UTLonghorn

Hello Club Lexus! This is my first post, but I've been a longtime lurker.

So here's the skinny. I come from a family of Lexus owners (dad's owned multiple LS's, uncles own RX's and ES's) but no one has ever owned an IS and I've been driving an early 90s Avalon since I was 15.

I will be graduating college this coming May and relocating to Dallas. As a graduation present, my dad wants to get me a car. After narrowing down my options, and wanting to be budget friendly, I decided on an 08 or later IS250.


Here are my questions, for those of you who know.

1. Do I really need AWD? I will live in Dallas full-time, but will be driving quite frequently (travel for work) between Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, OKC, etc. My dad said in Dallas/Oklahoma, there are times when black ice accumulates and/or heavy rain and snow. For those of you who live or have experience in these areas, is this accurate?

2. I've been reading lackluster comments about the IS250's acceleration in comparison with other cars in its class. Is it significantly noticeable, or is it still fun to drive? I'm coming from a 192hp 3.0L V6 to this, will it be much better?

3. Would you recommend a gs 350 AWD over the IS 250 AWD? They are harder to find, but I have 9 months to wait. Which one is more fun/sportier to drive?



If I have any other questions, I'll update. Sorry for the newbie questions! Thanks!

vapid2323

I would tell you to buy a 350 RWD, while you might have some issues with ice every so often its not enough to get AWD.

The 350 has a nice amount of power and I think you would really like it.

darkdream

1) I do not know the area.

2) I own a 07 IS350 I bought new. I am glad I bought it over the IS250 (Actually never test drove it when I bought my IS350, but had one as a loaner car). It is noticeable slower, but it is not necessarily the acceleration that is most noticeably different, but it just felt too heavy for the engine in my opinion (others will say otherwise). I am around your age and have a need for horsepower. My other car is a S2000 and it is much more fun than my IS350.

3) The GS is more of a family car. Do you usually need to carry large amount of stuff? Plan to start a family, etc? Get the GS. If not get the IS. They share the same chassis, but the GS is just bulkier. But in my opinion if you really want something sporty, you should look into the third generation IS. It is much sportier than either.

TheVille

iTrader: (7)

Personally i would definitely go with the IS350. I currently own a 250 AWD and absolutely love it! But i live in Ohio where snow is horrible.
Go with the 350, the extra 2-3k is worth the extra 100 horsepower in my opinion. Get all season tires and drive carefully when the weather is bad and you'll be fine!
Hope this helps!

carlos3366

buy is350 for sure. we have ice here in n tex and 4wd will not help much just a little. buy 350.

Tarrant64

I have the is350 AWD. Works great, plenty of power. As an FYI you can do well in cold weather conditions on ANY car with winter tires. I still believe there are scenarios where snow tires on RWD aren't helpful but it's a lot getter than all seasons.

I already hit a curb this year due to lack of control and stability of all seasons. AWD can't do its job without a proper set of tires.

NYKnick101

I would go with the RWD. Less drivetrain drag and you can get better MPG than the AWD. if your in dallas, then no need for AWD unless you plan on going up north frequently. Plus RWD is less maintenance

I have a 250 AWD and I love it. It may not have all the power where i would want it to be BUT it is the best handling car that i've driven in a very long time. I feel WAY more able to take this car into the turns than alot of other cars ive owned

Lex_Giorgio

For what it's worth, I have an IS250 RWD and I'm in Quebec, therefore lots of snow and ice and my car is doing just fine.

If you have good winter tires, in my case Nokian's, you have nothing to worry about. The people that are saying you need AWD are bad drivers and/or have crappy tires...

My point is, put good tires and get a RWD, if you can afford it, get an IS 350

Gearbangin

iTrader: (7)

Neither Id say ISF.

UTLonghorn

Hello everyone, thanks for the responses!

I'll see if I can find an affordable, used IS 350 RWD. I can't get the IS350 AWD, out of my budget, same with the IS-F, haha. Looks like I'll just have to just practice in the ice/rain.

Will update with news if any comes through!

DKIS350

I picked up my IS350 RWD in August. Love the performance. I put snows on and I did fine in this last snow storm. I had test driven a few IS250 AWDs and they were nice but lacked the "go" that i wanted. I knew I would be bored with it in a short time and would be looking for something else if I went with the 250.

jeffofbs

I am driving my daughter's 2008 IS250 RWD. I installed new all season tires a couple of weeks ago and I am having no trouble getting around here in SW Michigan where "lake effect" snow and single digit temps have been an issue just this past week. Handles much better than I thought it would. The traction control kicks in when trying to move away from a stop sign or light when I'm on ice and packed snow. The stability control kicked in a couple of times when I was trying to "learn" what happens when pushing the envelope. (Don't worry, I was on an isolated area, no traffic, great visibility and nothing to hit) Didn't go with winter tires as I have other choices to drive if the snow gets too deep for the low profile car.