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Comments
I always thought this forum was about the IS350 and IS250, not about trying to persuade Lexus owners that BMW is better and vice versa.
My 330i is currently broken down and at the dealer with no return eta. Seriously. When my lease finishes up, I had a mind to run from BMW. I want to. Lexus caught my eye but the lack of manual still bugs me massively. As January closes in, I'm sure I'll have driven every one of the competitors out there.
Speed is the not final thing. Neither is luxury nor handling. It's everything mixed. If it were out and out performance, I'd own an STi. I want the whole package. An automatic transmission with a 300 hp engine...that's like dating Halle Berry but she wears a burlap sack 24/7.
Notice that..... forget it.... And what was the margin of victory for the Bimmer ? 1 pt. Hurray !!!! Go and buy the Bimmer if you are so blown away by its ride and handling.... no need to hang around here any longer is it ?
Still planning on trying an IS350. I've been wrong before. I was ready to write bmw off after driving the 325i but luckily I got seat time in a 330i performance package. Had that not happened, I'd probably own a reliable, though spookily twitchy G35 6MT. I can't write off any sports sedan with decent power completely until i've driven it.
Chill out, the IS350 will get a shake from me.
You mean your Jetta.
Does it make you happier that it will use BBS Wheel?
What? No, I mean my 330i. I haven't owned a Jetta since july of 03. sold it at a loss just to be rid of it. i've owned two cars since the Jetta.
What a random, weird thing to write.
Back in the muscle car era, the most fantastic car built was the DodgeDaytona/Plymouth Superbird. It would exceed 150mph right out the showroom door. We had one sit in our showroom for almost a year. Everyone who came in oohed and aahed, but no one bought it. We finally had to take the wing off, repaint it, and sell it at a loss.
The North American market doesn't give a rat's !@# about manual transmissions and kill switches, and I don't think Lexus will cater to the few who do. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.
How does it hurt you if Lexus does make some minor changes for us?
And if you are leaning towards the BMW, cool! Seriously, more power to you.
I'll even go one step further and say that I hope that Lexus will make an IS350 available with a manual tranny in the very near future. I like manuals -- although I must also say that sometimes say that there are occassions like after a really hard day at work when I am travelling through heavy, stop-and-go traffic when I prefer an automatic.
But I, like you and everyone else on this board, can only decide which car is best for us -- indeed, which car is the most "fun" to drive as we all use our personal defintion of what's "fun" to drive -- once we have personally driven and compared the cars for ourselves.
Sidenote:
I recently spoke personally to one of the editors of one of the major (top four) car magazines in the country about the IS350 and BMW 330. He had driven them both and said that he personally preferred the BMW. But he also said that he could understand why some people would prefer the IS350 and could even recommend it over the BMW. His personal driving style and preference was matched but not necessarily other's.
Can anyone provide translations?
They show what appear to be dealer options. Front fascia, real spoiler, possibly different exhaust, rims and more. This is a good indication of what we can expect in the US.
This could mean that a new Canadian or US site should be coming soon.
Selling and making profit are two different things ! Unlike the GMs of this world, or the FoMoCo's of this world, Toy/Lexus sells their cars for profit, hence their net/market worth and cash stash to use in producing even better products.
What the heck does that mean? Lexus originally predicted sales of around 15-20k units a year for the IS300. They've been downgrading ever since as the car's sales were anemic. Yeah, they sold every unit...at a sharp discount and with revised forecasts. GM sells all the azteks and gtos they can produce too...so what?
I'm saying if they aim to sell 8k IS350s with automatics...perhaps they could move 10k total if they added 2k manuals. It certainly wouldn't hurt their sales or you if Lexus added manuals to the mix. They're already selling the underpowered 250 with manuals.
The site contains a lot of information on the new 350/250 w/ some good pics and tons of data on options and extras.
lexus canada seems to provide information a lot quicker than lexus usa. they even had "build your own" up for a day before they took it down, presumable at japan's request. (it disapeared while i was using it)
The IS 350 is much more aggressive looking, but you can tell that they come from the same gene pool.
cooney
While a lot of unrelated cars are starting to look very similar nobody's ever going to mistake a new IS for a Scion. They may mistake it for a GS. I saw a GS today and swore it was the new IS
If you honestly think for a second that a low-end model like the tc is going to drive as nice or have features like the IS then perhaps you should get one and save yourself $10,000+. I for one wouldn't be caught dead driving a Scion.
I still like the design though.
i think it's better looking than the IS250/350 (and 3 series).
Yes, the Lexus interior is highly seductive. My wife and I test drove the M35 and thought it handled quiet well, but we couldn't get passed the interior. I am quiet happy with my GS300, silver and black like your colors. The latest Consumer Reports fazes me not one bit....
Good luck with the search!
ahom12
Pehaps it will be possible to actually buy a IS without a moonroof, so this may be an option. Have you heard of anyone ordering the GS without a moonroof?
I haven't seen any GS's wo a moonroof, but you may ask your dealer to order you one w no obligation to buy (they call it 'first right of refusal')? They may balk, thinking one wo a moonroof would be more difficult to sell if you do actually refuse.
When signing the paperwork on my car, the sales manager quipped about a possible convertible for the IS - don't know if he was just talking or actually knew something that the mags didn't. Don't want to stir up false rumors, but could that be an option?
Anyway, good luck with the search!
BTW, Lexus even admits that it has a so call autonomous steer on IS350, meaning it will correct the steer for you on its on, talking about intervention. :sick:
As long as Lexus keeps the philosophy that you do not know how to drive, so let us put a computer on your car to help you drive, or to drive the car for you, it will never be 1st place in any comparo test. Period.
I thought Lexus finally got the direction right with the new IS350. I guess not.
you have your opinion, and I (and Car and Driver) have opinions as well.
~alpha