Imprezario

Well, I think this question have been growing in minds of many IS250 owners since Lexus announced the 200t.

I've been driving my IS250 RWD for about 1,5 years now and I can call it a really great car in many aspects. A clean lowered 3IS with a proper wheel fitment draws more attention than a fresh 911 Porsche in the streets of Moscow ) It's comfortable, well equipped for the money, reliable, what's not to like? That some cheap euro-turbo-family-wagon like a 160hp Skoda smokes my little Lambo away from a traffic stop. 3IS with 4GR engine looks like it's gonna jump into stratosphere but accelerates like a diesel Ford minivan. Lexus doesn't sell IS350 in Russia. But starts selling 200t. What to get and what to lose from jumping into a brand new turbo Lexus?

The claimed 0-100 km/h time is 7.0 sec vs 8.2 sec on IS250. The actual measured time on super-light 8.6 kg 18" Advan rims is 8.77 sec (regular gasoline, driver only, 22C outside temp, A/C off, dry road, Sport mode, professional GPS accelerometer) for my car. Even if the 200t will drive as fast as Lexus claims - the 1.7 seconds difference doesn't sound impressive enough (when we speak of 7-9 it not as big as for 4-5 secs 0-100 km/h) for changing a car. I like the response of the NA 2500 cc engine, but it still doesn't want to move the car until 4000 rpm. I've driven the NX200t and it's turbo lag till 3500 rpm left some questions...

In theory some major JDM tuners like HKS and TOM'S etc. SHOULD make the 200t faster, but the NX will be on the market for a one year soon and there are still no power upgrades except intakes and exhausts. These parts will add no more than 10-15% of power gain while a simple chip for germans easily adds up to 25%. So even a reasonably modded 200t will not go faster than the current stock 328i.

What instead?

The 4GR-FSE is a VERY smooth, quiet, well-balanced V6 engine. It gives a good MPG for it's ancient construction and a rather heavy car. It sounds really good even with an aftermarket axle back exhaust. I don't believe than any modern 4-cyl turbo can beat this old V6 i these aspects, except fuel consumption.

So what do You think? Especially those who've already driven the 200t. Is it a really WORTHY upgrade?

cp2

iTrader: (1)

i don't think it's a big upgrade. there are pros and cons between the 250 and 200t. of course right out the box, you'll get more hp and better gas mileage...and not quite sure, but maybe the better brakes too. other than that, not much. in the long run, although reliable, less moving parts in a NA motor compared to a turbo'd motor; less things to break. I know it's fun to mod cars, but if you wanted a "fast" car, could've bought a fast car. just my 2 cents.

Imprezario

Agreed about reliability. The brakes is not an issue - a complete set from RC350 is waiting for a paint shop in my garage ) I don't speak about FAST car - just faster enough to consider the car change. Have recently driven an APR Stage 2 Golf R VI - REALLY fast, but in terms of comfort it's thousand miles away from IS ) Definitely not what I'm looking for. Getting FAST and COMFY unite means going into RCF/M3 category, but not my price range for now )

PAVGR

iTrader: (2)

I believe the V6 is more reliable than a turbo engine.There is always the supercharger option (which I m thinking as my next mode since we don't have 350 engine as an option in Europe)It is making our car very fan to drive and I m sure it will be faster than the turbo.I have the 2 gen IS and I was waiting for the turbo option but I ve driven the IS300h which is the only 3IS option we have in Greece and I didn't feel any difference at all.After that I believe that a supercharger and the face lifting I ve been doing as we speak will make me really happy!Dont think it Imprezario,your car is already beautiful as it is

MWIS350

I think it's worth it to upgrade to IS200T maybe later you can it faster too. With intake, header, exhaust.

tea

I think it's an overall downgrade from the 250. The 250 or 200t wouldn't be the first car I'd look at if all I cared about was speed so I would care less about the "faster" argument with the turbo 4.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

why not go straight for the 350

davyjordi

he said the 350 isn't sold in russia.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

my bad, shouldve read. I dont think its worth upgrading

ISISGUY

It would only be worth upgrading if you got a base 250 and now want an F Sport 200t. In that case there's a bigger difference with Fsport suspension and brakes plus the styling. But not a big enough difference fsport to fsport I would say unless you really want the hp and mpg and drive it enough to see a savings.

