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As Scott has said, check out the US LOC and just about all the manual is there in PDF format. Broken up into different sections so can be easily downloaded. Yes, car is a little wider. I think most of that is the curve on the top of the doors and door width. Also, did you know: there is a little LED light in the botton on the cup holder in the centre console.

Hey Jamboo. Congrats. Looks really good. Wish we had a choice of Red down here. Bit slack here in Oz and no diesel option either. Noticed you have the manual. How have you found the gears? I feel that 1, 2 & 3 are a bit "clunky" and sometimes feel like not meshing properly, and getting back into first is sometimes difficult.

Hi Nic. Sorry. Didn't mean it to be that way and yes, you are correct that we need the feedback from Lexus, etc. Just seemed like people had been getting off track from your original intentions. Jamboo. Good to see you finally got your car and happy with it. We don't get the diesel here in Oz, but sounds impressive.

I think all of us owners are more than happy with the product we have bought and as many are not in their first Lexus expect a certain quality or we wouldn't have bought our new IS. We are have paid a sh*t load of money, whether it is our company's or our own money, it doesn't matter. We wouldn't expect a rattle or noise in any new car, let alone a Lexus. I am quite sure that anybody who is driving an IS as a company car wouldn't like to be going to his/her boss and explaining why the car is off the road again, or they are being distracted while driving due to noise/rattles. As Noel said, the car was put on show last February/March, so one would assume that there should have been a lot of testing between then (even before) and when they were finally put into mass producted for us public. My previous IS200 didn't have any noises/rattles in it's 4 years and 50,000 miles. I believe that we should tone down the discussions over the right and wrong about reporting the problems and focus on letting people know that we are having the issues and keep the pressure on Lexus to fix our issues and hence further benefit future owners with having problem free cars, and help current owners to resolve their problems. I myself, own my car, through leasing, and will want to make sure that after 4 years, I don't have any noise problems to maybe pass onto however (or keep myself). I am sadly disappointed once again that a noise has come back (around the driver's pillar) and have to return the car to have it looked at, and also still have concerns over the lack of smoothness in the gearbox(manual), so have raised issues with dealership and Lexus. Let's keep the chatting going, but lets stick to the noises/rattles and how they are being resolved or lack of resolve. Jamboo. Did you get your car? How is the feeling??? P.S. Did you know that the car actually only costs Lexus/Toyota about 1/3 of what you pay, to build. Yes there may have been a lot of R&D costs and tool setup costs, but I am sure they are recooping a hell of a lot more.

Matty. They didn't say what the noise was. They fixed one and then found another in the same area on the test drive. Fixed it as well, but didn't give details.

Thanks Jamboo. Will have a look around down here for more info on these racks. NetOne. Well, what can I say about those type of people.......

Thanks NetOne, but Good roadbikes DON'T fold up! And serious Aussie bike riders wouldn't be caught dead on a fold up, not like you Brits.

Hey Tango. Let us know the results of the "wind noise". I noticed it the other day after the other noise was fixed. Mine is faint, and not noticeable when the radio is on and turned up a bit, but when the radio is off and a/c is low, I can hear the sound, Driver's side. Had my wife check the passanger side and she said it also was there but only faint as well. For a car of this "quality" and such a high price, these sounds should not exist. When looking over the new IS at the motor show last year before they had actually realeased the car in Oz, the salesman was going on about how much detail the builders had gone to for the woodgrain paneling and the stiching in the seats, but they obviously having been paying as much attention to other areas.

I was told last week by the salesman at the dealership that he will have the "proper" thing in shortly. As the 350 comes with a spoiler, I image it will be the same as the one used on it. Similar to the GS430 one. So, if we are getting them in Oz very soon, you Brits must be getting them as well. Check out the US web site for photos.

Hi Everybody. I am a fairly avvid push bike rider and in the past have put tow bars on my cars so I can have a bike carrier. The new 250 doesn't have a tow bar (as yet and the manual advises against it) and hence cannot take the bike out (except riding from home). Does anybody know of a carrier that will go on the back (over the boot) of the 250? I won't use a roof rack kind as it leaves you open for major roof damage (forgetting it is there when driving under low levels), and the boots are too small to put the bikes into.

Hi Matty. Yes, I have seen your reports and I think I listen intensly everytime I get in my car. I had a noise in the Drivers side pillar. I was more of a rubbing/vibration noise then a rattle. Had it in the dealership last Friday and they actually found 2 noises and fixed them both. Wasn't told what it was. Also have a squeeky drivers seat, which I asked them to fix. They did, sort of, but a couple of days later, more squeeks and in different sports. I am in Brisbane (Aust), so I don't think my dealer could help you. Just giving the forum an update.

I am a previous owner of a 200 and sold it about 7 weeks before getting the 250, so it was hard to remember the difference. But, last week, I had the 250 in for some minor issues and was lent a 200 Luxury Sports. Well, after having the 200 for the day and getting back into the 250, you notice the difference. Power, smoothness, comfort, general feeling. I have only driven the 300 when the old 200 was in for a service and hence hard to recall how it was on power and driveablility comparrisons to the 250, but do know that the interrior was the same as the 200 and the ride was a bit stiffer, with lots more power and better auto gearbox. All up, the comfort and feel of the 250 is soooooo much better than the 200 and from what I can remember, the 300.

