Sheepman

This has been my first post on this board and it has been great indeed to see so many balanced responses - truth be said, when I post on the BMW boards the responses at times are far far more extreme - I to hold the opinion that there are a number of BMW drivers who think their cars are somehow superior and everything else is inferior...more often than not it is the guys driving the 318's with the wide wheels and shiny bits ! and the LOUD stereos Funny though, maybe it is the 3 series drivers who have the greatest to 'say' for themselves - upwardly thrusting and all that (take that last stmt what every way you wish!). Ho hum, be nice to people is what I say - you may need their help when you are broken down at the side of the road one day! Drive carefully!

Very interesting replies and it is indeed good that we can have a sensible conversation! The reason that I do not like the IS200 is that I find it uncomfortable for long distances and after what appears to be only a very short time I start to do the 'driver jiggle' of moving around trying to find a more comfortable position. As for the dash, I find it too tiring and busy and I think it is a case of style over substance and to be honest reminds me of a cheap watch. I also find the performance is rather too flat ( and, before you say it, I am not comparing it to the M5!). I think the 6 speed gearbox is a gimmic - it does not need it. There are some parts of it that are good, it is relatively quiet and the fuel economy is quite acceptable. Normally it is just me driving, though sometimes I carry colleagues and thats when I find the performance very limiting. With 2 or 3 up there is simply no go and overtaking becomes a real chore. So thats it really - my opinions have been formed over th last 6 years, having driven 90,000 miles in an IS200, and over 40,000 miles in a number of 3 series, including a new 328 and 323 and 35d tds my personalexperience of the IS is that it is not quite there..I never had to deal with the dealers, my car was always picked up, so I never got to press-the-flesh in a dealership. I have no need/desire to be passionate about these cars, they are functional and serve purely the purpose of being my workhorse and as such, I found the BMWs' to be the better all-rounder. Perhaps not as different as the IS, but I felt better overall - better constructed, more ergonomical dashboards, higher quality materials and longer enduring. Just out of interest, I possess a third car for summer, use and that is a Classic Saab 900 T16S convertible. It makes me chuckle to myself that this 13 year car can out perform, out handle the IS200 (and at times also the 320!) Yes, really..., the only modifications to it, well an RRFPR and a slightly modified wastgate to push the output to 200 ps. The M5 is for fun, the IS200 as my donkey and the Saab for summer days. Enjoy your cars :D

When I posted this reply, it was to offer an opinion different to that offered here, one to balance the one sided view of this board because, someone who wanted some advice on spending their money....So, I shall add more by way of balance to the replies since I first posted on this board.... Buy a BMW for the challenge of buying the best proven balanced RWD car money can have, and if it is a 6 cylinder, buy it because you want to drive a German legend - buy a 3 series and you can always sell it on. Buy a 5 series and you are buying the best exec in its class - 7 years in a row... I have never met anyone who has ever traded up a 3 series - even a poverty spec 316 for an IS200, get real for *** sake!!! IS300, I'll be honest and say I don't know. The LS430 is different and rather special, but for the cash I would expect it to be up there with the S mercedes (albeit the S430) And again, how many LS430's do you see on the road compared to S class mercedes? If it is your money, where would you put it, Mercedes or Lexus? BMW 330 vs IS300. Give people the free choice and what do you think - that they would take Toyota/Lexus over BMW. Is Lexus your answer? - well think again. Of course they don't. Day after day, BMW sells more cars than Lexus could ever dream about. The Lexus IS200 in particular is an also-ran, when it first came out it was heralded as the poor mans 3 series, good, but not good enough.. Yes BMW is more expensive and yes, the options are very dear, but you pay your money and take your choice. I don't have my Lexus through choice, it is my company car and I put up with it but would take a 6 cylinder BMW every time. Why do so many company car drivers drive 318's as opposed to the IS200, it being such a good car?? No, as BMW drivers, we are not sheep, I am certainly not a sheep. I drive an IS200 for work and an M5 for pleasure .Incidentally, I bought the M5 simply because it is the most complete car I have ever driven and a perfect antidode to 30k every year in a Lexus That's my view, challenge it if you like that's fine by me, but if you do, then please do so based on some firm grounding of reason, not on the emotion of my car is better than yours because that's just plain infantile. Incidentally, and as an aside to this main post, when I drive my M5 people drive so differently, they pull out without indicating, they tailgate stupidly, they overtake on bends, they just have to get past. I know, because I have seen it, time and time again. When I drive my M5 I drive it like a motorbike and plan much futher ahead and drive very defensively - funnily enough, it is often these tacky little modified hatchbacks of the MaxPower genre who are the worst offenders at this. I don't even get bothered any more. I await your no-dount strong anti BMW replies. Just trying to strike some form of a balance here :P Sheepman

If it is your money, buy a BMW - they retain far far more in retained retail value second hand, will be desirable long after the compared to Lexus model is history. Sheep, maybe, but you are buying into Munich legends, not Jap wana-bees. Truth always hurts. By all means argue away, but look at the second hand trade prices for comparrison. By a 6 cylinder BMw and you are buying one of the most highly regarded sweetest motors in the world. period. M5 owner + IS200 user (work )