Consider yourself lucky to be in the US. In Europe, it costs 30k eur for the base model and 45K for the full spec car (that's over 61500 usd, even at the Euro's current rate 
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In terms of pricing, I think Lexus did their homework. It is priced at exactly the same level as its main competitors in the European market, though slightly cheaper when adding in all the gadgets f.ex. on an Audi A3)
That said, I agree it is not a very cheap car.
To those who compare its price to an IS: why would you compare it to a bigger (different) car? You just get the car size you need...
((In terms of pricing, I think Lexus did their homework. It is priced at exactly the same level as its main competitors in the European market, though slightly cheaper when adding in all the gadgets f.ex. on an Audi A3)
That said, I agree it is not a very cheap car.
To those who compare its price to an IS: why would you compare it to a bigger (different) car? You just get the car size you need...
