i wish Lexus had put a high reving 4 cylinder engine in our 250s instead
08-22-11, 07:59 AM
#46
I can't speak to the japan earthquake situation... but prior to that you could certainly get the same amount off MSRP on a 350.
I know, because I did.
I paid about the same off MSRP for my 350 as you did for your 250 (slightly less actually). And mine was a special order to boot, not an off-the-lot car.
You might need to do a little shopping around of dealers (I've certainly heard horror stories of insane dealerships that expect MSRP for special orders for example) but emails are free.
Again though- I don't think there is any shortcoming of the V6 in the 250.
If you don't care about power it provides a way to otherwise get a really nice RWD luxury sport sedan for about 4k less money.
If you do care about power then you'd be buying a 350 so you get 50% more power for about 10% more cost (and about 10% of a mileage hit).
Where's the shortcoming?
I know, because I did.
I paid about the same off MSRP for my 350 as you did for your 250 (slightly less actually). And mine was a special order to boot, not an off-the-lot car.
You might need to do a little shopping around of dealers (I've certainly heard horror stories of insane dealerships that expect MSRP for special orders for example) but emails are free.
Again though- I don't think there is any shortcoming of the V6 in the 250.
If you don't care about power it provides a way to otherwise get a really nice RWD luxury sport sedan for about 4k less money.
If you do care about power then you'd be buying a 350 so you get 50% more power for about 10% more cost (and about 10% of a mileage hit).
Where's the shortcoming?
08-22-11, 08:09 AM
#47
Yep I saw, but it almost requires about complete freeway driving to achieve it.
If I were to do do my trip (to Seattle to Vancouver to say for the wekeend, travel around Vancouver, then go back) and travel between work and home (I have to also go up a mountain to go back home) for about 3 days before refill, it would not work. I used to own a 07 250 AWD (instant MPG hit), I could not hit 400 or the high MPG as the RWD could.
Right now, my car is reading 30 MPG but that's going to drop since now I'm doing the home/work route until Wednesday when the range would hit about 0 and have 400 miles.
If I were to do do my trip (to Seattle to Vancouver to say for the wekeend, travel around Vancouver, then go back) and travel between work and home (I have to also go up a mountain to go back home) for about 3 days before refill, it would not work. I used to own a 07 250 AWD (instant MPG hit), I could not hit 400 or the high MPG as the RWD could.
Right now, my car is reading 30 MPG but that's going to drop since now I'm doing the home/work route until Wednesday when the range would hit about 0 and have 400 miles.
08-22-11, 08:18 AM
#48
Yep I saw, but it almost requires about complete freeway driving to achieve it.
If I were to do do my trip (to Seattle to Vancouver to say for the wekeend, travel around Vancouver, then go back) and travel between work and home (I have to also go up a mountain to go back home) for about 3 days before refill, it would not work. I used to own a 07 250 AWD (instant MPG hit), I could not hit 400 or the high MPG as the RWD could.
Right now, my car is reading 30 MPG but that's going to drop since now I'm doing the home/work route until Wednesday when the range would hit about 0 and have 400 miles.
If I were to do do my trip (to Seattle to Vancouver to say for the wekeend, travel around Vancouver, then go back) and travel between work and home (I have to also go up a mountain to go back home) for about 3 days before refill, it would not work. I used to own a 07 250 AWD (instant MPG hit), I could not hit 400 or the high MPG as the RWD could.
Right now, my car is reading 30 MPG but that's going to drop since now I'm doing the home/work route until Wednesday when the range would hit about 0 and have 400 miles.
you just have to be gentle with the gas. if anything for one tank of gas. drive with the snow setting on and be slower away from lights, and less passing at highway speeds and your mpg will go up. My IS was the only car i really really paid attention to my gas mileage. all my other cars havent been great gas savers so it hurt to pay attention haha. especially when on a full 15gal fill up with my g35 will get me less than 300 miles on a tank. i could get easily 100 more miles out of my IS which had more power.
i really think that the 250 vs 350 gas thing has been proven time and time again. they avg around the same depending on how you drive. i think a 4 banger couldnt have done much better at all in this sense. unless it had the power of a honda civic.
08-22-11, 08:42 AM
#49
4-banger = 
And this ^^^... Just makes no sense. Why does a (slightly) more fuel efficient, cheaper variant of the IS350 with the same amenities and same reliability not deserve to be produced and sold in the US? Just because you like more horsepower? For me, i could get a 350 with NAV or a 250 with NAV... but the price difference they quoted me was my monthly insurance premium amount... so i got a 250 with NAV, because a faster car isnt worth the extra when we're talking about a sport sedan. If this was a coupe/sports car, it would likely be a different story.
