new to CL community but love the amount of information. I'll admit I'm new to the car scene as I didn't really get too interested in cars until a couple years ago when I had my 2014 Scion FR-S. decent car but not practical for my lifestyle as my daughter was born less than a year later and I traded in for a 2014 is250 fsport. After searching through these forums I've been wondering why there seems to be so much negativity and "hate" towards the is250 over the years. It's not a blazing fast car but it's decently quick (albeit the fastest car I had before this with any getup and go was a Mazda 3 GT which only puts out about 164hp as the frs needed to be redlined to get any power which isn't my style so it felt really slow in the lower RPM range). Gas mileage is OK. Not the best but not bad abd the amenities are all top notch. Just wanted some input from fellow is250 owners and even 200t 300 and 350 owners. Thanks for any opinions!

 

Probably because 200 hp is a bit anemic to lug around a 3,500 car. Particularly in 2014. It doesn't help that BMW's entry level at the time F30 328 out guns even the IS350.

That's cause Toyota/Lexus has been recycling their engines for twenty years with just minor tweaks. It's hard to get competitive power these days without turbocharging.

 

Because a 10 year old Acura TSX has the same power, 2 less cylinders, and gets better fuel economy than it.

 

I have a 2015 IS 250 AWD F Sport 3 Series, initially I was planning to buy an NX 200T we were ready to sign the deal then suddenly the sales person told me that this IS was the last one in the dealer and that Lexus won't make that specific model anymore, test drove all the models after putting my eyes on this car, I agree it needs more power but overall it's a great car, awesome to drive, sporty look, good extras, I know I needs more to be the top of the line model, but I'm happy with wthatbit has now, good on gas (currently is making 490 kms or 304 miles per tank) not bad being a V6 considering the 200T is almost the same consumption based on what I read and also close to the 300, 350, overall I agree is missing a couple things, but let's be honest the type of car you are getting is better on design, extras, and in my case is perfect for what I use it for, so I know hate will be there but you ended up buying a Lexus IS is because you had a good reason behind it.

My 2 cents.

 

250 is smooth. But I wasn't going to buy something that was slower than my old car. It also gets pretty terrible fuel economy. (350/300 do as well) 200t is better, but I've hit 29 avg at best so far.

 

The 250 is hated because it isn't competitive with the current market (you could argue that the 200t isn't either). It's smooth, but that's not enough to sway consumers to buy. Add onto that the spec sheet comparison and perceived brand value, the 250 is even worse off.

That being said, I don't understand the 250 hate either; I would rather take the 250 over the 200t purely because it's naturally aspirated.

 

If I had to guess about the hate, it would have to be a bunch of people who don't do marketing for Lexus.

My thoughts about the 250 are that Lexus just wanted something the average Joe could afford for their first Lexus, and they put together a package that their accountants and marketing team knew would sell really well based on market research.

Myself i I couldn't give a crap about how fast a car is or isn't. The reason being; the HP of a car isn't the sole factor that makes one car better then another. It is the whole package, and for those that want more power, just where do you plan to use that power? Last time I checked even the 250 will eclipse the speed limit of any road very quickly, just how many fractions of a second are you trying to save?

And the long argument about the engines being old, yeah they are, but that means they are tried and true and reliable and if parts are ever needed are easy to get and affordable. But if people want to take a chance on a new engine go for it, it's your wallet when it comes time to fix it.

 

People who hate on the IS250 simply walked into the wrong dealership.

Lexus makes cars that are smooth, luxurious, and (recently) and head-turning.
Who cares if the engines are 10, 100 years old? I'd rather have an engine with 10+ years on its resume and still enough power to get me to where I need to go. Not to mention incredibly smooth.
Reliability is the best luxury feature.

If it means having my car for 8-10 years without any major issues, and styling/features that stay relevant, I hope I never see a turbo in there.

p.s. I have a 350, but still respect what the 250 offers.

 

The next generation of Lexus engines will all be turbo. TT V6 under development. All cars will be turbo. Whole lineup. Get ready for it!

 

I'm down for that, but my point is late is more than fine if it means I'm getting a product that is developed and tested rigorously.

 

Until they are on the market you can never be sure. Rumors abound are nothing more than rumors...

Until I see a working prototype, I wouldn't believe them, and even then, I wouldn't count on it until it is announced for a production car.

Lexus doesn't hesitate to change their mind and scrap years of work to go right back to the drawing board if they feel they need to, and just because the Germans are turbo'ing everything, doesn't mean Lexus needs to or will.

 

My old 2006 TSX used to spank IS250 all day, but now I drive one.....

 

yep.

Also for me, the butt dyno told me that the acceleration in the IS250 felt pretty much the same as the 2002 base Acura RSX that it would replace. My local dealers only sold IS350 for an average of $3-5K more than the IS250 so it was a no brainer.

 

Unfortunately they will need to. The entire reason for downsizing and forced induction is for environmental regulations. Talking to a BMW friend, supposedly, cars need to get 55 MPG by 2025.

 

I agree with everything stated. Unfortunately the IS250 is very underpowered for the market segment. I am a person that leases cars, and for the extra $40-50 a month I opted for the IS350.