Haf. There has been a lot of information feedback here for you to sort through. Personally, one of the reasons I went for the Sat-Nav/Bluetooth option pack was having the Bluetooth phone kit "Integrated" into to car's system. The option pack does not just give you the Bluetooth system, but the Sat-Nav, ML sound system, DVD (while stopped unless you want to chance your hand at some wiring changes), the reversing camera, and all the controls for air, and radio on a touch screen. The Bluetooth phone system, I believe is fantastic. You have your phone integrated into the car, so can get to speed dial numbers - 18 of them while you are driving, and the rest when you have stopped (there have been a "soft fix" posted in the forums to let you get to the other dial features while driving, and then there's the cable changes if your game). It also has the voice dial for those that you have setup. Being integrated, it cuts out the stereo system when you make or receive a call. All in all, a great integrated system. So, the money you would be spending is not just for the phone bluetooth system, but the whole package. I have a Motorola E398 and works well on the Bluetooth. Only drawback was that I had to send my phonebook entries one at a time to the car. This was a phone feature and not something on the car's system. Some of the Sony-Ericson can send the whole phonebook, and there are some other brands and PDA phones that can as well. For those who have got the Bluetooth system in their IS250 and want to send their whole phonebooks and don't have a phone to do that, get hold of someone's phone that can and put your Sim card in their phone to send the data through. Have to have your phonebook on your Sim card first. Mobile phone actually get better reception while on chargers, so if you have your bluetooth phone in your car and it is using a lot of battery, connect it to the power outlet point in the console. Not that I have tried it yet, but as my E398 also plays MP3s and has a headphone connection, I could probably play the MP3s on it through the car's system all at the same time. Sorry about ramblings. :D

Hi all. Yep. One of the first things I tried when I got my baby home was the MP3 CDs and tried playing songs through the "Ipod Connection" MP3 CDs didn't sound as good as the real CDs but then I have seen for notes here in the forums to change settings on the write of the CDs. Tried to make MP3 DVDs which work fine on the computer but not in the ML system. So, sent an email to the ML group who are looking into it. Still awaiting a reply. Must be about 2 weeks now. As for the Ipod connection, have tried my PDA and all works fine. Sound is a little softer. Again, maybe the setting when you write you do the writes/conversions. Again, you have to use your PDA/Ipod/MP3 player to play the music. Wouldn't it be great if they just had included a USB/mini USB port and changed the system to read from your external media devices. Noticed on one of our TV shows (Beyond Tomorrow) that some car stereo makers have now included a USB port on the front of the stereos that will accept things like "thumb drives". Maybe next release of the IS.......

Hi Sim. I saw a posting on the US LOC of someone that has claimed to have found a TV system to go between the Sat/Nav unit and the screen. Sent them an email to see if they had a Rep in Aust, but to date have not received a reply. Have a look on the US LOC.

Hi Crispy. Have noticed that there seems to be noise travelling through the Gearbox area but not so much the other areas. As for being a passenger in my own car, hmmmm... I have Dunlops on mine and they seem to be good for road noise. Taking it in on Friday for a noise (vibration type) in the driver's side pillar. Also, adjusting the handbrake (on manual model) as doesn't seem to hold on steeper hills and have to really use some musel to get it on far enough.

Peterb. Not sure if the same constraints as for Oz, but I assume when you mean Cloth, you actually mean the Alcantra. Here we get leather on the Base (Prestege) model and on the Sports Luxury (top of the line). The Sport (middle of the range, well, sort of) comes with Alcantra. Did some research on Alcantra as some dealers were telling it was suede. It is a synthetic, originally made in Italy and reported to be better than leather. It wares better and is easier to clean and holds it's shape better and hence the reason for putting into the Sports model. It is used in a lot of top line sports cars. It has a Suede feel. Now, as for the colour, I myself prefer Black as for a lot of the same reasons everybody else has pointed out. Just doesn't show the dirty marks, etc. Ivory looks good, but I think you will always be cleaning it. I ended up with Grey interior as they had the car I wanted with all the features sitting on the showroom floor, or I would have had to wait 3 months. Grey is ok, but I am very careful and always looking at the seats each time I get out, just to make sure there are no dirt marks. Wait for what you want. It will go quickly and it will be an 06 plated car.

Here is Oz, my Sports came with Dunlop SP Sport MAXX tyres. That's the 18inch low profile ones. Also noticed that the recommended pressure (marked on the tyres themselves) is 51 PSI !!!

NetOne. Can't answer that one. You still are only using low Revs at the normal speeds (around 2,000RPM @ 60kpm for the IS200 in 6th gear & now about 1,300-1,400RPM for the IS250), but all the performance is at the higher end.

NetOne. Have to add one thing. If you want a car that truely feels like you are driving "sports car" of old, then the 200 has this, even though you have the added road noise. The 250 is more refined (and heavier) and hence, to me has a more luxury type feel. The 250 is better performance in the low revs (and high revs of course), but to truely have the sporty feel on both, you have to Rev them out, not like the Audi turbos or the BMWs where peak torque is down low. Lexus (Toyota) seem to now make all their motors this way and have to use high Revs to truely make them perform, but they do Rev quiet freely as no doubt you have experienced on your 200. Good luck.

