saracen

I ordered the SE-L with Nav Why? Because it's the best! :winky:

Before ordering an IS250 I had two test drives one for 30 minutes with salesguy and one for 2 hours unaccompanied. That was enough for me. When I bought my IS200 three years ago I again had two test drives one for 20 minutes (accompanied) and another for 24 hours. But most of that time was spent with the car on my drive and me grinning from ear to ear. :D I even cleaned the car I loved it that much. Sad I know.

Did anyone see the test of the Merc S-Class ACC/crash avoidance system on Top Gear? - PMSL. (If you didn't see it, it didn't avoid the crash ) ← Hey thanks for reminding me - how funny was that. At least the car did stop although it did wait till it was 3 feet inside the boot of the car in front. :D

Yes he said the base model starts at around 22K which was a grand cheaper than the BMW.

Just seen the review of the IS220d on Fifth Gear and OMG it was completely positive. The reviewer, Tom Ford, said the car was comfortable, nice bit of wood on the dash, incredibly gadgety, loved the Sat Nav, the seat, steering wheel feel, and the amazing stereo. To quote the reviewer, you wouldn't buy the car to be edgy. If you have to cover 30K miles a year you don't want a car that only satisfies you 10% of the time, you want a car that really does isolate you and makes you feel comfortable 90% of the time. It is a much better compromise for people like him (and me!) who are not racing car drivers. To summarise he said the BMW was the faster car but he found talking about all that speed a little vulgar, the IS was the Gentlemans choice. The car in Argento Ice (silver) with black leather looked phenomenal. I'm gonna see if I can bring my order forward!

Your car is an SE and Adaptive Cruise Control is only available on SE-L with Auto.

I have felt and sat in the cloth version and while it is OK you can't beat a bit of leather! If I had to have cloth it is definitely something I could live with, but my preference is always for leather.

I don't know if I have been swayed by the marketing literature but I think the Silver with Black leather looks like the best combination. I do like the cream interior but don't know what it will look like after 3 years of use.

I drove the GS300 with this feature enabled. From memory the system beeps and on the screen it says something like "Traffic reroute possible press yes to accept new route". Could someone confirm this? I don't think the system shows holdups on the map. I have seen the BMW system and you get signs similar to this: where there are traffic hold-ups on the map. I currently have SmartNav in my car which is voice guidance with no map. It is very good in terms of traffic delays in that it tells you how long the holdup will be for and you then have the option of accepting the new route.

What spec vehicle did you get?

So far fantastic reviews of the car. Rather than satisfying my thirst for knowledge, you have further increased my desire for the car. Is it possible to dial a number using the voice control while you are on the move? Can you only use the voice control to dial numbers that are in the memory? Could you, for example say, "Dial 01234 567890"

Dude, you are so not comparing apples with apples: First pricing: IS200 SE Auto £22K-ish IS250 SE Auto £27,710 not £30K - this is according to Lexus website configurator Yes there is a big price increase but for that price increase you get over and above the outgoing model: Better stereo, more speakers, MP3 compatibility, iPod socket, full leather, heated AND ventilated seats, bigger engine, keyless entry, push button engine start, tinted rear side glass, in-dash information display, VSC, LED lamps, more airbags, airbag cut off switch, optichron display, those flashy rings that come on when you go over a certain speed...should I go on? I agree with you the new car is more money. But you get, in my opinion £5K more kit on the car. Some people who are existing Lexus owners will stay buy the new car. Some will ditch the brand and go elsewhere, some will stick with the current IS and keep the value of the outgoing model up. At the end of the day, if you like it and can afford you will go for it. I suspect that there will be many people in this category.

Sorry to throw a curve ball out there but mine started "knocking" after I had the windscreen changed! Go figure...

