Have I Done The Right Thing?

[welshman]

I have just put a deposit on a new IS220d - but looking at the reports in this forum, I'm not sure if I have dropped an almighty clanger. Are there any satisfied Lexus IS owners out there?

I have p/x my Astra VXR in an effort to reduce running costs.

The IS offers at the moment simply appaer to be very good

[dgman]

I have just put a deposit on a new IS220d - but looking at the reports in this forum, I'm not sure if I have dropped an almighty clanger. Are there any satisfied Lexus IS owners out there?

I have p/x my Astra VXR in an effort to reduce running costs.

The IS offers at the moment simply appaer to be very good

what where your impresions after test drive.

[giorgoXXI]

I have just put a deposit on a new IS220d - but looking at the reports in this forum, I'm not sure if I have dropped an almighty clanger. Are there any satisfied Lexus IS owners out there?

I have p/x my Astra VXR in an effort to reduce running costs.

The IS offers at the moment simply appaer to be very good

It's a great car, don't worry. Most complaints in this forum are for older 220D's (pre 57 plate I would say), new ones like mine don't have any problems (so far). If yours is a non-Sport version, it will take you some time to get used to the long gear ratios. I had a courtesy 220D non-Sport for a few days, and at the beginning it felt weird, but after a few miles you get used to it, you just need to change your driving style. You will also feel the gearbox is not very comfortable at the beginning, but after you do a couple of thousands of miles it improves a lot, and so does fuel economy (in my case at least).

[welshman]

Thanks for the replies, my mind is a little more at ease. My first impression was better than that after driving my bosses BMW 3 series diesel. I found tat quite noisey when driving compared to the Lexus.

[philthy]

Thanks for the replies, my mind is a little more at ease. My first impression was better than that after driving my bosses BMW 3 series diesel. I found tat quite noisey when driving compared to the Lexus.

It's a good car if it does the right things for you. What I would say, and I don't know your background, is ask for a second extended test. Take it home and live with it. Try packing it for a holiday with the family if you have one and try fitting child seats in it. Try to imagine how the hell you fit any materiels for a DIY task in the boot space. Try fitting three of your mates in the rear. It will be infinitely better than your Vauxhall and it does respond to enthusiastic driving. Just be prepared for the little squeeks and rattles that develop and watch the head getting in and out in a hurry.

[mattstheone]

Hello

Mine is one of the First on a 55 Plate

i purchased mine in May with 17thou on clock, And so far i have (fingers crossed) never had any Probs with

Injectors or any rattles.

Mine went back for an Injector mod and various ECU upgrades but i never had a problem with them,

only thing i complained about was the interior mirror, which has been modified and mine replaced.

And the wing mirror glass

and when it was in for a new rear bumper (after someone reversed in to me) they fitted a EGR Valve

what ever one of them are and then arranged for me to go back for a water pump leak.

But all in all i am very happy with the Car the seats are very comfortable (leather) and the Mark Levinson

system is awesome, and the rear parking assist camera is the mutz nuts.

and for a diesel it is very smooth and i am happy getting around 43mpg.

Regards

Matt

[Mincey]

I have just put a deposit on a new IS220d - but looking at the reports in this forum, I'm not sure if I have dropped an almighty clanger. Are there any satisfied Lexus IS owners out there?

I have p/x my Astra VXR in an effort to reduce running costs.

The IS offers at the moment simply appaer to be very good

It's a great car, don't worry. Most complaints in this forum are for older 220D's (pre 57 plate I would say), new ones like mine don't have any problems (so far). If yours is a non-Sport version, it will take you some time to get used to the long gear ratios. I had a courtesy 220D non-Sport for a few days, and at the beginning it felt weird, but after a few miles you get used to it, you just need to change your driving style. You will also feel the gearbox is not very comfortable at the beginning, but after you do a couple of thousands of miles it improves a lot, and so does fuel economy (in my case at least).

I've got a loan 220d Sport at the moment. To be honest, I'm quite impressed. I've driven a non-Sport before and the Sport seems better behaved at 70 in 6th. I like the woof factor when it's floored going up a hill. The rear view mirror does vibrate "a little" though....

