Is it possible to get comfy ride in a 2010 IS250?

[Driver201]

Good afternoon, I was thinking of buying an 2005 rx300 but I'm a bit put off by the number of threads on here about water leaking into the car and rust.😟 My second choice was the 2010 IS250. So, is it possible to get a comfy ride in an IS250 given the nature of our roads these days and my back. I generally drive locally and few motorway type miles. And if so what would be the best set-up to look for. Or am I barking up the wrong tree.  Many thanks in advance.🙂

[Herbie]

46 minutes ago, Driver201 said:

Good afternoon, I was thinking of buying an 2005 rx300 but I'm a bit put off by the number of threads on here about water leaking into the car and rust.

That's the thing about forums - no one comes on to post that their car doesn't have a water leak or this, or that. Most posts in forums are people looking for help with things that have gone wrong but there will be many thousands of people out there who have cars that don't present with problems, so don't let that put you off because there'll be many, many RX300s available that don't leak.

[JDM-Fiend]

51 minutes ago, Driver201 said:

Good afternoon, I was thinking of buying an 2005 rx300 but I'm a bit put off by the number of threads on here about water leaking into the car and rust.😟 My second choice was the 2010 IS250. So, is it possible to get a comfy ride in an IS250 given the nature of our roads these days and my back. I generally drive locally and few motorway type miles. And if so what would be the best set-up to look for. Or am I barking up the wrong tree.  Many thanks in advance.🙂

I can't comment on the RX300, but I've now owned 2 IS250's.

 

If you can get an IS250 with the 17 inch alloys and the SE-L trim, it should be pretty comfortable.

 

I've had a 2010 IS250 F-Sport with 18 inch alloys and the ride was quite firm, but I didn't mind it day to day. I currently have a 2008 IS250 SE-L on 18's, this is definitely softer due to different springs I believe.

[Driver201]

8 minutes ago, Herbie said:

That's the thing about forums - no one comes on to post that their car doesn't have a water leak or this, or that. Most posts in forums are people looking for help with things that have gone wrong but there will be many thousands of people out there who have cars that don't present with problems, so don't let that put you off because there'll be many, many RX300s available that don't leak.

That' s a very fair point, millions were sold and were not recalled because of this, so maybe I'm over stressing about it.  

[Driver201]

10 minutes ago, JDM-Fiend said:

I can't comment on the RX300, but I've now owned 2 IS250's.

 

If you can get an IS250 with the 17 inch alloys and the SE-L trim, it should be pretty comfortable.

 

I've had a 2010 IS250 F-Sport with 18 inch alloys and the ride was quite firm, but I didn't mind it day to day. I currently have a 2008 IS250 SE-L on 18's, this is definitely softer due to different springs I believe.

Thanks for that, I will look into whether the se-l does have softer springs and maybe if they can be fitted with 16" wheels too?

[Spacewagon52]

I have a 2004 RX 300 and a 2008 400h, neither car, so far, suffers from leaks. Both cars give a comfortable ride for an SUV. My neighbour commented on how comfortable the 400h was. He drives a VW Passat. Perceived comfort is a personal thing.

[Texas]

Think you need to actually take a 250 out for a drive ( if you can at the moment) as I would say it IS a comfortable car as opposed to something like my son’s 335 BMW which feels like you are in a go-kart! Very solid and not to my liking ( with all standard running gear)

[cruisermark]

1 hour ago, Texas said:

Think you need to actually take a 250 out for a drive ( if you can at the moment) as I would say it IS a comfortable car as opposed to something like my son’s 335 BMW which feels like you are in a go-kart! Very solid and not to my liking ( with all standard running gear)

We have a 335d in the family - I couln't drive it everyday, noisy, creaky and harsh - nice to look at I must add lol

[Linas.P]

BMW main issue is standard run-flat tyres... they are just horrible, if you fit normal tyres then they are okey, I had 2011 BMW328xi and it was just unbearable until I got puncture on run-flat and it failed to do the sole thing they were designed to do, having no spare I had to wait for recovery truck and after that I just replaced all the tyres with normal tyres and it transformed the car. IS250 is certainly more comfortable than equivalent BMW, Audi or MB, but MB air suspension is more comfortable.

I owned 3 IS250s and I consider them to be comfortable cars in general, however everyone have their own definition of "comfort". For example I can't stand too soft cars with loads of body roll (like all SUVs), yet many people consider comfort as simply how soft the suspension is. Overall I would say that IS250 is comfortable and quiet car, if you fit the right tyres in my opinion it is very comfortable on 17s and still very acceptable on 18s.

