Consumer Report IS250 Smackdown!
10-23-13, 06:01 AM
#31
Lexus Test Driver
Only difference between the IS350 and the IS250 is the drivetrain. The chassis, suspension and steering is the same.
Not everyone needs 300hp in their car. Sometimes, the pinpoint steering feel, the great driving feedback and tight responsive chassis (all still present in the IS250) is enough for them.
Not everyone needs 300hp in their car. Sometimes, the pinpoint steering feel, the great driving feedback and tight responsive chassis (all still present in the IS250) is enough for them.
I still think the 2IS is better than the 3IS in many aspects. Particularly the late model 2011-2012 2IS
One big physical disadvantage of the 3IS is that it's bigger & heavier car. All the chassis enhancements Lexus claim cannot mitigate that issue.
The 3IS feels bigger and heavier when I drive it compared with the 2IS, which feels nimble and much more responsive.
--Let's not even get started on interior quality.
One big physical disadvantage of the 3IS is that it's bigger & heavier car. All the chassis enhancements Lexus claim cannot mitigate that issue.
The 3IS feels bigger and heavier when I drive it compared with the 2IS, which feels nimble and much more responsive.
--Let's not even get started on interior quality.
The interior quality I think it's worst. The navigation and menu is slow and complicated to use. they removed the LED ceiling lights, the ashtray from the front and in the back, the little gadget that moved the indicators to max when you start the car is out. the orange light that comes on every time you go over a certain speed or RPM is out, the neat feature that what you activate the wiper will go 3 times ..pause and go another time after 2 sec..and so on.
10-23-13, 08:03 AM
#32
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Don't like the car? Great. Love the car? Great. Who gives a **** what someone else says? All that really matters is if you like what you're driving. I didn't buy the IS based on what others were saying - I took it out for a test drive and fell in love with it. I test drove a BRZ as well (which also got great reviews saying how much fun it was to drive) but it just didn't quite do it for me.
tl;dr - others' opinions of the car are pointless.
tl;dr - others' opinions of the car are pointless.
10-23-13, 08:32 AM
#33
I totally agree with you. I think 2nd generation is better. they took out so many great little features:
The interior quality I think it's worst. The navigation and menu is slow and complicated to use. they removed the LED ceiling lights, the ashtray from the front and in the back, the little gadget that moved the indicators to max when you start the car is out. the orange light that comes on every time you go over a certain speed or RPM is out, the neat feature that what you activate the wiper will go 3 times ..pause and go another time after 2 sec..and so on.
Just want to address some of those things, I don't know why I feel the need to defend Lexus here, but whatever.
The gauge sweep. Common in electronically controlled mechanical gauges. We no longer have those (oh, well, at least the F Sport). Really not a big deal if they're not there, though.
The lack of LED lights I agree with you on. Lame to leave those out when all of the competition seems to have them.
Ashtray? quit smoking
Orange light for certain RPMs? Again I'm only speaking of the F Sport, but you can turn on a "warning" to show up at any RPM you want. Fully configurable.
Wipers, not sure what you're referring to, so no comment
10-23-13, 08:35 AM
#34
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (20)
is250 is not bad as they made it seem. yes, its old engine and tranny but the exterior , interior and suspension kinda makes it up. the q50, they are just retarded for that one. that car is really nice all around.
10-23-13, 08:50 AM
#35
Lexus Test Driver
Just want to address some of those things, I don't know why I feel the need to defend Lexus here, but whatever.
The gauge sweep. Common in electronically controlled mechanical gauges. We no longer have those (oh, well, at least the F Sport). Really not a big deal if they're not there, though.
The lack of LED lights I agree with you on. Lame to leave those out when all of the competition seems to have them.
Ashtray? quit smoking
Orange light for certain RPMs? Again I'm only speaking of the F Sport, but you can turn on a "warning" to show up at any RPM you want. Fully configurable.
Wipers, not sure what you're referring to, so no comment
The gauge sweep. Common in electronically controlled mechanical gauges. We no longer have those (oh, well, at least the F Sport). Really not a big deal if they're not there, though.
The lack of LED lights I agree with you on. Lame to leave those out when all of the competition seems to have them.
Ashtray? quit smoking
Orange light for certain RPMs? Again I'm only speaking of the F Sport, but you can turn on a "warning" to show up at any RPM you want. Fully configurable.
