Orzel

iTrader: (1)

Well, with an early winter in the Northwest, we did find out how well the 250 AWD does in snow. It's just fine until you get two feet of the white crap, then it acts just like a snow plow - but only for a short ways. Now we have ice, snow, blowing snow (wind gusts of 40 MPH), and temps with wind chill of -11F. The IS is staying in the garage and the RX is our primary means of transportation until the snow level drops a bit.

LexusNut13

Did you put winter tires on?

VikH

iTrader: (5)

I think that storm is coming our way by thursday/friday. No snow tires yet Looks like I am taking the RX as well

solo_stage

iTrader: (4)

i dont think any car can handle icy roads...

cmcalpin

Hi Guys,

I live in the North West as well. My family took a trip to Seaside, Oregon over the weekend and came back to Portland on Monday. Unfortunatelly we got stuck in between the Coastal Mountain Range and Portland during the storm. I was quite worried about how we were going to get home, and I have only had my IS250 AWD for less then a week. I will tell you though, this car is just amazing. Driving through the mountain range it drove like a champ. I simply put on the Snow Tranction control and the car did the rest. I drove nearly 60 miles of pure snow covered rodes with heavy snow coming down and the car never slipped once. I had the factory All-Season tires on as well with no chains (They were all sold out at Seaside).

I feel 100 % now about my purchase of the car and the choice between AWD and the rear wheel drive model.

If any of you live in an area that the weather can change drastically, I would highly recommend you get the AWD Version.

Craig

SugarRush

Good to hear this.
I am looking forward to test my IS awd in snow this coming winter ;-)

Solomoan

Calling for a wintery mix of sleet, ice and snow over the next 2 days. Snow Mode it is!

Buds

Haha, "white crap" gotta love it. I find it fascinating that people up north have come to hate snow while us down in Texas who get it once or twice a year absolutely love it. We get an inch or less of snow/ice and everything shuts down for a day or two. No work, no school, no nothing. It's great!

Anyways, it's good to hear that the AWD seems to be handling the snow pretty well. I went to school in Indiana and I wished on several occasions that I had a AWD vehicle (especially when that patch of ice introduced my front end to a fence)

Orzel

iTrader: (1)

OK, so the snow has packed down a bit - actually has gotten driven down to solid ice just about everywhere there aren’t drifts. It's warmed up (relatively speaking) to about 18F, the winds have stopped blowing, and I took the 250 out of the garage, well, I had to take it out as the wife decided that she had to go to her office and 'borrowed' the RX for the trip (she made it without managing to ding up the RX).

I can tell one and all that the 250 AWD, with the stock Bridgestone all-season tires, is super in this stuff. Made it to work with zero trouble and with the stability nanny only slapping my wrist once. Our primary issue before was the low front air dam, and the high snow, which looks quite interesting as it slides up the hood towards the windshield while you’re attempting to move in a generally forward direction. Now, we’re waiting for the next blow which should be visiting our little corner of the NW about early afternoon with more snow. Have to hand it to Lexus, they have done a first class job with this little sedan, it’s almost as good in the ice and snow as our RX.

cspec

It'sa days like these in the North West, that makes me wish I got an AWD instead of the 350.

jacky28

and for us, a foot of snow just means we have to put our snow boots on... still have to go to work, school, everything...

edit: oh... and shovel the driveway before we can get out...

Orzel

iTrader: (1)

Yup, up there in Ontario and the other wilds of the North Country, not to mention Minnesota and a few of those states, a foot or two of snow is considered normal, but in the Western Washington low lands, it tends to play real havoc with traffic - especially since most drivers here are either brain dead, or have completely forgotten how to handle slippery conditions. Watching the general populace play dodge-em cars on TV really makes you wonder about general intelligence. What makes a guy in a Camero with a big V8 and street tires think that they can make it up a steep hill covered with solid ice?

Anyway, to stay on topic – nice switch huh? We are not disappointed that we bought the 250 AWD instead of the 350. I’d have loved to have the extra power, and if Lexus had offered the 350 with AWD we’d for sure, be driving that. I do however, wish there were more to the back seat, in ours, we call it a parcel shelf, cause it sure ain’t useful for passengers (I’m over 6 foot and wife is almost 6 foot).

cspec

^^ Well there's also that factor that we have more hills and inclinations more than the eastern side of North America also causes more problems as well.

IronPhoenX

Anyone else have experience in the snow with their AWD? I just got the AWD and it hasn't snowed yet in CT. Just wondering what everyone's experience has been so far with their IS250 AWD. This is also my first AWD car. I've only had FWD cars before. My last one was an RSX with Dunlop M3's for the winter. Those were awesome tires.

Should I consider getting winter tires for my IS? I current have the stock Bridgestone RE92's on them. I've seen mixed reviews on them on Tirerack. Some people had good luck with them in the snow with their WRX's, but they probably didn't have tires as wide as the IS.

LexusNut13

Depending on how much snow you get, you could be ok with the stock all seasons. I put winters on mine, but it is mostly out of habit to do so. I put winters on my car every year as i do a lot of highway driving, and you never know when you are going to get stuck in a blizzard.

Still waiting for some snow in Toronto. It is convertible weather here.