LeedsLad

Put 2 or 3 bags of sand/compost/cement in the boot. Whatever - just put some added weight on to the driven wheels to give you better traction. Don't laugh - it works!

Yes the 350 is available in Japan - and I could go to the extraordinary lengths to import a RHD IS350 from Japan - but 1) I'm sure it can be done but a lot of paperwork with the importing route, import duty, SVA etc.... 2) I lease them for 3 years and end the end of the term it just goes back. 3) Because I lease them I can't buy a 250 and drop in a 350 engine or supercharge it! 3) I would like to be able to walk in to the dealership and sign for one. As I said - I'm sure that I'll be delghted with my 250 when it's delivered and hope that in time the 350 is available in the UK dealerships, but thanks for the suggestion.

Spilt - Spilt - Makes sense because people looking for info on IS250/220 have to trawl through and avoid all of the posts for IS200/300. Spilt - Likewise I am sure that the IS200/300 community don't want to have to scroll through lots of 250/220 posts to find what they want. Split -like the US sites have - makes navigation far quicker. And if you haven't got the message by now - SPILT But thats only my opinion as a Humble Yorkshire Lad.

I know..... The excellent local dealership are delivering my 07 250 Sport MM on the afternoon of 28th Feb - but I can't drive it until 12:00 midnight. (not bothered about the leather and I like the 18" wheels and the other extras that the Sport gives. And my wife will put up with the slightly stiffer ride because I tell her to!)) Ive done the sums and I have a good enough idea how much extra a 350 would be and this time round I would have been prepared to stretch it and have one. I could have a 3 series but don't want one (every bu**ers got one). Instead I will have to have a 250. I'm sure I will be very happy with it, but there will always be the thought at the back of my head about the extra sparkling performance that a 350 would have given. IS350 only available wherever it is sold worldwide with an auto. I'm a manual box man myself, however with Lexus auto build quality and 0-60 in 5.3 seconds an auto box would be just fine! And I know that this is probably perverse, but I would have had the 350 rebadged as a 250, so that clients/customers didn't know!!! Thing is - I'd know at the lights. And the silly thing is that Lexus GB are bringing in the ISF. Great car - it will be too much money and too bling for me. And how many will they sell? - 'Ahh but we need a halo model.' they will say. Thats fine - bring in your halo model but fill out the range as well like most other manufactuers. Read some of the reviews on the US car sites the 350 actually beats the 3 series by a very narrow margin. I know the reasoning that Lexus GB use - 'When the IS200 was launched, everyone said oh please bring in the IS300. Didn't sell that many so the sums don't add up.' Although I think that this time round the sums would add up up. Because it's a new car that has moved the game on significantly - it's a different class of car. You only have to read the posts on here where posters have said that in comparison to the IS250 the IS200 feels like a Go-Kart. Yes, America is a big market for Lexus and so they get it all. However, I hope that once the ISF is launched here that they (finally) relent and bring in the 350 and I'll suffer the punishment of ceasing the lease early and have a 350. Although a glimmer of hope does exist - we already have the RX350 and it wont be long before we have a GS350 as that's what the US is getting. I don't need a GS it's too big, but an IS350 just right! There must be others on here in my postion.....?

304 L3X Plates for sale at the DVLA

IS220d TTE with 220 ps & 470 Nm with a 0-62 of 7.5 seconds IS220d TTE with 220 ps & 470 Nm with a 0-62 of 7.5 seconds Link is to a review in AutoBild 27/04/2006 It’s all in German but it’s a start for you.

See pic - at new car / old car change over time. Left Hand side is standard UK plate for both front and back Plate Size: Standard 520mm X 112mm Right Hand side is same length but slighly deeper Plate Size: Standard 520mm X 152mm

IS350 scores over BMW330i OOOpps I think that's right!

Hope this hasn't been posted before - IS350 in USA scores ahead of BMW330i... here-> 1st place to IS350

Performance Stats now added to Lexus web site.

is250 £22,400.00 is250SE £25,400.00 is250 SE-L £28,000.00 is250 sport £26,500.00 is220d £22,200.00 is220dse £25,200.00 is220d sel £27,800.00 is220d sport £26,900.00 The above have been floating around for a while now but not confirmed. If you check the petrol prices with the ones on the Lexus GB web site they are the same, which suggests that the diesel ones are correct.

Thanks for that, padam19, I guess that I was hoping for specs on a par with the below…. Model: 325i SE Saloon, Engine size: 2497cc, 0-62mph: 7.0 Manual (7.7 Auto) seconds In terms of spec for spec value, the new IS250 is very good value, being several thousands cheaper spec for spec versus the competition. When I place my order for a new IS I will do so out of loyalty to the brand, dealer experience, feel good factor and the fact that when I climb aboard I have the extraordinary build quality that is synonymous with the Lexus badge, I have lavish equipment levels, and the fact that I won’t spend my life passing nearly identical cars every time I climb aboard. I’m not bothered about being faster than a 3 series, but I think that we should have at least performance on a par with…. I wonder if, by the time that I order in Jan 2007 will have dropped the 3.0 litre (245 bhp) from the GS and Avalon into the IS – in line with the new Lexus policy to do more refreshes in a models life a la BMW?