As far as years and trims goes, there is really no difference, you can get any IS250 from 2005-2012 and they are all equally comfortable, the only difference will be rim size and tyre selection. Simply said, the smaller is the rim and the thicker is the tyre, the more comfortable the car will be - you have choice of 16s, 17s and 18s on IS250.

[toffee_pie]

I had a IS250 prior to my Subaru, I sold it because it was too good - too comfortable and not very engaging to drive so on that basis it should work just fine for the OP

BMWs are money pits, don't get one. Lexus are galaxies ahead of them for build and reliability quality

[scudney]

There are different f sport wheels too though these are the ones fitted to my facelift model 

[Driver201]

26 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

BMW main issue is standard run-flat tyres... they are just horrible, if you fit normal tyres then they are okey, I had 2011 BMW328xi and it was just unbearable until I got puncture on run-flat and it failed to do the sole thing they were designed to do, having no spare I had to wait for recovery truck and after that I just replaced all the tyres with normal tyres and it transformed the car. IS250 is certainly more comfortable than equivalent BMW, Audi or MB, but MB air suspension is more comfortable.

I owned 3 IS250s and I consider them to be comfortable cars in general, however everyone have their own definition of "comfort". For example I can't stand too soft cars with loads of body roll (like all SUVs), yet many people consider comfort as simply how soft the suspension is. Overall I would say that IS250 is comfortable and quiet car, if you fit the right tyres in my opinion it is very comfortable on 17s and still very acceptable on 18s.

As far as years and trims goes, there is really no difference, you can get any IS250 from 2005-2012 and they are all equally comfortable, the only difference will be rim size and tyre selection. Simply said, the smaller is the rim and the thicker is the tyre, the more comfortable the car will be - you have choice of 16s, 17s and 18s on IS250.

Thanks, that's really useful info, I'm feeling more confident about buying one now.

[Driver201]

16 minutes ago, toffee_pie said:

I had a IS250 prior to my Subaru, I sold it because it was too good - too comfortable and not very engaging to drive so on that basis it should work just fine for the OP

BMWs are money pits, don't get one. Lexus are galaxies ahead of them for build and reliability quality

I agree about BMWs, so many plastic parts that become brittle and fail. They are nearly ok if you can afford to buy a brand new one every six years.

[F.A.]

We have had two standard IS250s, a 2007 SE-L on 17s and a 2011 SE-L on 18s. The ride on both was good but the 2007 was more comfortable (likely due to the 17s) and for some reason also had a better weight to the steering. 

[Linas.P]

57 minutes ago, F.A. said:

We have had two standard IS250s, a 2007 SE-L on 17s and a 2011 SE-L on 18s. The ride on both was good but the 2007 was more comfortable (likely due to the 17s) and for some reason also had a better weight to the steering. 

Steering weight is impacted by the tyres a lot, even tyre pressure can make a big difference, so when changing from 17s to 18s and presumably different tyres that certainly could impact how steering feels. 

1 hour ago, Driver201 said:

I agree about BMWs, so many plastic parts that become brittle and fail. They are nearly ok if you can afford to buy a brand new one every six years.

That is literally how almost all the new cars are bought, as such manufacturers don't really try to make cars too reliable... Manufacturers care about people who buy new cars, but people who buy new cars don't care about reliability past first 3-5 years. The people who care about reliability usually don't buy new cars often and likewise manufacturers don't care much about them or the reliability.

I always remember joke (it may actually be fact, but I just don't feel like fact checking today, so let's just call it joke) about how French design cars... and how one of very first requirement is to make cars easily recyclable. Just one reason not to buy French car I guess - if they start from considering how to recycle the car, then in my opinion they don't have their values right. I understand that cars cannot last forever, but again I feel they should be designed to last as long as reasonably possible. 

[Las Palmas]

6 hours ago, JDM-Fiend said:

I've had a 2010 IS250 F-Sport with 18 inch alloys and the ride was quite firm, but I didn't mind it day to day. I currently have a 2008 IS250 SE-L on 18's, this is definitely softer due to different springs I believe.

Is it not the shock absorbers that have the largest share in how hard the suspension is?

[Las Palmas]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

That is literally how almost all the new cars are bought, as such manufacturers don't really try to make cars too reliable... Manufacturers care about people who buy new cars, but people who buy new cars don't care about reliability past first 3-5 years. The people who care about reliability usually don't buy new cars often and likewise manufacturers don't care much about them or the reliability.

