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Why is there a huge bulge in 2021 Lexus IS 300 AWD's driver footwell? We explain

After an initial turn a few weeks ago for the 2021 Lexus IS first drive review, the revised luxury sedan has returned to the Autoblog garage for a second look. This middle-of-the-road IS 300 AWD pairs a 260-horsepower V6 with a six-speed automatic transmission and four driven wheels, and frankly it's the least interesting way to spec out the redesigned sedan. While there are cars in this segment designed to get a performance boost from their all-wheel-drive systems even in dry conditions, the IS isn't one of them. Adding insult to injury, you get stuck with a cramped driver-side footwell care of the engineering shenanigans that went into making this system possible.  While we've mentioned this particular compromise before, we rarely touch on the reasons why it exists in the first place. The fundamentals are fairly obvious; the standard IS utilizes a longitudinal, rear-wheel-drive powertrain. As is typical with this configuration, the transmission sits in a tunnel beneath the center console. This arrangement works just fine, provided you don't need to power the front wheels.  To do so in a traditional car like the IS requires a literal end-around maneuver involving the engine and transmission, which we've diagrammed for you below care of MSPaint. This is a bit simplified for the sake of this write-up, and it should be noted that this is not the only way to implement AWD in an inherently RWD platform, but it illustrates how the power for the front axle (red) and rear axle (blue) flows from the transmission to the drive wheels. To get juice flowing to the front axle, Lexus had to add a parallel output shaft, exiting the transmission from the front with enough clearance for the bell housing and engine, which sits between the transmission and the front differential. This requires quite a bit of lateral reach, meaning the housing has to extend much farther out than usual to accommodate it (yellow arrow). As a result, the all-wheel-drive transmission looks a lot like a sci-fi gun with a chunky drum magazine hanging off the side of it. The hump (above right) in the footwell is there to clear this protrusion. This basic configuration isn't unique to Lexus. In fact, if you look at a BMW xDrive cutaway, it's similar. So, why no "hump" in other cars? There are multiple factors, but to boil it down to what is most relevant, it's a combination of the resulting shape of the Lexus transmission housing and the size of the IS chassis.

Lexus unveils first EV, the UX 300e

UPDATE: A Lexus spokesperson has provided Autoblog with the following statement concerning U.S. sales of the UX 300e: "The UX 300e has been designed specifically for the Chinese and European markets. The U.S. will not offer the UX 300e, however, we have committed to developing a dedicated BEV that is purpose-built to offer the benefits and features that U.S. luxury buyers demand." The original article continues below. Lexus has unveiled its first fully electric vehicle and — surprise — itÂ’s a crossover. The Lexus UX 300e is seeing its public debut in China, at the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition. Lexus tipped the world off to its next step in the luxury automakerÂ’s “Lexus Electrified” campaign with a trademark filing. Now it has followed through, in what appears to be a trend, as more and more automakers enter the EV arena with formats that are hot as all heck right now: crossovers. We only have a few specifications so far, but theyÂ’re interesting. The Lexus UX 300e has a 54.3-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that provides an estimated 248 miles of driving range based on the very generous and arguably outdated NEDC driving cycle — this would indubitably be rated much lower if tested by the EPA. The electric motor, located up front, is capable of a peak 201 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. It has a DC fast charging capability of 50 kW, which lags behind a lot of what weÂ’re seeing nowadays (for instance, the Kia Niro EV is capable of 100 kW, and the Audi E-Tron can do 150 kW). LexusÂ’ press release doesnÂ’t specify the charging standard, but that 50-kW capacity corresponds with the current maximum speed of the CHAdeMo charging standard. The UX 300e promises a comfortable but exciting drive experience with a dual focus on NVH and driving dynamics. Drivers can control the experience with a number of driving modes, as well as paddle “shifters” that adjust the level of regen feel form the electric motor/generator. As for the sonic experience, Lexus says it has an “Active Sound Control (ASC)” feature that “transmits natural ambient sounds to allow for a greater understanding of driving conditions, and provides a natural feeling for the cabin's occupants.” We have no word on whether the UX EV will make its way to the U.S. Lexus says it will go on sale in China and Europe next year, with a Japan introduction in 2021. Again, this is just a first step, and weÂ’ll be curious to see what plans Lexus has for EVs here in the States.

Lexus ES350 confirmed for Kentucky production starting in 2015

Following Thursday's report, Toyota has confirmed that production of the Lexus ES will move to its Georgetown, KY assembly plant starting in 2015. To accommodate the extra 50,000 units of capacity that the ES represents, Toyota will be investing $360 million in the plant and hiring 750 new workers.
In the previous report, sources stated that the state of Kentucky had offered Toyota as much as $146.5 million to move ES production to the Georgetown facility.
The press release, posted below, specifies that only the ES350 will be built in Kentucky, so it's likely that the ES300h hybrid will continue to be built in Japan - where all ES models have been built since the car was introduced in 1989. Toyota's Georgetown plant, which currently builds the Toyota Camry, will also be getting an expansion to its engine plant to produce more four-cylinder engines at a cost of $30 million and will create an additional 80 jobs.