Bichon

Comfort: Found the seats in the Mercedes as hard as a church pew, and the leather to be stiff and plasticy. The seats in the IS are great, and the leather is glove soft. I will concede that the leather in the Benz is probably more durable.

Engineering: With features like direct fuel injection, the IS showcases the latest in automotive technology. Mercedes is a pioneer too, but the C230 is an older design.

Interior: For those that hate wood, the sport and base packages have silver trim and no wood.

Safety: IIHS rates Lexus IS a silver safety pick: Front: Good Side: Good Rear: Acceptable
Compare to C class: Front: Good Side: Acceptable Rear: Marginal

Good luck with your new car. We do our test drives and buy the car that feels right to us. For you, that was the Mercedes. Enjoy it!

rinthiran

Makes perfect sense. You want to drive a car that feels a bit more engaging and requires more driver involvement and knowledge, which brings you more satisfaction when you've mastered it... not as bland as a car so intuitive and easy to use that it robs you of your involvement in the driving experience (Not to say that the IS is bland or extremely intuitive, but to respond to your thoughts).

Bichon

How does making a car intuitive make it bland? A car is involving because it give you control and feedback - with superb steering feel, a great manual gearbox and clutch, and seats designed to you in place through the corners. One of the nicest compliments I've read about the BMW is that it bcomes an extension of your hands and feet. That's because BMW has totally nailed the ergonomics of the driving controls.

If one were to charge Lexus with being bland, it would be because in an attempt to make it quiet and refined, they filtered too much feedback from the steering and drivetrain.

Bad ergonomics and a poorly engineered user interface , whether they are manifest in poorly placed window switches, too many buttons on the radio, or in a confusing design with too many layers of menu (e.g. i-drive) detract from the driving experience, they don't add to it.

dozier08

Well put.

One thing to keep in mind in my case, I have driven a Jeep Wrangler for most of the last 10 years. 5 Jeeps in total. Talk about being 'one with the road'.

teracon

God Noooooo!! Don't do it. I traded my 2003 MB C230 Kompressor Coupe for the 2005 IS300. It was the best thing that I could have done. My MB was in the shop so many times, that I got to drive pretty much every MB loaner.

C280to250

Now, if this does not convince you. I don't know what will

MSMLexIS

Im also considering the MB C-Class. It has a few really nice convenience features that the IS250 doesnt have. Plus the prestige of the MB brand. The only thing is the price is alot higher than the IS250 and it doesnt have keyless access and smart start or the optional ventilated seats. Also finding a manual in a C-Class is even harder than the IS also the MB dealer told me that they cant beat lexus when it comes to service. The only thing about the car i didnt like was the seats are really stiff.

teracon

Just look at the latest issue of Consumer Reports. Not one MBs vehicles was a "Consumer Pick." Not one. I purchased my MB from EuroMotors in Bethesda, MD. Yes, their service was good. So good in fact, that I took my car in every (3) months for repair work. In a matter of (2) long years, I had the following work done:

1. Mass Airflow Sensor replaced - twice
2. Replaced sunroof - rattled
3. Replaced sunroof track - rattled
4. Replaced both rear brake lines
5. Replaced right drive axle - premature crack on CV joint
6. Replaced interior instrumental cluster - malfunctioned
7. Replaced interior sunroof switch
8. Replaced transmission seal - premature wear causing leak

When I traded this car in in February 2005, it had only 34K miles on it. Never been in an accident and was never abused. I will say that I did get great gas mileage. Take a look at the MB forum at mbklasse.com.

Also, the Lexus sales rep called it a "****box." It went the way of the BMW 318 TI.

RshaoKh

Wow... I didn't think that a Lexus forum like this would be so biased.... Sure Lexus beats MB in service and reliability (in this area probably by a lot) but MB still isn't horid. Now if I saw a MB on the side of the road because it broke down then I'd wonder about that. MB service isn't bad either. I've seen worse. Everyone lists the cons about MB in general but lets compare the C class (the car the OP is deciding on) and the IS. All these complaints about rattles in MB applies to the IS as well. I'm already getting rattle in my IS350 that is only 3-4 months old. This is worse than my WRX which was 3 years old. Also, I'm already reading about people having their engine stall or oil getting into the engine or something. This car is so new and it already has problems. Do I go running around saying Lexus reliability sucks? This is my first Lexus and I'm already having second thoughts because of the rattles, car veering right, and bad service at Longo Lexus. The service technicians washed my car when I told them not to and damaged my clear bra, stained my door panel and when they cleaned it off for me they stained my seats, and scratched my car when they opened the door (fingernail scratch?). Lexus service isn't as godly as everyone makes it. It's great and a lot better than Subaru because the people are nice and they have nice refreshments and entertainment in their waiting rooms. However, even Subaru technicians took better care of my car. Does this make Lexus bad at service? No, it just meants that the technicians at LONGO LEXUS are careless. It could vary with MB service as well. It all depends what dealer you go to. You can call it bad luck or whatever but my parents both have MB and NONE of them have any problems yet. You can call that luck again if it makes you sleep easier at night. Also, all these "problems" you find on MB forums are biased as well. People usually go online to complain about things, not praise them. I'm pretty sure someone who is making $100,000+ a year could care less about going on forums and posting how reliable his car is. Am I saying MB reliability is awesome? No I don't really have proof and certain sources claim that MB has bad reliability but we don't even know if those ratings are relative to anything else. How do you know they don't mean that MB reliability is bad vs Lexus or if it's just plain bad? I know many people who own MBs and I haven't heard any of them complain about having their car in the shop every week or month.

