Heiressly

Hey everyone

So as an early Christmas present to me, some 19 year old in a 1990 Buick decided he was just going to keep going at 50mph while the rest of us came to a stop in rush hour traffic on i4. Thankfully there were no injuries except of course for my poor little obsidian 2012 is250. It's been in the shop since 12/2 and the work is supposed to be completed by 12/31. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed as i don't want to keep the car after it's been in an accident and hope to take advantage of some December to remember/end of the year deals.

I originally got into Lexus with a 2002 rx. I LOVED that truck but with all the traving for work I just couldn't bear the thought of driving around in an 18mpg beast all day lol. This is my second 250. I had a 2010 which I loved but when I decided to trade in for the 2012 I toyed with the idea of upping to the 350. I travel a lot of highways for work, about 45-50 miles per day and have felt on a few occasions that the 250 just lacked the umph needed to pass and merge on into traffic at times. The 350 was definitely more powerful but the sales guy sort of freaked me out by saying I'd be lucky to see 25mpg with the 350 (I currently hover around 32-33mpg with my 250 )

So I need some advice from you kind knowledgeable folks here. Is the gas mileage really that different from the 250 to the 350?

RoiteTrom

The difference is not that big if you look at the numbers as advertised for the vehicles. IS 250 is 21 city, 30 highway while the IS350 is 19 city 28 highway. What matters the most is how you drive. Is your foot constantly on the gas pedal? Do you brake hard? Do you get into a lot of stop and go traffic?

You said you go on highways a lot. Is there a lot of traffic on the highways? If you idle a lot while in traffic then you're gonna have a bad time. Hope this helps.

doodlebug

I avg 22 in the burbs. Today I drove about 260 mostly hwy miles with an avg of 75 mph (many spirited mph increases to pass traffic etc in S+ mode) & my mpg was 28. This trip also included a couple of slow traffic situations on the interstate and one 10 minute stop and go because of a wreck.

rgonza1

I average 22 mpg in my 350 F Sport

lexi90

+1 I didn't buy the 350 because of 2 main reasons:

1. Dealer didn't want to budget on it
2. MPG.

Now, re MPG, I do a lot of city driving and short trips along with stop and go traffic. That's why the 250 was a better fit for me. If this is not your situation, then I would go with the 350. However, I can't agree with you on the 250 lacking MPH to pass or change lanes on the highway. Maybe you said so because it was a 2nd gen IS250. I just did a review of this and concluded that the newer IS250 (14-on) is faster than the older version (2006-13)!

kinglexus99

I avg 15-18 mpg on my 350. I do all city driving and love hearing the engine roar. Lol

HanaleiISF

Went into the dealership to test drive a IS250 since my neighbor (a car dealer) found a killer deal on one at auction. I had never driven a Lexus before so I told him I had to at least test drive one before pulling the trigger. I never drove the 250...went straight to the 2014 IS350 and a 2012 ISF on consignment. Ended up driving the IS350 home a few hours later.

Sry I never check my gas mileage since I feel like it's the cost of doing business in a semi expensive car. If I cared about mileage, I would be driving a Prius I guess.

tea

i get 18-20 MPG with the 250. Pretty much all suburban city and lots of short trips (2-3 miles)

DreamAce7

On a good day, I avg around 25-28 mpg on my IS250. I missed seeing 30+ mpg on my accord. I was wondering about the new legacy..hmm

MikeFoxx

iTrader: (8)

My 2nd Gen is350 is driven 80 miles a day mon-fri and I wouldn't trade it for a 250 just based on gas savings... a couple bad days in traffic or stop and go city driving would make it a wash. Get your 350 ^_^

DreamAce7

Since gas is decreasing in cost, many are going for thirsty engines now days.

tC2IS350

I average 22 MPG with the 350 in a combo of city/highway, and I'm just getting past the break in period (plus it's cold out) so I expect this to improve.

If a marginal difference in MPG was going to break the bank, I wouldn't have chosen a relatively heavy V-6. You aren't going to see enough cost savings to push you to go with the 250 over the 350 based on that alone.

I also agree that in the 250 (3rd gen, I've had three different 2014s and 2015s as loaners) makes me feel like I can't pass on the highway in traffic or accelerate quickly enough to safely merge from an on ramp during rush hour.

stlgrym3

iTrader: (4)

i had an '11 IS250 for over a year and then switched to an '09 IS350. the fuel economy is about the same for both cars. so don't buy 250 thinking you may save fuel cost over the 350, that's a false concept.

ISTORO

One week test average IS250 driving in pop-pop mode ... ummm... eco mode. Usually use sport mode that averages 22-29mpg mixed hwy/city.

Rebirthing

I have a 250 f-sport (With F-sport intake and F-sport exhaust)
City: 18-19 MPG
Highway: 24-26 MPG