with 350 your tires will also wear out faster, so take buying tires into consideration as well

 

^^^^^^ now were talking!!!

 

haha this is funny......Dude i bought my car used IS350 done 2 track days & the tires were all gummed up...(Stock Bridges-still fine)...but regardless you can still kill tires if you drive hard & if we buy 350's than we aint thinking about tires..hahahaha....

 

like others have said, drive both. buy whatever you like more.

i got the 350 just cause i'm use to "quicker" cars, I'd drive my sisters 330i and consider that thing SLOW...but handles much nicer than the 350. duh... but yeah.

 

What is your current car / was your prior car? Then we can at least try to estimate the difference in acceleration between the IS250 and your old car.

My sister who lives in Orange County has an 07 IS250, I live in SF and have a 06 IS350. I've driven her car all over the LA/OC area, and I can say that its certainly adequate and a nice highway cruiser for California standards. Nearly everything about the IS250 feels the same as the IS350, except for the extra 100hp in the IS350. The IS250 is not slow, its slightly above average acceleration and ample power to merge onto LA freeways. The IS350 is faster and feels like it has extra power everywhere.

 

If you have another car (like a sports car) in your garage then the IS250 is fine, otherwise go for the IS350. I've driven both.

 

I have a 250, it was my first car. Driving around town I get 25 mpg, highways I get 30 mpg.
Most mods I have done have been suspension and aesthetics so I'm pretty happy with it now. I'm a full time student at USC that pays for their own car payments, pays for part of tuition, and is on financial aid. Do I have $5000 lying around to spare for 100 more hp I can't really use in rush hour traffic around LA? Not really, and with the traffic here, a hybrid seems to be the way to go.
You can try driving both, but if you go with the 250, you'll always be yearning for the 350. haha
I have driven both, but I've accepted there will always be a faster car unless you're willing to drop the $$$$$$.

 

Actually it is only ~$3800 difference (invoice).

I find it hard to believe that you can get 25 MPG for city. I had a IS250 loaner before and the best I got was 22 MPG city. Even Lexus claims IS250 gets 20 MPG and the IS350 gets 18 MPG for city.

 

I'll take pictures of my averages, but yes I do get 25 mpg avg, and then it spikes up to 30 on a fresh tank if all I do is just highway driving. I drive like a grandma when I am not in a hurry, just cruising in the far left lane. Canyoning and on twisties I get down to 10-15 mpg sometimes haha.

 

350!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you will not regret it

250=snail

 

It all depends on condition. 250 only gets 2 MPG better than the 350 on city and 1 MPG better on highway. Not that much of a crucial impact in my opinion if you can afford a 35k car.

 

Yeah, true, I get better mileage than most other 250 owners I know. At the time my family got this car, we got an amazing deal on it near fully loaded, and difference between this and getting into a base 350 was pretty big at the time and wasn't worth it, my mom really wanted this car to get NAV.

 

I also received a amazing deal on my car also. My car is fully loaded without ML and I got it below invoice if I include the free floor mats and rear spoiler.

Just want to let the OP know, do not let the gas mileage deter you from buying a 350.

 

OP
test drive both cars and pick what you feel suits your the BEST

people with 350 will praise 350s
and
people with 250 will praise 250s
period

 

I come from an srt4 which is considered a fun car to drive for some people due to its amount of torque and hp and the way it moves when you get on it...i switched to and IS350 and I DO NOT miss the srt at all maybe slower in a roll but nothing like the IS350 out of the hole and I dont miss the manual tranny neither
So yup IS350=nice reliable sport sedan and FUN to drive....hope this helps you with the decision