Hello From New Member And Lexus Is200 Fuel Consumption

[AMG fan]

Hi guys, im Mark and im new to the forum, I have always liked the IS200 and im now thinking about buying one, been into my mercs recently and im currently running an `98 AMG E55 which is an animal, I have grown tired of the MPG, while driving to Le Mans she achieved 25MPG fully loaded, she also managed that on my daily commute down the motorway, now my commute consists of 6 miles to work then 0.5 mile to lunch and back again and the MPG has dropped to 15 and now 18 on a run, the car is not happy and its time for somebody to use her properly, I was wondering if anybody else did a similar commute and what the real world MPG of the 2litre IS would be, I understand this is not an ideal commute for any vehicle as it pretty much goes everywhere on its choke/warm up cycle and I thought a smaller engine would use less fuel, a 2 litre Merc doesnt really go anywhere as I also do very long drives to see mates and watch motorsport but I dont know if I could bring myself to buy a diesel for the long drives as im a petrolhead, I read on honest john (where I found this site) that you have to thrash the IS200 to get it to move, is this true? I know after an AMG anything will be less punchy, but I like the reports if precise gearboxes, I like the dash, the seats and the look if the IS, moneywise they are worth about as much as the AMG so im only really reducing my fuel bill,

I know nobody on here will tell me they are rubbish but am I doing the right thing by buying an IS?

[lexynik]

Hello and welcome - from the sound of it youre going to get similar mpg on your commute with a 200 , it will however feel a bit like youre driving with the handbrake on by comparison,,,,,,, test drive a 200 and youll know what i mean ,,, imo look for a 300 as prices are about the same and mpg too but lots more toys and performance

[Parthiban]

The IS200 is not the best car if fuel economy is the key factor, the manual is better than the auto but my auto averages around 24mpg, and if mainly town driving it's usually around 20-21mpg.

As above if you're used to an auto then the IS300 might make sense as there isn't a lot in it fuel wise but the car will feel like less of a power drop from the AMG monster you're currently used to (please post pics as I love AMG mercs!)

All the power is at the top end (kicks in at about 4k revs) so you do need to rev it hard to get the best out of it. The supercharger helps sort this out but that's extra expense plus they're pretty hard to get hold of nowadays.

In terms of fuel I'd think a BMW would probably make a better option, but I love my IS, it's a great car, still looks great, drives great and has been pretty much trouble free for the 8 years I've owned it. If you drive one and like it, and don't mind the not great fuel economy, then you definitely won't be disappointed.

[MärkJ]

Mine's a manual and I average 31mpg if I drive conservatively. This works out at just over 400 miles from a full tank until the low fuel light comes on. Granted, this is a mixture of town and highway driving but my daily commute is only 2 miles there and 2 miles back again and is all through stop/start town.

[Garthy]

Mine's a manual and I average 31mpg if I drive conservatively. This works out at just over 400 miles from a full tank until the low fuel light comes on. Granted, this is a mixture of town and highway driving but my daily commute is only 2 miles there and 2 miles back again and is all through stop/start town.

Walk it and your MPG's will shoot right up! :P I get about 25 on an even mix of town and motorway.

I would say that the lack of low-end poke is probably the only downside to owning an IS200, but they are fantastic cars, and I'm chuffed to bits with mine!

[DaveEdin]

Am generally 29/30ish for mpg... light comes on around 395-400 miles or so...

[AMG fan]

thankyou for your comments gentlemen, the IS is still very much in the running, struggling to get my head around selling a car worth X, buying one worth X which has the same MPG for the majority of my driving but less power, MarkJ, pleased to see that somebody with a similar commute can get a respectable MPG, I was looking at a Ford Puma (had one years ago and they are great little cars) or a smart roadster, funnily enough the guy I brought the AMG off had one, but I wouldnt fancy taking either of those on the motorway, having had a few S classes as well I do like to be in a bigger car and both of the others are just too small and I would be revving the nuts off of them to do 70mph,

The good thing about the IS is that is sits in the middle, has a wonderfull dash, its reliable, looks great, comes in interesting colours and has things like heated alcantara seats, although the merc has heated leather it still cold on contact in the winter!

I am also toying up a C270 diesel, but its a diesel and I have owned an Audi Quattro diesel before and the fuel pumps seem to leak and it gets on your hands and stinks, and I also doubt that the big iron lump under the bonnet would be warm when I get to work, thus running on warm-up cycle and thus bad MPG, also for the money the IS has more toys and less miles,

been looking at these;

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201046373174661/sort/priceasc/usedcars/colour/red/model/is/make/lexus/page/2/radius/1500/postcode/gu105ph?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201045372688142/sort/priceasc/usedcars/colour/red/model/is/make/lexus/radius/1500/page/1/postcode/gu105ph?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201042371250814/sort/priceasc/usedcars/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/model/is/make/lexus/page/1/postcode/gu105ph/radius/30?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201044372292057/sort/priceasc/usedcars/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/model/is/make/lexus/page/1/postcode/gu105ph/radius/30?logcode=p

and you do seem to get a lot for your money!

