sirCharles

Pretty much completely agree with you. It's a Lexus, and there is a certain practicality, luxury, refinement that comes along with the 300 horses. Not an EVO. Indeed, Lexus is just beginning in the Sport arena so give it more time and enjoy what you have.

I come from Corolla/Honda Civic/Nissan Pathfinder, so this is a pleasure to drive and a serious upgrade. I can't say it is regret, but I am really considering the IS500 in 2008...my 2006 IS350 will be paid off this December.
And since 2008 IS will be coming, I am forgeting about all the Modz: 19'' Volks, Eibach, Tanabe...I really am glad that I have been paying my car down and not spending on Modz.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I kept both. I needed a four door car with decent power, and I got a lot more. I don't care that it isn't a good track car, it still goes around corners at 9/10ths just fine.

You guys complaining about the handling have some unusual expectations, or you're driving on public roads in a way that should spark fear in everyone around you. I can four wheel drift the car lightly and STILL not get VDIM to kill the fun, so I'm totally not getting why you guys complain.

I kept my fast car. The IS sits next to my Supra. When I want to row the oar and get the visceral feel of power and pathetic gas mileage with just enough room for two, I just jump in and go for a drive. And we don't even need to get started on how stiff and clunky Getrag gearboxes are. I know full well, and I know they are the BMW standard supplier, so please don't give me the smooth as butter comments. They are not, and will never be smooth or silky. They're a fine gearbox, but not in a refined way.

Anyone trading a Lexus for a German car needs to be happy with frequent and necessary service. All my friends with independent shops love BMW. Frequent and expensive customers. Good luck with that.

gshb

^^^its funny, all the independent shops for honda dont really service, they just install aftermarket parts and do tuning haha...

Mike_TX

People talk about "impulse purchases", but almost every car purchase qualifies in a way. What I mean is that a test drive or two tells you almost nothing about how the car is going to handle and drive in the 'real world'. In fact, I have to drive a car for a couple weeks before I really know how much I like it.

So in a sense, every time you buy it is on an impulse stemming from the car's looks or something you've read in a car mag or some research you've done on the internet or someone's recommendation or whatever.

That being the case, I can see how someone buys a car and then comes to regret it. It's exactly the same thing as waking up next to a girl "the next morning" and wanting to run screaming out of the house.

ff_

Exactly. And sometimes certain handling or engine quirks don't become apparent until the car has broken in. I'm going through this very thing right now.

y2ks2k

Absolutely not.

However I must say that the 335 tickles me a bit, it would have been a lot harder decision if it had been out. But I do believe that the interior of the IS350 compared to the 335 would have still won me over.

STIG

nope, not at all. But I'd give 9 out of 10. It's a great car all around but the driving dynamic (or passion or whatever you call it) is not quite there. Do I wish I chose a M3 instead? sure

QSVeilside

Very true!

In the past I've owned a 96 300zx twin turbo, a 97 supra twin turbo, a bmw 03 745 LI, an infiniti fx35, and now an is350.

96z, no problems. Loved it.

The supra was highly modified with 420rwhp. No problems even when running 20 lbs of boost on 100 octane = high 11's low 12's at 120 mph+ on the quarter. I miss that car.

03 745LI, no modifications, always at the dealer with electronic problems up the ***.

Infiniti fx35, brake problems day in day out, poor interior build quality.

Bought the is350 for the wife. I test drove an 05 M3 before buying this car, and I can honestly tell you folks that i do not regret my decision one bit! The M3 is faster and more fun to drive hands down, but the interior just doesn't look up to date. You step in the IS and you know you're getting into a new, in style, vehicle. Anyways, made the wife happy.

My advice: Fun to drive factor. If that's the most important thing, this is definitely the wrong car for you. Sell it now while it's hot, but for goodness sakes do yourself a favor and DO NOT jump into another car with under 400hp with automatic transmission... Automatic transmission is for wives, mothers, and grandmothers, (for this reason alone the M5 is out in my book). If you don't fall into one of those three categories, you need a stick.

Cut to the chase if you enjoy driving.

Example: For the money, performance and styling, I'm currently looking at the 2007 z06 vette I'm definitely not considering it for the reliability or build quality.

unit74

iTrader: (3)

As a former 330i owner, I somewhat agree on the feelings you have. The 3 series was an awesome handling car. The 350 leaves me feeling twitchy because it's so sensitive to every little bump. The 330i was rock solid and 100% predictable where as the 350 makes me grip the wheel a little harder and I'm not always sure what it's gonna do.


Now, the 350 motor is OMG fast and absolutely smokes the 330i. There is no comparison. The interior of the 350 is also much more refined and a better platform. With no crappy iDrive, the Nav is easy to use and well laid out.


