Audiofan2

Wow! One year with my IS350 went fast. As indicated i have driven just over 51k miles and during that time have developed a pretty good opinion on my vehicle.

Stock this car is very fast, especially in a straight line. The thing is I really don't notice the acceleration because the engine is so smooth and pretty quiet. When I test drove the ISF a month ago I felt like it was much faster mostly due to the V8 "noise". As others on CL have said I think this car's speed is way underrated. Passing other cars on a two lane road, 40-80 mph is a regular occurrence for me and I have never felt that the car couldn't make it, even up steep hills in higher elevation areas. The car could be quicker in corners as evidenced by my brother's 2008 STI in autocross runs. He could run about 1-2 seconds quicker on a 43 second course. Still, I beat many Porsches who I am sure pay far more in maintenance and insurance.

I have had no warranty claims for any factory defects other than the hole that recently developed in my all weather mats and the brake TSIB. When discussing breaks I should mention that my factory pads were changed at 5k and 45k later I am still running factory replacements. the brakes are good, not amazing. I noticed very little fade during the autocross runs and really the only problem I have had with them is that they seem to take a little longer than I expected to stop from 30 mph when the antilock kicks in. Maybe its because of the car weight?

Its easy to mention the same complaints that everyone else has talked about, i.e. soft paint, fake leather on rear doors (so pathetically cheap), lack of trunk pass-through, premium gas, crappy all weather mats, no ipod interface w/Mark Levinson, single real cup holder for driver and passenger, terrible stock tires, etc.. I would like to mention again that if you leave the car in first or second gear via the paddles and apply light throttle to keep the rpms at 2-2,500k the engine will mysteriously drop 3-400 rpms. This is the case on every IS350 at my dealer and there is no fix. Very annoying when trying to just hold a gear but not applying much throttle.

While on the tires, why not 265/35 18s and 235/40 18s as stock tires? The larger contact patch is really needed and tires are out there that are not so rounded that protect the rims better such as the Goodyear Eagles. My signature also mentions the snow tires I purchased this past winter and put 20k miles on. The IS350 with VSC and traction control used in conjunction with a good snow tire really is amazing. I drove through snow so deep it was rubbing under the car for 40 miles without a problem until I got to a stuck car in front of me and had to stop. Even then, I dug myself out and continued on my way. In sub 20 degree weather with snow and ice I could cruise along at 40-50 mph on a regular basis.

The details on a Lexus are impressive. Open the trunk and notice how thick the carpet inside the trunk lid is. The LED lights are very nice, especially the foot well lighting that makes the cabin seem bigger. I like the quality of the birds eye maple and compared to what I have seen in other Lexus models and other manufacturers, really prefer the IS because its wood doesn’t seem to look as tacky.

I wish they had put in a dipstick to check the transmission fluid. I have always changed my oil and the filter in the IS took some getting used to. Early on I slid the large o ring up too far and as I was driving off of my ramps emptied 6.5 quarts of Mobil full synthetic on my driveway. I have found the best prices on oil filters from a Toyota dealership and the best prices on the cabin and air filters from Autozone. For the Mobil 5w20 I usually pay $22 at Wal Mart for 5 quarts.

The gas mileage on this car is really amazing, granted I do mostly freeway driving but I have autocrossed it twice and I frequently take it up to 5-7,000 feet and love the windy roads. I have averaged 27.3 mpg since new. I doubt if there are to many other cars with 306hp that get 27.3 mpg. I can see why this engine has been rated as one of the 10 best. I also like how easy it was to hard wire my V1 off of my rear view and my Beartracker using the interior fuse box. The DVD/phone hack was easy and thanks to this forum and the helpful pictures, completed quickly. I do wish the car had 110 outlets so I wouldn’t have to carry around and inverter.

I would buy this car again and I fully expect to report back in at the two year mark with 100k carefree miles. Honestly I doubt that many other manufacturers in this class could be as dependable or give as much value for the money. I can truly say that because this car has been my office for the past year I have loved every day of it, and I imagine all the sad workers who have to sit every day in a cubicle while I am out spinning my tires, watching dvds, and avoiding the fuzz.

pisaykotik

That's a lot of miles in a year with very minimal issues. Nicely written review.

Audiofan2

Here is a couple of pictures I have posted previously.

Cali2is

Thanks for the write up... Another satisfied client!

LILDANTE79

iTrader: (11)

thats alot of miles.. i thought i had alot! 2yrs and only 40k miles but glad to hear ur happy..

Jay.Diem

iTrader: (1)

agreed good writeup

hapaboy

please drive by my brother so he knows that males do drive this car. he tells me he only sees women driving this car in portland.

51K sheesh! at 2 years, i'm just reaching 18K.

meefer

iTrader: (8)

Nice eval of the car: dang 51K? I might hit that at 2 years, currently 37K at 18 months.

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

27.3 mpg average is amazing!! I can get up to 27mpg on the freeway, but the minute I'm city streets, my average mpg goes way down.

BounceNY

iTrader: (9)

Great write up, I also thought I had a lot of miles too but you got us all beat I think.

PS. My wife also thinks all the IS2x0 are driven by females and most of the time it has been the case when she's in the car with me. oh well I still love this car!

JDub23

iTrader: (1)

Great write up! That's a lot of driving but at least you picked the right car to do it in

nabbun

damn 51k in a year? i had my 250 for a year and 4 months and i just hit 7,760 miles

suorum

nice!! that's very nice to hear.....you have beated the crap out of your car and it is still standing as hard as rock. Definitively the best on the market IMO (for the price of course!)

D.Jobin

iTrader: (4)

How on earth did you rack up that many miles in one year?

Audiofan2

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. The CL community is awesome and its been a pleasure to share our common car interest. Few other forums would have had such a welcoming group of people.

I know what you mean about this being a car that is frequently driven by women, I rarely see an IS when I am in OR, however when in Sacramento where I go a few times a month I see plenty and most are driven by women.