Parthiban - few pics from Le Mans trip, also a video, not how I usually drive but it is Le Mans!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=25&t=865342&mid=0&nmt=Old%20shape%20E55%20burnout%20-%20what%20happened?

[fjcfarrar]

thankyou for your comments gentlemen, the IS is still very much in the running, struggling to get my head around selling a car worth X, buying one worth X which has the same MPG for the majority of my driving but less power, MarkJ, pleased to see that somebody with a similar commute can get a respectable MPG, I was looking at a Ford Puma (had one years ago and they are great little cars) or a smart roadster, funnily enough the guy I brought the AMG off had one, but I wouldnt fancy taking either of those on the motorway, having had a few S classes as well I do like to be in a bigger car and both of the others are just too small and I would be revving the nuts off of them to do 70mph,

The good thing about the IS is that is sits in the middle, has a wonderfull dash, its reliable, looks great, comes in interesting colours and has things like heated alcantara seats, although the merc has heated leather it still cold on contact in the winter!

I am also toying up a C270 diesel, but its a diesel and I have owned an Audi Quattro diesel before and the fuel pumps seem to leak and it gets on your hands and stinks, and I also doubt that the big iron lump under the bonnet would be warm when I get to work, thus running on warm-up cycle and thus bad MPG, also for the money the IS has more toys and less miles,

Realistically, you are going to get 20 to 30+ mpg. It is ultra-dependent on how you drive. It takes a while to get used to getting the best out of the smooth straight 6 which needs to be driven very differently from a sporty 4. The IS200 is no ball of fire and seems worse than it is because it is so smooth - which to some makes the drive seem a bit dull. However, a big plus is the low running costs because of exceptional reliability. You can expect a good one to never need any spares or repairs for years. IS300's extra power gives a more exciting drive, and is auto only - but if you use the extra grunt, the fuel consumption (which is a bit worse anyway) suffers badly.

[doog442]

double post

[doog442]

I took a test drive in an IS300 and was blown away but couldnt afford it at the time. I never thought the IS200 would come near it, although to be honest wasnt really looking at performance, more the all round package. As a result was put off even looking at an IS200. When I eventually did i was really impressed with the IS200 and ended up buying one...you need to put your foot down to make it go (watch that fuel needle dive when you do).It doesnt really inspire confidence at the traffic lights if someone pulls up alongside, however not too many people try it on for some reason!!

I get about 360 miles to a tank around town.

[AMG fan]

thanks for the info again guys, there are lots of people posting how many miles to a tank, how big is the tank? I got 400 miles from mine on the way to Le Mans this year but the tank takes 80 litres plus 10 reserve and cost £85 this summer!

[fjcfarrar]

thanks for the info again guys, there are lots of people posting how many miles to a tank, how big is the tank? I got 400 miles from mine on the way to Le Mans this year but the tank takes 80 litres plus 10 reserve and cost £85 this summer!

The tank is 70 litres (15.4 Gallons), so doog442's 360 miles for a tankful works out as 23.4 mpg around town. This isn't too bad or unusual for driving in traffic. Over 30 mpg is easily possible on motorways sticking to speed limits some of the time. The 38% more powerful IS300 is likely to be about 15% thirstier overall. If you are a terrible driver with a lead foot, always swapping lanes and looking for every gap to launch into then slamming on the brakes; you can easily bring the IS200 down to 17-18 mpg without arriving anywhere sooner. Note: "Sport" versions have absolutely identical performance but have a LSD, are slightly lowered and have perforated pedals. They attract the drivers just mentioned and can suffer from premature wear as a result.

[cluvie]

ive an is200 2001..i bought it to sell on tbh but slowly and surely im falling in love with it...its so comfortable and the gear box is so sweet..not to mention the beautiful sound from the engine compartment...i find her terrible around town mpg wise..however on a decent journey shes excellent..i done what i call a pump test..filled her up to the scut done 160 miles of various types of driving and filled her up to the scut again..she returned a healthy 33 mpg which im happy with. Compared to my previous car a 1998 1.6 avensis 4afe which i restored myself she returned over 40 mpg so any car compared to this i feel will fail miserably..like everything else you pay for your comfort :)