Friday 25th August 2017

Shed of the Week: Lexus IS200 SportCross

Remember when SportCross was just Lexus's take on the estate? Shed does, and rather likes this one

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Time to talk sensors. Obscenity laws prevent Shed from airing his view on these infernal (and usually lying) electronic grass-up merchants of doom. His own ancient Golf has just had various constantly bleeping warnings about BRAKE FAULT, COOLANT, OWNER'S MANUAL and STOP cleared. Admittedly, the BRAKE FAULT was real, a trifling matter of two seized rear calipers, one of them leaking, plus a bent brake pipe, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with either the COOLANT or the OWNER'S MANUAL. And as for STOP, well, what's that supposed to mean?

Well now here is a rare beast

Why are we talking about this? Because one of the two snippets of info we are given about this week's Lexus IS200 SportCross Shed is that it has EML LIGHT ON DASHBOARD.

Now, assuming they mean 'the Engine Management Light is illuminated on the instrument panel', rather than 'there is a random bulb rolling about atop the dashboard', this is the sort of phrase that strikes fear into the heart of any used car buyer. Not because it refers to something specific: that would be a blessing. It's because a lit EML can mean just about anything, and it's your job - or that of the Lexus Diagnostic Technician, at an impressive three-figure hourly labour rate - to discover exactly what.

But let's have a look at the car in question and have a quiet think. Two minutes' research tells us that on the IS200 there's a sensor near the petrol cap. Apparently the cap seal gets hard over time and stops sealing, tripping this confounded sensor whose only job is to bring misery to your life by alerting you to a world-endangering leakage of petrol fumes. This wakes up the EML, and suddenly you're in a whole new world of angst.

Aging better than the saloon perhaps?

Once you know the trick, though, it's a two-minute job to clear things up simply by tightening the fuel cap and disconnecting one of the battery leads for two minutes. Et voila, with one bound you are free to enjoy the exotic pleasures of Lexus's compact - and quite rare - executive estate.

Why is the SportCross rare? Well, potential buyers weren't convinced that, even with VVT-I variable valve timing, 155hp and 144lb ft of torque would be enough to push 1,430kg along. A low-to-mid 9-second 0-62 time, 134mph top end and average fuel consumption figures in the high 20s would seem to back that up.

There was a 3.0-litre IS300 SportCross to address the performance complaints, but at £28,450 it was a lot more expensive than the £21,990 IS200. Still, there was good news for IS200 owners to compensate them for their lack of grunt. The SportCross wasn't just a rear-driver in the best (and deliberately copied) BMW tradition, enhanced by double-wishbone suspension, it also inherited the limited slip differential from the IS200 Sport saloon and a snickety six-speed manual gearbox. The steering is a bit light but stick an aftermarket air filter on it and keep it over 4,000rpm and you'll be having fun before you know it.

Snazzy dials, manual gearbox, sat-nav...

It will be comfy fun too. The SportCross was a genuine mini-Lexus, with lots of nice kit including a nine-speaker premium sound system with six-disc CD auto-changer, an electric sunroof, drilled aluminium pedals, stainless sill plates, headlight washers, climate control, half-leather seats, rear tinted glass and those (at the time) shockingly radical chronograph-style instruments. From the looks of the pop-up sat-nav, this Shed is a Navigator model. That was a £2,300 option.

As a used proposition, the SportCross has the usual IS potential to run through consumables at a fair old lick. Some say the wheel geometry was wrong ex-works, causing excessive wear on the front tyre inners, although others believe this was only an issue with the OE Bridgestones. The front dampers could be noisy from cold, but that should have been sorted on most cars under warranty.

... and a ruddy sunroof too? Get it bought!

Shed reckons that not only is the IS estate styling somewhat crisper than the saloon's, it's wearing its years a lot better. Late-model IS quality is generally excellent, and this looks like a well cared for example with just two owners. And remember, EML LIGHT ON DASHBOARD might not be quite the sick-making scenario you're expecting. It could be an opportunity to march into this dealership with £874.50 and an offer to relieve the dealer of his unshiftable motor.

Of course, the problem could be something else. It could be cheap, like plugs, or more expensive, like injectors, coil packs, or a coolant issue arising from a radiator leak. But it might not be. This is the excitement of 21st century motoring.

Here's the ad. It won't take long to read.

. E M L  LIGHT ON DASHBOARD M O T  TO   28/02 2018

 

[Captaincheese]

If the EML light issue can be resolved with your petrol cap trick then that looks like a very good buy.

Friend of mine had a saloon version of these which got past 200,000 miles without too much drama - they are pretty robust mechanically.

Good shed - loving the new (exotic!) stuff that the marginally increased budget unlocks!