2008 Lexus IS250 - A Chromosome Challenged Review

is this the review where he does nothing but make fun of the car... and then he gives it 4/5 stars?

Agent009, you know you are going to start a was with this one, MichaelTaylor is not going to be happy with you.

Oh the audacity comparing this sporting machine to Camry. That would suggest it is boring. And you wonder why the 3-Series sells so well, even with the smaller motor, it is FUN.

I can't wait to hear the spin on this one from the Lexus fans.

-00J

LoL

I lease an IS 350. although I think the 3 series is better looking its also an unreliable car as are most bmws. aside from fanboys and slave labor restaurant owners, who really buys or leases bmws?

"the Lexus IS250 is the single best entry-level luxury car for people who don't like driving."

WRONG!

leave that to AUDI or ACURA's FWD.

FWD doesn't necessary mean its not sporty. take TL-S or Maxima for example. civic SI or Integra type R is another exception.

Audi was up 5.6% last month Luxury Export US was down 20+%

I drive an A4 2.0T Quattro 6 speed manual and went one day to my local Lexus dealer to test drive a IS250.
What a disapointment... for a new car, it has less space in the back seat than my 3 year old A4 (When the new A4 comes out it will just destroy it as it is 6 inches longer than the current A4), also absolutely no trunk space.
The car is well put together, no doubt, but it just does not have the same feeling that my A4 has.
Now comes the engine.. oh yes it's smooth, but... slooooooooooow. My A4 with Quattro is faster?
Why simply because of TOrque. THe A4 has much more torque and it is availble much earlier than the IS 6 cylinder. Both have the same HP. (Again once the new A4 comes out, it will have 211 Hp and.... 258 lbs in torque!!!)
Yes, it does have some nice features like the back up camera (although without rear parking sensors, I don't see the point!!), and the Mark Levinson sound system and so on, but....
With the current 328i, the new C300 and the upcoming A4, it will fall behind.
It is not a bad car, far from it, but for an enthusiast, I just did not like the way it drove.. it is just too slow and soft.
And you can't get the IS250 in AWD with a 6 speed manual.
But, hey... that is just MY point of view... ;)

A female writer referring to a car as a "chick" car is odd.

The IS250 is rather silly. I don't know why Lexus didn't just offer the 350 only, especially when the IS-F was on the horizon. And that blue color is horrid.

But, it is funny how some people get so eager to post any remotely negative Lexus story to think this poorly-written, amateur review was worthy of a topic.

The only thing more sad is all the German-only fan boys who use stories like this as a springboard for posting more of their usual crap.

they over IS250 because it sales.
same as why BMW offers 328 when 335 destroys 328 in almost every single possible way. (pretty sure the most sold 3 series worldwide is 320 or 325, which as no torque nor hp just like IS250)
same as why Merc offers C180/280 when C350 is much more superior.

ghost:

but the 328 is a great car in its own right...i've owned a base 3-series in the past and it was a blast to drive. the 335 is the 3-series you get if you really crave power.

the IS250 on the other hand is a total bore to drive. underpowered, numb handling, cramped interior and noisy to boot.

This website keeps on getting desparate by the day! Agent00J, I dont think the problem lies in how Toyota fans or Lexus fans respond to this, it is more how selective your posts are particularly 009. The end result has been morons like Michael Taylor.

I actually have tremendous respect for how passionate some of the readers on here get regarding certain brands or models. There is a point that passion turns to ridiculous however. I for one find it humorous when it crosses the line. I personally enjoy reading what new propaganda users like MichaelTaylor and Staar spew forth. For me it is funny.

-00J

"for people who don't like driving", "the IS250 is a Toyota Camry", "a perfect Lexus: uninspiring but attractive", "Lexus bland… er, brand"...etc

same old lexus haters bullshit. The reviwer is not only such a big Lexus hater but also blind. IS looking like Camry..lol. That's like saying Smart car looks like S class.
I think she drove Lexus ES instead of IS. Retard don't even remeber.

"There's not a gram of excitement to be had in the whole car"

isn't some IS250 i think IS250X did better in slolam than the M3, so the car deffinately handles and drives great and sport.

JUGNU

say you have a car with 300 hp and cornering capacity of .90 g.

and another car with 250 hp and cornering capability of .94 g.

the testosterone poisoned retards off course will always pick the former. but for pure driving enjoyment, during FAR MORE of your real world seat time, i would choose the latter. (note my screen name.)

after all, just how much time does anyone actually spend accelerating? (vs. simply cruising at a more or less steady speed.)

how much time do you spend taking corners and curves?

i take great pleasure in MAINTAINING my cruise speed WITHOUT SLOWING for curves. most of the time. rarely braking, i have LITTLE NEED for excess accelerative power. WHICH COSTS MORE GAS, whether used or not. and whenever used, sucks EVEN MORE gas.

it's a no brainer which car would be MORE enjoyable MORE often. at LESS COST. so despite all the putdowns by the poseur crowd, the IS250 is indeed, a SPORTY, FUN CAR!