[84Stoney]

I have just put a deposit on a new IS220d - but looking at the reports in this forum, I'm not sure if I have dropped an almighty clanger. Are there any satisfied Lexus IS owners out there?

I have p/x my Astra VXR in an effort to reduce running costs.

The IS offers at the moment simply appaer to be very good

Not a great deal wrong with the car. Personally i'd have a 250, but if ure talking running costs then maybe stick to the oiler.

Remember there are many more posts titled along the lines of "my cars gone wrong, help" than there are "nothing wrong with my car for the 20month in a row, i love it" it's the nature of thea forum. People use the it to share and solve problems, and it does that very well.

Coming from a VXR, I'd say you can't go wrong, at least you'll have the correct wheels doing the driving now, and the luxury/build quality/reliability are just incomparable, IMHO.

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

I'm sure that all the new ones will be fine - but I would insist on a long testdrive - it somehow always feels different. In fact, you might want to try that Auto 250 too...

+1 to everything above and welcome

[philthy]

I'm sure that all the new ones will be fine - but I would insist on a long testdrive - it somehow always feels different. In fact, you might want to try that Auto 250 too...

+1 to everything above and welcome

Defo go for the IS250 auto over the 220d. It's a different car altogether. It still has the space issues of a modern compact exec though. Just more fun.

[Matus]

satisfied.

[Monsterped]

It's a great car, don't worry. Most complaints in this forum are for older 220D's (pre 57 plate I would say), new ones like mine don't have any problems (so far). If yours is a non-Sport version, it will take you some time to get used to the long gear ratios. I had a courtesy 220D non-Sport for a few days, and at the beginning it felt weird, but after a few miles you get used to it, you just need to change your driving style. You will also feel the gearbox is not very comfortable at the beginning, but after you do a couple of thousands of miles it improves a lot, and so does fuel economy (in my case at least).

It seems to me that after reading various threads that opinion varies widely on the IS220d. I have a late 2007 model (december I think) and it's still suffering poor running after 3 major warranty trips for the injectors, common rail etc etc.

What I would disagree with is the comment that the gearbox gets better with use - after 26k miles I still think it sucks. In no way can you hurry a gear change and any attempt to do so makes it feel even clunkier than normal. The gearing is all wrong too - the Sport is much better. It is to my regret that the difference in gearing wasn't explained at the point of sale as the only demo available was a sport.

Fuel economy is not great either for a diesel. My previous car, an S40 D would return over 45mpg regardless of driving style, the IS is lucky t break 40mpg when driven in an economical style...

[dgman]

thatpost belongs to giorgoxxi not me matey.

[giorgoXXI]

It seems to me that after reading various threads that opinion varies widely on the IS220d. I have a late 2007 model (december I think) and it's still suffering poor running after 3 major warranty trips for the injectors, common rail etc etc.

What I would disagree with is the comment that the gearbox gets better with use - after 26k miles I still think it sucks. In no way can you hurry a gear change and any attempt to do so makes it feel even clunkier than normal. The gearing is all wrong too - the Sport is much better. It is to my regret that the difference in gearing wasn't explained at the point of sale as the only demo available was a sport.

Fuel economy is not great either for a diesel. My previous car, an S40 D would return over 45mpg regardless of driving style, the IS is lucky t break 40mpg when driven in an economical style...

For the first few hundred miles I thought the gearbox was pretty bad, it was hard getting it into 1st and 2nd gear. So I went back to the delearship and told them about it. Apparently they changed the "settings" on the gearbox (no new parts), and since then gradually felt an improvement and now I don't have any complaints about it. 1st and 2nd are OK, while 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th gears are really smooth. I definately agree the gearing is better on the Sport, it helps to cover up the turbo lag. But on the non-Sport versions I found you can minimize the turbo lag by changing your driving style. Unfortunately for the non-Sport versions the 6th gear problem is still there (only usable above national limit speeds).

I agree on fuel economy it not as good compared to the competition, but then again, im getting almost exactly the fuel economy that is advertised, so can't complain about that (I knew what I was getting into).

The 250 on the same route does -10 mpg compared to the 220D, which on the miles I do every year (not much), saves me £500 a year on top of the intial saving on the car (the 220D is cheaper). Plus if I were to go for the manual 250 (hate auto boxes), I would be paying the highest car tax amount.

