Feedback after 7000 miles / 10 months with my IS200T

[BaransuIS250]

After owning my IS200T since March 2016 I wanted to give some of my feedback- it would be interesting to see other comments:

Good:

Brilliant handling, lovely poised steering which is light in town but weighty at speed, styling inside and out, engine is generally powerful at speed- never need to trash, serious stability at high speeds (achieving 140mph with ease in Germany), more space inside than previous generation, 5-spoke alloy design, smooth gearbox when working the car hard, good ride quality, great infotainment / audio (Mark Levinson), the mouse for the controls is brilliant, one touch sunroof, reliability so far, only filled up screen wash once in 7000 miles, rarity, great Xenon headlights, same mpg as my old but slower IS250, it's not an Audi or BMW, I love the colour scheme- velvet black with ivory leather whereas the 2017 facelift now has a less appealing sand beige :>(

 

Not so impressive:

LED lighting has been dropped inside- old model had this, rear armrest now has no storage unlike before, leather quality good but less so than gen2 being thinner but harder, more road noise at low speeds than old model (changed tyres to different brands but the same), sometimes kickdown can take 2-3 seconds to decide what gear- frustrating, jerky paddle shift, it revs uncouthly as did my old IS250 when turning the engine on in the morning- quite loud, passenger middle armrest non existent, Bluetooth not the best- often cuts out yet my phone has strong bars showing, some of the trim i.e. door pockets look cheap and low rent- no carpet padding, heat shield rattle that the dealer couldn't fix, fragile velvet black paint.

 

A good friend of mine has just bought a BMW 320d Sport 2015 Auto and I was surprised how similar the ride and handling feels to my IS. What did surprise me is that I average 26mpg normally and he averages 34mpg. This is town driving for both (we both travel around 12 miles per day to work). The IS's claimed average is 39mpg and the BMW is nearly 70mpg- it doesn't surprise me how another German brand seems to be massaging the figures so to speak!

Overall I love it and wouldn't swap it for anything similar although some of the cost cutting is a little too obvious. It's not perfect but then what car is? 

[capese21]

I watched a guy return to his quite new 320d and was surprised by how the front bumper & grille literately shook & vibrated along with the noisy diesel engine. Probably ok once moving but still made me appreciate how silent my GS is. If I ever go back to diesel it would be a 3 litre and avoid the rattly 4 pots.

My previous diesel would take 12 miles to warm up and was not economical in town. My GS is economical on all journeys long or short.

The GS still has all LED lighting inside and ambient strips built into the door panels a strange omission on the IS imho.

[doog442]

I'm loving my IS200t...In sports mode its everything I need and thats having come from a seriously quick motor. I do mainly town driving - not great mpg but get some impressive  figures on a motorway run with cruise control enabled..late 40's no issue.

I agree about the noise on start up but it soon settles down. My last two cars have been straight six engines and this feels every bit as refined and smooth, I'm amazed its a 4 pot.

My only niggle is the lack of padding on the centre console , where my left knee rests. I think the F sport may have padding - not sure.

My last car was a 3 litre turbo BMW and strangely around town the BMW was more economical but not as good on a run...quality wise the Lexus wins hands down I feel.