Silver Arrow

The SE-L from that era (i.e. pre facelift in 2009 MY) had front and rear parking sensors, wood trim (Yamaha Piano wood), Xenons, rear blind ++ EDIT Options were Automatic transmission, sunroof, Satnav (MLS), PCS (pre-crash safety) and ACC (Adaptive Cruise control) and 18 inch wheels (though these could be spec'd on an SE too) if I'm not mistaken. (From Sept 2008 (2009 MY) It was Auto only, 18 inch powder coated darker wheels, dark wood, MLS standard if I recall too)

Very true. But we're talking IS here, not a car made from Carbon fibre and a fire breathing engine from the bellows of hell lol. Good point though - the LFA was designed ground up to achieve those things (with super car performance). The IS wasn't... The BMW handling thing can easily be resolved by putting normal tyres on instead of those Run Flats, very easily.

The F Sport is OK in my humbleness, but the way the 3 series handles leaves you smiling; I don't think any basic upgrade will make it even close to a 3 series - the standard IS is no proper Sports saloon. Take the ISF - it's brilliant in every way, but the M3 is just that little bit better....BMW have been making performance saloons with straight 6's since the late 60's and the 3.0 engine is probably the best 6 cylinder engine they ever made

I agree - it depends where you live. If you live in town, then the chance to stretch it's legs might be somewhat restricted, but then why does everyone not just buy a Fiat Panda?? The 330i is awesome - it's plenty quick, on rails etc, and Hondaman I think you know the answer to your own question???? I like you have had several BMW's and all I can say is that they are superb - just buy one with a full history and from the dealers. They might not be as reliable as a Jap car, but they are not that far behind and the thrills out weigh the chance of something breaking. I will get one next me thinks! There is only one thing to watch out - (injector) Coil Packs on post 2007 models - check with the dealer if they have ever been replaced - and even that problem is rare. And try and avoid the 19 inch rims which are prone to cracking. 335i's are astonishingly quick. - but like all things - it has been boosted by twin turbo's and you won't know how it was driven before.

I've never managed to get "Thethering" to work on the GS250, and have given up!

2 Ton? More like 1.6 tons...if I remember

I need to do my plugs soon but believe its a right B*tch to do ... just by what you need to removed on the left bank just to get to them - its good having a mechanic on the forum - maybe if you change them you could do a walk through on how they are done. They are quite expensive at around £100 -£120 for a set of 6 but they do have a 100k lifespan. I thought it was 60k, i.e. the big service where they change them??

+1 - the older you buy, the greater the chance of something going wrong...

Why not refurb?

It's all spin, started by the kings of Spin, Tony Bliar and Mandleson

Funnily enough mine did it at 20k....just before I got rid

Why oh why would anyone even risk taking one on the motorway? They really are not made for that! It's almost as crazy as taking a 1970's moped on a motorway....they're meant for town use - which is why I'm always dubious of what car mags claim they achieve on tests. PS - just reading that article, it seems to state that the dimwit driver didn't read the instructions lol and didn't engage "range extender mode". I'd still never take an electric thing on a motorway - it's like using a mobile phone knowing the battery is flat

1966 BMW 2000 LHD 1979 Pug 104 ZS 1981 BMW 520 E24 1983 BMW 316 E21 1984 BMW 316 E30 1984 BMW 520i E28 1986 BMW 518i E28 1990 Toyota Corolla (wedding, housing ladder etc) 1994 Mondeo GLX (kids) 1996 Carina E (kids) 1999 Pug 406 GLX (kids) Phew! Finally, kids over! 2002 Audi a4 130TDi 2006 Lexus IS220d 2007 BMW 525dM Sport E60 2012 GS250