Dangerous to build what you sell too good. Nimbus was a reliable motorbike and as they never broke down company went bankrupt. All the people that wanted a motorbike looking like that had one.

[Linas.P]

2 minutes ago, Las Palmas said:

Dangerous to build what you sell too good. Nimbus was a reliable motorbike and as they never broke down company went bankrupt. All the people that wanted a motorbike looking like that had one.

Yes and many manufacturers takes this lesson quite literally 🙂

German cars are not unreliable because Germans could not make more reliable cars, they in fact can - just look at 90s Audi, BMW and MB... yet they realised that people more and more rely on lease and credit, and replace cars more often. As such if car last longer than the lease they loosing potential profit selling new car.

Sad reality is that only Toyota/Lexus and Honda remains committed to building actually reliable cars... there are few occasional (perhaps accidental) models from other manufacturers but not many. 

[toffee_pie]

56 minutes ago, Las Palmas said:

Is it not the shock absorbers that have the largest share in how hard the suspension is?

A F Sport has a firmer ride due to the suspension setup, the clue is in the name. My Subaru has Bilstein struts and my wife hates it but I drive it not her - the OP certainly wont like it but would like a S-EL as its a far more comfy ride

 

[toffee_pie]

German cars is done to the death on many forums, the fact of the matter is they are putting profit before quality - BMW are churning out about 40 types of cars now it seems everything from 1 series to  8 series and M/////Power variants and everything in-between with grills exponentially increasing in size, so quality control has nose dived big time but profits are up and that is all they care about at the end of the day. BMWs also seem to be driven by morons, a recent tragic news incident just another episode

I wouldn't touch a BMW with a barge pole, give me a 300k mile LS460 it will get me to Mongolia in comfort without breaking down, a BMW wont

I would take a ISF over any performance BMW also, I know it wont be draining my bank balance

[Linas.P]

11 hours ago, toffee_pie said:

 BMWs also seem to be driven by morons, a recent tragic news incident just another episode

This is just stereotype, there is no statistical correlation between brand and driver being moron. I assume more powerful RWD cars are being driven like powerful RWD cars could be a factor, but certainly not specific car brand.

[Driver201]

Good afternoon,

I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has replied to my topic, the replies have been most helpful. I will let you know how I get on now the restrictions are being lifted. Just as and aside, I found out today from an obscure Lexus paper that the springs on the F-sport are 10mm shorter than on the other IS250 models, which may be one of the reasons for the suspension on the F-sport being firmer. Anyway I thought this may be of interest those of you who understand these things far better than I ever will. 🙂 

[McShmoopy]

On 4/5/2021 at 1:58 PM, Driver201 said:

Good afternoon, I was thinking of buying an 2005 rx300 but I'm a bit put off by the number of threads on here about water leaking into the car and rust.😟 My second choice was the 2010 IS250. So, is it possible to get a comfy ride in an IS250 given the nature of our roads these days and my back. I generally drive locally and few motorway type miles. And if so what would be the best set-up to look for. Or am I barking up the wrong tree.  Many thanks in advance.🙂

I have an IS250 F sport 2010 and while I did appreciate the sportiness of it the ride was rather firm thanks to the sport suspension and 18” wheels. With the potholes and Road bumps next to my house I did want some comfort and I did change the tyres to 18” Continental eco contact 6’s all around and the ride quality (and economy) has improved while still being firm enough so alternative tyres could be a good shout. Otherwise if comfort is the aim of the game stick with an SE-L with 17 wheels and this can be further improved with comfort orientated tyres!

[Linas.P]

That is very valid point Bilal, although moving from 17s to 18s and having 10mm lower car slightly reduces the comfort, still the tyres could change experience in major way. Having quiet and comfortable tyres makes a huge difference. I mean sure fit the same comfortable tyres on 15 inch wheels and car will be even more comfortable, but that does not mean it is impossible to have F-Sport on 18s and still make it relatively comfortable ride. 

[Driver201]

On 4/7/2021 at 1:10 AM, McShmoopy said:

I have an IS250 F sport 2010 and while I did appreciate the sportiness of it the ride was rather firm thanks to the sport suspension and 18” wheels. With the potholes and Road bumps next to my house I did want some comfort and I did change the tyres to 18” continental eco contact 6’s all around and the ride quality (and economy) has improved while still being firm enough so alternative tyres could be a good shout. Otherwise if comfort is the aim of the game stick with an SE-L with 17 wheels and this can be further improved with comfort orientated tyres!

Thanks for the info, I will definitely look into that.🙂