NetOne. Not sure if I can give you a true picture as I have gone from a base IS200 to a Sports IS250, but here goes. Gone from cloth seats (with sheep skin covers) to Alcantra seats. Comfort is 200% better and seats feel more sporty as well as slightly bigger. Interior has more of a cockpit feel, which I like. Whole interior feels better with lots of better creature comforts. Car rides and corners so much better. But I have gone to lower profile and wider tyre. The grip is far, far superior and the whole car is quieter and goes better. Engine seems to be better, but you can't really tell as it is much quieter inside. Gearboxes (manual) are about the same. As above, the performance is so much better and gives you that real push back in the seat affect. A bit like the first twin cam Celicas. You are actually doing less Revs for the same speed so the car feels smoother and has better pickup in the low Revs, even though peak engine horsepower is still around the 6,000 mark with peak Torque now around the 4,000-4,500 mark. Handling, well, what can I say. Fantastic, but how can you push it to the limit with the new controls to stop you spinning it. Ozzing the luxury feel. All my friends have goo'ed and gar'ed over the feel and look, as well as all the little bits and pieces. Well, where I live has an open 2k twisty 80kph road leading down to it and lets just say, I use 80kpm as the lower limit on most occassions. If only we had roads like you guys and Europe where you could do 130k+ and not have to worry about loosing your licence and driving in Oz would be so much more FUN. Go and see if your dealership will give you a car overnight to test drive. They did here in Oz when I bought my IS200 a few years ago. Hope I have helped. Good luck.

Hi all. I think it is all a marketing ploy and based on how they can price the cars. The 250 is not far off the HP that the old 300 had, so, there thinking is that this shlould keep most IS drivers interested. Lexus in the US actually outsell BMW and Mercedes, so, they can add extra vechiles to the range and it is cost effective. And the US people are serious Petrol Heads who like their speed and the cost of petrol is not an issue. To bring the IS350 to UK or Australia (right hand drive and emission issues) as has been said above, there would have to be more testing, etc. As well, they would have to price the IS350 above the top of the line IS250 and I think this would then start to get very close to the price of the GS range. They have dropped the ES range in Aust, and not sure if they have totally dropped it or just Aust, and I think it is a pricing thing. Having said all the above, when I had discussions with the Lexus management, they confirmed what I always suppected, that the build cost of the cars is about a 1/3 of what we pay and the cost to make the bigger models (like LS) over the samller ones (IS) is bu**ar all. Would have been great to see the 350 in Aust, but maybe something that happens in 12 months or so after the 250 hype has settled. The big question will be "At what price". I think in general, we are being ripped off when you look at the pricing of the US models!

Uncle_rob. You can't compare the IS200 to the BMW325. But comparing the IS250 is another matter. They are very close together on Horsepower and both peak at around the same point. The BM is a little higher. Torque is both the same, though the BM max is at 2750rpm where the IS is at around 4000-4500rpm, and this is where you notice the difference, plus it is about 200Kg lighter. Having said all that, here in Oz, the BMW is about $2000 more on the road than the IS250 Sports with SatNav option, but the IS has so many more features that the BM would cost about another $10,000-$15,000 more. As for the rear view, well, I have noticed it to be smaller glass area, but as I have the Sports with Sat Nav, the rear view showing on the SatNav screen is fantastic. It also predicts as you turn the wheel where the car will go. Great feature if you are a lousy reverse parker and great assistance. The side mirrors show a bigger view than the IS200 and they also tilt down (can change it if you want) when reversing. Another great help when you don't know where the curve is. To finish it off, the IS250 Sports also comes with parking sensors Back and Front, so this also takes care of any "blind spots" when reversing.

Thanks Gary. Yep, they are 40 profile. The other thing about the Sports model and the wheels/tyres is that the Prestige (and top of the line Sports Luxury) come with 205x55s all round where the Sports comes with 225x40s on the front and 255x40s on the back, so a lot more rubber on the ground to help with that cornering and ride.

Thanks Edsters. Will give the SatNav one a try. Mind you, resetting after each re-set sounds like a Mircosoft kind of fix and almost defeats the purpose. It could be handy though. You don't have to go through that effort for the Bluetooth one. There is a setting via the - Info - Phone - Settings option. The seatbelt one sounds like you are having a lend of me You don't have to go through that much effort for the Traction control. Just use the Traction control button to turn it off. If you have a look at the US LOC, there is a thread that has been posted and all the manuals (well, almost all) have been included. Handy for those people still waiting on their cars to be delivered. I don't think they are "Service manuals" but just "User manuals". Off to check out your instructions. Forgot to add, the DVD player is linked to the handbrake and warning light. Hence, when the handbrake warning light goes out, so will the DVD movie screen. Hence, would have to disconnect the handbrake sensor connection to use the DVD all the time. An email from ML said that it was not them that had put this "feature" on their system, but Lexus and a "safety" thing.