. . . any more boring than an AWD is250 that does the 0-60 in some 8 or 9 seconds? The Toyota Rav 4 is quicker than that. And can carry my surfboard

 

i think its hilarious that people are buying the IS's b/c they AREN'T a dime a dozon the road. the g35 was the exact same way when it first came out. Now they're everywhere. the IS will be no different. In my opinion, both are great cars . . . but the Lexus just doesn't handle as well as the G does.

 

my friend used to have a is300 and now he got a g35, and he told me the g35 quality feels cheap compare to his lexus. but ya like everyone said, wait for the next gen G35.

 

i traded a g35 coupe for the is350. only thing i liked better on the g35c was the slightly better road feel and stiffer stock suspension. on the is350, it feels good enough and the suspension can always be upgraded. the interior quality is what really got me to go for lexus. as for the g35 sedan, it just doesn't have enough points in the exterior looks. but for the value, yes the g35 is a decent deal.. but that's if you don't care how it looks on the outside.

 

There is no denying that cars like G35 and TL are great values: lots of performance, luxury and space for a price that is more palatable. If you find the quality of the interior acceptable, by all means get the G35. I parted with my G35C simply because of the lack of refinement in the interior (in my opinion), even it looked stunning from the outside and drove like a blast. I find the extra refinement and straight-line performance on the IS350 well worth the premium cost.

 

I know about the new G35 coming out in 2007. I may wait and check it out, but it will sell for near MSRP and I’m not wild about buying cars in during their first production year.

Is anyone under whelmed with new IS 350? The IS 350 is in a brand new model year and it’s simply keeping up with the competition instead of beating the competition.
Look at the following comparisons:

280/298 hp vs. 306 (you won’t feel the difference)
260/270 tq. vs. 277 (you won’t feel the difference)
handling – slight edge to G35
build quality – slight edge to IS
size – slight edge to G35
manual tranny option– G35
warranty – tie
value – G35

The old, worn out G35 still competes with the new IS on many levels. What does that say about the new IS? Did Lexus underestimate the competition in this segment? I think so. The new IS 350 is a great car, but it’s overpriced for what you get. Lexus should not have raised the price so much from the previous IS. The majority of car buyers would rather have the BMW brand if they are willing to slap down $40K.

BTW – for $35K, the IS 250 is a serious rip off. People that purchase an IS 250 must really just want the Lexus brand. There are so many better cars for $35K.

 

I have to say, the G35 is probably the best used car around. The features you get for <30k is a GREAT deal. However, I wouldn't buy one new.

No, Lexus didn't underestimate this segment. The IS250 competes more with the TSX, 325i, C240. It doesn't compete with the G35. The G35 competes with the 330i, TL, C320, IS350, and a few others. The G35 doesn't really stand toe to toe with Lexus on the IS, due to lack of engine variety. The G35 competes only with the IS350, otherwise it's not really a fair battle with a full litre of displacement and about 75 horsepower difference.

You're going to feel a MAJOR difference with that 16 horsepower (it's more than 16 i believe, since they measured the IS with the new HP standards, but i'm not sure about that) and that extra gear in the transmission (for auto). The result is a much faster 0-60 time, better fuel economy, and better overall acceleration performance.

 

nothing wrong getting G35.

is the new sedan G35 have the same tranny on the coupe?? i know the Z and G35 coupe has tranny problems so check that out first before you buy it. i have friends that sold their G35 coupe and friend with Z that they have tranny and tire wear problems.

just some heads up

 

lol, i am guessing we will see a lot more threads like this before he actually buys the car :-). How many times did you change your mind already? :-).

 

Actually there's a significant difference between the feel of IS350 and G35. Having owned a manual G35C, I would say the interior quality of G35 is NOWHERE near that of the IS (it can't even match that of a regular Toyota). In G35, only the manual one comes with 298 hp. To extract the maximum acceleration out of a G35 (0-60 in 5.6-5.8), you have to drop the clutch and busy yourself with the notchy shifter, hoping for a perfect launch, and taking the risk of premature clutch wear. I admit I'm no Andretti, but neither are most people who consider themselves "great drivers." In the IS350, all one has to do is stomp on the gas pedal and watch 0-60 go by in 5.3s. This is why over 80% of Lambo's and Ferrari's now come with clutchless manuals. Yes, it's not as "macho" as a manual, but at the end of the race, it's whoever gets to the next light that wins, not how the tranny was shifted. Lexus had to raise the price on the new IS--it's a significant improvement over the old one. Infiniti also raised the price of G35 over the old G20. Of course we ALL like to pay LESS for our purchase if we could. The fact that Lexus did not price the IS significantly less than the 3 series may speak more of their confidence in the product. Lexus is entering a new era where it no longer has to underprice itself compared to the Germans. Even if an IS350 costs the same as a 330i, I would still stick to the Lexus.

 

as the the engine, IS does have much better 0-60 and 1/4 mile times so it seems, plus better mpg. I would call that superior engineering.

 

remember that infiniti still uses the ole sae hp rating standards which is giving them 298hp for the g35 manuals. if lexus were still marketing the is350 under old standards, it would really be 320hp then. hence the noticeable quicker performance that you have seen in some tests.

 

I don't know if I'd ever buy an IS350 sedan, It's unlikely that I would trade my G35 coupe 6MT for an IS350 sedan, but I've driven the IS350, & it's noticeably faster than my manual G35c.
I haven't tried the VSC/TRAC disable, but it should make the IS350 more fun to drive on the track than the magazine/reviews suggested.

 

That's what i was trying to refer to. What's the IS350's HP with the old SAE measurement method?

 

This is a PLUS for a sport sedan with automatic tranny.