I don't think Lexus have lost the plot. If they are looking to sell vehicles to people that want a "prestige marque" then surely this means they are to compete against the German Holy Trinity (BMW, Mercedes and Audi)? The new IS still retains many of the qualities that you mention above, it stands apart in its appearance, it has an improved power unit (something that was very much wanted if you look at what people disliked about the outgoing model). The build quality is unsurpassed and it has a high level of standard kit. I absolutely think that the Lexus pricing is spot on and I will tell you why. When I first saw the indicitive pricing I thought it was too high but if you do a like for like comparison, which I have done with Audi A4, BMW 325 and C230, all three cars are WAY more expensive than the Lexus. And not just hundreds but thousands of pounds more. The Mercedes options/price list is 32 pages long! By putting forward an alternative brand to the German cars but at a cheaper price, and coupled with their diesel car and reputation for reliabilty Lexus will have a great deal of success. And by the comments received in the press and that I have heard from a lot of people, I do believe that this car will be very successful. Lexus are claiming to be a luxury brand and I think it would have been wrong to have the car with any less spec. I never saw the IS as an alternative to a number of "popular" makes but have always directly compared it with the prestige German brands. And I know a lot of other people that do the same. It has been said before that perhaps Lexus are shifting their focus to a slighly different market segment, and perhaps those people that once saw the car as affordable are being priced out. But you can bet that a company as big as Lexus/Toyota would have done very careful examination of the market before setting pricing etc. I do agree with the comment about a lack of a diesel auto option. I, for one, am won over. I had an IS200 Sport and will be trading it in for an SE-L come March 2006. I think there will be plenty of other current Lexus owners that will stay with the brand.

A fantastic review, provided a lot of indepth information, more so than on my 2 hour test drive, mainly becuase I was so in awe of the car I forgot to actually spend time looking round it. Great pics too, got any more?

Don't fight it...feel it!

Lexus website has been updated with more details of the new IS.

Cold Play............ each to their own I guess... Could you tell me if the software with the iPod has a dvd decrypter? ← Technically it's a very interesting video! And the song is not that bad. These days most videos are pretty boring...

I ordered one over the phone with Apple the day after they were announced because I would get it sooner than the shops would have them. But some :tsktsk: at the courier company decided to nick it out of the box! Anyway to cut a long story short, I have got a replacement thanks to Apple. Never having had an iPod before I am well impressed. Smaller and lighter compared to the older generation and the video playback is outstanding for a unit of this size. I didn’t know how to put video on the iPod at first I so downloaded a video (Coldplay – The Scientist) from iTunes. I had resisted buying one for a long time because I thought they were a gimmick but having bought one and a SoundDock (which produces amazing quality sound), I am a true convert. My other reason for buying was that I wanted to take advantage of the Aux connector in the new IS which I will get in March. I will hopefully have got all my music collection on there by then.

Good spot dude, March can't come quick enough!

Firstly, I too think that Smart Entry is a FANTASTIC idea and one of the many reasons why I have ordered the new IS250. However, I have started a car while the key is in the car, physically taken the key out of the car and then driven the car for a quarter of a mile (approx.) Surely if this works simply tossing the key on the back seat while driving, or putting it under the seat will still keep the car running? I am not sure about actually starting the car while the key is under the seat, or on the back seat and additionally the above was tested in the GS but I assume exactly the same system is in use in the IS.

She shouldn't be buggering about with her purse whilst driving! :P ← The car would not stop as the key is still in the car.

Give these people a try www.onlinecarslimited.com I have just ordered an IS250 SE auto for delivery later this month & saved myself 850 pounds on original order, ask for Nigel or Emma they were most heplful and very pleasent to deal with. this will be my first lexus so looking forward to the car very much, I was previously looking at an A4 or 3 series but just got back from the USA were the new IS is selling very well, especially the IS350 that is unavailable here. ← Thanks for the tip. Onlinecars were very close in price to drivethedeal. I will give both companies a ring on Monday.

When I had a new GS300 as a courtesy car I tried something similar. I stared the engine, which you can only do if the key is in the car. I then left the engine running put the key outside the car and got back in and drove the car about quarter of a mile. Once the engine has stopped you cannot restart it without the key. Food for thought. While I think that the keyless entry is way cool I would be wary to both keep the key in my pocket at all times, and also turn off the engine every time I got out, even if it was to open the boot to remove an item. I suspect the IS250 operates in the same way.

All versions of the IS250 have a trip computer and I know for definite that it has a "Miles left till Empty" option, but I can't remember what other bits of info it provides.