Guys & Gals,
Please bear with me.
Firstly, I'd like to introduce myself.
Full English - A diverse character with a GSOH, I'm new to this forum but not forums in general so I am familiar with the lingo and how to post pics etc. I'm based in the south-east of the UK and WLTM a young, fema ....(sh :tsktsk: t) wrong seciton.... :D
Anyway enough about me.
My current car is: BMW e36 325i Coupe. 2.5 litre straight six. 192bhp
As nice as my car is, it's old and I fancy sometihng new. I've decided agaisnt getting another BMW, purely because variety is the spice of life.
So my requirements are:
Must be within my budget. I have approx. £6k to play with.
Insurance friendly. Anything below £800 is good for me.
At least 150 BHP - I like to have some power
RWD / 4WD - I like cars that handle well
Reliable - i.e. nothing french. Pref Jap / German
After umm-ing and arr-ing over lots of possible cars I came up with a shortlist:
Subaru Impreza - Bit old, boy racerish image
Mitsi Evo - Bit over budget, again, bit boy racerish
Supra - Need to fork out for a good one, 3.0 TT would be thirsty.
VW GOlf GTi - Too boring - FWD - er, whats that all about?!
Honda Integra Type R - boy racerish
Honda Civic Typr R - Pricey still.
I then stumbled upon the Lexus IS200. After doing a little research on the car, it seemed to suit my requirements down to a T.
It's RWD, 153bhp, around the £6k mark, looks ok (shame there is no coupe model) and the for the Sport I was quoted £455 FC with DirectLine. Interesting I thought.
To carry on my research of the Lexus IS200 further, I thought I'd join a forum full of people in the know. As I did with my BMW a few years back.
So I have a few questions to put to you lot that I hope you can help me with.
I have a basic knowledge the cars and their specs but please bear with me as I do not know as much about them as all of you.....yet :winky:
So....
1. Do the Sport and Nav models have the same basic spec as the SE + their respective extras (lowered suspension - Sport / Sat-nav - Nav) ?
2. Whats the Altezza all about? I think it's an import, does this have more power? more toys?
3. When I had an insurance quote with directline, I noticed I could select a supercharged model, which model is this? Is that the Altezza?
4. It would be preferable to me to go for the Altezza / Supercharged model as it will be around the same power as my current car. Do the specs on these cars vary massively? I like the SE spec (heated seats, etc), so does the Altezza / Supercharged model come with a good basic spec?
5. Do the UK Lexus' have leccy folding mirrors? I love this feature on jap imports lol.
6. Any reliability issues to look for? All I could find is gearbox and clutch problems.
7. Which model do you think is the best to go for with my budget & requirements?
8. Do these cars have cam-chains or cam-belts?
9..... can't think of anything else at the mo but I'm sure I will do
TIA.
Looking forward to Lexus Ownership B)
Here's a few pics of my current ride:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/325...MW/carSide2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/325...carRearSide.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/325...cleanEngine.jpg