If I had not been required to take BMW to court over my POS 330i, I would have undoubtably bought an E90 330i. But with mine always in the shop and BMW giving me the middle finger when all I wanted was to drive my car more than a month or 2 without having to take it back for tha same problem over and over.......well, they lost me as a customer and I took $25k back out of their pockets for pissing me off...........


Bottom line is I understand where your coming from, but I feel the Lexus is a better OA car that will serve you better in the long run.

j|michael

My 2 cents: Everyone complains about the handling of the 2IS, which just happens to be one of the easiest mods you can do to a car. a relatively inexpensively overhauled suspension can put the 2IS near that of any high performing car from BMW, Mercedes or Audi. It just seems like overall, for a high performing car, you're best of going with a car that has unparalelled engine performance (the IS350 of course), incredible interior design, sexy overall body design, and one of the best cars to hold it's value (especially since the body style is going to be around for at least 5 years). Every car has it's advantages and disadvanteges. I'd just rather go with the one that is at 90% overall.

sirCharles

Well said

socalJD

Well, you have posted on a Lexus Enthusiasts Forum, and also mentioned the 'B' word in the same sentence with the IS350, so you must either be a masochist or a genuine thrill-seeker. I will guess that 95% of the responses will be overwhelmingly in strong support/favor of the IS350, so not sure what you hope to gain or discover from this thread. Good luck in your identity search . . .

FWIW, I am completely satsified w/my IS350, and have no regrets about the purchase, altho the 330i would have been my next choice if I couldn't get the IS.

Lets Drive

iTrader: (3)

I don't agree with "almost nothing". If you know what to look for on your test drive(s), and seek to put the car in the environment where it will see most of its use, then it can be very informative. An example was during one of my test drives (I took 3), where the salesman was desperately trying to put me onto the highway so that I could experience the "awesome power of the V6"... Great selling point, but opening it up on the highway is taking a back seat to rougher roads, and traffic where the car has to be absorbing imperfect surface terrain, along with shifting between gears often, outside of cruising...so thats where I took it. As my daily driver now, this is what matters, far more than my ability to get on the throttle for brief sprints of 60+, which was set up to "wow" me into an impulse buy.

All an impulsive buy suggest, is that you are buying without putting much thought into the process- salesman scoop these people up rather quickly. Getting the feel for a vehicle, getting second-hand opinion, or doing research, etc. is entirely different. Everything the car can do (options through features) is pretty much outlined, while its not a foriegn idea to site words such as "reliable", "quality", and "refinement", with the Lexus brand. Granted, there are some unknowns which will come about, simply due to the nature of buying a car, but attributing the idea of an impulse buy to this is inaccurate IMO. At that point, you're just getting into the actual experience, where you may or may not find that you got what you were looking for in some areas more than others.

Some people call buying in the first year of a new generation vehicle an impulse buy as well.

Mike_TX

Well, I have to disagree. The primary problems with the car from a handling standpoint are the steering and the VDIM.

Completely changing out the totally numb and artificial electric power steering would cost an arm and a leg, if it could be done at all. No amount of coilovers and aftermarket bolt-ons are gonna fix that.

VDIM can be at least partially defeated, but it's a PITA to do, so anyone looking for REAL handling would have to spend some further bux to do away with that.

And of course, any such major modifications would do a number on your resale value, not to mention kill a lease.

gshb

everytime i read about some bmw driver talking about the "fun factor" of a car, i seriously think theres more crack in the world than i thought.

a good driver can have fun in ANY car! theres a reason why small, cheap cars like the miata, older corollas, older audis, etc. are good choices for track cars. people are quick to think bmw is the end-all solution for the "ultimate driving machine." well, the marketing works, but my point is that all you guys reading these forums both lexus and bmw should take everything with a grain of salt.

you can have fun with the 2IS, you just need to LEARN HOW. i wish it were as simple as pressing a button and all of a sudden i feel like im in Formula 1. but i use my IS as a daily driver too, so im not so inclined to keep a race car. for everything else the bmw just falls short. really crappy radio, awkward interior design, funky storage compartments (bmw owners know what i mean) that dont really store anything, and faulty electronics.

its not like the IS rides like a camry. haters will lead you to believe that. and if one should be so inclined, a couple grand for a set of coilovers will give you that "like on rails" feeling. there are even some people on the bmw forums who got coilovers. generally, you would need to be pretty hardcore about tracking or you're willing to part with all that money for that once-in-a-while drive to the mountains and that slammed on 19s look.

i drive my stock 2IS in the moutains and have a ball. 300 horses and a decent sport-like suspension? its fun, or at least as much fun as you can have in moutain roads. i just signed up for my first performance driving school and cant wait. perhaps in the future i will have a dedicated weekend car, maybe the Z4 M or the new supra. who knows! there are SO many choices.