Is300 Slow?

[noby76]

Hi guys I am a bit baffled by this I have owned my IS300 since January and I must say! WHAT A CAR…official reviews about these cars doesn’t do it justice or give it the credit it really deserves! These reviews paint the Lexus IS300 as being slow doesn’t handle as good as the German competition and was only offered in Automatic form which doesn’t select the right gears properly!! I tell you this… all these accusations are false and I wonder if these review companies were being bias in favour of German cars!

Well I must say I like to have fun on the roads when permitted and safe to do so without exceeding speed limits or putting any one else in danger. I have been challenged by over confident cocky Audi A6 3.0TDI(240 bhp) , Sabb 93 1.8 turbo(150 bhp), Audi A5 3.0 TDI (240 bhp), BMW 530i (228 bhp), MG ZR (160 bhp) and none of these cars have managed to hung on. This was both in straight line performance and around the corners and yes these drivers had their foot to the metal! What surprised me was the fact that a cocky BMW M5 tried in vain to get past me on the M1 and yes this guy had his foot down though there were 2 other people in his car but come on 500bhp? I was expecting this guy to blow me into the hard shoulder. So my question is do Lexus lower the true performance figures of their cars or do the Germans over rate their performance figures but in real life the situation is different. Maybe it might be the fact that the IS300 has a Supra engine(2JZ-GE) not sure but I haven’t lost to anything that has flexed their muscles trying to bully me off the road yet.

Has any IS200/300 drivers noticed these cars perform more than the figures and reviews suggest or am I lucky to have one which for some reason is performing above its capabilities?

[MärkJ]

I can't say for the IS300 as it's been ages since I drove one. My IS200 isn't mindblowing in a straight line but it more than makes up for that by being able to keep the power on in the corners without any drama whatsoever. Okay, so I have uprated suspension on mine but it was still very good before the upgrade.

[noby76]

yeh most I200 owners complain about the straight line performance which in a way I will agree being 153bhp but the IS300 even in automatic is ridiculously fast and I mean this was against cars that are held up so high by review companies and always beat down the IS300! not sure what Lexus has done but in ECT pwr mode the trottle response is instant the car picks up regardless of any rev am in without loosing torque and even feels like its got more than 5 gear ratios becuase of the way it shifts might be the VVT-i but havent lost to any bullying German car driver out there yet! Mine is complete standard from factory without any modifications to suspension or engine. was reading more about the 2JZ-GE engine and apparantly it does have a performance yamaha developed head and sport Cams where as the IS200's 1G-FE has an economy head and narrow valves for economy so mite explain why IS200 drivers get frustrated with its performance as the cars chasis can handle more power!

[steve2006]

Has the GS300 got the same engine as the IS300 or is it something different?

[noby76]

Yes they are the same 2JZ-GE supra engine but I think Lexus has done something with the setup of the engine for the IS300 maybe they mapped it or gave it a different gear ratios cus the power of this thing is insane dont get me wrong its definatley no IS-F,ferrai, or GT-R but against cars I was expecting to walk all over me it held its on the they couldnt keep up! no wonder any engine tuner regards the 2JZ-GE engine as the best inline six engine ever produced in the world.. becuase they can hanndle powers exceeding 1000BHP with just slight modifications to thier internals!

[andy m w]

interesting post , , i spent the first 4 months with my is300 enjoying the gentle quality drive but last month discovered the ECT pwr button or the manual change on steering wheel gave the car a real edge , ,almost like a remap ?

as for keeping up the germans ? there aint no comparison with my V8 6 series . . . . it would blow the lexus away with handbrake on , , 333bhp not really a fair fight is it ?

enjoy the 300 mate , ,sold mine last week to father in law & seriously regret it , , ,£2500 !! should have kept it

[noby76]

I do agree a V8 4.4 litre has the advantage of bigger capacity and two more cylinders. but will let you in on a secret most people miss! sometihing called power to weight ratio..your 645 has 328 to be exact but weighs 1690kg which gives it a power to weight ratio of 194 bhp per tone IS300 has 211 and weighs 1500kg which gives it a power to weight ration of 140 bhp per tone so a 645Ci sounds like its got 117 more horses than IS300 but in reality on has just 54bhp as the rest of the horses are used to shift its huge weight of 1690 kg and if your 645Ci does not have a close gear ratio I might just hang on to your coat tails so definately no blowing me away! why dont you ask the two Audi 3.0TDI drivers with 240bhp and 500NM of tourque at hand and still couldnt slaughter a 2JZ-GE with a mere 211bhp and 288NM or tourque without a turbo strapped to it!

