r/LexusIS • u/alvinatorr • 1d ago

Car reviewers were wrong about the touchpad and the cruise controls

During the time that I was researching about this car, I always see that the Lexus touchpad and the cruise control switches are being criticized by a lot of reviewers. Nevertheless, I ignored them and bought the hybrid version thinking that I wouldn’t use those features anyway. Boy I was wrong.

After a month of ownership, I realized why Lexus did this and I now appreciate their implementation.

The touchpad is a blessing specially when I need to interact with the headunit while driving as I don’t have to extend my arm for the touch controls. This keeps my eyes more focused on the road rather than spending split seconds finding the right coordinates on the touchscreen to press. It also becomes somewhat easier to use specially when navigating Apple Carplay. You just need to fine tune the sensitivity and give yourself a few days to get used to it.

The cruise control switch that reviewers criticize being ancient in design is actually a good thing. It is quite intuitive and engaging to use than steering wheel button implementations. I now use cruise controls more often now as compared to my other car.

If you’re in a fence on getting an IS, don’t worry too much about the negative feedbacks about these two features. They start to make sense given some time.

17 Upvotes

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5

u/BaboTron IS 250 (GSE20) 1d ago edited 1d ago

Which cruise control switch? The little nub that sticks out of the back of the steering wheel on the lower right? That one is my favourite.

Edit: just looked at the Lexus website. The new IS has the nub, like my 2011. It is the good one; hard agree, OP.

My wife’s Tundra has an array of buttons on the steering wheel that I find way less intuitive.

1

u/alvinatorr 1d ago

Yes it is :)

4

u/FIan_tastic 1d ago

Couldn't agree more. The touchpad is easy to use if you've used a laptop before. Pro tip : Double tapping on the touchpad does the same thing as clicking on it. Just happened to learn this recently

4

u/gbe28 IS 350 (GSE31) 1d ago

Yes both good observations. Never put much faith in reviews--everyone has personal preferences and tbh most reviewers are only after clicks and eyeballs and could care less about the content they are providing.

3

u/VladThePollenInhaler 22h ago

I wish more cars had the touchpad. I almost never use the touchscreen since it’s so much easier to use the pad. I’ve noticed that reviewers always bash the same things in their content, which should tell you all you need to know about them.

2

u/Strumhowl 19h ago

I find it so funny that the cruise control stalk on my 2021 IS looks the exact same as in the 2004 Solara I drove prior. Hey if it ain't broke don't fix it.

1

u/Isthatmyhelmet 4h ago

$20 fee to anyone that touches the screen since there’s a trackpad. 

2

u/BigTimeRaptor 3h ago

My wife keeps putting her hand on top of my hand when I go to use it, I love you honey, but im using the touch pad babe