TimS320

Well, sold my Golf this morning to the first viewer! Now I can start looking for the best IS I can afford.

One that tne with the models with satnav/multimedia, do they have a USB or flash card slot for music or is it still the standard 6 disc auto changer?

Yes, they were nice touches, especially the wheel that came in and out with the ignition! I thought the SEL had multimedia as standard but I guess at this age it was an option, as the car had a parrot kit fitted.

Test drove an SE L auto today. Very smooth indeed and much preferred over the manual I think. Not bothered too much about the extras over the standard SE, this didn't have satnav or multimedia, just the standard radio which still seems very good. Ride was really good even over potholes.

Only extra I could see on this was a spoiler and the rear blind. Brakes were a lot better than the other car I drove too which makes me think it had a problem with them

Quick question, do any owners know how to turn the ignition/radio etc on without starting the engine? I'm talking about what would be the accessory position to power up the dash and check the lights.

Thanks, got some reading now. I'll report on the test drives tomorrow.

Great, thanks for the press release too. Does anyone have a link to the brochure or what the original colour combinations were? I've just looked at a silver with black leather nd may go and see a silver with cream/grey leather?

Thanks. The ride in the Golf is just too much, especially early in the morning! The 250 I took out today was very smooth. I'm determined to stick to the 17" wheels too. No more 18s for me. Now off to look at a couple in the Stockport area tomorrow, one manual and one auto.

Is it generally worth paying the extra for a car with satnav/bluetooth installed or Lexus like VW in that their in house satnav is generally rubbish and overpriced for updates? I'd like Bluetooth rather than stick another Parrot kit on the fascia, but don't want to pay lots more for the car.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going looking at another car tomorrow and will see if if I can find an auto nearby to try. I know the road tax isn't great but hadn't realised the auto made it cheaper. Do they tend to be a lot dearer?

Otherwise looks like a great car, well screwed together. Anything else to think about?

Great forum and lots of advice for potential IS 250 owners like me. I've had a read through and hope you can help with a couple of questions.

Just selling my Golf GTi for something a bit more refined and grown-up, especially for my 12 mile commute.

Looking at 06-08 IS250's like other posters on here. I'm pretty set on petrol and manual as it won't do huge mileage and I've just test-driven a nice one locally that had 60K, full Lexus history and was on a 56 plate. Silver with black heated leather, just what I'm after.

I know there are a lot of spec differences. This one had the standard stereo, no satnav. How do I tell if it has Bluetooth? Is it possible to retrofit if not or is it a Parrot kit?

Did the basic SE come with a 13 speaker system as standard and was there a USB port hidden anywhere? I've found the Aux-In - does anyone know how much control it gives you?

Also going from Golf to this - the brake pedal travel felt longer and more progressive than the "instant stop" of the Golf. Is this about right? Also the clutch change, after being used to German cars for 15 years, was a little different and the gear change needed a good shove. Again, typical?