If you're being serious, I agree... Quite lame. I own a 350 and don't think I'm "better" than a 250. If you're that worried about what other people think about you or your car then I suggest you NOT rebadge your 250, becuas then people will think you're a poser. What's worse is that they'd be right.

i knew this topic would get everyone in a shamble.....but yeah i wasnt planning on doing it??? just a thought that others might have..... im really happy with my car actually....and starting my mods next week.....

p.s. thanx everyone for welcoming me with open arms..its cool when everyone has something in common

you're not the first guy to do it, but it's just as lame. save yourself the embarrassment and don't do it...

btw, is350 owners = is250 owners.

however, is350 > is250. 306hp will do that for you.

personally if you dont need the power .. then you don't need the is350... i came from a pretty decently fast car so the 250 would of been a downgrade for me... is350 is pretty equal to what i had in power, but hadlin wise.. my old car was a lot better...

anyhow is250.. i don't look down on 'em.. when i'm cruizin at normal speeds i feel ripped off lookin at the 250 cause it represents the is350 in everyway , but speed....

i don't look down... i did not buy this car for status or all those artificial junk... i personally like the car a lot... all my friends told me not to get it... but after i got it... they sat in .. well comments started to change... anyhow this discussion is pretty lame.. what am i doin here... hahahaha

My 250 was stickered at $32,300 (somewhere arounf that price) and at the time you could have waited and gotten a base model 350 for $35,000(somewhere around that price) according to the lexus.com. When you go to the dealership the prices are a different story. my 350 was around 38,000 with $2,000 discount so that made it like $36,000 (which would be a drifference of $4,000), so I guess we are both right to a certain extent!

obviously i don't think i'm better than a 250 owner, but obviously i own a better car.

IMHO i feel the 250 cheapens and degrades the whole lineup. I would have bought this car even if it was closer to 50k because i personally feel, at the time, that it was better than any of its competitiors (the 335 has since changed my mind but was not available at the time of purchase). The 250 makes the car available to too many people, I mean you can basically own one for about the cost of a fully loaded camry/altima/maxima etc...

If the IS series is being marketed as a "sports" sedan, then why does it offer a model that can be outrun by a camry, accord, altima, and god almighty even a V6 Rav4....

Just because you 350 owners think your better than us, im rebadging my 250 with a ferrari symbol. Eat that.

Wow... this is a 'stupid' thread... if you want sport you buy a is350, thats all... a loaded IS250 can easily run into the 45k range... some of you ppl are 2fast2stupid gen boiz... my is350 dosent have NAV, why? i dont see NAV as a lux, either you need it or you dont, a fkn sentra can be bought with NAV *sorry but you must be a upper lower class person, dont say that nemore it 'marks' you*

I dunno thou, i dont say lexus/infinty/acura so it holds no mystique for me, its toyota/nissan/honda, i lived in japan for awhile so...

I went for the 350 because my last few cars have been in the 300HP range and after driving performance cars all my life, would not have been happy with the 250. I can understand why some would rather have the 250 and more power to them (I mean less power) if that is what they want. Each to their own and if you drive any Lexus, that is not a bad thing....all family.

Maybe I can offer a slightly different perspective. I'm 42 years old, married with 3 kids, and live in the northeast in a pretty snowy area. I could have bought a BMW, an Infiniti G35, a Lexus GS, or a number of other faster vehicles. Neither cost nor 0-60 performance was the object.

I chose the IS250 AWD because I think it's a great mix of sportiness/performance, luxury, safety, and reliability. For me, and I think others, it's not about how fast I can make it to the next traffic light, or who I can beat in a race, and it's certainly not about impressing or being "cool" for my teenage or twenty-something friends.

I know that may be hard for some of you to understand, but "cheapens and degrades the whole lineup" is just a bit over the top. No one is going to think you're less "cool" because I own an IS250 that's got fewer HP or ft/lb of torque than your speed machine.

Now if they had an IS350 AWD available, then hmmmmm...... :-D

I think offering the 250 does water down the line to some extent. People are losing sight of the fact that the IS was designed to be the sportier performance minded model. The 250 AWD is everywhere now because it's as cheap as an ES, sportier (always sells well), and in some cases better equipped. Of course it's going to sell like crazy, and it shows because everyone is buying this car from grandmothers to soccer moms. That's what happens when you make a great car at a cheap price. What I don't get is why would you make a slower sports car? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Because IS is not a sports car!!

AHH and there it is, they compare IS to BMW 3's, hang on, i'm buying lexus... just a lexus that is more sportier than past ones... We all know the BWM's are the best cars for a 'driver' when they are on the road and not at the shop...

OH YES someone said something to the effect that an is250 is 'lowering the status' of the IS... dude wake up, you sound just like those kids who, after watching 2fast2stupid wanted 1000hp supras as their first car, bet you saw that movie and thought it was cool at the time eh? Even tried to double clutch in a drag race also??? I bet you STILL don't know what the 'racing' reason is for double clutching..

IS250 enhances the image of the IS350, that one has to be very careful when hunting IS's cuz theres one with the mutant X gene and he will fk you up.

Defeat what purpose? Nah, it's about choices and meeting demand. If no one wanted them, no one would buy them and Lexus would quit making them. Isn't appealing to a larger market and "selling like crazy" the name of the game?

If you want the model with more hp and torque, then you can buy the 350, but I don't live in CA, don't need 300hp, and don't give a crap if I make it to 60mph 2 seconds later. Not to mention that I can save on gas and insurance as well, while still enjoying a more sporty vehicle with all the amenities of a Lexus. I don't want an ES. I'm 42, not 62.

Chosing Between a IS 250 and a IS 350 its like chosing between 2 hot twins; The Only Diference will be that one is faster than the other but still looking exactly the same.
PS. I.M.H.O. 4 doors= sedan / coupe =sport