Wipers, not sure what you're referring to, so no comment
BTW ..no sunglasses holder . I know ..quit wearing sunglasses while driving.. lol
10-23-13, 09:03 AM
#36
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Don't like the car? Great. Love the car? Great. Who gives a **** what someone else says? All that really matters is if you like what you're driving. I didn't buy the IS based on what others were saying - I took it out for a test drive and fell in love with it. I test drove a BRZ as well (which also got great reviews saying how much fun it was to drive) but it just didn't quite do it for me. tl;dr - others' opinions of the car are pointless.
Becuz at the end of the day, whoever does this looks stupid as hell. Why keep something you hate to drive?
10-23-13, 09:13 AM
#37
And as for those with buyer's remorse, maybe you should have done a little more research before apparently blindly buying your car?
10-23-13, 09:18 AM
#38
Consumer reports is the equivalent to going to a $100 / person restaurant and ordering off the kids menu. While I think the IS is kind of small and cheapened on the inside (I own a GS, so I'm biased), it should hold up and it gets those with a lower budget in the brand. It's hard to take CR seriously.
10-23-13, 09:19 AM
#39
Pole Position
I still think the 2IS is better than the 3IS in many aspects. Particularly the late model 2011-2012 2IS
One big physical disadvantage of the 3IS is that it's bigger & heavier car. All the chassis enhancements Lexus claim cannot mitigate that issue.
The 3IS feels bigger and heavier when I drive it compared with the 2IS, which feels nimble and much more responsive.
--Let's not even get started on interior quality.
One big physical disadvantage of the 3IS is that it's bigger & heavier car. All the chassis enhancements Lexus claim cannot mitigate that issue.
The 3IS feels bigger and heavier when I drive it compared with the 2IS, which feels nimble and much more responsive.
--Let's not even get started on interior quality.
The 3IS has been beating the 3 series consistently in head to head comparisons of handling, driving feedback and steering feel.
Let's not try to rewrite reality here.
Take 100 people, get them to drive the 3IS and 2IS back to back and 95 of them will prefer the 3IS' handling, steering and feedback. The other 5 will be 2IS owners....or 3 series owners
10-23-13, 11:37 AM
#40
Are we only comparing the 2IS to the 3IS 250 non F sport?
This thread is going to go no where. It's going to be impossible to get 2IS owners (esp. recent owners) to agree with 3IS owners on which is the "nicer" car.
But the fact is stated by Natnut above is that the 3IS has proved to have improved handling, chassis, etc.= better lap time than the 2IS. If anyone disagrees with that, I would dare you to do the research. I would even assume Lexus would confirm it. It's a different car and compared to the 2IS it was built with different materials/parts and design.
Sure - some things that were nice from the 2IS were not translated to the 3IS, but that doesn't mean the 3IS is not good. With LFA inspired design gauges and body. Made my decision to buy the 3IS easy. I always liked the 2IS but it was not quite their in my opinion for a sports sedan. The IS F is another story.
I think in the 2IS vs 3IS story, it will always boil down to - people will favor what they know and are comfortable with even if it does not make sense.
This thread is going to go no where. It's going to be impossible to get 2IS owners (esp. recent owners) to agree with 3IS owners on which is the "nicer" car.
But the fact is stated by Natnut above is that the 3IS has proved to have improved handling, chassis, etc.= better lap time than the 2IS. If anyone disagrees with that, I would dare you to do the research. I would even assume Lexus would confirm it. It's a different car and compared to the 2IS it was built with different materials/parts and design.
Sure - some things that were nice from the 2IS were not translated to the 3IS, but that doesn't mean the 3IS is not good. With LFA inspired design gauges and body. Made my decision to buy the 3IS easy. I always liked the 2IS but it was not quite their in my opinion for a sports sedan. The IS F is another story.
I think in the 2IS vs 3IS story, it will always boil down to - people will favor what they know and are comfortable with even if it does not make sense.
Last edited by blksolara; 10-23-13 at 11:50 AM.
10-23-13, 06:34 PM
#41
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Please, the 2IS was universally judged as inferior in handling and feedback compared to its 3 series rival.
The 3IS has been beating the 3 series consistently in head to head comparisons of handling, driving feedback and steering feel.
Let's not try to rewrite reality here.
