New To Forum & New To Lexus

[Full English]

Guys & Gals,

Please bear with me.

Firstly, I'd like to introduce myself.

Full English - A diverse character with a GSOH, I'm new to this forum but not forums in general so I am familiar with the lingo and how to post pics etc. I'm based in the south-east of the UK and WLTM a young, fema ....(sh :tsktsk: t) wrong seciton.... :D

Anyway enough about me.

My current car is: BMW e36 325i Coupe. 2.5 litre straight six. 192bhp

As nice as my car is, it's old and I fancy sometihng new. I've decided agaisnt getting another BMW, purely because variety is the spice of life.

So my requirements are:

Must be within my budget. I have approx. £6k to play with.

Insurance friendly. Anything below £800 is good for me.

At least 150 BHP - I like to have some power

RWD / 4WD - I like cars that handle well

Reliable - i.e. nothing french. Pref Jap / German

After umm-ing and arr-ing over lots of possible cars I came up with a shortlist:

Subaru Impreza - Bit old, boy racerish image

Mitsi Evo - Bit over budget, again, bit boy racerish

Supra - Need to fork out for a good one, 3.0 TT would be thirsty.

VW GOlf GTi - Too boring - FWD - er, whats that all about?!

Honda Integra Type R - boy racerish

Honda Civic Typr R - Pricey still.

I then stumbled upon the Lexus IS200. After doing a little research on the car, it seemed to suit my requirements down to a T.

It's RWD, 153bhp, around the £6k mark, looks ok (shame there is no coupe model) and the for the Sport I was quoted £455 FC with DirectLine. Interesting I thought.

To carry on my research of the Lexus IS200 further, I thought I'd join a forum full of people in the know. As I did with my BMW a few years back.

So I have a few questions to put to you lot that I hope you can help me with.

I have a basic knowledge the cars and their specs but please bear with me as I do not know as much about them as all of you.....yet :winky:

So....

1. Do the Sport and Nav models have the same basic spec as the SE + their respective extras (lowered suspension - Sport / Sat-nav - Nav) ?

2. Whats the Altezza all about? I think it's an import, does this have more power? more toys?

3. When I had an insurance quote with directline, I noticed I could select a supercharged model, which model is this? Is that the Altezza?

4. It would be preferable to me to go for the Altezza / Supercharged model as it will be around the same power as my current car. Do the specs on these cars vary massively? I like the SE spec (heated seats, etc), so does the Altezza / Supercharged model come with a good basic spec?

5. Do the UK Lexus' have leccy folding mirrors? I love this feature on jap imports lol.

6. Any reliability issues to look for? All I could find is gearbox and clutch problems.

7. Which model do you think is the best to go for with my budget & requirements?

8. Do these cars have cam-chains or cam-belts?

9..... can't think of anything else at the mo but I'm sure I will do

TIA.

Looking forward to Lexus Ownership B)

Here's a few pics of my current ride:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/325...MW/carSide2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/325...carRearSide.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/325...cleanEngine.jpg

[MrADeveci]

Hello and Welcome to LOC.

I'll answer some of your questions ........ and I'm sure there will be others along who will answer more for you .............. good luck, and enjoy your stay here !

1. Do the Sport and Nav models have the same basic spec as the SE + their respective extras (lowered suspension - Sport / Sat-nav - Nav) ? 

"NAV MODEL" that's just an IS with SAT NAV. Pre 2001 models have CD based sat nav, 2001+ model IS's have the DVD based sat nav, and a larger screen.

2. Whats the Altezza all about?  I think it's an import, does this have more power?  more toys?

Altezza, yes that's an import. They come in a few different specs, I'm sure the tezza owners will be along shortly to advise, but basically they don't come with the leather seats, and some other stuff .... it's also a 4 - pot as apposed to a straight 6. It's also got just under 210bhp

3. When I had an insurance quote with directline, I noticed I could select a supercharged model, which model is this?  Is that the Altezza?

