New Car

[is200 Newbie]

I need a bit of help in deciding

I had an Is200 2004 model for a few years and had no issues with it -

I am looking for another car at the moment and am wondering whether the 220 and the 250 IS models are as reliable as the older IS model. Which one would people prefer? I am not looking at new, maybe something around a 2007/2008 plate ... my alternative is looking at an Audi A4.

Anyone one owned and older IS and then a new style one? - Any thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks

[normski2]

Hmmmm

Can 'o worms opened there. I've had all three cars. Will ponder how best to answer then come back and post my reply.

There are quite a lot of variables in both the cars and what your driving demands are.

[normski2]

Righto here goes then

1. Had a is200 Sport Nav for quite a few years. Jolly good it was too...still see it today.

2. A few years ago I changed to a 2007 is220d thinking it would be a good move from the fuel basis. I was then doing a good mileage p.a. of 18K miles or so. Within three months the Head Gasket went and had a new engine and various other bits all sorted by Lexus. I was lucky...i seemed to get a car that returned very good mpg. I would get 39 on my runs to work and up to 50+ on a good journey. Got 54 going to Scotland and across France. The car was very comfortable and was very quiet when driving. It was only noisy at tick over...but hey all diesels are! It went like the clappers too when that turbo kicked in. I used fuel additives and engine treatments as I did not want the engine to soot up when my annual mileage dropped to around 6K. I cleaned the EGR every 5K miles. These diesel engines need to be munching through the miles and getting good and hot. They do not like short stop start journeys. My son's new job lead him to do 20K+ miles p.a. so I ended up giving him the car and touch wood it is going beautifully. I drove it last weekend and was very impressed with the grunt from the diesel/turbo combo. He was showing 46 mpg. There have also been problems with notchy gear changes from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. From my perspective I found 6th gear utterly pointless unless you are doing 90+mph. Having said that 5th is a fairly good ratio and kicks the revs down nicely when doing 70-75mph.

If you are looking at 06/07/08 220d's you need to be aware that is the period where seemingly most of the Head Gasket issues are and have occurred. If you do not have extended warranty this could cost you up to £6000 or so. You need to know exactly what you are buying with one of these. You want FULL LEXUS SERVICE HISTORY and nothing less. You should consider an extended warranty...this will be in the region of £700 p.a. Road Tax on the 220 will be £215.

3. I then got the 250 SEL Auto that I have now. It is divine in my eyes. I accept the mpg cannot be as good..I get 28-30 around town and up to 40 on a run. Going to France in late June so that will be my first long run in the car and I shall be keen to see what I get.

The auto box is seemless and an absolute joy to drive. I love the car from every perspective. My only gripe is the boot has the same narrow throat that the old is200 had and the rear side pillars are a little on the large side and restrict vision a tad. The rear seating is pretty much the same restrictiveness in all three cars. Bear in mind the Auto version is £270 road tax and the manual boxed version is £460.

Go and drive several of each car and choose your one you want. But have your eyes wide open and be prepared to wait for the one you want not what a salesman is trying to convince you to get. Try Audi's too...I did! I was looking at A4 A6 and A5's.

Hope that helps

[bubbles41]

What a good fair review of the cars very impressive.

Is the 220 tax really £215 I,m off to check.

[Silver Arrow]

I would seriously question the wisdom of buying a diesel (any diesel for that matter, but especially the IS220d) if you do less than 12,000 miles p/a. Normski was getting fantastic MPG compared to what I ever got in my IS220d - I would see 22-24 around town, 36-44 on a run at best. My 525d Auto BMW with the 3.0 engine returned 10-20% better than that driven the same....

My GS, which incidentally has the same engine as the IS250, albeit heavier, returns 18-24 around town, and consistently 34-38 on a run (90% m'way and 10% urban roads)!

I agree with Normski though - if you want diesel - buy an Audi or a BMW!

[is200 Newbie]

I put 30k faultless miles on the last IS i had and that was over two years - mileage now will be around 7k with the daily comute being a round trip of around 10 miles. The car was just under the 100k mark when i lost it and drove faultless.

I like the cars refinement and so was looking for the next model up - i had an LE model before which had everything on it bar a kitchen sink but lost it last year as an insurance write off and am now in the position to look at other cars so thought the logical thing would be would be to look at a newer model. I am not in a hurry and am still looking out for a 200 LE models if the right one comes up.

Without knowing the reliability of the newer models i would be a bit reluctant to spent quite a bit on a high miler - the ones being advertised have done upwards of 50 - 60k miles. Like Normski said I have heard from a Lexus mechanic that there was a lot of trouble with the 220 engines in blowing gaskets and he told me to steer clear and if thinking of a newer model to go for the 250.

I have the time to look for a good one - thanks for the info above.

[normski2]

What a good fair review of the cars very impressive.

Is the 220 tax really £215 I,m off to check.

I'm sure mine was...I think? Now I'm questioning my memory!!

2007 220d pretty sure it was £215p.a.

[Shepherd]

My reason for buying the 220d was that it was 2K cheaper than the same spec IS250. I used to do about 10K miles but since buying the 220d I am doing 15 - 20K miles a year. Just so many journeys that I would have taken a train or coach but now I drive as I enjoy it much more.

[bubbles41]

My reason for buying the 220d was that it was 2K cheaper than the same spec IS250. I used to do about 10K miles but since buying the 220d I am doing 15 - 20K miles a year. Just so many journeys that I would have taken a train or coach but now I drive as I enjoy it much more.

Nice to hear a positive comment,Glad to hear your enjoying it :)