New Car

marshy · January 10, 2005

My commute has become just too boring so I decided I needed cruise control. Came to the conclusion the autobox on the 2l engine was just a bad combination so decided 3l power was required. Managed to find a lovely one owner from new IS300 in granite sky, 01 with 35k miles and chopped my IS200SE in against it. I take delivery in two weeks and cannot wait!

Two handed no feet driving here I come!

Brettster · January 10, 2005

hehe I have cruise control on my car

I used it once

in the 2 years ive had the car. hope you get more use out of it :)

and Happy new car :)

looking forward to getting mine any day now woooo

lexicon · January 10, 2005

I did just the same three months ago - fantastic car, no regrets.

marshy · January 10, 2005

I did just the same three months ago - fantastic car, no regrets.

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Have you found the IS300 noticeably more thirsty than the IS200?

lexicon · January 10, 2005

Have you found the IS300 noticeably more thirsty than the IS200?

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I'm getting about 2 mpg less (28 v 30) which I think is quite good going from a 2l manual to a 3l auto.

I do take it quite steady on the motorway (80ish) and don't drive in town much.

It helps that you can make "good progress" without having to be over 4k all the time :D

marshy · January 10, 2005

Have you found the IS300 noticeably more thirsty than the IS200?

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It helps that you can make "good progress" without having to be over 4k all the time :D

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I don't suppose you know what the gearing is i.e. ??mph/1000rpm in top?

lexicon · January 10, 2005

I don't suppose you know what the gearing is i.e. ??mph/1000rpm in top?

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It's about 27mph/1000 - 80 is just under 3k. Not super-tall but a lot more relaxed than the 200.

Mr Morse · January 10, 2005

I bought an IS200 Sport in Aug03 but found it gutless and underpowered. Traded up to a new IS300 in Astral black with full bodykit and never looked back. The two models are like chalk and cheese in terms of performance!

lexicon · January 10, 2005

The two models are like chalk and cheese in terms of performance!

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Yes, they are quite different.

I find the IS300 doesn't FEEL particularly quick but a glance at the speedo (or the mirror :D ) makes you realise the difference.

Lexxy_703 · January 10, 2005

all IS300 drivers are just shiny happy people... :D ...we just can't help it! B)

rakesh · January 10, 2005

i swapped my 200 for the 300. no regrets at all. only gripe is it is an auto. would have prefered a manual.

MrADeveci · January 10, 2005

i swapped my 200 for the 300. no regrets at all. only gripe is it is an auto. would have prefered a manual.

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Nothing wrong with auto ..... it's better :P

smyggy · January 11, 2005

I too swapped my IS200 for a 300.

Wish I'd tried the 300 first.

Agree with all the comments (though I went from 29-27mpg).

I also find the suspension better and the steering weighted better.- it is like a more substantial car.

I use the cruise control a lot theses days in 40/50 mph limits with speed cameras. I can concentrate on the road instead of the speedo.

marshy · January 11, 2005

I use the cruise control a lot theses days in 40/50 mph limits with speed cameras. I can concentrate on the road instead of the speedo.

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When you use the resume function on the cruise control does the car accelerate back to the set speed rapidly or is a light throttle settings used? Also if you set it to a certain speed does it maintain it even when doing down hill?

ColinBarber · January 11, 2005

It will maintain the correct speed going up or down hill.

Acceleration depends on how far away you are from the set speed. I would say a moderate acceleration.

lexicon · January 11, 2005

I use the cruise control a lot theses days in 40/50 mph limits with speed cameras. I can concentrate on the road instead of the speedo.

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When you use the resume function on the cruise control does the car accelerate back to the set speed rapidly or is a light throttle settings used? Also if you set it to a certain speed does it maintain it even when doing down hill?

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It accelerates fairly gently - there may be circumstances where it will accelerate hard, but I haven't found them.

It will try to maintain the speed downhill, but if it's steep enough you will go faster.

As far as I know it won't change down to increase engine-braking or anything like that - it's not been a problem so far.

Jiberjaber · January 11, 2005

I use the cruise control a lot theses days in 40/50 mph limits with speed cameras. I can concentrate on the road instead of the speedo.

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When you use the resume function on the cruise control does the car accelerate back to the set speed rapidly or is a light throttle settings used? Also if you set it to a certain speed does it maintain it even when doing down hill?

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It accelerates fairly gently - there may be circumstances where it will accelerate hard, but I haven't found them.

It will try to maintain the speed downhill, but if it's steep enough you will go faster.

As far as I know it won't change down to increase engine-braking or anything like that - it's not been a problem so far.

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Yup thats right, you can chenge down from D to 3 to add some engine breaking without canceling the Cruse, if you change down to 2 it should cancel the Cruse. This is on my IS200, but I would have thought the cruse worked similar in the IS300... if in doubt check the owners handbook.

I personally drive on cruse the majority of the time now. I even got into my fathers Vectra the other day to reverse it of their drive. I attempted three times to get it into reverse and each time it made a racket and stalled.... then I remembered it was a manual! luckily it is his Company car ;)

The only things that you need to watch out for / get on my nerves are...

people on non-cruse cars trying to go 70 mph then not adding more gas when they get to a hill

keeping an eye on the truck in front as your trying to overtake whilst checking for a gap, you will be supprised how quick that gap shrinks when the car is controlling the speed for ya :)

Sudden gear drop when the torque requirement changes up hill (esp on resume).

Apart from that it's nearly the best thing since slices bread.... shame the car following systems dont take off in the public eyes, some of the papers I have seen presented on them would make car driving VERY automatic :)

marshy · January 21, 2005

I take delivery in two weeks and cannot wait!

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Those had to have been the longest two weeks of my life! Collecting the vehicle this afternoon. Something tells me I'll be using any excuse in the book to do the driving this weekend. :P

Nigel Prentice · February 1, 2005

I take delivery in two weeks and cannot wait!

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Those had to have been the longest two weeks of my life! Collecting the vehicle this afternoon. Something tells me I'll be using any excuse in the book to do the driving this weekend. :P

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Have you experienced a creaking noise from the front suspension when driving over speed bumps or rough roads??

BESTY · February 1, 2005

nice one mate,ive driven the 300 and must admit my charged 200 is more fun to drive and more lively,but thats me.enjoy :)

marshy · February 1, 2005

I take delivery in two weeks and cannot wait!

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Those had to have been the longest two weeks of my life! Collecting the vehicle this afternoon. Something tells me I'll be using any excuse in the book to do the driving this weekend. :P

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Have you experienced a creaking noise from the front suspension when driving over speed bumps or rough roads??

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Nothing at all, sorry.

marshy · February 1, 2005

nice one mate,ive driven the 300 and must admit my charged 200 is more fun to drive and more lively,but thats me.enjoy :)

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She is fast enough for me for the time being. I am shocked the times I peer down at the speedo and discover my speed is in three digits.

IS300 · February 4, 2005

Lovely Motor :D

Just wished I didnt have Tyre wear and alignment problems on a brand new £30k car though :o

UKPulse · February 6, 2005

Lovely Motor :D
Just wished I didnt have Tyre wear and alignment problems on a brand new £30k car though :o

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Excellent choice of car - nice one :D

Re - tyre wear. Had the same problem with mine, the inner edges of the fronts were smooth as a billiard ball while the rest of the tyre had masses of tread. Got Lexus to arrange a full geometry check (cost me £100) but Lexus replaced the fronts for me f.o.c.