Changing To An Is 220d / Is 250 Sport

[v7cjl]

I currently have a Honda S2000 but feel I need something a little more practical. I have the option of taking a company car or sticking with a private buy so bot the IS250 Sport and IS220d are an option.

- For those with the IS250 Sport what MPG are you getting?.

- For those with the IS220d Sport what MGP are you getting?, I have seen the threads on fuel consumption but most seem to relate to the SE model which is supposed to be better than the Sport.

- How reliable is the IS250 Sport / IS220d Sport?, my S2000 has been faultless, I have covered 37,000 miles in 3 1/2 years and use the car every day.

Many thanks for your help.

Chris

[javadude]

With my IS220d Sport I get about 33mpg commuting with a 50/50 split between busy motorway and urban. On a longer run visiting family etc I get 40mpg if I stick it on cruise control at 70mph, 38mpg at 80mph.

It depends very much on driving style and the roads you're using though. I used to make a journey once a week on urban dual-carriageways with lots of roundabouts and sweeping bends. It was a really fun drive but it hammered the fuel consumption - I was getting 28-29mpg.

[Tango]

Chris,

Welcome to LOC. I'm presuming you're opting for the manual gearbox by not considering the SE or SE-L, (although I believe the 259 Sport may be available as an auto).

There's no difference in the gearing ratio, or the engines between the various IS250 models but in published performance figures the auto is more economical than the manual.

My own IS250 SE-L Auto returns an average 28 mpg, and this figure comes from my overall total of 6,500 miles (mixed urban and motorway).

The IS220D boys will be along soon, no doubt, claiming 40-50 mpg :D

[v7cjl]

Chris,

Welcome to LOC. I'm presuming you're opting for the manual gearbox by not considering the SE or SE-L, (although I believe the 259 Sport may be available as an auto).

There's no difference in the gearing ratio, or the engines between the various IS250 models but in published performance figures the auto is more economical than the manual.

My own IS250 SE-L Auto returns an average 28 mpg, and this figure comes from my overall total of 6,500 miles (mixed urban and motorway).

The IS220D boys will be along soon, no doubt, claiming 40-50 mpg :D

Thanks for the quick responses

Yes I am after a manual IS, i am not really a fan of Auto cars although I have heard that the Lexus Auto box is very good.

Have your cars been reliable?, i have seen mixed comments on this forum

[scott]

IS220d SE.

Mid 40s, mostly motorway driving. Utterly reliable. Good luck with your choice.

IS220d SE.

Mid 40s, mostly motorway driving. Utterly reliable. Good luck with your choice.

[javadude]

Oh btw from your question I assume you're aware that unlike the petrol version the diesel does have a different gear ration for the sport. It improves performance but degrades fuel economy. I tried both sport and non-sport and found the sport much better to drive.

I've only had mine for 2 months so I can't say much about reliability. When I got it I had the handbrake tightened under warranty - a common fault and the clip holding the drivers carpet was missing. Oh and the wheel alignment was a little out - I bought mine after one of lexus guildfords staff had used it for 3 months - so I had that corrected too. One weekend I couldn't lock/unlock the car near my house because of interference but you can get that with any car. I've got a slight creak in the dashboard even though its a late production car but its not too bad and is mainly when cold. I'm going to wait and get that sorted when it's serviced. Apart from those minor niggles the car is utterly awesome and I love it.

[v7cjl]

Oh btw from your question I assume you're aware that unlike the petrol version the diesel does have a different gear ration for the sport. It improves performance but degrades fuel economy. I tried both sport and non-sport and found the sport much better to drive.

I've only had mine for 2 months so I can't say much about reliability. When I got it I had the handbrake tightened under warranty - a common fault and the clip holding the drivers carpet was missing. Oh and the wheel alignment was a little out - I bought mine after one of lexus guildfords staff had used it for 3 months - so I had that corrected too. One weekend I couldn't lock/unlock the car near my house because of interference but you can get that with any car. I've got a slight creak in the dashboard even though its a late production car but its not too bad and is mainly when cold. I'm going to wait and get that sorted when it's serviced. Apart from those minor niggles the car is utterly awesome and I love it.

I have already driven the IS220d SE and was not that impressed with the performance, I am glad that the 220d Sport is better, I must say I was very impressed with the 250 sport. The fuel economy will be better than my S2000 even if I go for the petrol version.

Oh btw from your question I assume you're aware that unlike the petrol version the diesel does have a different gear ration for the sport. It improves performance but degrades fuel economy. I tried both sport and non-sport and found the sport much better to drive.

I've only had mine for 2 months so I can't say much about reliability. When I got it I had the handbrake tightened under warranty - a common fault and the clip holding the drivers carpet was missing. Oh and the wheel alignment was a little out - I bought mine after one of lexus guildfords staff had used it for 3 months - so I had that corrected too. One weekend I couldn't lock/unlock the car near my house because of interference but you can get that with any car. I've got a slight creak in the dashboard even though its a late production car but its not too bad and is mainly when cold. I'm going to wait and get that sorted when it's serviced. Apart from those minor niggles the car is utterly awesome and I love it.

I have already driven the IS220d SE and was not that impressed with the performance, I am glad that the 220d Sport is better, I must say I was very impressed with the 250 sport. The fuel economy will be better than my S2000 even if I go for the petrol version.

Does the IS250 run on 95 unleaded petrol?.

[javadude]

I have already driven the IS220d SE and was not that impressed with the performance, I am glad that the 220d Sport is better, I must say I was very impressed with the 250 sport.

I found even though the sport was better it still took some getting used to after driving petrol cars. max torque is 2000 revs, under that its gutless, and max power is at 3600 giving a narrow rev band where it performs best. So although its fast you need to keep the revs fairly low to get the best out of it which is the complete opposite of the IS200 I had before. It's not as fast as the IS250 but because its not as quiet as the petrol version its more involving. If I wanted just performance I'd have gone for the IS250 but this time I wanted to compromise a bit and try for better fuel economy too. I must be getting old.....

[Tango]

I must say I was very impressed with the 250 sport. The fuel economy will be better than my S2000 even if I go for the petrol version.

Does the IS250 run on 95 unleaded petrol?.

Runs quite happily on 95 RON although I admit to running mine on Ultimate (98) or Tesco 99 RON because it makes a difference on economy/performance (peeps say it's psychological, but not convinced personally).

Having driven both the 220 and the 250 I prefer the 250, and also the auto as it's superb...you've also got the paddles and stickshift manual change on the auto if you want to play. I've also driven the IS350, but as it isn't available over here I won't say any more :tsktsk:

My 250 has been totally reliable, same as my IS200 Sport which I still have. My 250 also hasn't suffered from rattles despite being a 2005 delivery .