Icy350

iTrader: (18)

I will have to disagree, because of how uncomfortable the seats felt. Sure it was advanced in technology for its time, but it leaves me to question why they don't have Fold down seats either. SO for those reasons I do not think the 2is interior was the best. Other than that the car has done me well

SeanO

iTrader: (1)

I bought my IS because I always liked the look.. and I didn't wanna be "that guy" that drove a BMW although my friend has a 2013 M3 with over 400hp that is an amazing car to drive.. however.. I ditched my 250 because it was all noise and no power.. my 350 is definitely one of a kind (in my town) - I get all kinds of old people staring at me as I roll by haha the 350 is definitely rare.. In my time in my new city I've seen all of 5 that I can remember (2IS models) and maybe a dozen 3IS models.. I had to drive over 2 hours to find my 350 as up here in Canada they are very limited due to everyone's eagerness for AWD. That being said.. I've always liked the look of the 2IS and when i was looking to buy a vehicle, the Toyota reliability definitely played a part in my purchase..

Its funny because my boss drives a 2014 IS and everyone at work says my car looks way cooler haha even though its 4 years older and a different style.. His is only a 250 as well which is a constant trout lip he always hears from me haha.. He always says "I'm in dad mode now I don't need that extra hp"

Pablorock

There are plenty of 250s around here as well (like mine). 350s seem to be a bit rarer. I bought mine as a daily driver from my rusty old Acura Legend about 5 years ago. When shopping I had 3 basic things in mind (was looking for a year used one with dealer warranty). AWD for skiing (not that I really ski any more), 4 door small sedan for the family and friends every once and awhile and and decent comfort. That basically left me with 3 options; BMW 3 series, Audi A4 and the IS. During my slow search, I noticed a 3 series at ever light I stopped at, so I took that one off the list. The Audi was at the top of the list, but after a dealer or two, there just weren't a bunch of them and they wanted way to much $$$. But after seeing a few used ISs, I decided that was the car for me. Searched around and found an 08 with exactly what I wanted. Black on Tan, with heated/cooled sets, wood trim (love wood), and that little spoiler and it only had 17k on it. The spoiler is a useless thing, and a pain to clean around, but makes the look IMO. If I get the money eventually, I will trade this in for a 350. Overall it's a great car, but not enough umph.

Anyway, back on topic. I do think this car will hold it's look for many years to come. It's got enough lines to keep it sharp looking, but not too many as to look like they were trying to hard when it was made.

And Koolsport, really like the way those rims look!

Evitzee

Lexus just isn't respected as a performance car, it never has been and most likely won't be for the foreseeable future. Lexus came out with the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen IS's and tried to market them as direct competitors to the BMW 3-series. That just wasn't going to fly, Lexus is always behind this market. I looked at BMW and Lexus back when I bought mine in 2006, it came down to whether I valued performance or reliability. I chose reliability and still have the IS. Except for the numerous recalls it has been extremely reliable. Only 10-15% of IS's were 350's the rest were 250's which is why you won't see as many. I wanted a new car last year but just didn't want to spend a ton of money, so I ended up with a Ford Focus ST (252 hp turbo with six speed manual), it is 100% more fun to drive than the IS at less than 1/2 the price. I still have the IS, who wants one now that the airbag recall is in effect and drive it once or twice a week. But it is more luxury car than sports car, that's just the way it is. You've just to accept that fact.

aventur2

In socal I see a good amount of ISX's the ones that are modified though are mostly all stanced and that's not really my scene. All of my mods are purely functional and mostly involve handling. So I wouldn't really fit in with those guys. Maybe the ISF guys.. but I don't want to be that 350 trying to be an ISF lol.

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

I'll give you that not being able to fold the back seats sounds like a pain. Because I don't do much with my car aside from daily driving and back roads, none of this has been a problem. I'll have to go on a long road trip to see if the seats do get uncomfortable because I haven't noticed this yet. But lets be honest, it is visually better than every other car in its class at the time.

Ironically I bought my IS for the performance. I'll be honest, as long as it has plenty of power and gets decent fuel efficiency, I don't care at all how the car looks. The fact that the 2IS looks gorgeous is just another plus.
I ditched my 250 because it was all noise and no power This is too true. I drove an IS250 AWD a while back and honestly I was disappointed with the power. Regardless it looks exactly like the IS350 and they are both gorgeous cars. Since I made this post by the way, I haven't seen a single 350/350 AWD. Its starting to get to me how awesome it is having a car not very many other people have lol. I'll be honest, I absolutely hated the front styling of the 3IS when I first saw it, but it really just takes some getting used to. Mind you the side and rear view of that car are amazing, but the front is just... meh in comparison.
"I'm in dad mode now I don't need that extra hp" I genuinely cracked up at this.

Very very well aware of this. How ironic I got my car because of the performance. Like I said, Lexus is more comparable to Mercedes in the sense that they are luxury first and performance second. It will take a while before people really start to see how good these cars really are in comparison. Not as fast, but fast enough to surprise you. Didn't actually know that only 15% of IS models were 350s. That really does explain a lot. Honestly I'd never buy a car new just because of depreciation, but I'd understand why one would do so. IS is definitely more luxury than it is sport, but even stock it can beat G37s and other more sport-purposed cars with no modification. Light suspension upgrades and it can easily out-handle them too. I feel like I am more so annoyed at the lack of consideration by buyers. I don't care nearly as much anymore (mainly because all of you guys changed my mind about having a unique car) and you are definitely right about the IS being luxury first and sport second.

I'm no fan of stance either but I'd be lucky if I ever saw a stanced 2IS here lol. Stock 250s are fairly common though if you're in the right areas.

iJDMTOY

iTrader: (5)

Practically every 5th car in SoCal is a Lexus, especially when you get to the San Gabriel Valley area. Not complaining though, definitely depends on geographical location as well as the type of enthusiast.

Keo

iTrader: (9)

Stance or not. We are all car people. If your own perspective to seclude yourself in these different car style then its on you. But the Lexus community is all Luxury and Stance , I hang with the ISF guys as well and those guys is mostly Function, still we compliment each other for the different built and quality parts. Stance/Function if your smart and knows how to play the game then its all the same it all comes down on understanding the parts and quality and experience. for EX: F-Sport rear sway bars for isx50. both sides can agree is good for handling(the ISF guys even got the F-Sport rear sway because of the isx50 community) Different Exhaust tone/quality, Tire ratio/quality. Pricings, they are all relative to each other. Sorry to say but If you want pure handling and performance then the Lexus scene isn't for you. Evo's/STi is more suitable.

aventur2

I also see a lot of sti/evos stanced out. Maybe the Lexus "scene" isn't for me, but then again I don't buy cars because of their "scene." I guess we can just all agree that we love our Lexus. Lol

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

I feel like the only reason the majority (not all) of the IS community prefers (or tends to go for) show cars than performance cars is due to the lack of aftermarket performance parts. Look at a G37 or 335i forum to see what I'm talking about a bit more. I bought my Lexus ironically for performance. And to be honest it hasn't let me down at all yet. Especially considering how ECU tuning is going and maybe a few more parts being released soon, who knows, maybe people will start to look into the IS for its speed and not its looks. Which I'd prefer but I'm not one to judge others.