ydooby

The problem with the IS250 is its power delivery--it feels sluggish off the line and nothing much is happening until you rev it really high, so on paper it has over 200hp and does 0-60 in 8 seconds but in the real world it feels quite a bit slower than even the last-gen Camry 2.5 in my experience.

Likewise, the 320i with its turbo'd inline-4 will likely feel much livelier than the IS250 in the real world, despite its lower power rating. Now the real question is when Lexus is going to bring the new 2.0 turbo from the upcoming NX200t to the rest of its entry models.

fly2low

If BMW tunes this engine sufficiently punchy for daily driving such that most people don't notice the detune than they will be successful. That is, when most people cant really differ this from 328i in daily driving.

IS 250 is still the most okay compared to the laggy C250 and the abslolutely blah (slow, noisy, and rather thirsty) G25. Yet, IS 250 is still easy to contrast with IS350. Before i got my is350 in 2006, it only took me one block of driving to say no to is250

SteVTEC

That's always been the problem with these DCX cars, they're heavy pigs. According to that C&D link the Charger is 4100 lbs. If the 320/328 is already more than roomy enough for my 6'3" frame including in the back at a mere 3400 lbs, then that's 700 lbs of dead weight in the Charger that's only holding you back and wasting a ton of gas and performance.

Except that even this 320i is still going to be quicker than the IS250 in most situations.

LexFather

Except I've driven both

SteVTEC

I'm guessing this 180hp spec engine will be just like the 240hp spec engine in terms of power delivery, just overall less of it. And as has always been the case on the lower spec engined BMWs, I'm guessing they're going to put a shorter final drive into the car to compensate for the lower level of power. You'll probably be able to get 4000-5000 rpm with ease even at lower speeds so that the engine is in the middle of its torque band at all times. Hence even an old E60 525i with the 2.5L I-6 and 184hp would "feel lively" and engaging to drive despite the fact that flat out it wasn't really all that fast.

I drove the C250 at the BMW Team USA drive event last year and thought it was pretty nice. A bit laggier than the Audi or BMW yes, but I thought it was ok. Had planned to stick around and drive the IS250, but sadly the person that had it took it out for an "extended lunch" and I didn't have time to wait around, so I never go to drive it.

Outrage

The 300 and Charger have almost identical dimensions to a BMW 740i. The BMW weighs over 300 pounds more, however.

SteVTEC

And.... ??

IS250: 0-60 in 7.9s
320i: 0-60 in 7.1s
328i: 0-60 in 5.8s

If you're equating the IS250 to the 328i, then you can't possibly be talking about performance then, right? I'm guessing the standard features between the IS250 and 328i are probably more similar,and that a lot of things that are standard on the 328i will be optional on the 320i to bring the price down. There really isn't a big cost difference between the 2.0L 180hp engine and the 240hp one. Different turbos obviously, but the cost to manufacturer probably isn't all that different. So I'm guessing equipment....

fly2low

BMW also programs their trannies aggressively. All lexus trannies feel lazy compared to bmw of the same class, including my 4gs compared to f10.

LexFather

I'm not arguing. I like the 320, I like IS 250. I found the 320 deliver to have the usual turbo lag and its not like I tracked the car. Around town it was fine but I didn't find it so much quicker. Again I prefer the more balanced 6 cylinders of the IS 250 even if its slower.

mrraider

Maybe in 2006 that was the case. Nowadays here is what I see:

Low level engine:
320i, c250, IS250, g25 (discontinued), ATS 2.5, A3 (?)

Mid level:
328i, c300, ATS 2.0, S60 t5, a4

High level:
335i, ATS 3.6, S60 T6, S4, , g37, c350, IS350


This based on power and performance roughly. There is much overlap in price and features.

Lexus is in bad need of a mid range option, or upping the output of the 2.5. The 3rd gen IS does not address it. MB addressed it by making a 2nd lower powered variant of teh 3.5L V6.

Infra

iTrader: (1)

People test driving a 180 HP car don't care about power. They'll test drive the thing, feel the 200 lb-ft of torque available in the entire engine band, sign, and drive away.

ydooby

Indeed, the best quality of the IS250 is its absolutely buttery smooth engine operation, even in high revs, so it's great for those who absolutely don't care about power and enjoy only the premium feel. Still Lexus could've done more to keep the IS250's powertrain competitive (with D-4S, 8-speed auto, etc.).

SteVTEC

This has been my complaint with the Japanese offerings for years. It's either been "ALL", in excess of 300hp which is a lot more than I can reasonably enjoy, or not quite enough enough with these little 2.5L NA engines. No happy middle ground. BMW has been somewhat guilty of this too when they came out with the 3.0L turbo, and then de-tuned their NA engines to give a little more market separation. They do have the bases very well covered now. You're not forced into buying more performance than you want or need. I wish Lexus would come out with an IS300 based on the 3GR-FSE engine that was in the last generation GS300 for a year or two before it went to the GS350. More torque, can pull bigger gears, should get better mileage too while offering better performance.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

For starters, everyone looks at the 250 the wrong way. Think of it as a 4 cylinder competitor. Now rather than putting an actual 4 in there, Lexus graced us with an extra two cylinders to keep things smooth and not buzzy like a TSX 2.4 or a ATS 2.5. The 250 even gets equivalent mileage to the TSX go figure. As for the 0-60, it's quicker than 8 secs. Lexus recently changed the ratings upwards but they used to be 7.7sec and the 350 used to be 5.3 now it's 5.6. It's more to protect their ***** from lawsuits. Also keep in mind the IS is heavier than both the Camry and spry 3 series. Lastly I predict we will see the turbo applications in the IS for the MY16 in 2015 due to the 250/350 being out for 10 years.

ydooby

Once again, the problem of the IS250 is never its power rating or 0-60 figure on paper, it's its sluggish feel when driven in normal traffic. Very few people actually drive around with revs kept above 6000rpm all the time, which is what's needed to achieve the car's paper specs. Lexus needs to solve the IS250's power delivery down low, which according to at least one review (of the prototype), seems to have improved..