[FinLex]

Apart from this forum, I have yet to meet a dissatisfied 220d owner. That is the honest truth.

It's been 20 months since I bought my 220d Sport. I have been very happy with it every day. 1st gear isn't perfectly smooth and there have been minor rattles in the B pillars, but these are insignificant problems compared to any other car that I've had before. 49 MPG average from new, by the way...

[philthy]

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Derogatory & Off Topic

[dgman]

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Quoting Off topic

[philthy]

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Edited October 6, 2008 by janey
Derogatory Comments

[FinLex]

Once more with feeling...

There is no doubt in my mind that the 525dA is far superior to the 220d. But what bothers me a bit is that this should be self-evident and not something to preach about. These cars are not rivals as such. The only way to get them on the same line is to compare a brand new 220d to a second-hand BMW. That's not exatcly apples to apples...

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To keep on Topic

[giorgoXXI]

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Off topic

[philthy]

Deleted by Philthy. The forum edited post tended to indicate a different point of view IMO.

Edited October 6, 2008 by philthy
To keep on Topic & non degrogatory

[markoose]

I have just swapped an IS220d for an IS250 auto. I never had probs with fuel consumption (42-43 mpg consistently) and it is really at home on a-roads and motorways, with lots of overtaking power. However the reasons I swapped:

1) Too noisy, I'd never owned a diesel before and it was worse than I thought it would be, although the sound-proofing is very good and it's no worse than any other 4-pot diesel.

2) Poor change from/to 1st, 2nd gear, just thought Lexus could have done better here, but the gearbox could prob run a tractor it feels so tough.

3) No power before turbo kicks in, anything much less than 1900rpm and there's nothing there, meaning you have to make sure you use the clutch to keep the revs up.

4) Sixth gear too long for British motorway speeds, unless you have 2000rpm on the clock you will lose speed when you're not on a flat/downhill stretch. You would also have to change down for any meaningful acceleration. However, 5th is fine for cruising between 60-80mph, gives loads of overtaking ability and isn't over-revving the engine as it's still quite long.

The petrol auto eliminates all these problems, it's a great combo, only thing I'd say is that the engine sounds like a big hairdryer (but a quiet one). My normal routes have bagged me 35 mpg in the petrol, so quite pleased with that. In general, I think the IS is quite susceptible to crosswinds for some reason and has overly responsive steering from the straight ahead considering it's lack of seat-of-the-pants feel so can feel jittery on the motorway. Overall though the diesel will be right for some people, it's not a bad engine and most of the competition who have launched 2.2 175ish bhp engines have had exactly the same drivability criticisms in the motoring press as they tend to have long gearing. So it's all about your usage and style, see if you can get a car for a long test-drive and then if you're not happy try the petrol, I'm sure the dealer will swap the order for you if you like it better.

[Lex Bhoy]

I have p/x my Astra VXR in an effort to reduce running costs.

Why not change to another astra diesel and get a tunning box.... Have both the astra 150 and Lexus diesel.... Lexus good cruising car, Astra good for a blast, even then still get better MPG than the Lex...

If you like toys and a cracking looking car then go for the Lexus, however coming out of the VXR you will miss the performance..

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

All I would say is what I have always said - take it for an extended test, and yes it is still overall a fantastic value for money car - but do also read the Autocar and other tests of the IS compared to other cars and make your own mind up. The journalists are not as biased as some would have you believe!

A Lexus owners club (like any owner/fanatical club) isn't always the best place for unbiased answers! You really have to do your own thing...

One final point is that people buy a diesel mainly for economy and economy alone - and the IS does not deliver when compared to other makes. Not just at the pumps, but also in servicing costs, VED etc.

IMHO, the IS 250 Auto is much more convincing as a Lexus - the ISD is a car created to be seen as going with the competition, and Toyota have done the minimum (i.e. no bespoke diesel engine ranges, Auto diesel etc.) and to me seems like a bit of a half hearted approach.

Edited October 6, 2008 by janey
To keep on topic & non degrogatory

[MeOfLeeds]

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Edited October 6, 2008 by janey
Off topic