Swampy300

I really do reckon if the IS300 had come with a manual it would have been far more popular in this country. British people just seem to have an aversion to Auto's. Personally if I'm totally honest I would prefer it if the 300 was manual but then I can live with an auto quite happily, you only ever miss the manual when beasting it around on back roads, and then you have the E-Shift buttons on the steering wheel (I rewired mine to be more like paddle shift, downshift on the back left hand rather than the front!). And lets be honest, most of our lives is spent creeping around in towns or sat on motorways or traffic jams, and in those times an auto is far better to have than a manual.And after owning an Impreza STI I'd rather put up with an auto than put up with 150bhp! Performance wise it really is night and day between the IS200 and the 300, I know, I've owned both.

I have to agree with this post a lot. I have owned and driven higher power cars so really a car of this size and weight with 150bhp just doesnt cut it for me...

The 200 and 300 are so different to each other and as said before, i would rather put up with the auto than have the lower powered car.

What's the question here? Is it why did peeps buy an IS200, or why they bought the IS200 rather than the IS300?

Thats what i was trying to ask really... Sorry. Why the 200 instead of the 300?

To me executive saloons suit an auto box best dont they? Dont get me wrong, if the 300 came with a manual that is definately the one i would have bought because i enjoy driving so much and like to decide when I want to change gear...Which in a way, having the tiptronic system worked for me. I do really love all of the quality, reliability and just generally all the extras that you get with this car but i am dying to go back to a manual car now that i have had my fun.

Hi, i havent posted for a long time but this question has bugged me for a while...

I bought an IS300, as working for Toyota i have been lucky enough to drive both UK models (200 & 300). I have owned mine for about 2 years, have had no problems with it at all and am very happy with it.

I love 6 cylinder engines because of the smoothness and noise they make,but i just wondered why so many people pick the 200? In my opinion i found the 200 a bit flat. On paper to me its a bit of a strange choice picking it. Its nigh on 2 tonnes with a 6 cylinder 2l engine and only producing around 150bhp. I know that these cars were designed to be luxury vehicles and not sports cars, (the japanese BMW/Merc if you will) but surely only having that much power with no potential of tuning unless you spend pretty much what the car is worth again is a bit pointless? I mean its a heavy car with 2 extra cylinders so its going to drink fuel.... I know that im one to talk having the 3l version but to me its a better choice. It has about 60bhp more and its really noticable! I know this country arent keen fans of autos (the only box available for the 300 outside of America strangely) But i reckon its definately the smoothest box ive come across and the tiptronic system on the steering wheel still lets you feel in control when you want to.

I would be interested to hear your opinions. It cant all be about Fuel, Tax and insurance though can it???

I 100% agree with the last 2 posts. I had a 200sx and they feel so much lighter and easier to kick the back end out. Great drift car, thats why there are so many of them.

I'm the same as above. Its the best of both worlds i reckon. I do tend to have the pwr button turned on most of the time too.

Man, That does look bad! Glad everyone was ok!

The Is does stand up pretty well to impacts... check this out:

If you put another tank of 97ron in afterwards you may notice a slight improvement. It can be a bit of a placebo though...

Im sure someone posted this vid up before but i just cannot find it!!!

I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about the ZK Designs throttle cable mod (2.43) or if anyone has tried a torque converter (3.02)??

As an IS300 owner there isnt that much i can do to tune my car but all these subtle little things may add up to make a slight difference. ;)

This is probably the sexiest Is i have seen!

Racemesh grilles also do the top ones aswell. I originally saw them advertised on the Lextasy website but when i asked the bloke he said he wouldnt post to the uk....his loss. ;)

http://www.racemeshgrilles.com/images/Race...%20(Medium).JPG

It does need some adjusting, didnt really notice when i fitted it. I have looked at getting body bits like the lips and skirts but have ran out of money for the time being. Got a nice lower mesh grille coming from Racemesh grilles in America (see below), a carbon upper grille (which i had to send back once because it was warped, unfortunately its glass fibre with a carbon overlay) and also a Blitz panel filter. :)

http://www.racemeshgrilles.com/images/Lexu...aceMesh%20b.jpg

I got a sweet GReddy Ti-C catback exhaust from America the other day. On idle it is quieter than the standard one but when you put your foot down it sounds amazing!! I have left the bung in to keep it subtle.

I got it from MVP motorsports and it cost around £450 Delivered! It was sent out friday and arrived monday! I cant say enough good things about their service. Excellent communication and very well priced.

http://www.mvpmotorsports.com/merchant/index.shtml

I dont mean to sound harsh mate but £500 isnt enough for a decent set of 18's. Unless A ) you are just paying for the rims with no tyres (might just be able to scrape a set for that price) or B ) stumble across a really good second hand deal.

You are driving what is classed as a luxury vehicle after all.

I would recomend any of these because they are excellent quality and well priced. I got a set of 18" A-tecs with a staggered fitment for a rear wheel drive car for my 200 SX a couple of years ago from JAE. They cost £612 for the rims and another £500 odd for tyres. (Dont scrimp on tyres!!!)

http://www.ultralitewheels.com/

Yeah, sorry HI!! Should have said hi before...

I still think that the other one i drove said on the display the right gear at the time....

Hmmm, maybe im wrong..

Thats exactly what mine does too. Im still sure its not right though. I drove another is300 before i got mine and im sure it had some kind of speed sensor on the auto box that put it in the right gear when you switched it across.