Just got a Tungsten Pearl IS 350, premium/nav/18" wheels on June 30th. Already have 1300 miles on it. I've been following this site for a long time and a lot of user reviews have helped me make the decision to purchase this car. I felt the need to make my contribution in the hopes that someone that doesn't have the car reads this and it helps them make their decision. Hope this helps someone.

Interior the good:

- The interior is top notch. The leather is so supple that and it is a dream to feel.
- All the controls are in easy reach.
- I am 5'11" and I had to lower the seat basically as far as it goes and raise the front part of the cushion. By doing this I create plenty of headroom so I have a few inches of clearance. I could understand someone 6'0"+ feeling cramped.
- Bluetooth is fantastic. I can hear everyone and everyone can hear me. I did the bluetooth hack to increase outgoing volume to 5 instead of the default 0 and I have never had a problem with people saying they can't hear me. Even with the windows down. Pain in the a$$ to inpu phone book 1-by-1 but that is a small price to pay once you take the hour to do that.
- The nav is a must. It is fantastic. I've never had a nav before and honestly if the bluetooth was available without the nav I wouldn't have gotten it. I wanted bluetooth and didn't really care about the nav. Boy am I glad they were packaged together. I use it all the time. It is accurate. User friendly and very useful, from finding directions, to restaurants to just wanting to know how far is the next exit that will have a gas station (or a Dairy Queen). You don't know what you are missing until you have a nav. Spend the extra $2500. Well worth it IMO.
- The audio system is very good. I do not have ML and the audio is more than enough for me.
- The AUX input for an iPod is nice, however I just made a few MP3 CD's with about 120 songs on each CD and I don't even carry my iPod with me. But it is nice to know that you can use your iPod or MP3 CD's.
- Love the cup holder in the door. The cup hold in the armrest is in a terrible position so the door holder comes in very handy.
- The AC is one of the best car AC system I've ever been in. I oftn find it that it is too cold. I find myself using the windows much more with this car because the AC is just a little too cold. BTW, I live in Chicago and it has been 85-95 for the last 3 weeks.

Interior the bad:

- Wish the seat coolers were stronger. Tough to feel if you aren't wearing shorts or thin material clothing. But when you are wearing shorts it feels good. It needs to be stronger though.
- While I havn't had the need to use the heated seats, it seems that it takes awhile to heat up and when it does it doesn't get near as warm as my past two cars or other models of cars I've been in. This would be a turn off for me if it isn't strong enough in the winter. We will see at that time.
- Rear view mirror does shake badly when music is on. Especially base. But even guitar. This is something that lexus completely missed, probably because it really doesn't matter, but the vibration to the rear view mirror is huge.
- Wish the sterring wheel was a little thicker. Sometimes my hands get a cramp because it is thin. Perhaps that is just me since my last 2 cars had very thick steeing wheels.
- The seats are very comfortable but sometimes my back starts to hurt because I have a habit of leaning to the right when I drive. The side of the seats are not soft. They are pretty hard so when I lean up against the sides of the seats, it makes my back hurt after a little bit. I've played around with the lumber support but that just makes things worse for me. I guess I'll just have to sit up straighter and not lean.
- I wish the interior had more cubby hole space. Spare change is a problem.
- Backseat leg room is small. Adequate for 2 adults on short <30 minute travel. Over 30 mintues it probably wouldn't be too comfortable. Kids are fine however.

*Basically all the negatives are pretty minor. That only thing that even remotely matters to me would be the heated seats.

Power the good:

- Obviously the car is very fast. Not much to say about that.
- The ride is crazy smooth and very quiet. You will find yourself going 90 mph without even feeling it. The car is so smooth across the power band and so quiet that you pick up speed without knowing it.

Power the bad:

- Car needs more torque. You never feel the speed even though you are traveling very fast
- Car needs much more low end torque.
- Car also seems to never be in the right gear if you want to accelerate quickly. It is always 2 gears higher than you need, so there is a delay to when you depress the pedal to when the car starts to go. This is probably as a MPG issue, but I think it should be able to downshift much quicker.

* Overall the power is there and tough to complain about it. Wish it would shift fast and had more low end torque, but that is quibbling.


MPG:

I am getting 25.6 MPG with 70% highway/30% city when in automatic mode. Note that using the sport mode will decrease your MPG by at least 4 over the automatic. In sport mode I was getting 21 MPG (70% highway/30% city).

Handling:

- The complaints that the car doesn't have much road feel is true. However, my personal opinion is...so what. I'm not a race driver and I don't take my cars to the drag. Those that take the car to the drag will probably change the suspension and the coilovers (etc...) anyways. Either way it is fine for the normal driver.
- I don't have the sport package and the car handles very well. Not as well as my previous RX-8, Audi Quattro or obviously the Corvette, but the ride is sooooo much smoother. I was read to trade in handling with sport suspension for a smoother ride. I would make the same decision again. It handles extremely well and will get you out of a sticky situation if the need arises. If you are taking your car to the drag strip than the sport suspension is a must.

*Overall this car is worth every penny. The interior is fantastic, has all the latest gadgets that gadget freaks like me enjoy. The car is quick and gets decent gas mileage for a car this fast. Highly recommend and can't wait to start to mild mod (tint, HID's, intake, exhaust).

Hopefully this helped at least one person.

Thanks

Vit

 

Awesome review...Thanks!

 

excellent write up vit! hope it helps potentional owners =)

 

Once you go Nav, you'll never go back.

Nice review.

 

You're right I have NAV on my 1st gen when I got the 2nd gen I have to have a NAVi on it. . .

 

Awesome write up.
I have a SGM IS350 Luxury package with Nav , 18's, no ML though. I was one of the 1st in the Phoenix area to purchase last October. 7700 miles with no problems.

I have used the heated seats and you will find that they are more than adaquate. The heat will also help your back in the colder months. I also find the seats could use some adjustment at the back - side section but that is minor (my torso isn't that wide).

As for the power? I traded in a 2003 Cobra that was modded to about 500 hp. The torque was monster from that car so it was hard trading down power to the is350. But.... the IS has so much more to offer and HP isn't everything. I think driving the Lexus makes me feel "better".


BTW, stay clear of the 03/04 Cobra's, they are wicked fast, 12 second 1/4's stock. Fun to drive though!

 

Great write up.
I completely agree with you on the powerband being so smooth that before you know it you are going 90 mph .

I also noticed the downshifting when in auto mode tends to be a little slow, but not really to the point where it is a problem.

I love this car

 

what is this bluetooth hack that he is talking about?

 

Try enabling the PWR ECT button and then tell us what you think of the torque. I agree that the car does feel a little soft on acceleration, but I believe that Lexus had programmed the transmission this way.

PWR ECT should make the car shift more aggressively, and increase the sensitivity of the throttle response.

-Brian

 

Here you go:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=191734

 

I didn't have any problem at transfering my phone book to the car. It was very simple and easy. My current phone is sony erricson w800.

 

Nice phone you have there. Same here not a problem transfering from phone to car. . .

 

Very well-written and thorough review - kudos!!!

Javier