(for those who don't remember or never knew, the original appeal of sports car was their being fun, fast, AND cheaper running than sedans.)

have you driven these cars jugnu? they're boring. even consumer reports (which is WILDLY biased in favor of lexus) says the handling on the IS is numb, that it's cramped, and not sporty at all.

omg !! same story around here..i thought it was just my location..lol

And dare I say that I suspect that MichaelTaylor and Star are your doings! Posters on this website should be wise enough to see this.I maybe wrong but you seem to enjoy this type it, it is evident! I am not a Toyota Lexus or BMW enthusiast but a car lover

I was reffering to the agents for my above post!

I alwys asked myself why they call themselve The truth about cars?

This is one of the moste stupid car magazine and car tester that i've ever read.

The moron who wrote the above really has no clue. The toyota is250 is one of the biggest jokes in its class. No performance, little value, questionable quality and reliability and in my opinion awkward design. I will ignore any pro-lexus reviews because I know what the best car for my money is.

bull:

is speed everything to you? a real enthusiast would prioritize HANDLING over 0-60. and that the 3-series and A4 provide in spades.

This is, for once, pretty close to being the truth, from the truth about cars. Only toyota would be arrogant enough to redesign a car from the ground up, give it a smaller, less powerful engine, and charge MORE for it. The thing is so weak it's no wonder it's regarded as a chick car.

I may hate nissan almost as much toyota, but still I dont see how any fool can buy a 4-cylinder-like is250 over the WORLDS more powerful and better equipped g35.

realy? are you sure that only toyota does that? What about BMW 318 or MB 180?

IS250 is a 6 cylinder... and if the gas prices keep climbing, I don't care how good the G35 is, the gas mileage will suck and they will be getting 4 cylinder cars that get extremely good performance and excellent gas mileage... i.e... the upcoming 2009 A4!

Not only this guy is raciste but his also sexist. It's a real surprise to see in 2008 the sexist srticles like that.

What the hell are you talking about? The article was written by a chick. Unless there are guys out there named Megan. And I fail to see the racism.

What at senseless topic. Are we talking about cars or gossiping about society? Ridiculous!

Lexus IS250 = VW New Beetle

:-)

buddy, EVERYONE who makes cars outside the U.S. and then sells them in the U.S. is making lower profits, because the dollar sucks. You think BMW and MB are bad? They get to hedge their shrunken U.S. profits on the 200-300k cars they sell here with the million+ cars they sell elsewhere. Lexus doesn't sell a damn thing globally compared to them, Lexus is RELYING on the U.S. So all those cars they're building with yen and then importing to the U.S. for dollars worth half what they were before are costing them ENORMOUSLY. If Lexus wasn't bankrolled by Toyota and was their own company, they'd be screwed right now.

get a grip huu!

people buy the 3-series because it's a GREAT freakin' car. car and driver 10 best for 17 years. sells more units per year than the ENTIRE lexus brand. ferociously loyal buyers. etc, etc.

great products make great brands. NOT the other way around.

now get back in your camry and take your mom out for lunch.

and you can't compare BMWs financial performance to a mass-market company like toyota.

let me know when lexus releases a SINGLE financial performance number and they we'll have something to talk about.

and if lexus where doing so well financially, why isn't toyota shouting the numbers from the rooftop? any company with great success would do so. it's called smart PR.

Ooooh, WOW! Nothing gets my blood pumping for cars like sales figures and P&L margins. Gee whiz Wally, you sure know to put me to sleep....chuck, chuck. I can't wait to pull up in my new M3 and announce to the world "BMW sales up 11 percent!" What a poindexter!

"wow, your gaydar must be strong. Do you force them into a bath house to verify your findings?"

LMAO!

"The IS250's combination of the cozy interior and cushy ride is a narcoleptic's worst nightmare; the driving dynamics sure as heck won't keep them awake. Throw the IS250 around a corner and it handles… gracefully. While I'm sure the baby Lexus understeers like a battleship at the limit, who knows? There's nowhere near enough power to create the sort of stark terror that keeps the IS350 driver awake."

obviously, Megan DOES NOT KNOW how to evaluate cornering ability. you DON'T NEED excess power UNLESS you have limited competence and/or you WANT TO induce "stark terror!"
smart, skilled drivers simply build up whatever speed they are comfortable carrying THRU a curve. you DON'T NEED TO add power except near the apex. (and you don't need to break the tires loose to induce oversteer. unless you're into drifting!)
if anything, you'd be scrubbing OFF speed up to that point!

at least she ADMITS TO not knowing how it handles at the limit: ..."who knows?" the car is far more competent than the reviewer.

