I previously had an IS300 and gave that up to get the 335i. Unfortunately, the 2nd gen IS350 just didn't meet my needs in many areas. The design was a little too soft and in my opinion, geared towards females (please don't bite my head off as I mean no disrespect to any females on this forum.) The car was way too small. I now have 3 kids, one of which is 2 months old so it never fit my family in there. No fold down seats to take my bike and I don't want to add a roof rack. Interior design is a little bland. Don't get me wrong. I like the car but it just wasn't the right car for me at the time.

Now that the 3rd gen IS350 will be released, I'm thinking this is the right car. My 335i is a fun car to drive but the thing that pisses me off about the car the most is its reliability (lack of.) I knew the car wouldn't be as reliable as a Lexus/Toyota but dang, BMW has given me its fair share of prblems with this car.

The exterior design of the 3rd gen IS is very polarizing. It's a love it or hate it design and I applaud Lexus for taking such an aggressive approach. That was one of my dislikes about the 2nd gen IS. It just seemed too safe. I like the fact that it has some very unique touches that you can't say you've seen another car manufacturer do already. The front grill is still a little too intense. I do hope that when I see in person, it looks better but the rest of the car looks good.

Now hopefully, they won't neuter the IS-F. Let's keep that thing raw wiht some serious hp. Since that engine was based off the LS engine and the update LS hasn't changed it's engine spec, here's to hoping that they continue with the 5.0 v-8.

 

with 3 kids, i don't think you should be looking at the IS / 3 / C. even mid-size i think is small!!!

 

True, it will still be a little tight but my wife has the RX450h so that is the main car for family transport. My car is for shcool pick up and swim lessons and such and although 3 will be tight, it is doable whereas in the 2nd gen IS 2 was tight and 3 was def not doable.

 

welcome back to the dark side!

btw you think lexus interior was bland but you got a bmw....el oh el

 

If aggressive is what you are going for I think the 3IS will fit your needs perfectly.

 

the 3is definitely has more room overall, especially rear cabin space. you might be able to get away with 2 front facing though i would still think it's on the tight side? how is the 335i work out so far for your needs?

 

do you need to have kids seats in or? Because right now 2 seats is doable, 3 kids with 2 seats is not... but 3IS will have A LOT more space... without big seats, 3 kids in the back will be more than fine.

 

The 335i fits two car seats fine but since I'm 6ft, the kids sitting behind me has limited leg room and they've even mentioned how tight it is when sitting behind me. As far as fitting my needs, the 335i is good but like I said, the main thing about the 335i and BMW's in generally is their issues with reliability. BMW's are just not reliable cars and I'm not complaining about a broken ash tray cover or something simple like that, although if something like that were to go wrong with my car, I would still be pretty pissed about it because why should something so simple as an ash tray cover break. Anyways, the issues I've had with my car have all been major from hpfp issue, injectors replacement, ignition coils, DME replacement (basically the ecu), oil filter housing replaced, exhaust muffler replaced, and the I just noticed the rubber gasket trim on the top part of my front windshield is cracked badly so we'll have to see what happens to that the next time I bring it in.

Compared this to my old IS300 with 90k miles when I got rid of it and not one problem. My wife's old 2002 RX300 with over 220k miles when we got rid of had only a couple of issues. The antennae stoppped retracting and extending at about 180k miles I think and the there was something wrong with the a/c unit. I forget exactly what the problem was but it would sound like a card shuffling machine inside the dash. Our SA said the problem was common on those cars.

With that being said, the 335i has served its purpose and luckily I'm still within my ext warranty and some of these repairs have only cost me a $50 deductible but once I'm out of warranty, that's when I'll become pissed about these repairs. ..and so that's why I think the 3rd gen IS will fit my needs. It's larger, more aggressively designed, way more reliable, better resale value, and many other positives.

 

Ill have to agree here having owned both the 2gen IS and 3gen GS its too tight of a fit. Yes you "could" fit them but is it really safe? Even the RX is a tight fight IMO for three kids (speaking from experience). Even if you want the IS I would suggest something bigger for the family with a 3rd row.

Not as fun but I dumped our cars for this reason and went with function and its very boring but it makes it so much easier and safer for everyone. I have a 3 series wagon but I only use it with one of the kids. If we take 3 or all 4 we have a dedicated vehicle for that. I would never stuff three kids in the BMW.

Good luck on your search

 

if E90 is fine, then 3IS will do good... no worries.

 

Here's the backseat of the new IS with the front seat pushed back:




Since you have kids, accessible ISOFIX anchor points:

 

Sorry if I wasn't clear but I'm saying that I can fit 3 kids in the back once they're out of booster seats. For right now, we use my wife's rx450h and it fine. One is in a booster seat, one in a baby carrier, and the other in a regular toddler seat.

Like I said, I use my car for school pick up and swim lessons and such so putting all 3 in the back at one time isn't going to work now but as they grow up and out of the car seats and booster seats, the fit will be more confortable than compared to my current 335i and 2nd gen IS350.

 

given your case, it seems like the 3is can work for you. it definitely has more room in the back, especially leg room (which was a big problem on 2is imho)

 

I think it will based on the prelim specs but we'll have to wait and see once the official specs are released. I did see those ISO lower anchors on another picture and I am happy to see them designed like that rather than hidden behind the leather seats because when you use them, it pinches the leather up in order for the latch to have access to the latch point. This way, it's a clean latch and the leather doesn't get deformed. Glad to see.

 

yes i noticed that too, it's a good improvement. in some other brands / models, you actually flip up the leather to access the anchors so the leather is not damaged. but doing it this way will even make attaching the anchors easier