lexus IS Series opinions Please

fireplace1982

I was thinking of buying a used IS 220D(2006/2007) either here of in the UK. Anybody any opinions of what they are like? What is its CO2 emissions rating? It seems like a good car but i have no experience of Lexus, other than from alan partridge!

Slidey

Others will prob be able to tell ya more but here is what i know.
Drove one about 18 months ago, it had keyless start, it just had to be in your pocket from what i remember.
Nice car to drive but i found it was geared a little high for 60mph in 6th, again its a while ago and the memory aint too good...

colm_mcm

Sport models have a different gearbox to the standard model, ratios are different. it's not as responsive way down low as a 320d, but has good power once the turbo catches up. very good handling. all Irish models get 6 disc and smart entry/start.

bazz26

It seems that alot of motoring journalists complained that this engine is not refined enough to justify putting it in a junior exective saloon. Makes you question their impartiality at times since Audi have been flogging the old 1.9 TDi across their range for ages and nothing bad said.

I'd also check the Co2 ratings on the IS220d as I think it is sneaks into a higher VRT bracket than say a BMW 320d or Honda Accord i-CDTi.

E92

bazz26 wrote: »

Makes you question their impartiality at times since Audi have been flogging the old 1.9 TDi across their range for ages and nothing bad said.

In fairness in normal countries i.e. everywhere else nobody buys the 1.9, it's only we Irish cause they Irish love cars with low power and/or small capacity engines.

The Brits all went straight for the 2.0(and often the more powerful 170 version too).

cabla

bazz26 wrote: »

It seems that alot of motoring journalists complained that this engine is not refined enough to justify putting it in a junior exective saloon. Makes you question their impartiality at times since Audi have been flogging the old 1.9 TDi across their range for ages and nothing bad said.

I'd also check the Co2 ratings on the IS220d as I think it is sneaks into a higher VRT bracket than say a BMW 320d or Honda Accord i-CDTi.

Isn't that tax from cars registered '08? OP is looking a second hand.

E92

cabla wrote: »

Isn't that tax from cars registered '08? OP is looking a second hand.

Still affects VRT though from July.

ZygOte

ive had a 250 sports for 14 moths now and have to say i love it, ive not driven the 220d so cant comment about performance, but i would assume the rest of the car is similar to the 250. hadling is great and very resposive. the drive i loveley and smooth very conforatable. mechanically ive not had a single problem so far , i had an is200 for three years before this and also never had an issue. if the price is right id highly recommend getting one, you will get much more for your money than a bmw

coolbeans

ZygOte wrote: »

ive had a 250 sports for 14 moths now and have to say i love it, ive not driven the 220d so cant comment about performance, but i would assume the rest of the car is similar to the 250. hadling is great and very resposive. the drive i loveley and smooth very conforatable. mechanically ive not had a single problem so far , i had an is200 for three years before this and also never had an issue. if the price is right id highly recommend getting one, you will get much more for your money than a bmw

Ditto to that. The new three series looks horrible and they're as common as muck. More of 'em sold in Ireland than Mondeos you know. What makes people wanna go out and spend E40k on a bog standard 316i that looks like a '00 Nissan Primera from the rear I don't know. Go for the Lexus. They look really purposeful and are a better car than the Beemer IMO.

unkel

ZygOte wrote: »

you will get much more for your money than a bmw

Depends a bit on what your priorities are. For the vast majority of Irish drivers, ultimate reliability seems to be far more important than ultimate driveability

Cyrus

coolbeans wrote: »

Ditto to that. The new three series looks horrible and they're as common as muck. More of 'em sold in Ireland than Mondeos you know. What makes people wanna go out and spend E40k on a bog standard 316i that looks like a '00 Nissan Primera from the rear I don't know. Go for the Lexus. They look really purposeful and are a better car than the Beemer IMO.

what an odd post?

there are more what sold in ireland than mondeos? 3 series saloons, hatchbacks, estates, convertibles, coupes or all 5 bodie types together?

and of course an is 250 is better than a 316i, but i wouldnt have one over a 325/330i, id rather buy a s/h 330 than a new is 250.

plus look at the old lexus IS it has dated badly and is now the chariot of choice for anto and his mates as a jap import in white with the bleedin deadly beams engine

oilsheik

As previous posted said it depends on what your priorities are in standard form the IS220d is well spec'd compared to the german brands however I would say the standard alloys are too small given the size of the car.

Reliability is good, engine is noisey vs. BMW but no more rattly than the equivalent offering from Audi. Sixth gear is pretty pointless unless your over 70mph and the interior rear view mirror vibrates (little annoying feature). The biggest drawback IMHO is the lack of an automatic gearbox. Early model suffered from a rattle in the dashboard, dealer fixed with extra padding and later models no impacted as fix was implemented in factory. Overall not a bad car but personally it think the new Mazda 6 and Corolla saloon look too similar to the IS220d only my personal opionion.

bazz26

Cyrus wrote: »

plus look at the old lexus IS it has dated badly and is now the chariot of choice for anto and his mates as a jap import in white with the bleedin deadly beams engine

In fairness looks are "subjective" but I think the E46 has dated pretty fast too. Also take a look on carzone and there are more than its fair share of chaved up 316i/318i up there with go faster M badges, etc. Same goes with the RS4 TDis.

bazz26

unkel wrote: »

Depends a bit on what your priorities are. For the vast majority of Irish drivers, ultimate reliability seems to be far more important than ultimate driveability

Hardly a sin though, there are people out there who simply don't aspire to own a BMW. And the new IS is quite a nice car to drive in petrol guise anyway.

E92

coolbeans wrote: »

The new three series looks horrible and they're as common as muck. More of 'em sold in Ireland than Mondeos you know.

Not this crap again. The Mondeo comprehensively outsells the 3 series here.
In fact, for the first 2 months of the year, Ford sold 3,339 Mondeos. By comparison BMW sold 1130 3 series. That means the Mondeo is more than 3 times as popular.

In the UK the 3 series does indeed outsell the Mondeo, but that's the UK, not Ireland, and the reason it outsells the Mondeo is the superior resale values mean it's no dearer to run for company car users than a Mondeo combined with the explosion in sales of MPVs.

coolbeans

E92 wrote: »

Not this crap again. The Mondeo comprehensively outsells the 3 series here.
In fact, for the first 2 months of the year, Ford sold 3,339 Mondeos. By comparison BMW sold 1130 3 series. That means the Mondeo is more than 3 times as popular.

In the UK the 3 series does indeed outsell the Mondeo, but that's the UK, not Ireland, and the reason it outsells the Mondeo is the superior resale values mean it's no dearer to run for company car users than a Mondeo combined with the explosion in sales of MPVs.

Mea culpa. They're not exactly exclusive and I still think it looks crap though. Really convoluted and ugly especially from the rear three quarters. Don't understand why anyone would want a bog standard grey or black one either. Horrible. They can look good if you M-tech them up but you don't have to do that in the Lexus. Fine car to drive but ever since the new 5 Series I've been disappointed in Beemers.
Ditto re the chavtastic looking previous generation 3s on carzone.

Seth Brundle

Lets get back on topic!

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/lexus/is-2005.aspx

Cyrus

e46 looks dated?

personally dont think so, and it always looked way better than the is

CyberGhost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44_ko9nLQO8

CyberGhost

Cyrus wrote: »

e46 looks dated?

personally dont think so, and it always looked way better than the is

I have to agree, IMHO BMWs always age very graciously, I'd go even further and say BMs age better than any other production car, have a look at Mercs, old E class it looks like crap now.

Seth Brundle

please get back onto the original question or I'm locking this!