Ride Quality of is250 (Stock/OEM)

[is250darren]

Hi

I'm new on here ... and I've got a stinking cold , so please bear with me!  I am interested in buying an is250 from 2005-2007 ish, with standard wheels and suspension.  For many years I have been the owner of Italian cars, with their "sporty" suspension, but the state of the roads is driving me .  Crash, bang, wallop .... that's the sound of me driving an Alfa along a country road!

I hear that the Lexus is250 is very smooth, but I have also heard that the ride is firm?.  Can somebody shed some light on this for me, before I make a 200-mile round trip to look at a car?!

Thank you

[mk_lon]

It's the smoothest in its category, beats a 3series, class, a4 etc (I haven't driven a X type yet). 

Tip stay away from the sport and buy an auto and you won't regret it. 

I live near speed humps so it was very important to me when I was looking at the time. 

Ultimately it can't beat a 4x4 or an S class with air suspension but those cars are a different category and a lot more expensive. 

 

[is250darren]

15 minutes ago, mk_lon said:

It's the smoothest in its category, beats a 3series, class, a4 etc (I haven't driven a X type yet). 

Tip stay away from the sport and buy an auto and you won't regret it. 

I live near speed humps so it was very important to me when I was looking at the time. 

Ultimately it can't beat a 4x4 or an S class with air suspension but those cars are a different category and a lot more expensive. 

 

Hello, and thanks for the speedy reply!  Hopefully I will buy one in the coming weeks!

[mk_lon]

I would highly recommend you to go through the buyers guide on the forum which points out common faults and what to look out for etc. Parts and labour are usually very expensive at dealers but the diy guides on here will save you a fortune. 

[bobmc]

Yeah, I believe the F-sport has firmer suspension than the standard. Also, I've seen reports that the ride is more compliant on 17" wheels - I have 18" and find the ride is a little on the firm side.

 

[Rebecca]

You'll be hard pushed to find a smother more comfortable ride than the lexus is250. My previous se-l was a dream to drive.

I now have the f-sport and although it's still an extremely comfortable drive you can definitely notice the firmer suspension and bigger wheels. It suits me thought as the handling is absolutely superb. 

[is250darren]

Ok, thanks for the info, guys .  I have bookmarked the buyers guide!

[J Henderson]

Agreed. I've never driven one with normal suspension and 17" wheels before, just the F-Sport, and I've never felt the ride quality was anything less than impressive.

[is250darren]

Hi everyone

I test drove a 2005 is250 SE Auto with 65,000 miles last week.  The ride was smooth, and I could barely hear the engine.  The car has a Lexus service history up to 2015, minimal external imperfections, and the water pump was replaced a few weeks ago. I decided to purchase it there and then!  I look forward to posting my experiences in the future

[Shahpor]

Excellent news Darren

Hopefully it will give you many years of trouble free motoring.

Mine passed its MOT today with the only advisory being rear brake pads, which I knew about.

I think the tester exact words were 'Serious Japanese over engineering' when he described it.

[Rebecca]

Nice move Darren 👍you wont be disappointed. 

Be sure to post some pics for us all to see 😀

[is250darren]

16 hours ago, Shahpor said:

Excellent news Darren

Hopefully it will give you many years of trouble free motoring.

Mine passed its MOT today with the only advisory being rear brake pads, which I knew about.

I think the tester exact words were 'Serious Japanese over engineering' when he described it.

Thank you, Shapor!  My IS passed it's MOT a few days ago with no advisories .... I can't believe it's nearly twelve years old!

[is250darren]

2 hours ago, Rebecca said:

Nice move Darren 👍you wont be disappointed. 

Be sure to post some pics for us all to see 😀

Hi, Rebecca

The is250 has impressed me so far.  So smooth, so quiet, and it can accelerate much quicker than any of my previous cars! I will post some pics soon ... once I get it polished!

[Rebecca]

Glad your happy Darren. I've only owned mine since November and I'm over the moon with my is250.

Acceleration is much quicker than the official lexus figures and the sound of that lovely V6 when pushed is to die for.

Looking forward to seeing some snaps.

[Miłosz]

I have standard suspesnion and 16 winter tyres, lexus drive like old w210 its like to swim by pontoon, i hope fsport have better suspension. Everything is working in my car i always check suspesion on my cars twice a year or more. I saw that poliurethanes are available in my country and i will think about it :)
BTW there is a trick with change eps from isf, but of course toyota/lexus are far away from bmw in coding and programming, so its possible only with replace eps ifs module.

[peachy]

Rebecca I wouldn't say it accelerates much quicker than official figures but it's definitely quicker. About 7.7 seconds.

With your car being an f-sport the V6 sound will be a lot more pronounced due to the air intake and exhaust. 

[J Henderson]

The intake and exhaust are just the same as any other IS250. Expensive F-Sport ones are available as accessories though.