IMO MB has better interior and exterior styling. I'm not sure about the leather since the S class's leather was soft and the CLK was hard (sporty?). I like how the IS's leather is very soft so my IS wins the comfort area. Handling? I'm not sure about the C class but the feel in an IS isn't that great if you're into that kind of stuff. Obviously a Lexus would have a higher resell value but a MB is really for prestige like everyone has pointed out.

C280to250

[QUOTE=RshaoKh]Wow... I didn't think that a Lexus forum like this would be so biased.... Sure Lexus beats MB in service and reliability (in this area probably by a lot) but MB still isn't horid. Now if I saw a MB on the side of the road because it broke down then I'd wonder about that. MB service isn't bad either. I've seen worse. Everyone lists the cons about MB in general but lets compare the C class (the car the OP is deciding on) and the IS. All these complaints about rattles in MB applies to the IS as well. I'm already getting rattle in my IS350 that is only 3-4 months old. This is worse than my WRX which was 3 years old. Also, I'm already reading QUOTE]


1) There is always a risk in First year production cars its a chance you take.
2) just dont go back to longo lexus to get your service done
3) prestige? on MB went out the door when they merge with chrysler.
I'm not putting Down MB, I still have but in terms of realibility come on.

your right if you make 100k a year who give a *****

teracon

From MSN Auto

C230 Sport Sedan
Depreciation $16,284
Financing $4,249
Insurance $7,337
State Fees $543
Fuel $7,814
Maintenance $2,144
Repairs $984
Total 5-Year Ownership Cost $39,353

IS 250 6-Speed Manual IS 250 6-Speed Sequential IS 250 AWD IS 350
Depreciation $14,673 $15,924 $18,018 $18,405
Financing $4,528 $4,703 $5,162 $5,334
Insurance $8,024 $8,287 $8,650 $8,650
State Fees $553 $566 $612 $625
Fuel $8,002 $6,965 $7,789 $7,960
Maintenance $2,191 $2,191 $2,191 $2,260
Repairs $347 $347 $389 $347
Total 5-Year Ownership Cost $38,318 $38,979 $42,810 $43,579

Sedan Trims
325i 325xi 330i 330xi
Depreciation $12,819 $16,805 $16,848 $18,759
Financing $4,582 $5,185 $5,412 $5,785
Insurance $8,469 $8,847 $9,230 $9,230
State Fees $569 $623 $637 $668
Fuel $7,866 $8,354 $7,866 $8,354
Maintenance $1,664 $1,664 $1,863 $1,863
Repairs $1,048 $1,134 $1,048 $1,134
Total 5-Year Ownership Cost $37,016 $42,607 $42,902 $45,791

-Spd AT 6-Spd MT 6-Spd MT w/ Performance Tires 5-Spd AT w/ Navigation System 6-Spd MT w/ Navigation System 6-Spd MT w/ Performance Tires/Nav System
Depreciation $15,791 $15,789 $16,019 $17,463 $17,461 $17,668
Financing $4,790 $4,789 $4,821 $5,075 $5,075 $5,104
Insurance $8,024 $8,024 $8,024 $8,024 $8,024 $8,024
State Fees $600 $592 $595 $624 $616 $626
Fuel $8,002 $8,002 $8,002 $8,002 $8,002 $8,002
Maintenance $1,882 $1,882 $1,882 $1,882 $1,882 $1,882
Repairs $362 $362 $362 $362 $362 $362
Total 5-Year Ownership Cost $39,452 $39,441 $39,706 $41,432 $41,423 $41,669

RshaoKh

To C280to250, good point with #3 haha. As for the not going to Longo Lexus that's easier said than done. I don't really want to drive out of my way to get my service done. That's a big factor for me and I've heard great things about Lexus service. My experience has shown me otherwise. I could take my Lexus to the dealership in Tustin since I go to UCI but then again I heard their customer service was horrible. I chose a Lexus because of their reputation for good customer service so when I got the car I wouldn't have to worry about finding a dealership out of my way just to get serviced. "Not going" to Longo Lexus isn't really an option I was hoping for when I got a Lexus. Also, most of you guys argue about MB's cars being in the shop all the time. If I have to drive out of my way to get better service that's just as annoying since it wastes my time (traffic/waiting) and gas money (it isn't cheap and this car has great mileage so why do I have to waste more gas driving to get it serviced). I already know 1st year models have risks, my arguement is that everyone is only pointing out the apparent flaws in MB when they don't acknowledge any flaws in the IS. I have read and experienced the issue with the IS veering to the right and I took it in to get it "fixed." In the end I got some bs about "it is within specs and since this is a sports car it's normal." That gives me doubts being able to fix it in the 2007 models since they don't even know what's going on.

Tony1

I wouldn't ever buy one of the cheapest Mb models. A few yrs back i bought a
2001 clk430, it was the biggest lemon Ive ever owned in my life, the only car
that I ever owned in my life that had more problems was a 1986 Yugo Gv..(But at least that
only costed $3,995) The Clk430 i owned actually said "Diamler Chyrsler" right on
the door jam, need I say more?

C280to250

Good Point Peace

Ramon

That seems to imply that as the years go by, it will get worse, however It is the very fact that it's so new that there are many of these problems. As stated previously, this is the first production year of the 2IS and the new V6. I work in the PC field so I like to compare cars to computers... When a brand new operating system becomes available, there are ALWAYS bugs. I think the analogy is a good one. You can be pretty much gauranteed that most of the issues will be resolved with upcoming production cycles.