Noobie With An Is200

[VLM]

Hi there, I acquired an '03 IS200 a few weeks ago, it seems to have the TTE body kit and "aero" 18" alloys. Just 55kmiles, very nice drive. This is my first RWD, and the biggest wheels by a large margin (15" up till now), and my first 6cyl. The car rides very nicely even with the shallow rubber, corners amazingly and shrugs off mid corner bumps almost spookily. It's a bit crazy on rough back roads, what with twitching left and right and tramlining. I see there are alternative wheel alignment settings which I shall investigate. Front tyre wear is right on the inside edge which to my mind needs camber adjustment.

First few tankfuls of fuel have given a consistent 35-36mpg so pleased with that - mainly open road driving. You seem to have to rev it to get it to go. It seems very low geared, 6th gear matches with 4th in my Volvo V70. 4th 5th and 6th are very close ratios - surely 6th could be a bit higher? I often skip a gear or two - 3rd straight to 6th for example.

I do my own maintenance and so far it seems a nice straightforward car to work on - only done an oil change so far but will do all the fluids and the cambelt in due course.

Cheers
VLM

[Gruntfuggly]

Hi Dan/VLM - you've basically just summed me up too - bought mine about 3 months ago, with exactly the same scenario (had a Calibra before)...

I'm in love with mine - great drive, smooth and quiet, great sound system and very comfortable.

You're right about the gear ratios - I tend to get into 6th as soon as possible (5th seems pointless) - and there's enough power to stay in 6th at fairly low speeds, so it keeps the mpg gauge as high as possible.

The only niggles I have are:

- it 'clunks' when changing from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, which is apparently normal.

- sometimes at speeds over 70 (not too often honestly) there is a low 'hum' which I assume is wear in the prop shaft or something

- I get an odd noise when turning left at 20+, which sounds like the pads rubbing on the discs.

Note - they're all noises! So I just keep the stereo turned up and theres no problems!

You should upload some pics of your car - I need to upload some of mine too...

[petayV8]

Yeah very easy to work on and parts are cheap, unlike some of the bigger cars. Seems alot of ppl coming from a Volvo background ive noticed. Have fun

[IHgs300]

Welcome to the club Dan.

[VLM]

Yep my suspension is rather clunky but it passed its MOT no problem. There's no play anywhere. If you bought it new you might complain but at 10 years I'm not bothered, though I do like to keep my cars in top condition. This one is unmarked except for a fair few chips on the front bumper, and it needs a good polish. The interior is the part leather / alcantara which I prefer to full leather. The sunroof is nice, always wanted one.

The engine takes a bit of getting used to - by that I mean the torque actually increases with rpm. So the acceleration you get at 40 rises as your speed rises. The guy initially on your tail as you leave a 40 zone gets left in the distance. It seems strange to be in 6th at 30mph, the ratio is so close to 5th it seems a bit pointless. The engine is almost like a turbine - you just keep on winding it up, and the temptation on the motorway is to see how far it will go. Anyone tried?

What got me into the Lexus is my other car, the Volvo V70. I bought that 3 years ago for £1200 and its the best car I've bought. Still worth £800 now. And a 5cyl engine with a lovely growl when you rev it. It made me realise you can get great cars for not much money if you pick carefully. The Lexus has the same solidity and simpleness. (The Lexus replaced a Honda Jazz - yeah a bit of a change I know - no comparison though I won't knock it as it did what it did well and at 50mpg. Just awful ride and steering).

[petayV8]

What got me into the Lexus is my other car, the Volvo V70. I bought that 3 years ago for £1200 and its the best car I've bought. Still worth £800 now. And a 5cyl engine with a lovely growl when you rev it. It made me realise you can get great cars for not much money if you pick carefully. The Lexus has the same solidity and simpleness. (The Lexus replaced a Honda Jazz - yeah a bit of a change I know - no comparison though I won't knock it as it did what it did well and at 50mpg. Just awful ride and steering).

Does make you wonder why ppl will spend 7k on a brand new Corsa or something when theres so much great stuff on the used market not to mention for £1200. Luckily for me i always wanted a IS it was just a bonus for me they were dirt cheap, im not complaining tho!

[CrankyApe]

Welcome.

I was the same always wanted an IS200 and they are so cheap now and now I'm old enough not to worry about price of insurance I thought what the heck and bought one and I have had some decent cars and I prefer this one over everything else I've had. They were a BMW 325, a BMW 318 convertible, MK2 MR2, Impreza, 2.5 Legacy..... The lexus tops them all.

[VLM]

Never driven a beemer...not my kind of badge. I did think of the Legacy Outback but they seemed pricey plus a bit big since I already have a V70. I reckon the seats are better in my Volvo though - I'd take that by preference for a long motorway drive. Otherwise I'm impressed by the thought, build quality and drive of the thing.

[petayV8]

Welcome.

I was the same always wanted an IS200 and they are so cheap now and now I'm old enough not to worry about price of insurance I thought what the heck and bought one and I have had some decent cars and I prefer this one over everything else I've had. They were a BMW 325, a BMW 318 convertible, MK2 MR2, Impreza, 2.5 Legacy..... The lexus tops them all.

yeah same. I could of afforded one when buying my 2nd car but insurance was a bit high so was patiant and got one when I hit 25. Some nice cars youve had my lex is only my 3rd

[matt-c]

Never driven a beemer...not my kind of badge.

Gotta say, that's a very narrowminded way of thinking you've got there.....

[IHgs300]

Never driven a beemer...not my kind of badge.

Gotta say, that's a very narrowminded way of thinking you've got there.....

It's just personal taste Matt, never driven one but i'd never buy a skoda. Just my personal taste.

[noby76]

nice cars the IS's... and cant really fault them.. tho they starting to get old now by todays standards even though they still hold thier own..only thing i will fault mine on is the onlimit handling when approaching sharp corners (still dont kow if its just mine or does most also experience this?).. the rears have the tendancy to kick out a lot and not as planted on the limit in very tight cornering as most BM's Merc's and hothatches but they are all newer models so have obvioulsy improved in the handling dept compared to our ageing IS's mine has been WIM'd but still no joy. cant fault the braking and striaght line performance tho. owned BMW and driven 330Ci BMW M Sport lots of times as my mate owns it and where it beats the IS is the on limit tight bend handling and sport exhaust note but apart from that cant think of why BMW would be a better car tbh so you not missing anything. like you said Lexus's have some solidity and simpleness to them and they not common which i like. am also being tempted on a 3.0R Legacy for the fact that its AWD or maybe try out turbo power for once and go AWD MPS Mazda.

[petayV8]

Oh yes definitely dated but not a priority for me, im a classic car lover also, i would quite happily drive around in a 80s V8 Cadillac and you dont get much more dated than that lol. This video is a good example of what im getting at. and you can guess what ide choose