Bangs For Your Buck

[woggledog]

Looking to replace my is 200 se shortly, and was wondering how many bangs you got for a buck in the SC is200 & is300?

I'd be buying the is200 from new....

Is the is300 worth the extra expence, for what is essentially the same car as a sport but with a 3 litre.

regards,

Paul

[BESTY]

if it was me mate i would go for the 300,nice auto box and triptronic,ooohhh i want one.hey and think of the nice 3 ltr purring away.

[AltezzaScott]

I know people must be getting a little bored with me saying the same thing all the time..... but i`ll say it anyway.

Altezza rather than spend all that extra money on a is300... then with the HUGH saving you can modify to your hearts content.

[DaveEllen]

I was trundling along the M25 and a silver Sportcross undertook me as we headed down the A21.

I followed and (without NOS) was on 3/4 throttle at silly speeds.... he was'nt escaping and we both turned off to the A25 but then our paths parted.

My 2p worth is that a s/c'd 200 with sorted suspension & manual gearbox is a better bet.

Slap some NOS on and its another planet

[Jock]

IS200 Sport would be my bet!

I hate Automatics or they daft paddle crap gears.

Steptronics are even worse.

[Fargo]

go with the 200, cant beat a manual for fun. then stick on a s/c,, cant beat that compressor whine,, or go for the tezza, i hindsight i should have gone that route in the first place, next time i think.

You didnt mention if you was buying the 300 form new if you decided on it, if that is the case then i would suggest that it will be cheaper to get the 200 fromnew and stick the s/c on that..

[ColinBarber]

Have you driven a 300? If not then take one for a 24 hour test. I don't think they are worth the extra £6k but I would rather have a 1 or 2 year old one over and new 200.

[AltezzaScott]

go with the 200, cant beat a manual for fun. then stick on a s/c,, cant beat that compressor whine,, or go for the tezza, i hindsight i should have gone that route in the first place, next time i think.

You didnt mention if you was buying the 300 form new if you decided on it, if that is the case then i would suggest that it will be cheaper to get the 200 fromnew and stick the s/c on that..

or put a S/C on the altezza and you get about 270 BHP

[Fidgits]

I know people must be getting a little bored with me saying the same thing all the time..... but i`ll say it anyway.

Altezza rather than spend all that extra money on a is300... then with the HUGH saving you can modify to your hearts content.

Yep... I'm deffo getting bored with it... :winky:

I'd much rather have an IS300 than a Tezza, I'm sure there great cars, but I'd much rather stick with a UK spec (personal opinion) unless i was considering some serious mods...

I havent driven the IS300 Paul, but if i was upgrading, i certainly would be pestering the dealer for a 24 Hour test drive..

[ifraz]

The IS300 is a really nice drive. Go for a test drive, it will help you with making up your mind.

[simonskippy]

IS300 deffo

[AltezzaScott]

I know people must be getting a little bored with me saying the same thing all the time..... but i`ll say it anyway.

Altezza rather than spend all that extra money on a is300... then with the HUGH saving you can modify to your hearts content.

Yep... I'm deffo getting bored with it... :winky:

I'd much rather have an IS300 than a Tezza, I'm sure there great cars, but I'd much rather stick with a UK spec (personal opinion) unless i was considering some serious mods...

I havent driven the IS300 Paul, but if i was upgrading, i certainly would be pestering the dealer for a 24 Hour test drive..

Ian, look mate, obviously you are just one of the MANY people that have a unfair opinion of imports full stop.

I have noticed that every time i make a comment about the Altezza your straight there to put them down. If you ask any Altezza owner if they are happy with there car, i bet 99% are ecstatic, especially for the price they are available for.

I am totally aware that most people would religiously stick to UK cars until they have actually owned an imported car, in which case most folk never look back.

I personally was like yourself at one time, but the shear volume of grey imports that come into the country each year tells you that more and more people are catching on to the bargains that can be gained by importing rather than buying from dealers over here.