Take 100 people, get them to drive the 3IS and 2IS back to back and 95 of them will prefer the 3IS' handling, steering and feedback. The other 5 will be 2IS owners....or 3 series owners
The 3IS has been beating the 3 series consistently in head to head comparisons of handling, driving feedback and steering feel.
Let's not try to rewrite reality here.
Take 100 people, get them to drive the 3IS and 2IS back to back and 95 of them will prefer the 3IS' handling, steering and feedback. The other 5 will be 2IS owners....or 3 series owners
The whole handling thing is overblown. Sure the 3IS handles 'nicely' as did the later facelifted model 2IS.
One thing you cannot reverse is that the 3IS is bigger and heavier than the 2IS and it easily shows when you drive it. And the 3IS steering is quite under boosted.
I've driven both the 2012 IS350 and 2014 IS350 back to back and I felt that the 2IS felt sharper and much more responsive. The extra weight and dimension took a toll on the responsive & nimble feeling that the 2IS had.
10-23-13, 09:00 PM
#42
2014 Lexus IS first drive from Consumer Reports
I for one don't really care what other may say since I like the IS350 F Sport RWD I purchased. But I also don't love everything about it. I'm still wondering why there is no memory feature and cooled seats options as a $50k Luxury sports sedan! LOL, yeah I know you heard it before!
Below is something I found on YouTube from Consumer Reports.
Below is something I found on YouTube from Consumer Reports.
10-23-13, 09:15 PM
#43
Both the IS250 & IS350 3IS are slower than the 2IS. The IS350 being very noticeably slower. The 2IS350 used to easily outrun all the competition. Now the 3IS350 would be lucky to get away from the 328i.
The whole handling thing is overblown. Sure the 3IS handles 'nicely' as did the later facelifted model 2IS.
One thing you cannot reverse is that the 3IS is bigger and heavier than the 2IS and it easily shows when you drive it. And the 3IS steering is quite under boosted.
I've driven both the 2012 IS350 and 2014 IS350 back to back and I felt that the 2IS felt sharper and much more responsive. The extra weight and dimension took a toll on the responsive & nimble feeling that the 2IS had.
The whole handling thing is overblown. Sure the 3IS handles 'nicely' as did the later facelifted model 2IS.
One thing you cannot reverse is that the 3IS is bigger and heavier than the 2IS and it easily shows when you drive it. And the 3IS steering is quite under boosted.
I've driven both the 2012 IS350 and 2014 IS350 back to back and I felt that the 2IS felt sharper and much more responsive. The extra weight and dimension took a toll on the responsive & nimble feeling that the 2IS had.
2IS 250 - 15.6
2IS 350 - 13.3
3IS 250 - 15.4
3IS 350 - 13.4
ISF - 12.6
10-23-13, 09:17 PM
#44
Both the IS250 & IS350 3IS are slower than the 2IS. The IS350 being very noticeably slower. The 2IS350 used to easily outrun all the competition. Now the 3IS350 would be lucky to get away from the 328i.
The whole handling thing is overblown. Sure the 3IS handles 'nicely' as did the later facelifted model 2IS.
One thing you cannot reverse is that the 3IS is bigger and heavier than the 2IS and it easily shows when you drive it. And the 3IS steering is quite under boosted.
I've driven both the 2012 IS350 and 2014 IS350 back to back and I felt that the 2IS felt sharper and much more responsive. The extra weight and dimension took a toll on the responsive & nimble feeling that the 2IS had.
The whole handling thing is overblown. Sure the 3IS handles 'nicely' as did the later facelifted model 2IS.
One thing you cannot reverse is that the 3IS is bigger and heavier than the 2IS and it easily shows when you drive it. And the 3IS steering is quite under boosted.
I've driven both the 2012 IS350 and 2014 IS350 back to back and I felt that the 2IS felt sharper and much more responsive. The extra weight and dimension took a toll on the responsive & nimble feeling that the 2IS had.
10-23-13, 09:38 PM
#45
CR used the smallest engine and the heaviest IS variant -- the 3IS IS250 AWD for its study
0-60 mph time comparisons
----------------
3IS 250AWD 8.3
3IS 250RWD 7.6
3IS 350AWD 5.7
3IS 350RWD 5.6
Last edited by JerryWest; 10-23-13 at 09:44 PM.