Options
BMW 3-series vs Lexus IS
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I said "so called", because I was quoting the previous post, not because I agreed with that opinion.
It's traction control system for Performance tires triggers faster than my subaru legacy sedan with All-season tires start to loose traction.
It does not have sport-shift mode (so-called "sport shift" mode does not allow you to see or change Current gear, it changes only maximum gear allowed). In this contex those "ears" on steering wheel look bland.
And G35 easily beats Lexus exterior.
Trust me ... it's available EVEN if they tell you you can't .. you CAN
Cause I got one with Sport Pak & MT & 18"
(Originally found one with MT, Sports & Nav)
Get the 250 with MT & 18" & save yourself 6G
(BTW .. I might WORK for benz, but if you cut me, I bleed BMW blue)
Infiniti G35 sedan exterior
Infiniti G35 Coupe
The exterior changes on the new model is even more atrocious. Hopefully, it grows on me, but right now I think Infiniti went from bad to worse!
Hopefully they dont mees up their nice looking coupe!
Maybe a dealer can order it but dealers around here don't seem to want to be bothered.
Good engine...a little rough around the edges, but good power.
I'd probably choose the G over the IS. But, still find the 3 series the king of the hill as a sports sedan, as most trade rags have said. Driving dynamics, styling, interior design, build quality, etc still is defined by the 3 Series.
Even if it had an "ugly butt", at least the only ones who would be seeing much of it are the IS350 drivers.
Gotta give the likes of Infiniti and Lexus credit....they keep trying. They aren't there yet. But, maybe someday.......
So here's the "perfect build":
German suspension & engine
Japanese Electronics
Italian or British Styling
Now, what do you think??
The lexus site is somewhat misleading. The reason you type in your zipcode is so that the computer can search all EXSISTING (floor planned as well as in transit) allocated cars.
Most packages are available in different combinations. Just because you can't "build it on the site" does NOT mean Lexus will not build it as a special order.
MY 06 250 IS, 6 speed MT with Sports Pak is a PRIME example
Consistently was told specific car was NOT being built or NOT available.
Found a salesperson willing to go the extra step in customer satisfaction, checked with LEXUS NA to make sure car could be BUILT to specs, got LEXUS NA "OK" and had car built. It was a special order but we got it built.
Dealers still think specific cars with specific packages cannot be built.
It all boils down to 3 things:
Ignorance - not knowing what products are available
Laziness - I don't want to take the TIME to look, let the other dealer do the special order & waste their time.
Greed - I want the sale NOW, not later, NOW NOW NOW!!!
If you REALLY want a car built with specific options a specific way call the internet dept of LEXUS OF VALENCIA. He'll get it done 4 U
So here's the "perfect build":
German suspension & engine
Japanese Electronics
Italian or British Styling
Now, what do you think??
Add Korean price
I agree in some aspects the "courts" position, while the majority does not jive with reality. In other aspects, one off reviews like you describe are useless.
BMW sells about 40K 3 Series a month.
BTW....I think the run flats on my 330i are quite nice. Good combo of ride quality and very good handling. I do think some of the early e90s had Bridgeston run flats. Mine are Continentals and I like them a lot.
Controls? I-Drive took me all of about 30 minutes to master with the owner's manual. Easy to use. Boots up much quicker than the unit in the IS and my previous Acura. Plus, I can use it while stopped at a red light as opposed to the Navi in the IS which won't let you use the controls at all when the car is in gear......stopped or not.
I have to respectfully disagree with that statement about the IS Navi system. I've been using the IS Navigation system during my current trip 500 miles from home. You touch the Menu button and turn on the Guidance system and give it a voice command. I use the hands-free, voice controlled system to tell it where I want to go and the friendly voice tells me each turn to make. No, I don't have to stare at the screen at a red-light to input data. In my opinion that is unsafe. However, if you must, you CAN input data by touch screen when the car is stopped.
I have owned my IS250AWD for 3 months and find the Navi, Blue-tooth phone, and hands free system VERY user friendly.
Yes, it has a lot of features and to get the most out of it you should READ THE MANUAL. Gee, that took me all of 1 hour to do.
Most of the time, I'm only using voice commands for names of streets for the Navi to find.
As far as reading the manual....I'm "geeky" like that. I want to know ALL the functions of the car from the "get-go". Truth told, before I even read the manual, and on the way home from picking my car up at the dealership, the first thing I did was use the voice command to enter my home address and store it. Press a button on the steering wheel, speak the command/address....voila....done.
I find it absoluetely annoying that is so cramped at the back- to me, that is just sad- what were they thinking....
Or maybe they were so fixated in outdoing BMW that the decided the best way to keep the weight down was to truncate the back seat space.
If the new 335i comes, I might as well trade in my IS and get the roomier and equally powered 335i
FYI
This IS is 3527 lbs
the 330i auto is 3450 lbs
BMW seems to always one up themselves in the engine dept.....magnesium block, VANOS, etc.
I finally got my "break-in" miles out of the way. Took it to redline a couple of times. Man, does it sound sweet all the way through the rev range.
Don't know what they're saying here, but I think they really like the 335i coupe that's on it's way here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F69F9nT9Hg4&mode=related&search=
I plan on doing some of that sort of driving myself this weekend for a day trip in the Appalachians.
Last month BMW sold 8500+ 3-series. (~5000 IS for Lexus). The combination of ES/IS sales was 12,000+ (July reports)
3-series is still the most popular model (entry-luxury) while IS gets the highest score from both CR and JDP.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/07/08/014034.html
BMW delivered 175,000 3 series in the first half of the year. You can do the math.
That's world wide sales number, not US market.
Maybe you're right about apples to oranges. What's the world-wide number for the sale of the IS250/350?
I was trying to find the sales numbers for the IS but so far no luck.
It is great to have different opinion on cars and debate them...as long as it's in a respective and peaceful manor.
26946 YTD
These are US market numbers (including HW).
Here's the link: link title
PS. IS250 consists about 73% of the total IS sales. Looks like Lexus' market research was right on.
Dealer is sponsoring a free "drive it the way it's meant to be driven" outing this weekend. Apparently, they're bringing in some BMW race drivers to lead and teach. We're going to be traveling through some beautiful countryside. I'll be opening mine up for the first time through the curvy roads and straightaways. It should be fun.
A few Lexus enthusiasts tend to do the same thing, brag about the qualties everybody already agrees on - reliability.
First of all, I can't resist...I think "Lexus enthusiasts" is an oxymoron.
It is definitely okay to brag as long as it's without bashing the other car. I've never seen a Lexus bragger bashing a BMW however I've encounter numerous times that a Bimmer bragger calls the IS as POS.