We all know that manufactures have a high end and "lower" end line of cars... ie, an Acura is a Honda, an Infiniti is a Nissan and a Hyundai is a Kia... but is Lexus really a Lexus, in particular the IS250... or is it just a re-badged Camry plus $15k.. ???

 

FYI the IS250 compares to the Corolla not the Camry.

 

It's a rebadged Altezza with a slightly bigger engine.

 

WOW, a Corolla?!!! Then it's a $25k PREMIUM!!!

 

Ya. You should just buy a carolla.

 

Wow - this thread falls into the "Are you kidding me?" category.

 

why would I buy a Corolla when I can buy an IS?

 

 

Because you are paying $25k for the badge when they are essentially the same car.

 

Lexus is part of Toyota, therefore your Lexus is still technically a Toyota. Even the platform names show that. And there is no rebadged Camry in the Lexus line. The ES does ride on the same Toyota K platform, but the Camry is the XV50 and the ES is the XV60. The third-generation IS is the Toyota New N platform, shared by the GS and the IS(L10 and XE30, respectively).

Furthermore, a Hyundai is not a Kia and they do not share the same true upscale versus low scale that the other companies do(ie Toyota and Lexus), no matter what Forbes tries saying. They are sister companies of the Hyundai Motor Group and are sold as two separate entities that try not to cut into each other's sales too much. That's why KIA has the K900 and Hyundai has the Genesis.

 

I had a debate with my friend about this. I told him it annoyed me how Lexus was not so different from Toyota back then. It annoyed me how they were both boring and both shared the same parts and engines. Toyota even has a version of the Lexus spindle grill on their vehicles. Back then, I was sure that Toyota and Lexus were the same. Of course I have a different view now. Now that Lexus is pushing out more aggressive vehicles, I can truly see the difference between Lexus and Toyota.

 

+1

Thread closed.