OK i wasnt gonna mention this but since you wanna bring up pricing... i think its funny you are talking about the difference in price since the F-sport package on your 250 is what $2440 so now we are down to about a $2500 difference, if $2500 affects you buying a $40,000+ car (minimal difference in a payment) then you should be looking for a cheaper vehicle, im not bashing but YES i think they SHOULDNT import the 250 to the US it serves no purpose here, i can see in japan or other countries where they are taxed on displacement but not here. why dont we have an ES250,GS250 and RX250 as well following your logic??? Im sure people would like a cheaper one of those...
From reading on this forum what im gathering is that a lot of 2is owners are living beyond their means and buying a Lexus when they are on a camry budget.
From reading on this forum what im gathering is that a lot of 2is owners are living beyond their means and buying a Lexus when they are on a camry budget.
And this ^^^... Just makes no sense. Why does a (slightly) more fuel efficient, cheaper variant of the IS350 with the same amenities and same reliability not deserve to be produced and sold in the US? Just because you like more horsepower? For me, i could get a 350 with NAV or a 250 with NAV... but the price difference they quoted me was my monthly insurance premium amount... so i got a 250 with NAV, because a faster car isnt worth the extra when we're talking about a sport sedan. If this was a coupe/sports car, it would likely be a different story.
08-22-11, 09:06 AM
#50
not complete freeway driving, my round trip to work when i owned mine was less than 3 miles. 45mph speed limit and 4 stop lights. not cruising speeds what so ever. on the freeway i would avg around 28-29 at 72-75mph on the freeway. 78-80mph cruise control will get your around 26. set it at 70 and youll see just over 30.
you just have to be gentle with the gas. if anything for one tank of gas. drive with the snow setting on and be slower away from lights, and less passing at highway speeds and your mpg will go up. My IS was the only car i really really paid attention to my gas mileage. all my other cars havent been great gas savers so it hurt to pay attention haha. especially when on a full 15gal fill up with my g35 will get me less than 300 miles on a tank. i could get easily 100 more miles out of my IS which had more power and gotten IS.
i really think that the 250 vs 350 gas thing has been proven time and time again. they avg around the same depending on how you drive. i think a 4 banger couldnt have done much better at all in this sense. unless it had the power of a honda civic.
you just have to be gentle with the gas. if anything for one tank of gas. drive with the snow setting on and be slower away from lights, and less passing at highway speeds and your mpg will go up. My IS was the only car i really really paid attention to my gas mileage. all my other cars havent been great gas savers so it hurt to pay attention haha. especially when on a full 15gal fill up with my g35 will get me less than 300 miles on a tank. i could get easily 100 more miles out of my IS which had more power and gotten IS.
i really think that the 250 vs 350 gas thing has been proven time and time again. they avg around the same depending on how you drive. i think a 4 banger couldnt have done much better at all in this sense. unless it had the power of a honda civic.
I'm a soft smooth throttler so I know it would not be that.
City speeds for me, 30-35 mph. The mountain on my way home at that incline at 25 mph. Most freeway speeds here is 60 (I go 100 km/h). Some parts off my Canada trip on I5 is 70 (I go just under 120 km/h).
At 60ish+ I've seen mpg read out already go over 30 and keeps adjusting all the way.
Actually I did hit 400 on a tank on the AWD, however that was almost using up the sub-tank (past 0) - would not ever do that again. I did hit close to the same number on the 99 Camry Solara before things started to break down (236K on the odo), and the MPG just started dropping.
Last edited by Sango; 08-22-11 at 09:17 AM.
08-22-11, 09:10 AM
#51
4-banger =
And this ^^^... Just makes no sense. Why does a (slightly) more fuel efficient, cheaper variant of the IS350 with the same amenities and same reliability not deserve to be produced and sold in the US? Just because you like more horsepower? For me, i could get a 350 with NAV or a 250 with NAV... but the price difference they quoted me was my monthly insurance premium amount... so i got a 250 with NAV, because a faster car isnt worth the extra when we're talking about a sport sedan. If this was a coupe/sports car, it would likely be a different story.
And this ^^^... Just makes no sense. Why does a (slightly) more fuel efficient, cheaper variant of the IS350 with the same amenities and same reliability not deserve to be produced and sold in the US? Just because you like more horsepower? For me, i could get a 350 with NAV or a 250 with NAV... but the price difference they quoted me was my monthly insurance premium amount... so i got a 250 with NAV, because a faster car isnt worth the extra when we're talking about a sport sedan. If this was a coupe/sports car, it would likely be a different story.
