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3 Weeks And 3k Miles Into My Is220d


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Well I'm 3 weeks and just shy of 3K miles into my new IS220d MM.

Economy 38.6mpg so says the trip computer, better than I feared and might get better after 10K

Rattles - I'm paranoid about getting a rattle !!

I do have the B pillar rattle but the MM system drowns it out and I'll get it fixed on first service.

Build quality is good but nowhere near my previous Audi A4 which was hewn from stone and I remain to be convinced that 12 months on it will be rattle free.

Mine is ok at 65mph in 6th but floor the accelerator and the MM suround, dash speaker and something deep in the dash vibrate yes I can drop to 5th but I was hoping for more solidity, again the Audi would be vibration free.

I really must stop reading this forum as I find myself switching off the audio to listen for the slightest rattle!

Annoyances - the interior light switch buttons and control stalks (indicators,wipers, cruise control etc.) are not illuminated and hence I struggle finding them or using them in the dark, all that effort to create LED lighting in footwells etc. and yet Lexus miss some basics.

Should I (or you potential buyer) have gone German? NO - The IS is still special

The new A4 due soon hmm.. might be worth waiting for

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I don't think you should have gone german for some of the same reasons that I didn't (525d).

One of them is exclusivity -you won't be a boring b*****d. Every time I blast up and down the M40 I must see hundreds of 3s, 5s, a4's a6's etc. On the fingers of one hand I can count new IS's.

Customer service is another - economies of scale mean that the more customers an organisation has to support, the less personal the service is. Lexus is #1 in CS for a reason.

Lastly (and probably what swung it for me) is the kit - MM, reverse camera, electric blind, blue scuff plates, LED brakes, vented seats .... the list goes on. Stick those on a beemer and add 10K for a start.

I think on the whole the IS is a great car - and as soon as mine is rattle free I'll be more than happy.

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I cant believe you would even consider going German !

Myself and a work mate got our cars at the same time.

Me a basic Lexus 220d him a New 3series 320d M series estate.

My car has only being back to Lexus twice, the 1st service where I had the 5th injector replaced and the second service at 20k and thats it. I have had no problems with rattles or anything. The vibrating mirror sorted itself out after about 2000 miles and only vibrates when I have that wonderful stereo on really loud.

The bmw owners car has being back for two new sets of Xenon lights as they fill with water, more rattles than mothercare which they still have not sorted out as I was in the car this week and there is a terrible noise coming from the NS "D" post trim.

He was boasting of the things his car had which my basic car matched them all plus more, cd autochanger etc. most of his extras he had to pay for.

My lexus dealer treats me like a lord, the bmw dealer (now that he has the owners money) doesnt care anymore.

Dont get me started on Merc dealers, my local merc dealer saw me as a late twenties waste of space, the bmw dealer trying to push me into minis and the lexus dealer the only one who made me feel special.

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Every time I blast up and down the M40 I must see hundreds of 3s, 5s, a4's a6's etc. On the fingers of one hand I can count new IS's.

That was actually one of the cons against me getting a Lexus IS.

My current car is very rare - since there's only a few hundred Alfa GTA's in the country.

The first one I ever saw I bought, and I haven't seen one since except at Spring Italian day, where there were only about 4 in the midst of thousands of Alfas, Ferraris and Lambos.

On the other hand, the GTA is an Alfa, and they are common enough.

The lexus brand as a whole is much less common than Alfa.

At the same time, again the Alfa 156 is fairly common, and the GTA is a derivative.

(Although not much of it is the same - Nearly all of the body panels were changed, and the chasis is completely different. That's before you even get to suspension, brakes and engine)

As I wait for my IS to arrive, I keep getting quite mopey every time I see my old car parked up anywhere.

I'm really going to miss it a lot.

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Are you really saying that drivers of BMW, Audi or MB are mad, and that we're the only clever ones?

I didn't buy the Lexus 'cos it's not common, but because it represents fab Value for money (it's my own cash). I don't particularly care what anyone else drives - BMW, Audi or other and the numbers of those on the roads isn't importants to me....

For me the car had to be Safe, well made (!), and the family also had a say.

Purley from the test drive, the BMW 320d drove better, had more space in the back, showed 50+mpg on the test drive and clearly a bigger boot. It also seemed quieter at any speed or surface though the ride was a tad knobbly. If just those things were important, I would have bought the 320d. And for many people it will be important so they do!

It had stingy kit (as did the Audi and Merc) and as VFM is the most important thing for me and the family, it had to be the Lex.

One final thing - if you want an Auto Diesel, you can't have a Lexus. So all those auto 320d's, A4 MT's do look appealing, stingy kit or not...if you want Lumbar adjustment but no leather, you can't have a Lexus. If you want auto door locking, you can't have an IS...The list goes on - they come in a handful of flavours and that is it.

There's some to ponder!

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One final thing - if you want an Auto Diesel, you can't have a Lexus. So all those auto 320d's, A4 MT's do look appealing, stingy kit or not...if you want Lumbar adjustment but no leather, you can't have a Lexus. If you want auto door locking, you can't have an IS...The list goes on - they come in a handful of flavours and that is it.

Strangely the one thing I want probably isn't available in any of them.

Leaving the actuation zone with the keys and the car turned off should lock the car and alarm it.

I think I worked out why they didn't do it, though.

If the keys lose signal, or get interference, or lose Battery, then you don't want to be locked in with the alarm on.

G

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