I'm looking to get a used IS250 SE or SE-L, took a 55 plate SE-L for a short test drive and was quite impressed by the car. However I was quite disappointed with the high level of tyre/road noise, it reminded me of a Toyota Yaris.

I noticed simmilar tyre noise with the new shaped Ford Focus when initially released, but after about 6 months they became quieter after the introduction of wheel arch liners and what looked like a rubber strip allong the underside of the sill.

Has anything been done to address the tyre noise on the more recently produced Is250s?
Would I better to wait until I can afford a 06 or 56 plate car?

Thanks for any advice.

Easiest way is to change the tyres, as that '55 plate probably still has Bridgestone Potenzas on it. Later IS's were fitted with different tyres like Toyo's which are a lot quieter.

Mine had directional tyres on the front, which made an awful racket. Just fitted some new Dunlop SportMaxxs all round, and much quieter now, certainly no worse than comparable bmw's, audis etc.

The tyre guy said that directional tyres are significantly noisier, and old tyres can go 'off'.

Newer cars I've driven are no quieter, for what its worth.

Please note all Dunlop Sportmaxx are unidirectional tyres.The good news is they are relatively quiet.
Tel

Would there be any difference in noise using the 16" wheels on the is250, instead of the 17" on the is250se/se-l?

I would expect the difference to be quite marginal, the tyres will make a huge difference though.