I Have A New Spec Courtesy Car Today....

[tony_hetherington]

Morning all,

Well - this morning I dropped of my 2000W Is200 sport for some clutch/power steering work.

My courtesy car is an '03 Is200sport with Sat Nav. Very nice car it is too......however, I have spotted a couple of differences which are bad in my opinion (rather than an improvement).

Just thought I'd share my thoughts.....

Firstly, the seat can't go as low as the seat in my old-spec car. Is this a recognised thing? As low as the seat goes I still feel VERY high.

Secondly: the display on the radio. On my one it's the old shape radio (cd at bottom) and the courtesy car is a new radio (cd at top)....however, the display is much smaller and much more difficult to read.

The sat nav is flash.....my car doesn't have it, so was having a good old play with it :)

Are the windscreen wipers different on the newer model? They seem very restricted in their movement on the new one (unfortunately it chucked it down on the way back from the dealer).

I'm still unsure about the all-one-colour approach in the cabin (this is just personal preference) though I do like it's "new car feel".

Anyone else have points to add, agree/disagree etc. ?

Thanks

Tony

[Parthiban]

never really had a problem with the seat height (cos i'm not very tall!)

not sure bout the radio display, or windscreen wipers, but had no reason to complain so far

but i definitely prefer the one colour interior (u are talking about the dash arent you?)

also prefer, both electric front seats and smoked rear lights

but dont prefer the new locking mechanism (the old one may have caused problems for silly people, but otherwise its much better)

also dont like the fact that the older cars had more BASS!!!

[Fidgits]

I have a 2000 model, with the 'newer' stereo design, yet I have absolute no issues with the bass. I set it to +3 for Prodigy etc, and normal CD's it's on +4...

[tony_hetherington]

but i definitely prefer the one colour interior (u are talking about the dash arent you?)

yeah i mean the dash. it's growing on me to be honest.

I also like the rear lights......only on darker cars though (both my car and courtesy car are granite sky). I think they look a little out of place on lighter cars (silver/white etc).

The bass I agree about - the older system is definately better, but what I noticed most was the display isn't so big and a tad more "fiddly" to view

[ricky_is200]

I have a 2000 model, with the 'newer' stereo design, yet I have absolute no issues with the bass. I set it to +3 for Prodigy etc, and normal CD's it's on +4...

You have the best of both worlds, the revised head unit but with the better bass.

[Fidgits]

Now that I like

But better than both worlds..

Just fitted the new dark rears this morning

[tony_hetherington]

Now that I like

But better than both worlds..

Just fitted the new dark rears this morning

nice touch !

how much did they cost you ? (if you dont mind my asking!?)

[Fidgits]

erm... 110 quid with GOLD discount :winky:

[kev dood]

When I had the newer model the other week as a loan car I didn't like the new dash (one colour). Looks cheap and nasty. Plus they have kept the goldy colour on the trim round the window switches etc so doesn't match.

Didn't notice seat - I am tall (6ft3) or wipers. Do NOT like the 2 press to lock with interior sensors on and deadlock. Much better the older way. Think they must have got that from the GS300!!

Do like the Strathcon Blue though, looks like it has a hint or purple in it. Bugger to keep clean and stone chips will show like a spotty teenager!!

[tony_hetherington]

erm... 110 quid with GOLD discount

oooo that's tempting !

thanks for the info

[Fidgits]

The funniest thing is I ordered them 2 months ago with Part numbers.... never actually got ordered.

Got refurbished alloys on Monday, asked them about the lights, pointed to the IS300 in showroom saying I wanted those lights, arrived 3 days later!

[Parthiban]

Do like the Strathcon Blue though, looks like it has a hint or purple in it. Bugger to keep clean and stone chips will show like a spotty teenager!!

yeah the strathcaron blue is brilliant, especially for some reason, under the bright lights of a petrol station at night. Shows up all kinds of shades of blue

it does pick up scratches and chips, but as far as cleaning it, its actually quite surprising. I havent washed my car for about a month now (exams and the like), and the car still looks quite clean. Because of this, the dirty alloys actually look like smoked alloys, its all very weird!!

[Geoffers]

I upgraded from a 2000 to new and hate the 2 press for the deadlock. Not sure about the single colour dash - it's growing on me too, but I may just be getting used to it.

I like to sit high so not sure about the seat difference. I have one of the newer systems that people have been talking about with the better bass (9000 series) so no complaints there. It's better than the 2000 (Both had CD at the top).

Windscreen wipers seem the same to me. I do like the triple jets. Got a fright when I first used them as I'd heard nothing about it.

The smoked lights look the part. (Mine's Astral Black)

Have you needed to jam on? The brake assist is phenominal!

[Parthiban]

yeah i managed to activate the brake assist the other day cos some idiot pulled straight out into the road from a side road, but anyway, the brake pedal just stays pressed down even when you release the pressure slightly - brilliant

the new grille also looks so much better than the old one - hence i'm having a really hard time deciding whether i want a sport grille or not ;)