[ColinBarber]

If it is was a true M5 and the driver wanted to, you would have been left standing still.

The IS300 isn't too slow, certainly better than the IS200, but it isn't what I would call quick and whilst the engine has some parts that look the same as a Supra it is missing a couple of turbos which make a big difference

The 2JZ-GE is designed for smoothness, not out and out power.

[noby76]

thats true it was a real M5 Colin with 2 more occupants was really surprised by the baby lexus perfornance and just watched a couple of stock M5 dynos and guess what they put out around 360 to 420 bhp at the wheels so that tells me they have a huge drive loss percentage watched about 6 videos and none reaching or close to the 500bhp stated! but IS300 is definately not a slow car as painted by official car reviewers and I bought i because it was not as common on the roads as.. well we all know those three main brands!

[andy m w]

I do agree a V8 4.4 litre has the advantage of bigger capacity and two more cylinders. but will let you in on a secret most people miss! sometihing called power to weight ratio..your 645 has 328 to be exact but weighs 1690kg which gives it a power to weight ratio of 194 bhp per tone IS300 has 211 and weighs 1500kg which gives it a power to weight ration of 140 bhp per tone so a 645Ci sounds like its got 117 more horses than IS300 but in reality on has just 54bhp as the rest of the horses are used to shift its huge weight of 1690 kg and if your 645Ci does not have a close gear ratio I might just hang on to your coat tails so definately no blowing me away! why dont you ask the two Audi 3.0TDI drivers with 240bhp and 500NM of tourque at hand and still couldnt slaughter a 2JZ-GE with a mere 211bhp and 288NM or tourque without a turbo strapped to it!

in past 2 years have had 2 911,s(1 aircooled auto / 1 watercooled manual) , 1 520d(remapped) ,1 20v turbo passat (remapped) & currently the 645ci , ,the IS300 was family motor but in comparison with above performance isn,t one thing the car will be remembered for , , it was hardly raucous nor do i remember it ever pinning me to the seat when pulling away or feeling at 90mph with foot to floor that i was scared to see how far i could take it , , ,

to me the lexus 300 will always be a refined midrange cruiser with decent topspeed & civilised quiet character , , ,a racer it certainly wasn,t

myabe yours has been modded ? with intercooler ?

[noby76]

nope its a standard engine and i know a little bit about engines to know if its got the garret turbo strapped to it or not! my prevous car was a ford cougar V6 so yes am used to a car with a bit of ommph! was just a bit surprised at its performance against the competion which the IS300 was made to look like it didnt stand a chance...

[andy m w]

as far as i was aware the VVTi engines are designed for midrange performance & torque when given some pedal & low speed town economy ( eerrmmm 22/25mpg) ) & therefore quite sleepy unless revved over 3500 . never took mine to the max but it did feel like it would go right up the rev range ?

great car & enjoyed the ownership experience , ,glad its still in the family , ,too good to let it go for nissan almera money

[noby76]

thats spot on cus most of the challenge and accelration was done at mid range so i guess the VVT-i is more responsive than double Vanos used in your 645 or the M5 as it took the M5 driver a while to catch up to me when i floored it on the M1 . I am guessing its the VVT-i which gives me that burst of rapid mid range accelration due to the Cam phase moving to allow more air into the chambers! Yes it definately no sports car but it never got the recognition it deserved for its capabilies i feel..

