Time To Say Goodbye To My Is220!

[reeves1985]

finally decided to part ways with my IS220 after 2 years and 45k miles

in 2 years i have only had a few minor problems and recently had the egr replaced because it had given up the ghost and other than the usual wear and tear nothing major.

Again great reliabilty from a top brand

the 220 split the views on here and is a bit like marmite some love it some hate it.

i can honestly say i loved the car and it has been a pleasure to drive i think i was lucky as my mpg was not to bad and managed from 40mpg in the winter to 45/46mpg in the warmer months.

the car has served me well but it is time to part ways after reaching just short of 100k on the odo i fancied a change,

The good new is i will still be knocking around these forums aking for help and advice for my new baby which is being picked up on tuesday. I have decided to dip my hand into the new tech of hybrid land and have opted for a 11 plate CT200h premier after falling in love with the way it drives!!

also i think the snazzy nav screen and operation mouse? with the really nice soft leather give the car even more of a luxuary feel

being 26 i loved the ride and handleing of the car and it was pokey as well plenty of uumph for what i need the car for

i went into the dealer with 2 main criteria and 1 that would be nice but not a deal breaker

1. must have nav (after having it on my 2 previous IS's)

2. must have leather seats (again from 2 previous IS's)

and the one i ideally would like was the electric drivers seat

i managed to find a car slightly out of my budget but with a bit of haggling with the boss and making it clear if they could reach my price i would buy there and then but if not that i would walk and go to lexus lincoln.

they key was making them believe i was being serious about it, which i was and right down to the last £98 i came away a happy customer having agreeing on the car i wanted and giving lexus sheffield a big thumbs up because after agreeing on a price they actually pointed out the car had a scuff which i did not see and said it will be sorted before pickup witha full tank of fuel.

Top guys

with me doing circa 20k a year i want to see how the hybrid fuel economy and tech stands up to my personal driving style (which is certanly not boy racer, nor is it grandad style)

if i can acheive 55-60mpg i will be happy as along with the road tax exemption saving and hopefully cheaper insurance costs, while not expecting it to save me money in the short term it will certainly allow me to only pay out a similar amount to what i currently do for a newer very hi quality motor.

having now agreed to purchase this car and having looked at numerous i would advise anyone who is thinking about it to get in and have a drive, the car certainly doesnt feel much smaller than my IS.

But equally if you can look at the premier range as i think some of the standard features of the IS (i.e folding mirrors and electric drivers seat etc) are only available as standard in the premier model

Sorry about the long post!!!!

just another happy customer For the THIRD time :phone:

[Carl911]

Looks very nice, I have heard mixed reviews on these to but personally I have never driven one.

They certainly look cool on the inside.

I currently have both 220d & 250 petrol and love both cars so I understand where you are coming from on the 220d.

I will certainly be considering the hybrid route for my next purchase although that won't be for a few years yet.

You will have to give us a review of economy etc after a month of ownership etc.

Would be interesting to hear how you rate it.

Carl

[reeves1985]

yes i certainly will

another interesting thing that lexus sheff told me if people didnt know was that the IS is changing in 2013 and that too is going to hybrid drive so obviously could be another consideration

my current 220 is silver with cream leather and iv decided to go for silver again with black leather trim

love the cream interior its just a bi**h to keep clean and to clean when dirty.

[jason61c]

I had great service from there too. Also as you said, I said a price and they eventually came down to it. :)

[reeves1985]

Yeah they are top people

Everybody knows that cars have a markup like anything else the beauty with car dealers is as long as the price you say isn't daft you can usually get there managed to get £2250 off

So not a bad day out

[bluenose1940]

Yeah they are top people

Everybody knows that cars have a markup like anything else the beauty with car dealers is as long as the price you say isn't daft you can usually get there managed to get £2250 off

So not a bad day out

Your new car looks super, very very smart. I have test driven one recently and my cousin has one and it may be that I will go for one in the future but, for the time being I am in love with my 250.

Are you intending to do anything about the spare-wheel problem. I pointed my cousin in the right direction following my reading of a post on here whilst he was holidaying in France with his fingers crossed that he wouldn't get a puncture whilst he was over there. I sent him a text with the details and he went and bought one on his return. I think that he paid about £350.00 but he now has so much more peace of mind knowing that there is a proper spare in the boot.

[reeves1985]

i hadnt really thought about the spare wheel situation but i will address that issue at some point

i was seriously considering a 250 fsport today but the only put of for me on the 250 against the ct was insurance as my insurance is expensive even with 7 years ncb at £1300 at 26!!! that would increase a bit as the 250 is higher insurance bracket

the second thing was fuel economy which is why i had the 220 in the first place over the 250

im not unrealistic and am not expecting to get 65-70mpg out of the ct but if i can get 55mpg as opposed to 40mpg in the 220 it is still a saving doing 20k miles a year and then there is the road tax exemption.

otherwise i would have bought the fsport 250 very very nice cars

i must say when the ct first came out i hated it and thought lexus had made a massive mistake with a high end hatch but to say it has grown on me is an understatement and then after driving the car it fits me down to the ground

as i said in the op it wont suit everybody but i have seen people saying the ride is stiffer than the 220/250 but personally compared to my 220 i think it drives better than mine but maybe thats down to it being newer

another thing i love is the steering wheel!! its smaller than the 220 but its chunky and feels really good in the hand

[Exdee]

Congrats!

My gf has a CT200h and I drive it every so often. Usually avg's between 65-68mpg in town in eco mode in stop and go traffic in London if you drive it super gently. The key to higher avg's and good Battery charge is developing a habit of letting the accelerator go early when you are anticipating a stop. Being a hybrid it is not a good performer on motorways. Anything over 60MPH and your mpg will start to fall

One thing I don't like about the car is the CVT gearbox. It is annoyingly loud when accelerating hard. Just feels like the engine is going to blow or something. You may not notice it coming from a diesel.

I hope you enjoy your car. Keep us posted.

[reeves1985]

Haha yeah my diesel is rather loud!!!

I didn't notice much when I booted it on the test drive

Tbf I drive circa 20k miles a year and about 2 thirds is a and B roads over wood head to Manx etc and a bit on motorways

If I can average 55mpg all told I will be a happy camper