As soon as the IS launched I knew I wanted one - especially after sampling the Mark Levinson system at last year's car show!

So today I drove one!

First off - Lexus Reading are a top bunch! Booked in, were very flexible in letting me borrow one for an hour or 24 - even asked if I wanted one for the weekend! No hassles, trying to get me to buy one on the spot etc.

I took an IS 220d out - was a standard spec but had the MP3 player, auto lights, crusie control, dual A/C etc. Just drove for about an hour around town and:

PROS
- Looks the nuts
- Smooth and very easy to drive
- Interior makes you feel like a king (even this spec)
- Fantastic visibility (but maybe that's cos I'm coming from driving a 1-Series)
- Great sound system (not M/M but still)

CONS
- Hate the clock - can you turn it off?
- Old-looking sound system (but I'm after M/M so not an issue)
- No power until 2000 revs - takes a bit of getting used to!
- No 6th gear (and they did tell me that before I drove off) - my 1er gets into 6th easily at 50mph

Didn't really get chance to test mpg - but the model I drove was a brand new 08 with 180 miles on the clock (still on it's first tank of fuel) and was showing 38mpg with average speed of 18mph - tank was around 2/3 full.

Overall - I still want one! Question is now ... which engine? I want to drive the 250 Auto next - I know it will be better but I'll see how much. According to my wife it can't get any better because of the huge grin I had on my face when I was driving this one! It will come down to head over heart - head saying that one day Lexus will find the root cause and all the diesels will reach 40s+mpg.

good luck mate in your choice.ive only driven the 250man and auto but my choice would be the auto

not a lover of the diesels but i dont do mega miles

whatever you choose im sure youll love it

Once you have driven the 250 Auto, it will be no contest. The 250 is the far better car.


I dont like diesel cars anyway, and wouldnt have one.

Just a quick note: there is a big difference between a brand new 220d and one that has 10k+ on the clock. The engine becomes a lot smoother and pulls decently from ~1500 RPM. In my experience the mileage improves a bit too, but it's not as obvious as the change in the nature of the engine.

Yeah - totally agree. The guy at Reading said the same thing.

One final question - if I was to buy a Cat D car (not specifically talking about Lexus here) would it still be honoured under manufacturer's warranty?

test drive the 250auto and you will be hooked ( i know i'm biased i bought one )

all i can say is when my car went in for the dash rattle they loaned me the 220d

the next time i needed a loan car told them no way did i want the 220 again

got a 450h fantastic car, but at the end of the day it's your money so it's what

makes you happy, i'm not anti diesel my last car was an avensis diesel.

Go for the 250 auto. As a 220d owner I can't recommend it over the 250. Mine has over 11k on the clock and still won't do any better than 34mpg either around town or on a run. The town figure is acceptable but the run one isn't. I'll bet the 250 isn't far off what I'm getting and has none of the power issues the 220d has such as a terrible first gear. Everyone is different though including the cars.

Well if you need a diesel for whatever reason I´ll recommend the 220 Sport - then you can use 6th gear np.

If mpg is not an issue for you, then go for the 250.

Best of luck

While philthy is getting 34 MPG, I'm getting 48. And I know for a fact that I couldn't get anywhere near that with a 250 auto.

By the way, philthy, your getting close to the point where my car got a slight step-up in the economy (~12k miles). I hope you'll get one, too. It seems you could use it.

Firstly welcome!!

What I would honstly say is this:

Buy with your head an not your heart. The 220d is a good car, no question, but I would tak it on a drive longer than 1-2 hours, and compare it to the 320d and the new A4. Seriously.

We were all wowed by the looks, kit and expectations of dealer experiences. Whilst it represents fantastic VFM, you also have to be able to live with it day in day out.

You can get high 40's on some of the 220d's, but you do have to drive at 50-60 and be very careful. You can beat that at 70mph in a 118 hands down I'm sure. So be aware.

Your test driv should be one where you zero the MPG Ave indicator and drive it like you would your 118d or any other car. It is heavy, but it has the muscle to pull the weight.

Good luck with whatever way you go - but like I say - once you buy it it's too late...buy with your eyes wide open.

Take a long hard look at the 250 Auto and the new A4 too...

I hope so, if you're getting 600 odd miles to the tank full! At the minute I think I'm doing well to get 430.

Well, my step-up was more like 17 miles more to tank, not 170... But hey, fingers crossed!

I managed 2-3 times where the car went 600 odd miles on a full tank. Not any more...same driving styles, same speeds, same journeys.

It's time for it to go... watch this space