Can't do links very well oopps... http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/previews/57896/lexus_is250.html

I know I did read it - that's why I asked the question I have seen a number of 'estimates' from 7.3 to 8.4. The link to the Peter Lyon review, also in Auto Express, in July is [U]here in which amongst other things he says "the IS350 is expected to sprint from 0-60mph in less than six seconds, in contrast to the IS250's 7.3 seconds." That's why I was asking (and hoping)......

Thanks Padam19 for the link to Auto Express review. Question answered - the UK number plate sits high enough up on the front bumper so as not to hang down over the lower mesh opening. Always thought that the front number plate position current IS spoiled the lines as it hangs down over the lower mesh aperture. Also - there is a thread on one of the US sites currently trying to find out the 0-60 time for the manual 250. The 0-60 of circa 5.3 for the 350 is all over the place - but try and find it for the 250..... The US Lexus site states 7.9 for auto and 8.3 for AWD but nothing for manual. A couple of months ago one reviewer on Auto Express, Peter Lyons, posted a time of 7.3 for the 250. Anyone know?

Found this on Club Lexus Forums So that sounds like good news. It's not much but 7.6 secs sounds an awful lot better than 8.4seconds.... Official performance times still not on Lexus.co.uk

I think it looks like a Mazda 6. And yes, I thought they were supposed to be different to the rest. Oh well... Si ← Got these comparisons from one of the American Lex sites.

Good shot side by side -

To make a model commercially viable, you need to sell thousands of units over a few years to make it worth while. It's no good just selling 500 to die hard enthusiasts. Lets just say they did, how much would an IS350 cost? £32k? £35K? I've no idea, but you can bet that if there is an argument against the price of the 2.5 lite model, there sure would be one against a 3.5....? How many people would pay the same for an IS350, if they could have a GS300 for the same or a little more? Don't forget the Japanese RIGHT HAND DRIVE release of the IS 350, and at around 5.8 seconds I couldn't care less about auto or manual. Not sure if I have managed to post picture of Jap IS350 in the right place in this post, but it should show uo somewhere - just to prove that it is manufactured in RHD. Not bothered about a 400bhp model, just an IS350 at American prices.... here in the UK, next spring....?

Looks better with Nav in place...

The front number plate on the current IS partially covers the lower grille aperture. Always thought that it slightly spoiled the look by obscuring some of the lower grille. New IS has a deeper area between the grilles. How do you think it will ‘hang’ on the new one?

Thanks, Mark D, I had a look at the sniffpetrol site and I haven't stop laughing since....it pokes fun at exactly the way that all new cars are reviewed, "so many sets of golf clubs in the boot and the new car is torsionally more rigid than the outgoing model etc...." I love these torsional rigidity quips.... “Engineers say the 159 boasts a 37% increase in torsional rigidity of up to 47,000 cubic Newtons.” ”is claimed to offer a five fold increase in torsional rigidity, to a class leading 59,329 square Newton yards.” ”Both cars are said to feature a 94% increase in torsional rigidity, up to 110,990 ambic hectare Newtons.” ”Sources in Japan say the new IS has recorded an impressive squintrupling of torsional rigidity, up to 500,000 atmospheric kiloNewtons.” ”By using the shorter Maybach 57 as its base, engineers say the S version is 312% more torsionally rigid, offering a benchmark figure of 785,330 metric inches Newtoned.” ” With an all new bodyshell, the MX5 is claimed to be 107.6 times more torsionally stiff, at a class-leading 1 million pentametric Newtonings.” ”When it enters production, the Leon will boast a notable 908% increase in torsional rigidness of around 2.6 million optical furlongs (Newton).” ”The new Passat's body is reported to offer 47 billion times more torsional rigidityness, a figure equivalent to a number so big that it cannot be seen by the human eye, when expressed as an indices of the square root of the industry standard measure of vertical airbourne Newtocentimetres cubed.” Thanks Mark - I may have an offbeat sense of humour I don't know, but I haven't laughed so much in ages!

Spent long time comparing and 2006 wins!

It may well get GT style mirrors if these are (speculate) allegedly, the real shots (and they are cool) but look closely - I hope it also gets an interior with seats and headrestraints... I know they are early shots (if they are they are the real thing allegedly or otherwise) but apart from the shot of the interior look at the other 3 alleged shots and where is the interior?

Sorry - none of the half a dozen images I attached have uploaded...so I tried again with 1 image at 65kb and I get a message saying that the total file size is too much???