Is the room just as tight in the Lexus IS350 as an Eclipse?

No

no

Not as tight. The room in an IS350 is tight enough but not as tight as the Exclipse. The Eclipse is a pure sports car, while the Lexus is a sedan that is sporty. l was about to buy an IS350 but it was a bit tight on me ( l am 6.2 feet tall) so l shifted to the ES350.

l suggest if you fit in the IS350, go ahead, it is a lovely car.

Check out this review from consumerreports.org:

Highs: Braking, controls, fit & finish, quietness, turning circle, powertrain refinement, fuel economy, crash-test results.
Lows: Lacks a sporty feel, rear seat room, headlights, ride.

The Lexus IS has a plusher interior & more relaxed manner than its predecessor. But the IS lacks the sporty feel of some cars in this segment & has a snug interior. The interior uses high-quality materials, the cabin is hushed, & the engine is refined. Acceleration is quick, & fuel economy is commendable. However, the ride is stiff & the steering lacks feedback. The IS earned a ''Top Pick'' from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for exemplary crash protection.

THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE

The ride is stiff & feels jittery. Road noise is muted, & overall the interior is very quiet. The tight, 35-foot turning circle is impressive. Handling is secure, with controlled body lean, but is not especially agile. The steering is well-weighted but does not convey a lot of feedback to the driver. The IS performed well in our avoidance maneuver, helped by tenacious tire grip & well-judged stability control. The 204-hp, 2.5-liter V6 is smooth & responsive. It returned 24 mpg overall, but on premium fuel. A powerful 306-hp 3.5-liter V6 comes in the IS350.The six-speed automatic is smooth & fairly responsive. A six-speed manual is available on the IS250. In wet & dry braking, the IS stopped in short distances. The low-beam halogen headlights did not shine far enough ahead & had a sharp beam cutoff. High beams had good distance & intensity.

INSIDE THE CABIN

The plush interior is very well-constructed. Most drivers found a comfortable position behind the tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, but head room was tight in the snug cockpit. Tall drivers had tight leg room in the narrow footwell. The short windows, wide roof pillars, & head restraints create some blind zones. The front seat cushions feel soft but r supportive. The seats r heated & cooled. The rear seating area is very cramped. Access to the front cabin is easy; rear access is more difficult. The controls r straightforward & the dual-zone climate control works well. The key can be kept in ur pocket or purse when unlocking & starting the IS. Interior storage is limited. There is one small cup holder in the console, & another one is revealed by sliding back the center armrest. The trunk is relatively small, & the rear seat does not fold.

SAFETY NOTES

Front seatback-mounted side-impact air bags & head-protection air bags, that extend to protect the heads of both front & rear seat outboard occupants, r both standard on the IS. They supplement required front air bags & three-point seatbelts in all seating positions. Driver- & front-passenger knee air bags also help to protect front occupant is legs. Front safety belts have adjustable upper anchors for getting a comfortable & safe fit. Both the front- & rear-outboard seatbelts & r also equipped with pretensioners & force limiters to reduce belt slack & forces in the event of a crash. A pre-collision system, available with the Dynamic Radar Cruise control, utilizes that system to sense an imminent crash & activate the pretensioners & brake assist systems in advance of a crash. Sliding comfort guides for the rear outboard safety belts help to position the shoulder portion of the belt correctly for small adults or children who have outgrown child restraints. A safety belt usage sensor & seat position sensor for the driver influence safe deployment levels of the driver is front air bag. A twin-chamber front air bag on the passenger side is designed with a depression at its center to disperse forces exerted to the passenger during air bag deployment to help prevent injury. There r adjustable, locking head restraints in each of the five seating positions & all but the rear center is tall enough even when fully lowered to reduce rearward head travel & whiplash injury from a rear impact. Daytime running lights r standard. Driving with kids: Narrow belt spacing & a seat hump in the rear center seat make it difficult to get a secure fit for child restraints installed there. Restraints should prove secure when installed in the outboard rear seats & there r LATCH anchors in the outboard seat positions as well. The LATCH anchors r recessed in pockets beneath flaps in the seat cushion, but the pockets r small & the anchors r close to surrounding material making access to the anchors awkward.

RELIABILITY

We expect reliability to be better than average, according to our latest subscriber survey.

No its not..

If the IS350 is too tight, then you might want to check out the Infiniti G35; it is just as fast (if not faster), more room, and comes in AWD if desired.
Yes it does not have the badge and it is a little thirstier than the IS.

hth