Nights

Agreed. The clock display in particular irks me... it's looks like an afterthought, something they just chucked in from the parts bin. Other than that, have had the car since December and it's going great! :)

5000 km and no rattles yet. However, wheel curbing aplenty from the Missus :(

Dunlop SP Maxxs on 18" rims. No complaints here about them. Good balance of grip/noise/ride.

The ride on the 18" wheels is firmish but still compliant, similar to the E46 3 series on 17+" rims. The advantage is has over the 16 and 17 wheels of the other Lexii is that it definitely has tighter body control which is something you can notice if you're hurrying along, the car just feels more planted with less float. This point was also picked up by the reviewers in Wheels magazine here in Australia. The lowered suspension/wheel combo does look really nice though, but if you're looking for something with a soft, cushioned ride, then you may be disappointed. With regards to the interior, I personally really love the Alcantara but I miss the seat coolers (not sure why they couldn't be included). To me, it feels a lot nicer, and definitely grips a lot better when cornering (I hate sliding around). That being said though, the pale colours don't mix well with young children, as they can be prone to getting dirtied (not unliked pale leather colours).

The 1stgen IS was really a rebadged Toyota and sold as a Lexus around the world. It was assembled on a Kanto line along with other Toyota brand cars. Since Lexus is now a brand by itself in Japan, and they don't sell the cars as Toyota's, I understand from numerous sources that the IS is now made in the Tahara plant where the other Lexus cars are built. There's also a 2nd plant coming online to build the IS as they expect to sell a larger number of them, but I can't remember the plant's name. Yep, most IS250s are made at the Tahara plant in Japan, which is dedicated to making all the Lexus models (IS, GS, LS, SC, RX etc). There is one other plant in Canada which opened a year or two back (I think) which makes the RX only. Lexus have planned for one other plant in Kyoto I think which will pick up production of LHD IS models if demand warrants it (and by all reports in the US, the dealers are selling many more than they're receiving).

Yea, I got the extended warranty for extra piece of mind. We managed to get the extra 3 years for $1300 which I thought wasn't too bad. The main reason for getting it is related to all the electronics and electrical fittings in the car. One of them breaks down, and you're looking at a hefty repair bill :( As a comparison, extending the 2(!) year standard warranty on a BMW 325i was $1000 for ONE year! :( Still loving the car, just cleaned it again today and it still looks damned hot :)

any pics ?? especially of the interior, :D Will get some updated ones soon. Car is currently covered in insects from long interstate drive :(

Good to see all the happy Aussie IS250 owners. And if you work for a large company, make sure to check if your company has an agreement with Lexus. Mine did, and I get 3 years of free scheduled servicing for the price of a quick phone call. And there is a 4th Lexus dealer in Vic, it's Lexus of Wyndham. I agree with Skaye, sales of IS250s are going gangbusters. When I bought mine in early December, the sales manager had 2 piles of paperwork behind him. One was for IS250 sales, the other was for all other vehicle sales that month. Needless to say, the IS250 pile was 3 times the height of the other pile. I think discounts will be difficult to get, but be persistent and be prepared to haggle hard - I did and I got a decent deal out of it. Hope to see all the fellow Sydney IS250 owners (now that I've relocated). Btw Georgea, the IS350 is in a different league to the Accord Euro. I just recently returned from a quick trip to the US, and heck, that thing's a speed demon. Bum in seat impression was that it was faster than my friend's 330i. Hope they bring it over soon :)

I just completed a 1000k Melbourne to Sydney drive (in baking 40 degree heat no less), and have nearly 3k kms on the clock now, and still no rattles. One thing I must say though, the climate control system is very efficient :)

I have a Sports model with the 18" wheels and Ecsaine seats. Here in Australia, if you want the Sports model it comes with ecsaine only, no leather option. I personally prefer the ecsaine to leather; its comfy as heck, and it just adds that something special to the ambience of the car when you first get in. And it comes with seat heating, but no cooling. And yes, the 18" wheels and slightly lowered suspension does look hot :)

Can't wait to see one in the showrooms later this year :)

Sorry to hear about everyone having these rattle problems, I hope Lexus UK gets them sorted out. Luckily thus far I've been rattle free... the closest I came was hearing a strange noise when accelerating, turned out my wife had left some pens and stuff in the door pocket :duh:

Like many others before me, Google showed me the way :)

Yea, this is an ace suggestion. Not sure why they don't have this in already.