No, this is the IS200 with a supercharger. They are getting common now, so the insurance comapanies now recognise the supercharger.

5. Do the UK Lexus' have leccy folding mirrors? I love this feature on jap imports lol.

Yes they do

7. Which model do you think is the best to go for with my budget & requirements?

If you want manual, get the sport. If you want an auto get the SE

8. Do these cars have cam-chains or cam-belts?

Cam Belts - change every 100,000 miles

[Adie]

Welcome to LOC mate :D

[Mr Morse]

You'll find the IS200 to be lacking on power compared to the 325i.......Try a supercharged IS200 (+/-200bhp) or the 4 pot Altezza (210bhp)

[Zee007]

4. It would be preferable to me to go for the Altezza / Supercharged model as it will be around the same power as my current car.  Do the specs on these cars vary massively?  I like the SE spec (heated seats, etc), so does the Altezza / Supercharged model come with a good basic spec?

←

Welcome to the club.

The Supercharged option can be applied to any Lexus IS200 be it an S, SE or Sport. It is made by TTE (Toyota Team Europe) specifically for the IS200 and adds around 50 horses. A good mod, turning the sedate IS200 into the car it always should have been.

The Tezza comes in 2 forms. The AS200, which is the same as the IS200 (6 cylinder, 153bhp) and the RS200 (4 cylinder, 210bhp - 200bhp for the auto).

The imports do come with a lower spec (no leather or heated seats, less sound proofing, sat nav that won't work for example) but nothing that can't be sorted.

If you want tuning options and power out of the box, think about the Altezza. It needs to be revved harder, and insurance may be higher, but it's a good option. On the other hand, an IS200 is a UK car, may come warrantied, etc.

Horses for courses.

Let us know if you need any more help...

[Full English]

Thanks for the welcome :winky:

Some interesting info there. Thank-you. I'm taking it all on-board.

I dont think many jap imports come with leather, they don't like it, it's too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. As compared to our climate which is midly warm in the summer and mildly cold in winter :D

So supercharging the Lexus IS200 is quite common. Thats good to know. I think I'd prefer to buy one already modified, rather than fork out £2k+? to have mine converted.

The power difference between my car and the IS200 Sport is around 40bhp. Thats something I could live without TBH. I only drive 1 mile to work, 1 mile to the gym, 1 mile to footy and 1 mile to town lol. I have the odd run down to the South-West a few times a year but thats it. I feel the supercharged beast would be wasted in my hands :duh:

Anyway, it's still an option I would consider.

How on earth did they squeeze 200+bhp from the 4-pot engine?! Thats very impressive! I am actually suprised the 6cyl is not nearer to the 200bhp, minus the charger. What happened there Lexus?!!

Anyway, keep the info coming please folks. I may try and get to a meet if there are any regular southern ones?

Thanks again

[MacRS200]

Welcome to LOC :D

Zee forgot to mention that the Tezza RS200 is also about 100Kg lighter than the IS200 so that with 50+ extra horses makes it much quicker :D

[Zee007]

Welcome to LOC :D

Zee forgot to mention that the Tezza RS200 is also about 100Kg lighter than the IS200 so that with 50+ extra horses makes it much quicker :D

←

he he he.... :D

You're damn right!

[Bazza]

Thanks for the welcome  :winky:

Anyway, keep the info coming please folks.  I may try and get to a meet if there are any regular southern ones?

Thanks again

←

welcome niehbour :D

theres a meet in lakeside this saturday

at TDI lakeside meet , which then convoys up to milton keynes for a xmas meet

whereabouts in south east are you near :D

[eXOBeX]

Worth considering an IS300 (if you can find one within your price range) or a GS300, all around the 210-220bhp mark. There's even an Aristo(import GS) V300 twin-turbo on AutoTrader at the moment, £5750 is the asking price. Newer shape GS starts at £4,500.