during cornering. Of course, comprehensive safety is also paramount. Lexus has new safety technologies built in the pursuit of one goal: creating an accident-free world. The new IS sees these advancements with the latest Lexus Safety System+ which includes functions such as Emergency Steering Assist and Lane Tracing Assist. These advances are part of Lexus’s continuing efforts to prevent traffic accidents and fatalities, to reduce driver burden, and to develop driver-assist systems that provide a more natural and safer driving experience.

This evolution of the vehicle development process aims to not only improve on the brand’s elevated level of refinement, but to also create vehicles that carry a unique Lexus signature identity. The Lexus Driving Signature philosophy marks a new chapter in the evolution of the luxury brand. Every new model from Lexus will showcase the unique Lexus Driving Signature, and this guarantees an amazing driving experience, every single time you get behind the steering wheel. This Lexus Driving Signature is the new development standard.

These new models will be easier to drive; more intuitive; and feel like they were built especially for you. Each will be thoughtfully crafted to feel “bespoke” for each driver, with behavior that is predictable thanks to the linearity of all of the controls, where there is no disconnect between the stroke of the brake, the movement of the steering wheel, and shifting. Over time, all these characteristics combined develop a level of confidence in the vehicle, and an emotionally engaging drive.