madpiano

Heya I am not exactly a Lexus owner, I am just test driving one. But I was hoping to get this a smy next car. I have taken Lexus up on their offer of the 2 day test drive. I normally drive a VW Polo. I chose the IS250SE as it is the smaller car and I like nippy small cars with attitude and the Golf is just too expensive for what it is. I have now had the car for 2 hrs, driven it around South London for a while and I have to say that I am sadly very disappointed and I am even considering bringing the car back early. Interior style is great and comfortable, though not overly so. I find the ride comfort quite bumpy and thats coming from a Polo with sports suspension. The engine is quiet, but the tyres do make quite a bit of noise. But my absolute main gripe is the visibility ! If the windows would have been any smaller, it could have sold as a tank ! Even the windscreen seem titchy and I have to sit up to see out properly. Worst is the view through the passenger side window. Not only is the front beam (whatever you call it) placed very awkwardly and very thick, at least another 30% of the view is taken up by that massive door mirror. I am 5'4" and I am really struggling, permanently scared to miss a biker as I just wouldn't be able to see them when coming out of a side road. The view inside the side-mirrors is very good though, and I think this is the first car, that I have driven, that doesn't seem to have a dead-spot, I am able to see the whole length of the car. Rear view is very bad as well, but having a Polo, it's something I am a bit more used to. What is annoying, is the car I am driving has cream interior, which reflects heavily off the back window, directly and through the rear-view mirror, so the visibility isn't clear. Looks like it's dimmed down all the time. I am driving the automatic version, so can't comment on sticky gear boxes. The automatic performs ok-ish, but it's difficult to get a smooth start, although I am just not used to automatics and always find them a bit weird. Could be just my driving, but you can certainly feel it moving through the gears with a slight powerloss when shifting, not as smooth as my dad's Automatic Merc. I just can't believe how disappointed I am. It has all the creature comforts one needs for a fraction of the price of a german car, everything inside feels solid and made to last, but it hasn't got the nippyness of the Polo, the seats are more comfortable, but it still feels like a rough ride. I don't mind a rough ride in a sporty car, but it does feel more like a family saloon than a sporty car so I expected the smoothness of a Merc or Jag. And the visibility is just insane, especially as most of my driving is in London rush hour traffic with push-bikes and scooters coming at me from every angle, I need to be able to see them. I am taking the car out on country roads tomorrow and a bit of motorway, see how it feels there, but considering this is not my main use of the car, I really can't see myself getting one.....will have to rethink, sadly