LexFather

I think VDIM is only in the GS430, not 300.

XeroK00L

It was the IS250 that I was complaining about. I was saying that if Lexus touted the VDIM technology so much in the Geneva show and in their PR, they might wanna do something...like actually put it in the IS250, supposedly the top IS model sold in Europe!!

Xanadu350

Do you think the rear leg room will be better in this new IS since it's 3 inches longer? I wonder if it seat 4 comfortably like the GS? Also does the current IS model has rear air vents for A/C? If not I hope they incorporate that into the new IS.

biker

I'm somewhat skeptical of some of those numbers. The 0-60 time seems off as well as the milage figures.
New numbers should be available with the US debut in 2 weeks.

spwolf

yep, 10l consumption is like an SUV or something... Both weight and mileage make little sense.
Wait a sec - looking at IS300 spec, it actually spent 1l more than IS250 specs, and went about the same (8.2), so yes those should be ok - keep in mind that these are Euro figures that are done using completly different tests. So if with IS250 you get same speed as with IS300, consume considerably less fuel and get much larger car.... it works! I am still a bit scepctical but who knows...

Also, consider than Lexus usually doesnt gear their 2nd gear to reach 62mph like what BMW does to get better 0-62 figures, but passing times should be similar :-).

Also - I dont think IS250 will be top model in Europe, IS350 will be that, they just reserved IS350 presentation for March23rd...

XeroK00L

I just looked up GS300's fuel consumption in Lexus Europe's web page--9.8l/100km = 24.01mpg, which is indeed quite a bit lower than the GS300's EPA estimate of 25.6mpg in the US but still BETTER than the IS250's 9.9l/100km!! So my confusion regarding how the IS250 manages to be worse than the GS300 in gas mileage still persists.

On the other hand, I think you're right that the IS250 will not be the top IS model in Europe. Lexus must be just reserving the debut of the top model in the US. Still, I wonder if the IS350 will be the only IS that gets VDIM, or if the lowest model IS220d gets it too. It's really a shame that people have to pay premium for the bigger engine just to get the safety of the VDIM.

spwolf

I doubt IS will spend more gas than GS, it is probably just bad info.

I am not sure about IS250 and VDIM, but it is probably too expensive for that car - price might then reach IS350 price, so whats the point? Then IS250 will have AWD...

Especially in Europe, if they have 5-6 sedan models, like it looks they will, it will be completly un-typical from efficent Toyota... You have to consider they are looking to sell only 15k IS's in Europe per year... And thats in 30 different countries with different stocks, it is an logistical nightmare.

Avensis has that many options, but it sells in some 150,000 vehicles per yer :-)

LexFather

I find that companies listing their legroom and other measurements is useless. B/C I've sat in vehicles where I just felt more comfortable and the brochure is telling me the competition is bigger on the inside. And vice versa. 3" is a big deal, it has to offer more legroom in the rear. I'm 6"5 and I found the CURRENT IS to have more than enough legroom in front for me, its quite comforable. Funny but the much bigger ES 330, I find a tighter fit. I believe it has a lot to do with FWD vs RWD layout.
One FWD midsize car with tons of front leg room, the 1st generation Acura Legend. Very comfortable.

knolex2001

IS 250 may be smaller than the 3.0 in the BMW 325, but the BMW will only have 175-185 hp. Also, with Direct Injection, the 2.5 in the Lexus will perform stronger than the horsepower suggests.

The IS will have rear A/C vents.

The IS 350 has been promised with 300+ hp, but I don't know if that's realistic. If the same engine in the GS 300 puts out 245 with 3.0 liters (81.67 hp per liter), and the IS 250 puts out 204 hp (81.67 hp per liter), than it would make sense that the IS 350 will have about 285 hp (81.67 hp per liter).

Is 300+ hp possible in the IS 350? Of course it is. But it may line up like everything else.

I'm happy to see Smart Key access buttons on the door handles though.

Here's the rumor about the GS: Lexus didn't release the 3.5 liter V6 because it has hp ratings too close to the GS 430, so they put the 3.0 245 hp in it instead. Rumor has it that a GS 460 is in the works, and when it is released, the 3.5 may make it's way into the GS. The 3.5 will be a part of the GS hybrid, but no one's confirming it going into the standard GS.

Either way, it's exciting stuff.

Let's see...3.5 liter making 285 hp, and twin electric motors pushing out 50-60 hp equals...335hp?

Unbelievable.

Gojirra99

The GS350 has already appeared in the lexus.jp website Go & take a look but no details yet & it's in Japanese

TED_FR

Even though Lexus is selling very few IS models in France, we got quite a number of available models:

Model year 2005
IS200 (2.0 l 6 cylinder) 155 PS - manual 6 speeds
IS200 (2.0 l 6 cylinder) 155 PS - Automatic 4 speeds.
IS200 (2.0 l 6 cylinder) SportCross 155PS - only manual

IS300 (3.0 l 6 cylinder) 213 PS only comes with e-shift 5 speeds
IS300 (3.0 l 6 cylinder) SportCross 213 PS only comes with e-shift 5 speeds

Model year 2006 (AWD may appear later on)
SportCross discontinued despite the fact it was selling better than the sedan which looked somewhat too old.

IS220 D (2.2 Diesel 4 cylinder) 177 PS - only comes manual 6 speeds BEST SELLER compared to 320D 163 PS

IS250 RWD (2.5 V6) 204 PS -manual 6 speeds SHOULD DO OK compared to 325i 218 PS
IS250 RWD (2.5 V6) 204 PS- e-shift 6 speeds

IS350 RWD (3.5 V6) 270 PS (estimate) e-shift 6 speeds SHOULD DO OK compared to 330i 258 PS


In 2004 BMW sold 16054 BMW 3 serie in France
while Mercedes sold 16492 C class.

For the whole Europe for the year 2004, Toyota sold 725687 cars while BMW sold 579632 cars.

biker

While it's virtually the same car, the markets are quite different. It will be a very long time before Lexus gets even close to BMW in Europe while in the US it might close (counting sedans only) within a year.

TED_FR

Official figures may turn out to be quite different from real life:

IS200 : combined as per Lexus 24 mpg : with my own IS200 can't do any better then 20 mpg
IS300 : combined as per Lexus 22 mpg