Most of the scepticism surrounding imports was actually made up by UK dealers as they were unhappy with the new competiton flooding the country, meaning that they can`t charge the Great British public extortionary prices.

Ian, drive an Altezza for a week or so and then you can comment on the way they drive. I know that it is all down to personal preference and i totally understand that. I have owned an is200 so i can fairly comment on both variants.

I know i am going to get slated off lots of people in the LOC for writing this who own is200`s, but i feel i had to write it anyway... The is200 is a truly magnificent car by anyones standards therefore i will not even attempt to degrade it as there is nothing to degrade. As with the Altezza the only thing that you can possibly degrade is the higher insurance premiums ( which are not THAT big a difference anyway ) and totally out of order just because it is a "grey" import rather than a "parallel" import...

And yes i agree with what you said before, Mat would be a good judge, as he is a very well respected person and knows his onions.

sorry if i have offended anyone as this would be the last thing i would want to do, particularly to such a good bunch of Ladies and Gentlemen.

[Fidgits]

Scott, as i said in my post, it is my personal opinion, i would rather have a UK spec IS300 than a Tezza.

I have never driven one, and i dont put the Tezza down at all, and i agree they are great value for money.

I cannot comment on the differences between the two, never having owned and run a Tezza or IS300, which is why i think someone who knows the differences between the Tez and IS200 inside and out would be a good person to write a fair and un-baised comparison.

I have never commented on how a Tezza drives in any post, because I don't know.

If i am wrong about a RS200 being high insurance, then I apologise for the incorrect information.

And as i said above, it is my personel opinion.... I would rather have a IS300 than a Tezza.

Oh, and as for the 'bored with it' comment, it was more of a joke (hence the winky smiley)...

[Daytona]

Do you two own handbags at all?? May I suggest 20 paces?

grey or UK, who gives a XXX?

[Guest mark_tsang]

I know people must be getting a little bored with me saying the same thing all the time..... but i`ll say it anyway.

Altezza rather than spend all that extra money on a is300... then with the HUGH saving you can modify to your hearts content.

Yep... I'm deffo getting bored with it... :winky:

I'd much rather have an IS300 than a Tezza, I'm sure there great cars, but I'd much rather stick with a UK spec (personal opinion) unless i was considering some serious mods...

I havent driven the IS300 Paul, but if i was upgrading, i certainly would be pestering the dealer for a 24 Hour test drive..

Ian, look mate, obviously you are just one of the MANY people that have a unfair opinion of imports full stop.

I have noticed that every time i make a comment about the Altezza your straight there to put them down. If you ask any Altezza owner if they are happy with there car, i bet 99% are ecstatic, especially for the price they are available for.

I am totally aware that most people would religiously stick to UK cars until they have actually owned an imported car, in which case most folk never look back.

I personally was like yourself at one time, but the shear volume of grey imports that come into the country each year tells you that more and more people are catching on to the bargains that can be gained by importing rather than buying from dealers over here.

Most of the scepticism surrounding imports was actually made up by UK dealers as they were unhappy with the new competiton flooding the country, meaning that they can`t charge the Great British public extortionary prices.

Ian, drive an Altezza for a week or so and then you can comment on the way they drive. I know that it is all down to personal preference and i totally understand that. I have owned an is200 so i can fairly comment on both variants.

I know i am going to get slated off lots of people in the LOC for writing this who own is200`s, but i feel i had to write it anyway... The is200 is a truly magnificent car by anyones standards therefore i will not even attempt to degrade it as there is nothing to degrade. As with the Altezza the only thing that you can possibly degrade is the higher insurance premiums ( which are not THAT big a difference anyway ) and totally out of order just because it is a "grey" import rather than a "parallel" import...