08-22-11, 09:53 AM
#52
again, this is not a typical 250 vs 350 thread. i have been a big fan of high revving small displacement motors. so i just wish our 250s came with those kind of motors that produces similar hp but are much more fun to drive than stick a pseudo v6 in there for the sake of smoothness. may next gen IS 250 will.
It's like complaining you bought a Ferrari and you don't understand why it didn't come with a tow hitch to haul your boat.
If you wanted a noisy 4-cylinder in your "sporty" toyota then they'll be happy to sell your a Scion tC though. 2.5L 4 cylinder.
08-22-11, 10:34 PM
#53
Except that smoothness is the hallmark of the Lexus brand.
It's like complaining you bought a Ferrari and you don't understand why it didn't come with a tow hitch to haul your boat.
If you wanted a noisy 4-cylinder in your "sporty" toyota then they'll be happy to sell your a Scion tC though. 2.5L 4 cylinder.
It's like complaining you bought a Ferrari and you don't understand why it didn't come with a tow hitch to haul your boat.
If you wanted a noisy 4-cylinder in your "sporty" toyota then they'll be happy to sell your a Scion tC though. 2.5L 4 cylinder.
08-22-11, 11:14 PM
#54
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08-22-11, 11:38 PM
#55
Might want to hold out for the Scion FR-S though, it will likely be higher revving, with an H4 that uses D4-S and is RWD.
Jeff
08-22-11, 11:58 PM
#56
Lexus Test Driver
The answer to the OP's question is simple. The most common IS buyer does not care about revving the hell out of an engine. Smoothness, refinement, and panache is the name of the game here.
08-23-11, 12:39 AM
#57
After coming from a 2008 Subaru impreza 2.5 4-cylinder that had a "red line" of 7000, I can definitely say I prefer the 6 cylinder in my 250. Not only is it smoother but you don't need to rev the hell out of it to get power. Combined with the 6 speed (at least the auto in my experience) the 250 engines really do make good use of their power and rev pretty freely.
08-23-11, 07:05 AM
#59
It's not very high-revving. You won't find many L4-cylinders over approximately 2 litres that are extremely high revving. It's just the Camry/RAV4 engine and it is FWD.
Might want to hold out for the Scion FR-S though, it will likely be higher revving, with an H4 that uses D4-S and is RWD.
Jeff
Might want to hold out for the Scion FR-S though, it will likely be higher revving, with an H4 that uses D4-S and is RWD.
Jeff
03-19-12, 05:08 PM
#60
Well, I don't own an IS250/350 but I've looked them over at dealerships and messed with the spec sheets.
I'm in agreement with Jeff. Big plus to me is that the IS250 is RWD and can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission. Big minus is that you can't get a 6-speed manual with the IS350. Worse, there is no limited slip available unless you buy an IS-F. I'm a fan of high-revving engines and the idea of one in a luxury car is something I've come to love. Anyone remember the Mercedes 190 2.3-16? It's outdated by today's standards but that was a Mercedes-Benz luxury car with a Cosworth road-racing four cylinder engine backed by a manual.
Lexus doesn't seem to do that. Jeff's car is the closest thing to what I'd actually want to buy off the dealer lot and yet he had to source out his own Torsen LSD for a custom installation. The 250 should have more power or the IS350 should have a manual transmission. Simple as that. For the money I expect these things from a premier luxury car manufacturer when I could just as easily get them in a Mustang GT but might want a higher quality car than the Ford.
I'm in agreement with Jeff. Big plus to me is that the IS250 is RWD and can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission. Big minus is that you can't get a 6-speed manual with the IS350. Worse, there is no limited slip available unless you buy an IS-F. I'm a fan of high-revving engines and the idea of one in a luxury car is something I've come to love. Anyone remember the Mercedes 190 2.3-16? It's outdated by today's standards but that was a Mercedes-Benz luxury car with a Cosworth road-racing four cylinder engine backed by a manual.
Lexus doesn't seem to do that. Jeff's car is the closest thing to what I'd actually want to buy off the dealer lot and yet he had to source out his own Torsen LSD for a custom installation. The 250 should have more power or the IS350 should have a manual transmission. Simple as that. For the money I expect these things from a premier luxury car manufacturer when I could just as easily get them in a Mustang GT but might want a higher quality car than the Ford.