nabeel24

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone!

So the lease on my 2015 IS 250 F-Sport is ending in mid January. I just graduated this month as well and will start working soon so decided to buy my next car instead of leasing. Since I absolutely loved my 2015 IS, I was looking at purchasing a 2017 IS 250t/300 and comparing with the 2018 Camry. The Lexus's I am looking at are the 4 cylinder turbo models, just so you know for comparison reasons. These are the prices of the 3 cars I'm looking at:

2017 IS 250t F-Sport = $36,500 OTD (includes tax and fees)
USED 2017 IS 300 = $33,000 (Lexus certified, 10k miles)
2018 Camry XSE = $27,015 OTD (includes tax and fees)

Wanted to see other IS owner's thoughts on the 2018 Camry, if you've had a chance to see it in person. I'm leaning towards comparing the used IS vs the 2018 Camry since it'll save me money. Feel free to share any thoughts! Thanks!

SikhSipahi

You are comparing 2 very different cars. One is a economy point A to point B car other is a luxury sports sedan. If you love the IS get the IS.

nabeel24

EZZ

Have you test driven the cars? One is a midsize boat and the other is a compact sports sedan. I think both arent the perfect car for a new grad though. I would go test drive the GTI as its a better car than the Camry and cheaper than the IS.

ryanSC300lover

iTrader: (1)

I recently test drove a v6 camry top of the line

it was white
quad exhaust
red interior leather
panoramic glass roof

it drove nice. V6 has enough power. However suspensioneft me wanting. Additionally interior quality and center console felt cheap to me. Asking price was $34,700.

If if I wanted midsize family car, I would get a 2.0T Accord. Head and shoulders above new Camry imho

nabeel24

Yep. I test drove the 2017 IS which felt very similar to my current IS since it was only a minor update. The Camry looks large on the outside but felt like it had a small interior but that's no problem with me since the IS is even smaller. In general, they both felt good. At the moment, I'm thinking the investment on the Camry might be a better investment due to the price but I want the Lexus so that's the dilemma. Wish the Used 2017 IS was a tad lower in price.

nabeel24

EZZ

Before you pick one of these cars up, you should go drive other cars. As I said the GTI is an excellent car for the money (drives faaaar better than any Camry). Also, the new Civic Si, Mazda 3, and GT86 are very nice enthusiast cars for the money. Camrys are pretty terrible drivers cars. Just something to think about.

RA051724

I'm quite surprised that you are asking a Lexus IS owner to look at a VW GTI, Civic SI, Mazda 3 etc.? That would be like asking a BMW 3 series owner to "move down" to a VW Jetta! I've only owned my Lexus IS for less than 2 weeks, and it feels like a "cut above" every sports sedan I have ever owned in terms of fit and finish, driveability, creature comforts etc. And that INCLUDES a Bimmer 3 series!

My advice to you, nabeel24, is test drive both cars (i.e., the IS and the Camry) and see how they feel to you. You know they are both Toyota's, so reliability isn't going to factor into it, all things being equal. How you feel when you drive it, is the most important.

Panzer126

I spent a good 20 minutes checking out a white on black camry XSE while my 350 was in for service. While it was really nice for a camry, as soon as you sit inside you see the cheapness. Coming from a lexus, it's a pretty big downgrade on the interior. There are hard plastics everywhere, it makes that cheap hollow sound when you tap on it. It is nicer than any toyota I've owned.

I would get the is300 if you can afford it. The gap between a top of the line camry and an IS is night and day and if you can afford it and want to treat yourself, get the is300. The 200t does have some problems, although minor.

EZZ

He is a new grad and I am assuming pretty young. The Camry is the wrong type of vehicle out of school Im an auto enthusiast and completely not brand loyal. I personally think the IS200t is too slow for its segment and not worth the price. The 350 is barely acceptable as a sports sedan in its segment. For $27k, I just think there are many better options in the market than either car.

Panzer126

While I agree with you somewhat, the reason they're looking at toyota is probably because they value reliability over fun. When I decided to trade in my matrix for something fun the 350 was the only car on the market aside from the q50s, but that's an infiniti.

I wanted AWD with a rear wheel bias if possible. Had to be able to seat 4 and be somewhat luxurious, extremely reliable with a relatively low cost of ownership. Yeah I could have spent less and got a german but I did not want to gamble with their build quality. This is why lexus sells.

RA051724

Thanks for clarifying, I understand where u r coming from.

jmull3r

iTrader: (1)

stick with the 2018 IS300 (200t formerly), more luxury features, turbocharged, and way more sporty than the camry

anthonys2r

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, I've always liked the Accord more than the Camry. I think (can be wrong about this) the accord comes with more standard features and just better/more options. However, I am not a fan of their recent exterior refresh.