Launched in 1999, when most of its competitors had switched to front-wheel-drive for cars of the IS200's size, the little Lexus broke with tradition and used a rear-drive layout. That move was not ...

The IS200 t F-Sport is an A-lister looks-wise ... Let's take a look: Many of Lexus' angular designs of late cause arguments in the world of car aficionados - some loving and some loathing.

But it doesn't take a genius to work out that Lexus's crosshairs were aimed squarely at an entirely different German prestige carmaker for the first generation IS200. Let's look at the evidence ...

and the car's success paved the way for a raft of new Lexus models - firstly the 5-Series-rivalling GS300 in 1995, then the stunning compact executive IS200 in 1999. The latter's triumph has been ...

Like the 3-Series, the Lexus is a compact rear-wheel-drive sedan with power provided by a family of in-line six-cylinder engines, a 2.0-litre in the case of the IS200 and a 3.0-litre for the IS300.

Currently, it's one of our latest long-term test cars, the Lexus IS200 SportCross. It prompts one of two responses – people either love the car and the Lexus range in general or they're not ...