There are more Moggies about overall than GS's lol

There is a GS-F on it's way…which will be gunning in that Q Car category

Hi Larryadler - Actually, scouring the ad's pages seems to indicate that on the face of it, at least, the GS250 doesn't fare much worse than an E350Cdi, and thats a diesel. You can pick up one of those, in Sport trim, for not much more than a GS250 Lux. I'm disappointed with the engine and gearbox. It's merely adequate - when most cars today have smoother gearing, more torque, power and MPG; and thats with their petrol engines that are smaller! Overall, the GS250 is OK, but the gears can be snappy, especially in Normal mode, and it doesn't really have enough torque to stop it from ust revving/dropping gears. It's at it's best just wafting about sedately in Comfort mode. You can't hustle it like you can a 5 series, without it feeling a bit barge like. But in wafting mode which is how I drive it most of the time, it's superb!! So may be it's not too bad. Having said that, the E class has been out for 4.5 years, and is so much more dated in terms of interior, drive etc. but is much more economical and quicker. Hindsight is a wonderful thing; I've commented on it before - you buy with your heart in most cases, with Lexus your heart wins your head over once you appreciate how much more you get for the money. If I had waited 12 months, I would have been able to buy a GS just like this one, and still kept my old 5 series ('57 plate 525d M Sport Auto with a few bells and whistles, only 34k on the clock - 1 owner), and it wouldn't have cost me any more. Food for thought. Will I ever buy a new car again? Probably lol. Even the new IS300h - you can get a nearly new Premier for around £33k before haggling, which is already over £5.5k (+metallic) less than new, and it's still only a few months old.

Does it state how it was driven? The jury is still out on battery only E cars, but the range extender is the one we'll be driving….if BMW ever come back to me!

I agree - I bet the F Sport and/or Premier has the fully fledged version. Us drivers of a merry Luxury can only hoop! By the way - it would be great if you could post your findings on the car - welcome to the GS club!

Scary. I've noticed that you can pick up some of them now, with low miles, 12-18 months old, for much less than £25k. That is stonking value for money compared to an IS, or dare I say it, even an LS £ for £ I knew that they would hit a cliff early on - but in the long run privateers will keep a heady demand, or so I hope, else mine will be worth £10k in a year or 2…. :-(

When you brake, I believe that the motor goes into ERS (Energy Recovery System) mode - really putting everything into the battery - or as much as is practicable from the inertia of the car slowing down, as to not waste that energy. Some of the newer E-only cars can almost generate enough Kinetic energy so that the battery isn't used at all, especially on a flat road, like the BMW i3. So they claim….and you can actually drive it using just the accelerator only - apparently when you lift, so much ERS is "forced" that the car actually comes to a stop as hard as if you apply the brakes, and that might take some getting used to else you'd be jerking (!) around I've got a test drive coming soon….

Just the light I'm afraid. It's utterly useless, other than for a slow puncture, even then one of my summer tyres had a nail in it, and the pressure was 28psi and it never went on!! I only found out mine worked when I swopped the wheels over (spare rims for winter, without the monitors). The transmitter is stuck to the valve inside the rim, about a fag packet sized black box. Needless to say my light is permanently on whilst winters are on

Yup - 2009 model year cars (Sept 2008 build onwards IIRC).

About 475 GS450h's and 700 or so GS 250's in 2013….on "how many left" website

OMG - Dave250, your car is no good - as it's upside down….lol EDIT Lexus (actually Toyota) do have a huge amount of experience with diesels - 4x4's, vans, 90's Corolla had a cracking diesel engine etc. In the case of the IS 220d, they basically seem to have taken the humble Avensis D4D FWD 180 unit and shoe-horned into a RWD IS, then messed about with the final drive to make it economical. Result? Useless 6th gear, narrow power delivery etc. It was never designed for this application in my view. I ordered mine pre-launch 2005 - on the test drive (2 weeks before mine was due to be delivered - Feb 2006) the sales man gave me the "patter" about how tight the engines were in Toyota Diesels when I questioned the 6th gear, and I took his word for it…big mistake lol

No, it's of limited use