daandman

Sadly (well not "sad" per se... actually very happy, just slightly less so), I've decided to get an IS 250. I originally had my heart set on the 350, but I figured since I live in Canada & only have 1 car, the AWD would just make a lot more sense for me; I love the additional power of the 350, but I'd be in hell for half the year trying to drive it around during winter.

Besides, it's cheaper & better on gas, so that's definitely nice too. The 250 still has significantly more HP than the 2.5 Altima I drive now, so I think I'll manage just fine.

Anywho...

So the 250 it is. But which year's model? I'm not really sure of the differences & changes from the '06 - '08 models, so would anybody be kind enough to educate me (preferably in lamens terms, as I'm not exactly the car expert I'm sure some of you are)?

If there isn't much of a difference, it would only make sense to go with the older & thus cheaper one. But if there are any significant differences & things that I would be missing out on with the 2006 model, it would be nice to know what they are before I actually buy the car.

So if you kind folk don't mind, what ARE the changes from the '06 - '08 models, and which do you recommend I buy & why?

Thanks!

Electric

The changes from 2006 to 2008 are very minor and should not really affect your purchase decision. Your good with any one.

SebsIS350

hey bro, where in Ontario you at? I'm around the GTA. I can tell you there are very few differences in regards to 06- 08, I currently have an 08 and the only dramatic difference i see is the 18 inch rims. Check this link out and you can see the difference in rims.
http://my.is/forums/f126/here-she-355920/

the white is an 08 and the silver is an 06.

Other then that..a coin holder lol, and i heard that the stiffened the steering wheel, I can't full compare cause when I test drove the IS it was an 06, and I didn't think the steering was light at all.

daandman

I'm in Toronto, right in the GTA as well.

The 18 inch rims definitely look much nicer in those pics & is definitely preferable, but I don't know if they're really worth the few thousand $$$ difference in price. Besides, I could always just upgrade the rims myself, no?

In terms of the steering... well I test drove the 350 very briefly & the steering did feel very light. Granted I only test drove it for about 2 minutes & didn't get a chance to take it out of the lot; I'm going back tonight for a real test drive & I'll see how I like the wheel then. But again, that's also something I could change manually, is it not?

A coin holder... whatever, I barely even carry change on me. Right now I just keep my change in the cupholder, and that works just fine.

Are the front seatbacks scooped out on the latter 250 models like they are on the 350? The lack of backseat space is the one real downfall of the car IMO.

SebsIS350

thats cool! Yea you could upgrade to the 08 rims if you wanted, just don't go through the dealer, they'll definatly rip you off. I'm not sure how you can adjust the steering, thats beyond my expertise. It's true the back seats are cramped, but being 6,4 i'm really happy with all the front leg room . In terms of pricing, have the used cars adjusted to the new pricing?

The carving of the backseats were changed for 2008 to give more leg room AFAIK.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Yup, the scooped out seatbacks are on all 08s, but 08s only along with the darker wheels, change of the doorsil lights from blue to white, heavier steering, and the coinholder everyone loves to hate...

06s didn't have the sharkfin for XM and didn't have a button to disable traction control/VSC... and those are the two main things an 07 would "add" compared to an 06, in addition to the x package being offered starting with 07s

08s have most (but not all) of the TSIB items fixed that you might need to have the dealer fix on an 06-07

Also there was a mid-year change on 08s with cashmere interior to change the carpet from cashmere to black.

daandman

Well is it the steering itself that's different, or is it just the wheel? I was thinking it's just the wheel which I would assume isn't hard to change... if it's actually the steering itself, than you're right, I don't know how that would be adjusted.

Lol, well at 5'5 that's really not an issue with me. It sucks for whoever's sitting in the back seat,but oh well. Sucks for them I guess.

I'm actually not sure about the pricing. I haven't looked too much at getting used cars from dealerships, I've been looking much more over Ebay where they have great prices for cars in similar condition. It's a bit of a pain having to either have the car shipped to you or fly down there & drive it home yourself, but if I'm saving $5-10k it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

I was just reading a few pages down in the forum, and saw people talking about getting winter tires with the 350. Keep in mind I know next to nothing about cars here... lol... but would that be enough to offset the disadvantage RWD has to AWD during the winters?

daandman

The only thing I really care about with those changes is the heavier steering, but would that be enough to get an '08 instead of an '06? Is that on the '07 as well, or is it just the '08 that has it?

And sharkfins are just ugly imo. Can you not get XM radio without the sharkfin?

And one thing I don't really understand, and it's probably a pretty dumb question, but why do so many people want to turn off the traction control? If the purpose of it is to give you better traction & make your drive safer, than what's the purpose of turning it off?

Brian231

Some people turn off the traction control to obtain a sportier ride when you feel like playing. I really never tunr mine of. It is more of a prefferance. Don't expect to be drifting with the trac off on a 250, especially AWD. I bought my 250 because of the AWD. I am happy with it because of the winters in Chicago as well. I had not one problem this winter and it made me confirm I bought the right car. Go for it!!!

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, the TRAC button is for performance minded folks who don't want the computer nanny spoiling their fun... someone buying a 250AWD isn't going to care about the feature.

I don't believe XM was offered on 06s, but I'm not sure.... you can add it aftermarket, but any antenna for such a kit is certainly going to look a lot dumber than the shark fin (ie an antenna taped to your windshield or something)

For the steering, it's 08 only... if you can test drive both that'd be your best bet to judge if it's enough of a difference for you to notice or care about.

Joneser

I live in Chicago... and I have the 350... definitly helps... i have no regrets... i don't knwo how much percipitation ontario gets but i am sure it is mroe than chicago... we had a rough winter but alll in all i didn't get stuck but once and when that happend it has sleeted so i was screwed... how ironic that i just put my summers back on today.

69Stang

I am in the Toronto area also, I figure we get 20 snow days a year max so I am buying the 350 and a set of snow tires for the winter. My only suggestion to you is buy it in the states, the IS is way over priced in Canada. The 08'S are reasonable since the price drop. If you can find one in NY, OH or PA you won't have to pay the state tax. It will cost you 6.1% at the border for import duty and a 300.00 border fee. Warranty is covered, happy shopping.

daandman

Can you finance or lease cars in a different country? I'd like to get mine in the states, but I live in Canada & am not totally sure if that's do-able. Would there be any problems with that?

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

it's always good to get a new one....

69Stang

Negative, you would have to get a loan from the bank or another financial institution. Check autotrader.c*m so you can compare pricing.