The North American International Auto Show, better known as the Detroit Auto Show, is happening this week, and a few of the newly unveiled models are already trying to break from the pack and fighting to be the stand-out of the show. Among these competitors is the 2014 Lexus IS, and surprising to some critics, it is impressing show goers with a mix of luxury and sporty.

Many critics didn’t go into the Detroit Auto Show expecting to be impressed by Lexus. Jalopnik writer Raphael Orlove opened his review with, “I am a Lexus hater,” and he characterizes Lexus as being “willfully bland, inoffensive and characterless.” Autoblog’s Chris Paukert wrote about Lexus’ struggle to remove “some of the starch from its collar,” and all around, critics were generally skeptical that Lexus would bring anything radically different with the new IS.

Despite their predictions, though, all of them have had to eat their words. When head engineer Junichi Furuyama asked, “So, is it fun to drive?” Motor Trend’s Nate Martinez didn’t even have to pause before answering, “Most definitely.” By far, the funniest mea culpa was Jalopnik’s headline “I Kissed A 2014 Lexus IS And I Liked It.”

Check out the Lexus’ grand entrance to the Detroit Auto Show below:

Readers, what do you think? Will the 2014 Lexus IS change the way that people view the Lexus? Do you think this radical departure will pay off? Leave a comment below, and let us know what you think!

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