RE: SOTW Lexus IS200
Discussion
have always had a fancy for one of these ever since my mate was granted a 24hr test drive and we went on a 500 mile drive just for the hell of it 
at thats sort of money it's a good option for my next 'budget' motoring choice.
just need to have a good look at overall runing costs and issues that may crop up as the cars are getting more and more miles piled on them.
at thats sort of money it's a good option for my next 'budget' motoring choice.
just need to have a good look at overall runing costs and issues that may crop up as the cars are getting more and more miles piled on them.
Crimp a Length! said:
Friend of mine had one of these brand new.
Dull as dishwater and slow.
I remember a diesel golf blowing him into the rafters once when he'd had it a couple of weeks.
Suffice to say he sold it and bought a BMW not long after.
Yeah, I can imagine a TDI Golf would blow one of these into the weeds. However, I don't think it was ever really aimed at that kind of performance.Dull as dishwater and slow.
I remember a diesel golf blowing him into the rafters once when he'd had it a couple of weeks.
Suffice to say he sold it and bought a BMW not long after.
I have not driven one of these, but the one guy I know who had one loved it. Strikes me more of a compact wafter than a hard driving sports saloon/sedan.
For me this thing is a 7 out of 10 shed. If it's been well looked after it should be reliable, refined transport and worth a risk at a grand (exactly the sort of thing shed is about after all). No need for fully comp insurance and if it lasts 9 months without needing anything major then it's a win :-)
TankRS said:
have always had a fancy for one of these ever since my mate was granted a 24hr test drive and we went on a 500 mile drive just for the hell of it
at thats sort of money it's a good option for my next 'budget' motoring choice.
just need to have a good look at overall runing costs and issues that may crop up as the cars are getting more and more miles piled on them.
in the time ive had the 300 Sportcross navigator bought in 2005 at 30,000 on an 02 plate 17k now showing 77,000 worth around 3.5kat thats sort of money it's a good option for my next 'budget' motoring choice.
just need to have a good look at overall runing costs and issues that may crop up as the cars are getting more and more miles piled on them.
had the car regulary serviced cost around 250 quid a pop , cant fault the Lexus dealership , every time in town they will wash the car for free , just leave it with them free parking finish shopping collect , cant fault them .
some of the things that went in the 7 years of ownership
The 6 disc auto changer went just outside warranty they changed it free.
ESC sensor failed replaced 300 quid
4 x Tyres replaced 400 quid
exhaust replaced 350 quid
other than that its been as reliable as a rock .
The only gripe is the standard alloys really do suffer from corrosion even on a 3 year car they were badly pitted , never got round to refurbishment around 60 quid a corner ,
on the 300's the rear wheels are slighly larger than the fronts and are not interchangeable as i found out replacing a rear wheel.
The sportcross (estate )you get slightly more room seats fold flat and i think it looks better at the back than the saloon .
Edited by DBSV8 on Friday 27th July 14:20
DBSV8 said:
in the time ive had the 300 Sportcross navigator bought in 2005 at 30,000 on an 02 plate 17k now showing 77,000 worth around 3.5k
had the car regulary serviced cost around 250 quid a pop , cant fault the Lexus dealership , every time in town they will wash the car for free , just leave it with them free parking finish shopping collect , cant fault them .
some of the things that went in the 7 years of ownership
The 6 disc auto changer went just outside warranty they changed it free.
ESC sensor failed replaced 300 quid
4 x Tyres replaced 400 quid
exhaust replaced 350 quid
other than that its been as reliable as a rock .
The only gripe is the standard alloys really do suffer from corrosion even on a 3 year car they were badly pitted , never got round to refurbishment around 60 quid a corner ,
on the 300's the rear wheels are slighly larger than the fronts and are not interchangeable as i found out replacing a rear wheel.
The sportcross (estate )you get slightly more room seats fold flat and i think it looks better at the back than the saloon .
I think the CD changer dying is quite a common problem, mine certainly died in the time I had one. However, it was the only thing that went wrong with mine. I'd agree about the alloy corrosion as well, I found that a bit dissapointing given the overal quality of finish on the rest of the car.had the car regulary serviced cost around 250 quid a pop , cant fault the Lexus dealership , every time in town they will wash the car for free , just leave it with them free parking finish shopping collect , cant fault them .
some of the things that went in the 7 years of ownership
The 6 disc auto changer went just outside warranty they changed it free.
ESC sensor failed replaced 300 quid
4 x Tyres replaced 400 quid
exhaust replaced 350 quid
other than that its been as reliable as a rock .
The only gripe is the standard alloys really do suffer from corrosion even on a 3 year car they were badly pitted , never got round to refurbishment around 60 quid a corner ,
on the 300's the rear wheels are slighly larger than the fronts and are not interchangeable as i found out replacing a rear wheel.
The sportcross (estate )you get slightly more room seats fold flat and i think it looks better at the back than the saloon .
On balance, the IS200 probably makes a good shed though, they are reliable and would be very good value for shed money.
Maxus said:
Does anyone know what the real life mpg is on a manual one of these? I quite like the idea of one of these at or around shed money.
Unfortuantely you get around 20MPG around town driving smoothly - you can quite easily get it lower if you are a bit spirited with your right foot. When I owned my 200 I ended up fitting the TTE supercharger kit which gives around the 200BHP mark - surprisingly it made the MPG better by changing my driving style as you could ride the low down torque rather than have to rev it all the time!
Baryonyx said:
Overall, I quite liked some of the IS200's. Never did understand why they were so underpowered compared to the competition.
They developed a supercharger kit for the car but decided that it was not enough aligned to the Lexus values enough to go to market! It got sold as an after market kit by TTE in the end.
edeath said:
Unfortuantely you get around 20MPG around town driving smoothly - you can quite easily get it lower if you are a bit spirited with your right foot.
When I owned my 200 I ended up fitting the TTE supercharger kit which gives around the 200BHP mark - surprisingly it made the MPG better by changing my driving style as you could ride the low down torque rather than have to rev it all the time!
I get 18.5 mpg out of my V8 XJR pondering around town, so it's kinda sWhen I owned my 200 I ended up fitting the TTE supercharger kit which gives around the 200BHP mark - surprisingly it made the MPG better by changing my driving style as you could ride the low down torque rather than have to rev it all the time!
t on fuel really isn't it?!What will you get on a long run in one?
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