2002 Lexus IS 300 SportCross

The car is sold in Asia as the Toyota Altezza and in Europe as the IS 200, although with a smaller, less powerful engine. In creating the SportCross, Lexus knew that a standard wagon version of the IS 300 would not appeal to the IS 300 audience, but a "cross" vehicle, which was between a wagon and sedan would be more appealing.

The SportCross version of the IS 300 was initially designed for the European market, however Lexus plans to sell approximately 5000 of the sporty wagons in the U.S. annually.