Roym,

I think (its been said before) that you need to consider what you NEED more. Personally I don't find NAV to be a necessity unless the majority of your driving is done in areas that you are unfamiliar with. Then again, 306 hp is hardly a necessity -- especially in a country where its nearly impossible to drive slightly over the 100km limit without the sound of sirens and flashing lights in your rear view mirror.

I think another thing everyone needs to keep in mind is that in Canada these cars are a lot more expensive than in the States. To get NAV on the IS350 for example, will require you to choose the highest package -- which will run you a cool $60,000 before provincial and federal taxes.

Those of you in the States have it good -- the price of a fully loaded 350 is roughly the same as a 250 (with a modest package) in Canada!! -- and our dollar is almost equal

 

yep go for broke and stretch out the loan at least 6 years for the low payments

 

10 years...that would be nice...i can hardly keep my car for 1 year let alone 10...get the 350

 

10 years is really a long time to keep a car. I say about every 4 years a new model will come out. That means there will be 2 other IS models out during the time you drive that '06 IS. So the question is "Would you still think about keeping the '06 IS for 10 years or resale it after 4-5 years for the better and faster IS.
The market now is looking into higher horsepower cars. Remember back in the days when Nissan Maxima had about 255 HP, lux, etc. for a low price (under 26k). Not too long from now until '06 IS with 306HP is low on power.

 

You couldn't be more wrong. I guess you don't remember the 60's (high HP muscle cars) or 70's (low power econo box). The auto industry is extremely cyclic.

 

If you plan to keep the car for 10 years, then resale value isn't at all a concern. That being said, I'd buy what you really want (a bare 350), provided you aren't stretching your budget.

 

Only relevant if all you care about is the HP number. I don't buy into the HP game, as it is mostly meaningless. All that matters is how well a car gets its power to the pavement (function of weight, gearing, output, driveline efficiency, etc). If the weight of the cars would remain relatively constant as we keep moving forward, which it won't, then the HP wars would actually mean something.

 

Just wanted to give you guys an update. I test drove the 350 this past weekend.........the power is insane! I will make up my mind in the next couple of days and let you guys know. In the mean time if you guys can think of anything that would strengthen the case for either the 350 or the 250, please share your thoughts.
Thanks!

 

Well, one important reason.....don't you want to have bragging rights over your brother? :P

I would go with the 350....Bare if you had to. The power you can not really add later, but little luxury gadgets you can always add. I have the 350 Loaded, but do I really need the Nav? No, not really. I was a special case where money did not matter so I got every bell and whistle I could get. If money had been a concern for me when buying I would have gone with the power over the luxury ammenities.