2020 Lexus IS

midsize luxury car / 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Headlights
Standard system	Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

Standard daytime running lights
Optional blind spot detection
Standard lane departure warning
Standard lane departure prevention

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2017-24 models built after June 2017

Tested vehicle: 2017 Lexus IS 200t 4-door

The Lexus IS was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Beginning with the 2017 model year, the front-end structure was reinforced and the driver door, lower hinge pillar, and sill were modified to improve occupant protection in driver-side small overlap frontal crashes.

Beginning with 2017 models built after June 2017, the front-end structure was modified again and backing material in the footwell was added or changed to further improve occupant protection in driver-side small overlap crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test of the 2017 Lexus IS built after June 2017.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Forces on the left lower leg were just high enough to contribute to a moderate risk of injury.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	CEN1721
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	7
Footrest (cm)	12
Left toepan (cm)	5
Brake pedal (cm)	7
Parking brake (cm)	9
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	3
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	3
Upper dash (cm)	4
Lower instrument panel (cm)	4

Driver injury measures

Test ID	CEN1721
Head
HIC-15	122
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	14
Maximum Nij	0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm)	31
Femur (kN)
Left	2.0
Right	2.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	2
Right	3
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.73
Right	0.43
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	4.3
Right	3.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	86
Right	56

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Lexus IS 250 4-door

The Lexus IS was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	VTF1310
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	8
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	8
Right (cm)	4
Brake pedal (cm)	8
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	0
Right (cm)	0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	-6
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	1

Driver injury measures

Test ID	VTF1310
Head
HIC-15	187
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.9
Extension bending moment (Nm)	8
Maximum Nij	0.31
Chest maximum compression (mm)	30
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.9
Femur force - right (kN)	2.0
Knee displacement - left (mm)	3
Knee displacement - right (mm)	3
Maximum tibia index - left	0.68
Maximum tibia index - right	0.54
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	3.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	3.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	62
Right	54

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Lexus IS 250 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front and rear seat-mounted torso airbags

The Lexus IS was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota as part of side crash test verification.

Driver injury measures
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	VTS1306
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-17.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID	VTS1306
Head HIC-15	345
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.7
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	46
Lateral force (kN)	1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	26
Average deflection (mm)	23
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	4.04
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.37
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.6
Combined force (kN)	3.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.4
L-M moment (Nm)	110
A-P moment (Nm)	72

Passenger injury measures

Test ID	VTS1306
Head HIC-15	67
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	21
Lateral force (kN)	0.9
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	12
Average deflection (mm)	12
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	1.26
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.05
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.2
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.2
Combined force (kN)	2.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.4
L-M moment (Nm)	93
A-P moment (Nm)	35

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2014-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2017 Lexus IS 300 4-door 4wd

(Curb weight from 2017 Lexus IS 200t 4-door 2wd)

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,726 lbs
Peak force	17,513 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.70

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Geometry
Seat type	Power leather seat
Backset (mm)	19
Distance below top of head (mm)	5
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	16.3
Head contact time (ms)	63
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	335

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Trim level(s)

300 trim
350 trim

Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair on both right curves and inadequate on both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was fair on the gradual left and gradual right curves and inadequate on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway, on both left curves and on the gradual right curve.

Technical measurements for this test

Trim level(s)	300 trim 350 trim
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating Applies to 2017-20 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	79.3 m	None
Straightaway left edge	42.3 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	60.7 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	42.8 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	53.9 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	40.0 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	155.6 m
Straightaway left edge	154.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	65.7 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	65.8 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	53.5 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	49.6 m

How headlights are evaluated

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Standard Lexus Safety System + Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2020 models

Superior

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

How front crash prevention is evaluated

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2017-24 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	IS 300
Seat type	leather

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	IS 300
Seat type	leather

G	Good
A	Acceptable
M	Marginal
P	Poor
	Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol	Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol	Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol	Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
	No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
1	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors
2
2	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	none available
3
3	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors

Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	66
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	69
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes

Seat position 22

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes

Seat position 23

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	61
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	65
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes

How child seat anchors are evaluated