And yes i agree with what you said before, Mat would be a good judge, as he is a very well respected person and knows his onions.

sorry if i have offended anyone as this would be the last thing i would want to do, particularly to such a good bunch of Ladies and Gentlemen.

im happy wit my altezza :D , insurance is same as IS300. being an import some car dealers are unhappy like scott said down to competition so they refuse to service it etc... more than no experience of a import most of the time. car dealers here say they cant order these parts as its JDM & they claim they have contacts in japan for parts which i believe so whats problem if all these parts from same place anyway??!!

back to the point i choose IS300 than IS200 sc, IS300 is cheaper than a 330i BMW & would u say 330i is better than IS300 apart from BMW marque.

[Matthew_McNally]

I have driven the IS 300 - but not a S/C 200.

I thought the 300 was a fabulous car - but not worth the extra money, hence my choice of the 200 (and the fact that I wanted a manual).

Its a hard call - as you are going to find it difficult to test drive a supercharged IS200.

Personally - if I had to make the call - I would go for the IS 300.

decent performance, plus all the benefits of warranties etc.

The s/c will pretty much void your engine warrenty - I expect all the s/c boys will let you know how little trouble they have had, and not needed warranty work etc.

BUT - I would want the warranty - hence I would go IS 300.

[Matthew_McNally]

back to the point i choose IS300 than IS200 sc, IS300 is cheaper than a 330i BMW & would u say 330i is better than IS300 apart from BMW marque.

When I drove the IS 300 I had a 530d.

I personally felt the IS was far superior - it handled significantly better.

The 530d was very quick off, but there wasn't much in it to my mind -plus the BMW was a large car, and drove like one.

Not playing "have a go at the beemers" - in my opinion, the IS 300 was a better car to drive than the 530d

[Fargo]

out of interest what ARE the differences between the tezza and the IS,, i know about the engine, but what else ie, satnav, a/c etc,

[Fidgits]

out of interest what ARE the differences between the tezza and the IS,, i know about the engine, but what else ie, satnav, a/c etc,

Well, as far as i can tell (from posts on here), if a Tezza has Sat Nav, it cannot be converted into the UK version.

I think you can get full leather, but i believe this is an option.

I always thought the RS200 had a 5-speed box.

Which is why i'd like someone with LOTS of knowledge about both cars to explain..

Maybe we should start a seperate thread, since we seemed to have hijacked woggle's..

[AltezzaScott]

In Japan, most things like sun roof, sat nav, leather are opional extras. But there are quite a few fine examples coming over here all the time. Almost identical to the is.

But with the money you save by getting it iported as a "grey" you can have the Leather trim if it doesn`t already have it and still be quite a bit better off in the wallet department.

RS200 is 6 speed manual or 5 speed auto / tiptronic

[Fargo]

im stil none the wiser to the differences,

What about electric seats, wing mirrors, T/C. is the RS200 the nearest to the IS spec out of all of them, what is missing if anything..

[AltezzaScott]

im stil none the wiser to the differences,

What about electric seats, wing mirrors, T/C. is the RS200 the nearest to the IS spec out of all of them, what is missing if anything..

Some Altezza have the electric seats and the mirrors are the same... Basically the Japanese have sacrificed a few little gadgets ( heated seats, headlight washers, things like that) for 57 extra BHP.

The Altezza AS200 is the equivelent to the is200 ie 6 cylinder etc.

Hope that helps a little mate

[Fargo]

ahh i seee, yes i could live without the heated seats and mirrors..

The AS200, is the engine the same as the UK spec or is it still the beefier Jap spec.

Is the RS200 a rare beast,, whats the approx price of one.

[AltezzaScott]

ahh i seee, yes i could live without the heated seats and mirrors..

The AS200, is the engine the same as the UK spec or is it still the beefier Jap spec.

Is the RS200 a rare beast,, whats the approx price of one.

Can get an RS200 for much less than an is200 believe it or not... or around the same price if already in the UK and for sale..

[Monster-Mat]

the jap AS200 is 165bhp, then there is the Tuned Modelista AS200 which has approx 180 bhp