Lexus is200 v is200 sport

sean1141

Folks can anyone tell me the differences between a 01 is200 and an is200 sport?

I know the sport had a LSD as standard but is there anything else?

Cheers

colm_mcm

Sport had 17 inch wheels, the Chenille only had 16s.
Sport also had rear tinted windows and better speakers

sean1141

Any difference in power?

colm_mcm

No. They're both as slow as a wet week.

sean1141

Mate has a 01 one. It has 17s but no tinted windows, it has electric heated seats, cd changer, air con, sunroof and half leather seats and also a sporty looking steering wheel. Would they all be standard on them?

colm_mcm

That wouldn't all be standard, they all have the cd changer, aircon, and a nice steering wheel though.

Sounds line a UK SE model maybe

sean1141

Think it was an import now that you mention it.

fmcg_scribe

sean1141 wrote: »

Think it was an import now that you mention it.

Yes, I think that spec of UK IS 200 cars was higher.

If you want to see Lexus Ireland website for 2001:
https://web.archive.org/web/20010401001717/http://www.lexus.ie/g/g01_01_06.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20010401001714/http://www.lexus.ie/g/g01_01_13.html

In 2004, I test drove an Irish spec IS 200 SE. It was nice but agree that engine was underpowered. Manual gear box was notchy - that was a known issue. An auto would be easier to live with.

If you're serious about owning a first generation IS, reckon that you should go for an IS 300, preferably with factory fitted sat-nav. The 300 was auto only and had essentially the same spec as the 200 Sport.

I recently sold a 300 after two years of ownership. It was a good car.

sean1141 - Just to be clear, the links in this post clarify the spec of an Irish IS 200 sport. The information is comprehensive.

colm_mcm

The auto box in the 300 was far superior to the 4 speed Carina style one in the 200.

I cant see the appeal of the is300. Its not sporty and its not wafty either.

fmcg_scribe

colm_mcm wrote: »

The auto box in the 300 was far superior to the 4 speed Carina style one in the 200.

I cant see the appeal of the is300. Its not sporty and its not wafty either.

Yes, the design of the selector in the 300 was different from that of the 200 auto and the 300 also had buttons on the steering wheel for manual gear changes.

The 300 had 211 bhp and you can feel the difference over the 200. The 300 did not have the handling of, say, the BMW 330i from the same era but it could hold its own against the C class and A4 from the same era.

At this stage, the main selling points of a first generation IS are its build quality and reliability.

bigroad

The main option i can see is the lsd on the sport model.That could be very handy in winter.
Is it possible to turn off the traction controll.

fmcg_scribe

bigroad wrote: »

The main option i can see is the lsd on the sport model.That could be very handy in winter.
Is it possible to turn off the traction controll.

Hope that you aren't confusing LSD with traction control. In the IS 300 and the IS 200 Sport (I expect), traction control is switched on by default but you can switch off if required (snow, ice, and so). LSD is on all the time.

bigroad

Yes lsd is mechanical ,traction control is usually operated through the abs sensors.It cuts power when it detects slip or it breaks the spinning wheel.
No its the Lsd that interests me as their are very few cars that have come with them as standard over the last 10 years.
I am talking about affordable cars that would be in or close to bangeranomics.The civic 1.8vti was another with lsd.