LexFather

I believe the 325 doesn't have the double vanos, correct? Thus the lower hp. I am not knocking the BMW at all, I always say BMw ponies are either underrated or at least as healthy as you can get.

I mean, people complain but the IS 250 has .5 less diplsacement, a whooping 11 less hp than the IS 300 but it has MUCH and I mean MUCH better fuel economy and the car is as fast.

As for the G35, since they offer one engine, and its a 3.5, it's priced like an IS 250 but goes like an IS 350.

daveortega

The 330i has a less restrictive intake than the 325i--however, both have the same VANOS system. With that in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if the 325i's pumping out more than 215-hp in current form.

That's the forced that will be reckoned with as the G and IS seem to battle a lot. G35 sales are in a world of hurt right now, largely due to the intro of the new IS. IS sales fell dramatically as well when the current G hit the streets. It will be interesting to see what happens this fall (when the new G is supposedly debuting).

They better improve it a lot--the current G is too bland for my tastes,

akhbhaat

Actually, the European-spec 325 engine (N52B25) is a 2.5L making 215 hp. The US engine is simply a detuned N52B30 with a one stage intake manifold and revised ECU tuning, apparently imported in place of the 2.5 that the rest of the world has for emissions reasons. At least, that's the publically stated reason and BMW doesn't release the proper technical details for us to dwell over. Furthermore, it seems generally agreed upon that the torque figures in particular for the 325 are vastly understated, especially considering the fact that the US model is faster off the line than the 2.5L Euro model despite identical claimed power output.

I've seen numerous posts on this board stating that BMW's engines don't make as much power per liter as the Lexus engines, or that BMW "needs" forced induction to match Lexus. Those statements are ignorant and flat out wrong - the current N52B30 in the 330i makes just as much power per liter as the 2GR-FSE. Let's not forget the S54, making well over 300 hp out of 3.2 liters. Obviously, if BMW developed a 3.5L engine (which I don't see happening soon, since the bore spacing in the N52 block limits a maximum displacement of 3.2L), it should be fully capable of ~85-88 hp per liter just as the 2GR-FSE and VQ35 are.

This is true - though power is still an important part of the value equation in today's market.

This is what really baffles me - the 250 "entry level" model has the six speed manual. But the 350 model - which has more power - is automatic only! Most of the people willing to shell out extra cash for extra power are enthusiasts or performance-oriented buyers. Why not offer the manual trans with the bigger engine? Just seems like more proof to me that the second gen Lexus IS is not a true sport sedan (unlike the first gen IMO) nor a legitimate 3 series killer - but better suited to steal sales from the C-class. It wasn't until recently that C320/C350 buyers could get the six speed - it was only available in the C230 and C240 for the first several years of w203 production.

Lexus has left enough room between the IS250 and IS350 that they could easily fit a 240-250 hp IS300 model in there somewhere and open up the pricing a little bit (push the IS250 downmarket and the IS350 upmarket slightly).

akhbhaat

Double-VANOS has been a standard feature of all the BMW straight sixes dating back to the M52TU, which was released in 1998. Further back, single stage (intake only) VANOS dates all the way back to the E36-era M50.

The 325 engine also has Valvetronic. The only physical differences between it and the 330 engine are the intake manifold and ECU.

05RollaXRS

Very nice. IS250 is quite a bit slower than the BMW 325, but I am very impressed that as Lexus had initially promised, the IS250 6 speed manual although with almost 200 lbs more weight and smaller displacement put downs the same hp and performance numbers as the 1st generation IS300 5 speed. Definitely the close ratio of the 6 speed manual helps it keep close to it's peak power. Great job Lexus. Modern technology owns.