DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I will have to disagree with you here.. The IS300 in no way shape or form on par or better than an E46 3 series when it comes to the drive. I will say that it is a capable car but did not offer the driver control & feel that the BMW of its day delivered.

You just said it right here..

What?? We should remove our suspension mods now & forget about it.. I'll leave this one alone for you to figure out on a nice twisty road....


Overall, the current IS is a nice package for what it is.. I actually like the car when it debuted in 2006 & thought about getting one.. The 350 was certainly quicker & more powerful that the 330i sedan. The IS350 does not have the planted feel that the 3 series has and that is a fact.
Hopefully, the next gen will be much more composed & offer better driver feedback for those looking for these attributes in a Lexus..

mikemareen

wow the upgraded bumpers look like a ebay bumper kit, kinda weak styling. Lexus seems to be losing their aesthetics and seem to have no direction.

LexFather

Of course you wouldn't have anything beat a BMW but all the experts loved the IS 300 for the way it handled, on par and better than the E46. As a matter of fact there were a lot of complaints about E46 steering being loose so BMW made it tighter in later years. It beat the 3 series at the link below

http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/co...ll-enthusiasts

The IS 300 was lauded for its crisp, tight handling by everyone. Again you don't know what you are talking about. I owned an IS 300 for awhile, it was a fantastic handling car and IMO the most fun stock Lexus.

IMO the IS 250 is a great handling car but needs more power or you have to stay connected by shifting it constantly (which is fun). THe stock IS 350 handles well but I feel the power overwhelms the chassis in tight corners and that is when you feel the steering is not as sharp as a E90.

I find the F-sport IS 350 to be a tremendous balance of power and handling. At that point its really stretching to say one is better than the other.

After years and years some people need to get it through their skulls that Lexus will provide their way of doing things. If you want a BMW, buy a BMW.
People clearly like what the IS offers, its fared very well in comparisons and sold well.

jvxdriver

The new front bumper design looks like a body kit. Like others have said, it looks like the matrix, especially in the foglight area. Too much going on.

As for the headlight, I like the blackout with the chrome bezel around the projector. The LED design appears to look like the backup light on the back. At least they are consistent in design. I like the LED actually, but I believe Lexus should be more original in design. I think they could do better. Don't just slap LED strip in there for the sake of having LED, just to be trendy like Mercedes, Porsche, Jaquar, etc.

Then again in picture, it looks different than seeing it in person. We'll see when it comes out.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I am sorry but I am not into car magazines.. Anyone who has driven both cars should know which offers a better drive once behind the wheel. I know what I am talking about & don't need the opinions of magazine writers. The IS300 a better drive than an E46 3 series? There is surely a disparity in our tastes in driving feel for sure. To each his own

LexFather

Just be sorry you don't read. I've driven then all and owned the IS 300. Its amazing how convenient it is to throw out professionals opinions out the window when it doesn't agree with yours.

The E46 and IS 300 were on par with handling, period. One was not so superior to the other that you can say "this car handles better". What you can say is "I prefer this car over that one".

But hey, you will also tell us BMWs have no problems too so this is not surprising.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I will not get into an internet pissing match with you. Anyone who has doubts about which car is the better driver can drive both for themselves like i have done.

Grasping at straws again?

OC 335d

250 needs more hp/tq to compete with its competition.

Where's the Hd navi? The navi needs an update bad.

F-sport front bumper is ugly.
The new Tail lights are still ugly.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Both the E46 3 series and the 1G IS weren't very good cars for the money, in my opinion. They drove, handled and accelerated OK, but not much better than you average cars. Both had insufficient power compared to even pedestrian cars. Both had questionable interiors (although the IS300 interior was built very solid, despite questionable materials).

I remember driving a brand new 325 back in 2000 or so, and saying to myself - what a miserable POS. Slow, uncomfortable, inadequate space, CD player that skipped over bumps. It is simply ridiculous how much both of these cars improved in just one generation. If Lexus didn't step on BMW's toes, we wouldn't have the 335, and vice versa. Right now you really can't go wrong with either of these cars, both are excellent.

I think right now the 3 series is ahead of IS with more choice of engines and drivetrains, and body styles, but Lexus is slowly catching up. Both cars are getting a full redesign in a year or two, and hopefully they will both take some lessons from each other, and these two models will be better than ever.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I still have a 2001 IS300 brochure from the time I test drove one if anyone is interested along with other goodies..

SLegacy99

That's a bunch of BS. The IS 300 was a vehicle that many agreed had not business but driving on dry road. And even then the traction control was still employed under most any form of acceleration. The car had a decent amount of power, but I've never driven a vehicle as such that felt so unstable, so unsure of which direction it was going to go. So, while the IS 250 is more planted, I fail to find a car that would rival or even be on par with a 3 series.

LexFather

Sorry bud you are way off here. The IS 300 was called the Japanese 3 series over and over. Both were RWD, both had near identical dimensions, both offered manuals, both had I-6 engines.

Maybe the one you drove had bald tires or something.

SLegacy99

Well it is my opinion that it drove terribly. You can have all of the right elements, but that doesn't neccessarily make for a supurb driving experience.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

Moral of the story: everyone sees things differently

SLegacy99

Yeah, I guess so.