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Comments
Increase of 84RWHP at 6250RPM (approximately 110HP increase at the crank) running at only 4psi. Yummy. Of course, this will most likely void your warranty.
On price: you're probably being too optimistic, even in ultra-competitive SoCal, for an '02 at your target...but I would not be surprised at $1k over being an acceptable number, especially if you can be a little patient and let the '02 pipeline fill a bit. In any case, you are going to be way ahead of anything you could do with BMW, though the 325 is at least in the ballpark...the 330 is somewhere over the left field fence.
Bite the bullet, and get on the phone or email to every dealer from T-O to San Diego, and see what you come up with.
http://www.autonews.com/html/main/stories0827/fpasia827.htm
vtec
also, what kind of mpg are people getting? i think i'm at the low-end of the 17-23mpg spectrum. maybe i should've followed the break-in procedure, but how are you supposed to go 55mph in a new car when the flow of traffic is like 75? that's why i don't buy new motorcycle...tedious break-in procedures.
vtech
I was told to stay under 4000 rpms for the first 500 or so miles and you should be fine. I wouldn't be afraid to bring it up to 80 as long as you're not pushing high RPMs to arrive there quickly. I've also read that you should vary speeds if breaking it in over a long trip. Of course, some will tell you the Lexus engine is bullet proof, and to drive it like you stole it from day one.
-td
Here are my subjective and objective factors:
Appearance:
Exterior:
I prefer the exterior of the BMW. The one part of the exterior I prefer on the IS300 is the front end. I've seen a few 2001's on the lot in for service and the silver paint job wasn't as nice as I expected.
Interior:
I prefer the interior of the Lexus, contrary to many reviews I've read that prefer the BMW's. Yes, the BMW probably has nicer materials, but ugh! how boring. I've been in many BMW's since the early 80's and the "austere" was cool then, but not now. The IS300 is visually exciting inside. It's a breath of fresh air. I wish they had at least one more interior color available, however, because I don't want another black interior any more than I want a tan interior.
Performance:
Acceleration and handling go to the IS300 5-spd, but I've decided that this is my luxury sports car so I might go with the E-Shift, i.e., I'm not weighting this heavily. I must add in that the BMW gets much better gas mileage.
Quality & Reliability:
The Lexus wins here. I don't want to hear anything about that from Bimmer fans. I read their board and saw all sorts of problems. One guy was talking about his brake master cylinder going bad within the first 5000 miles as if it wasn't a big deal.
My perspective is a little different than some perhaps because I own a 3rd gen RX-7, so I'm not concerned with my 0-60 or 1/4 mile to any extreme in this car. When I want that, I'll drive the 7. I see both of these cars as luxury cars that don't make you cry for power when you hit the pedal. The BMW 330 is another story and another $5000.
I just picked up a 2001 IS300 in "Super Yellow". I'd say it's a good mid-life crisis color, but I'm only 30...
Test drove the car a few times, and fell in love with the way it drove, and bought it despite my dislike for the gauge cluster and the lack of a centre armrest. I'm finding it VERY difficult to keep under 4K rpm for the break in!!!!
I was hoping that some of the listers may have some info for me:
(A) it looks like I'm gonna get only about 300-350kms out of my first tank of gas. Is this normal? Where does the city mileage settle in? (I do have a pretty heavy right foot, I was getting about 16mpg in my 2000 Millenia S)
(B) does anyone know where I can get an aftermarket centre armrest for the car? Preferably in Canada?
Thanks a bunch, and looking forward to being a regular poster.
Speed
2001 IS300 daily driver
1986 944 track car
On the other topic, there's been many discussions of mileage. Most seem to do better as they add up the miles. I've never marked my city driving, but I get 24 highway for the most part.
Here's the pic:
Can't deny the potential of the baby Lex...
Also, the base price listed on lexus.ca is $37,XXX so I'm just wondering if anyone else was able to negotiate a cheaper price (in Vancouver, Canada region).
Sales are off by 30% with Aug comparisons.
By the way, BMW is having another record year.
Check it out by following the link in the Additional Resources box on the left sidebar of this page.
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
I was also told the armrest on the '02 models couldn't be installed onto the '01 model.
These cars have lots of markup built into the MSRP; you shouldn't have to bargain hard to get a good deal. Frankly, a loaded IS is a $31k car, not a $35k car, and the marketplace is saying so, loudly and clearly. Might as well take advantage is you want to have one...
First, about the relative prices in the U.S. and Canada. It seems the car is a fair bit cheaper in Canada, bearing in mind the current exchange rate of about 1.5 between the States and us. The Canadian list prices as posted at http://www.lexus.ca/ show a starting price of 37,820 Cdn for a 2002 manual which equates to about 25,000 U.S., whereas the U.S. list price starts at 29,980. Are us Canucks really getting a fantastic deal or am I missing something here? For what it's worth, the same disparity in American/Canadian prices is apparent on some Japanese vehicles (like the Honda CBR929RR I bought last year) but not others (like the Honda S2000, which is priced exactly as per the exchange rate).
Secondly, some commentary about the car itself, after having driven and researched it fairly extensively. Yes, I like everything about it - except that I think it needs another 60 - 100 hp. In these days of grandmothers driving 200 hp Accords and 240 hp Altimas, a high end sports sedan must have the ability to dispatch such lesser cars with relative ease. Quibbling about whether the IS300 beats a particular 3-series BMW in a 0-60 run doesn't mean much to me when all this drama is unfolding in the range of 7.1 to 7.5 seconds. (A good Altima ad might be a IS300 and a BMW squaring off at the lights, and grandma in the Altima comes from behind and smokes 'em both.) Yes, indeed the same commentary could be addressed towards 3-series BMWs. If I'm going to lay down significant change for a car (even in lesser Canadian dollars) it had better perform beyond the capability of mundane grocery-getters. Yes, I know that the IS handles and brakes better, and that hp isn't everything ... yada, yada ... but to me it's a prerequisite.
This leaves me quite disappointed - I otherwise really like the car. Maybe next year it'll have some more ponies.
I believe the Canadian price of 25K US does not include the 6 disc CD changer and fog lights, which comes standard on the 29K US price in the states. Still this does not fully account for the 4~5K price difference.