[noby76]

guys you wouldnt believe this and the driver couldnt beleive it either ! took on a Porche Carrera 4S yesterday and it wasnt a granny driving it either! yes you read it right a Porche Carrera 4S cus i was behind so saw what he was driving and guess who came out on top? the car with big L at the back! we had a rolling start from about 30mph pulling out of a roundabout all the way into the 3 digits. I tell you what Lexus is a bad ***** car cus i kept up till about 70mph then the 2JZ-GE burts into life past that. After 70 the porche felt like a sitting duck on the road and overtook with ease this was at two seperate roundabouts so yes this guy wanted to show me who the 'boss' was and he had his foot down. A Carrera 4S is a 3.8litre engine has 350bhp and 400NM of torque so am still baffled as to why the IS300 in ECT-PWR mode is so fast! the engine is completly standard with no modifications i.e. no Turbo so either Lexus delibrately puts down the real power figure of this car or they have got the gearing so perferct it doesnt need extra horses to put power down to the tarmac effectively! I have only changed my spark plugs recently, also using Castrol Magnatec 5W30 and running Esso 97 RON fuel! if that counts as modification I dont know but this car is fast even without a Turbo!which makes me wonder what the Turbo'd version can do.. the look on the Porche drivers face was dis believe am guessing he mite be trading that car in for an ISF.....

[The Transporter]

Can I have some of what you guys are smoking? The IS 200 and IS 300 are in my opinion far nicer and more reliable than any German battle cruiser but neither IS is a rocket ship.... I got overtaken the other day by a Prius on the M62. By your logic the Prius must be a Supercar......Maybe the driver of the M5 and the Porker wasn't aware that you were racing ....

[steve2006]

Everybody overtakes me in the LS, with just 72,000 miles on it from new I still have the "Running In Please Pass" sticker in the rear window!

[noby76]

Can I have some of what you guys are smoking? The IS 200 and IS 300 are in my opinion far nicer and more reliable than any German battle cruiser but neither IS is a rocket ship.... I got overtaken the other day by a Prius on the M62. By your logic the Prius must be a Supercar......Maybe the driver of the M5 and the Porker wasn't aware that you were racing ....

wasnt smoking anything and i can tell when another driver on the road wants to give a challenge and when they are just cruising based on the agressiveness of thier driving i.e thier speed and how they take the corners and the Porsche driver was not cruising ! my guess will be German cars are designed and geared for 0-60 times just to sell thier cars cus this Porsche opened bout 2 car lenghts when we started off from about 30mph but ounce we got past 70 he was pulling but not fast enough. for some strange reason this engine under the hood of the is300 feels like a turbo after 70-80mph although i dont feel a kick you could hear the intake sucking in huge amount of air with help of VVT-i and with regards to the 2JZ-GE engine in IS300 every tuner knows you can gain 1000bhp if you can force a lot of air into the cylinders without changing cams, head etc. the 1G-FE engine in the IS200 is more for economy with an economy head and cams! Any toyota/Lexus engine which ends with GE has a performance yamaha built head and sports cams.

4A-GE 20valve found in Corrolla GT /MR2

3S-GE 16Valve found in Altezza

1JZ-GE found in Supra/Soarrer

2JZ-GE found in IS300/Supra/Aristo

2JZ-GTE found in Supra/Aristo

2ZZ-GE found in 1.8 Celica 190/Lotus Elise

So as you can see all these Sports Toyota cars are/were powered by engines ending with GE codes cus they are specially built and tuned by Yamaha.

[noby76]

I rest my case! this is a 2JZ-GE engine forcing more air into its cylinders with the aid of a turbo charger!

[noby76]

see how the lambo opens up 2-3 car lenghts based on 0-60 design but past that thats when 2JZ-GE's come alive.

[The Transporter]

Ha! All I see is another puppy looking for a ditch to park in... Ain't Google and Wiki a great thing?

[noby76]

Ha! All I see is another puppy looking for a ditch to park in... Ain't Google and Wiki a great thing?

drive a 2JZ-GE powered car and you will see what I am talking about! even without a turbo aiding the engine.

[The Transporter]

I have....And It was a very nice small family car... Your point?

[noby76]

point is 2JZ-GE engines produce more power and torque than stated and am basing this on other cars which have challenged me and on paper have bigger powerful engines but in reality could not keep up when it mattered with all the hype about thier performance!

[The Transporter]

I'm sorry but I'm not too sure what you are trying to say... Are you saying that your IS300 automatic is the fastest car in the world? or are you saying that you are a world class racing driver that no one knows about?

[noby76]

what i meant to say was I drive an IS300 powered by one of the best inline six cylinder engines in the world and you dont! hope this clears things up between us.