Let's see, why did I buy a '07 IS250? Regrettably, I had to sell my 2000 BMW 323i due to an upcoming trans problems, even though it only had 57K miles...a real downer. It would have cost me $5K to fix the trans. It was an automatic...I know I should have bought the manual - but bad knees, so that was out.
I bought my IS in 2/07 and got a $5K discount from MSRP (Feb., the best time to buy a car), the BMW 3, similarly equipped would have cost me $9K more. I would have selected the new Infiniti G35, but the car is a gas hog. It is a great car, though. That leaves the IS250 or 350 for a RWD sport type car. Contrary to what many write, the power is more than adequate for the IS250. Sure, the IS350 or G35 will leave it in the dust in full-power takeoffs, but what's the use, I rarely use full power on takeoffs...I get 26 to 27 mpg around town (1/2 interstate) and get 33 to 34 mpg on the highway at 70+ mph. That means a lot in the situation we're facing today. With the 6 sp. trans, you're always in the right gear and the car is really fun to drive. Driving at half throttle, the IS250 will get you in trouble pretty fast.
The handling with the 18" wheels is really good; far better than my old BMW (almost all IS250s come to the dealer with the 18" wheels). As best I can tell, the handling is in between the BMW standard and sport suspensions (my son has the 3 series with sport susp). The IS brakes are powerful, but don't have quite the feel of the BMW. Likewise the steering, which seems to be electric on the Lexus is lighter than the BMW but at slow speeds around curves it is very easy to navigate. The IS has a firm ride, but you can order a sports suspension, which to me may be overkill. It's hard to break mine loose around curves as it is.
Overall, it can be described as BMW lite, but 90% of the 3 Series capabilities isn't too bad for what I paid.
Don't compare the IS250 to the ES350 in any category. They are completely different cars with different purposes in mind. The ES350 does not handle anywhere close to the IS and is basically a good, soft-riding family car. Do I care if some call the IS250 a chick's car? I'm in my 60's, so I'm way beyond that.
Overall, I am very pleased with the IS250, but would have bought an Infinti G27 if one were offered since it would get great mileage comparable to the IS250. I'll bet they come out with one.

It is obvious anyone can be a writer here with no kind of automotive background.

I bet she hasn't even driven an IS, let alone anything outside a CR-V.

So IS250 already gives you best in class build quality, refinement, luxury, comfort, affordability and good looks, and you complain because Lexus doesn't break the laws of physics for you? complete moron... this chick has no clue...

Wrong! the IS shares the internal bits with the GS not the Camry, it has nothing to do with Camry.

With the price of the similarly equipped 328i you can buy the IS350 which will smoke your POS BMW.

The IS has the same power-window switches as the Camry. Which are also the same switches that are on the Corolla. LOL!

And for the price of the IS350 you can get an EVO that will smoke that BORING Lexus. What's your point?

We're talking about cars for grownups here... not cars for those who still have to keep an eye out for acne cream coupons in the local newspaper.

LexSucks: I'd get the evo over the IS.

huu:

people pay what they think a product is worth. that's why cars like the 3-series sell at a substantial premium to the competition. furthermore, because they are so desirable, they have higher residual values and therefore decent lease rates.

let us know when you own, have driven, or are in the market for a car in this class, and then we can talk.

oh, and did you conveniently forget that mighty toyota's sales are down proportionately MORE than the market? over 30% in the month of june alone (10% and 17% in april and may).

The IS250 is what I would call "wipe the drool off your face boring".

And the design is already starting to look dated.

If you're still drooling, go get a bib... babies use them all the time.

Dated it looked dated before it came out since it looks like a mazda3!

agentooj ...you sir are an artard

For this size market - IS250 RWD w/ 6spd Manual is the best car 4 the money even though 6spd Manual more power G35 can be had 4 same price - but IS feels richer inside. The motor uses all available HP w/ the stick.

I drive a Shiny black IS250. w/ the smoke alloys great combo! And it is very fun to drive. feels great! granted I am not some dork trying to race everybody from the stop light. I just like to travel in style.
BMW = CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. And what is up with that bmw pleather plastic seat covering? awful! My IS has nice deep black REAL Leather. peace out