Great to see all the new Aussie IS250s. It's one step towards separating misguided Aussies and their love affair with 4 cylinder Beemers :D Hope to see you all out on the roads! Btw, I dealt with Payam and Matthew Foulds at Lexus of Brighton. Both were very professional.

Grats Tony. Hope you enjoy your new wheels :)

The 18" wheels + suspension combo rides fairly well considering the profile of the tyres they're running on. It is a little more choppy than the 16" and 17" tyres, but compared to some other cars with similar sort of setups, it rides very well (subjectively rode a lot better than a BMW 330i on 18" wheels and sports suspension). The only time it can get a little rough is in very broken bitumen. Not to mention, it looks sexy as all hell with 18"s :) *hugs his IS250 Sports*

Here are a few quick pics (apologies about the poor quality, but with the weather being INTENSE here atm - 42 degrees celcius atm - trying to avoid going outdoors) I took the other day. Btw, the Sport model uses 225/40 tyres up front and 255/40 tyres at the back. They're fitted with Dunlop Sport SP Maxx which aren't too bad. The climate control has coped with the temps pretty well too, which is a good sign. Btw, what do ppl think of the interior blue LED lighting (roof + footwells). It's a small thing, but I think it's a really neat touch.

Sorry to hear about that Crispy, sounds like the window tinting job mighta messed with some of the electronics. I haven't had any squeaks or rattles or problems so far. Things are still going ace here. Will get some pics up tomorrow (been raining on and off every damn day here atm... it's hell trying to keep the thing clean :( ) One thing I have noticed though is that the brake pads are very similar to my experiences in Mercs and BMWs (ie they're quite soft, particularly up front). They work great, but they produce a lot of dust which dirties the wheels quite quickly. It's not really a complaint, but just something I noticed, when compared to my old Japanese cars.

Fabulous quote :)

The difference between a registration date of December and January should be absolutely minimal in terms of long term resale. If anything, the actual build date of the car is more important than the registration date. Overall though, the actual kilometres/miles done by the car and the overall condition of the car are far more important to the value of the car.

The discount was purely from haggling. I'd been in there twice before already, and I basically said that I was ready to buy if they could come to the price I wanted. I must admit, I probably drove them nuts, but I got down to a price I was happy with. Was hoping for a little more actually, but I figured 5k was pretty good for a new car :) As an aside, I'd been to a major BMW dealer not 2 days before (my wife was keen on the BMW) and we'd had a look at some 325i and 320i. BMW were pretty interested in what I thought of the IS, and they were pretty keen to deal (discount offers were coming thick and fast). One exec showed me their stock, and it seemed they had a lot of 3s that were sitting about unsold.

I'll try and get some pictures up as soon as my wife gets home (she's driving it today!). I got mine from Lexus of Brighton (I live close by). Overall, I was happy with the service there, and I got a fairly good deal considering how quickly the sports model was going (on the day I went, at least 3 other sports were sold). Managed to get about 5k off the price which was decent I thought. The cars going great; the ride can be firm at low speeds, once u get above 40-50 u don't notice it. And goodness, the 18" wheels do really suit the look of the car. The free servicing basically includes all scheduled services (labour and parts). I'd be happy to answer any more questions :) Btw, Wheels magazine (Australia) has a pretty favourable review up in their latest issue. They're doing a 325i vs IS250 comparo next issue; I'm looking forward to that.

Great to see other Aussies on the forum :) I found this forum too when I first started getting interested in the IS250 a few months and have been lurking here for a while, soaking up info. I'm a proud owner of an IS250 Sports, with a dark grey exterior with grey interior (picked up last Saturday). Couldn't convince the wife about the EMV pack, but I love the 18" wheels :) It's been fun fun fun since then. The only pity is long work hours this week and not enough time to drive the damn thing. Had a good experience with my dealer; offered me a decent deal, with some corporate sweeteners thrown in (free servicing for 4 years and an extended warranty for minimal outlay). Hope to get a bit more driving in this weekend.