MWIS350

204 HP IS250 and 306 HP IS350.

Aron9000

Buying one used, you should never consider the IS250. New, yes Lexus will wheel and deal a good bit more on a 250 vs a 350, but used, man its a total no brainer in my book. 100 more horsepower and 100% bulletproof reliability. The 250 motor is a total turd with the anemic horsepower/torque and carbon buildup problem which can lead to catostrophic engine failure.

Zmon

iTrader: (2)

Same reason people buy the lower tier engine models on other cars. Price, MPG, suitable power for most people. You can find 250's for cheaper, and less mileage with the same options as a comparable 350 at the same price point. Your every day driver probably doesn't even know about the 250's carbon build-up problems.

355F1

I owned a Ferrari F355 when I bought my 2010 IS 250 AWD.

I needed AWD and good gas mileage.

Not only was the 350 not offered in AWD, but even if it was I wouldn't have spent the money on it as I don't look at an IS as a performance car.

I love the IS. But I didn't buy it for its performance. I wanted Lexus reliability.

MWIS350

Agreed. people buy IS250, but spend lot of money to make it look good and fast.

MWIS350

2011 IS350 come with AWD.

Vanze

And that's where the price difference comes in to play... for people who don't own a ferrari. newer model with awd = out of some people's price range

I bought a used 09 IS250 AWD because it was a really good deal and I wanted awd, but if i had known about the carbon buildup and crappy engine, I might have been convinced to spend an extra couple thousand on an 06-08 350. Honestly most people who are buying the IS probably don't know much about the model. I certainly didn't. They just know it's the cheapest/most reliable luxury car they can get (let's be honest.. Acura is not a luxury brand when Hondas offer just as much luxury and probably is better in every way). And most people don't browse through the forums so they still don't. Car review websites/magazine don't really focus on Lexus in general, so info like this is not readily available to the public

iluvmycar

Depending on what you're looking for too, 350's can be really difficult to find. They made fewer of them and people want to hang on to them. If just any old 350 will do then yeah. I would rather have gotten a 350 and was willing to pay for it but was so specific in what I was looking for and was getting impatient and found a gem of a 250 (as much of a gem that people here would consider lol) so that's what I have. Knock on wood and fingers crossed, none of the issues yet. Maybe it's a unicorn 250

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

I can attest to that. I had a heck of a time finding anice 350 in my area. I ended up expanding my search and bought just about exactly what I wanted a few states over and a few grand less than what I would have paid in northern Virginia.

pattatted4

Living in Wisconsin, it was a no-brainer to get the 250 for the AWD. It has saved my job more than a couple times!!! I would love a 350 RWD, but in our climate it wasn't feasible, unless it was a summer car, which I'm in no means able to support right now.

Tro209

Seeing this thread helps me realize why someone would get a is250. However , I myself have an 06 350 while my brother has an 06 250 AWD. Keep in my mind we live in NorCal where AWD is absolutely not something people generally look for and honestly I don't even think AWD makes much a difference to begin with so long as you have some good proper snow tires and actually know how to drive. Our cars (is350 included) aren't very powerful anyway...

As for the comparison, I got my 2006 is350 a few months after my brother got his 2006 IS250. Here's the thing.. I paid $18,000 sticker on mine and I had 78k miles where as he paid $17,800 sticker and had 80 ish thousand miles. I told him to go and buy a 350 instead for around the same price but he was positive that the is350 wasted "too much gas" and the is250 was better. Granted the is250 is better at saving gas but I mean come on, It's only rated at 1mpg better...

On top of this, every time he gets to drive my car he always compliments on how much more powerful mine is than his. He always talks about how sensitive and responsive the throttle input is too. But now he got a truck and his wife drives the car everywhere instead of him. And if even she is really surprised by much of a difference there is in an is350 vs the is250. I mean even my 2nd brothers Altima 2.5 beats him, even from a dig where the is250 AWD should have an advantage.

Not dissing any is250 owners, as I love the IS platform in general but I just don't completely understand why to get a 250 instead. Oh and also I have a sport package on my car (which is essentially fully loaded minus like 2 things) and my brother has a Premium/base. Once again not dissing just saying how I see it from my own experience. Oh and for those of you have Ferraris or Shelbys or some kind of fast car keep in mind... You DONT HAVE TO use all the power in an IS350. But for the price difference id rather be happy to know I have an extra 100hp and aggressive gears there for when i need it. It's funnier have more power, it's more likely to save your life in my opinion (picture getting on the freeway and some idiot is speeding in the lane your merging on , who's gonna accelerate faster to prevent getting hit? The 250 or the 350?). Idk guys just my opinion sorry for the rant

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

For me, it was the manual transmission.

Jeff

videopho

Gimme tha power is what the is350 delivers when I was shopping for a more reliable v6 to replace my Geneis coupe v6. There were several is250 also available at the time but the 350 was a no brainer, you step on gas and she goes, it delivers pretty aggressive acceleration after adding a few minor mods (K&N a/f), fill her up with non-ethanol premium wherever I can find, replaced the front tires and new front brake pads.

Dazedsjsu

I like driving a manual transmission. The IS350 in manual would have been awesome.

pattatted4

[QUOTE=Tro209;9315985]Seeing this thread helps me realize why someone would get a is250. However , I myself have an 06 350 while my brother has an 06 250 AWD. Keep in my mind we live in NorCal where AWD is absolutely not something people generally look for and honestly I don't even think AWD makes much a difference to begin with so long as you have some good proper snow tires and actually know how to drive. Our cars (is350 included) aren't very powerful anyway...

I welcome you to come when we have an ice snow, where people with good tires and AWD couldn't go. Last week, there was all kinds of people stuck, and I just kept rolling with my newer tires and ability to drive! I can't even imagine the Canadians problems...lol