peteharvey

We must be careful of the: elevation above sea level, the air pressure and the humidity.
Because the higher above the sea level, the lower the air pressure, and the less dense the air, hence less power, and slower acceleration.
Tokyo 44 m: http://dateandtime.info/citycoordinates.php?id=1850147
Moscow 144 m: http://dateandtime.info/citycoordinates.php?id=524901
The actual elevation at the test site will vary, as will the exact air pressure.
Elevation and thinner air will lower the wind resistance, however because wind resistance increases with the speed to the power of three, there isn't much wind resistance below 100 kph; wind resistance really comes into play above 100 kph.
Hence a 0-100 kph test at high altitudes decreases engine power more, than it increases the car's wind resistance.

Also be careful of the speed and direction of headwinds/tail winds.
Hi humidity is not good.
Btw, how many kilometres have you done on your odometer? Because when the engine is new, it is very tight.
When did you last do your oil change? A recent oil change will help.
What type of oil do you use? A new modern generation fully synthetic like 0W 20 will help.

Furthermore, when you timed your IS250 from 0-100 kph, did you put the tranny in Economy Mode?
Because Economy Mode actually has higher shift points, so it won't upshift till higher RPM's are reached, to extract more power and efficiency from your engine.
For outright linear acceleration, we must place the tranny in Economy Mode.
For rapid response and rapid downshifts, and rapid kick down response, we put the tranny into Sports Mode...
.

NYlexus

Sorry bud. The mobile club Lexus site is weird . Posted in the wrong post! Deleted

Avi8orco

I have a relative with a 250, non f sport with luxury package and I have a little time behind the wheel. The 2.5 V6 is old and underpowered but over its time, Lexus with out question refined it nicely. It's smooth and quiet. I waited for 16' before buying my car when I found out the 2.0T was in the works. I drove it in F sport form and the engine I found to be...how should I put this?...Mechanical. It has what I found a very mechanical, like a machine like sound. Yes I know it's a machine, but it didn't have that smooth, refined, clearly an engine sound to it like the 250. It definitely has some turbo lag, the 250 is by no means fast but it got going what I felt was much quicker and had definite linear acceleration rather than the "hang on I'm spooling up....ok go" feel of the boosted 2.0. The 2.5 hesitates a little but it's more obvious in the 2.0. I then drove a 350 and my decision was made almost instantly, I bought my 350F before the truck it was on got to the dealer (wanted the USB2.0 over Roja red combo and it was the only one around). Drive them both in close succession and pay close attention to the motor when you drive them, you'll see what I mean. If it's ok with you...then that's what it is...pick up the newer one. If you like the 250 better...I'm sure you will probably find some good deals on them by now, if you want a newer one that is.

BossHu

iTrader: (1)

I think consider the IS200t a replacement of IS250, instead of it as an upgrade.

Lexus had to go away with the aging V6 2.5L engine. The industry basically tells people turbo is the way to go. To keep themselves competitive, the base model IS had to get some type of HP boost without losing MPG. (although I still believe turbos don't do well on MPG in daily city drive)

the IS200t do get a 8-speed tranny instead of the aging 6-speed, but that's more for the MPG.

reliability wise, as they all say, more moving parts, more potential to break. granted, it is a Lexus, so I wouldn't really worry too much about that.

going back to the original question... should you upgrade from a 1.5 yr old IS250... probably not... economically, it wouldn't make sense. You would take such a hit on the depreciation that it is not worth it. If you own the car around 4-5yrs, then maybe... since you've extracted most of the value out of the car.

As far as comparing the IS200t to the NX200t... can't really do it, even though its the same engine... but both the tranny and the ECU programming are different... the turbo lag is bad on the NX, but its much less on the IS. (kudos to the loaners I got from the dealer)

stlgrym3

iTrader: (4)

only thing 200t has over 250 is the bigger front brakes, that's it. i don't care what the numbers say on paper, both of them drive the same, same acceleration, and getting similar gas mileage.