noby76

you don't like the sound but someone else does so its individual preference at the end of the day. 

i think harmonic engine sounds is open to debate and individual taste. the video above clearly showed the 200t not sounding trashing and acceptable for a 4 cylinder engine not disputing the fact the 250 sounds a tad better than the 200t but its not night and day in my books. in my opinion my older ford cougar V6 i owned before my IS300 years ago were both raw and characterful in sound terms when accelerating compared to the 250 which i felt sounded docile and didn't make me grin when i test drove it. infact my 4 pot accord sounds more epic 'racey' when asked to perform than the 250 V6. but again that's me. 

14 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Yep ... that familiar screaming trash can sound... 

To be fair Linas the IS250 is NOT a nice sounding engine either in all honesty. i did test drive one when i had my IS300 at Lexus for cambelt change and was not impressed. my old Ford Cougar V6 sounded better under acceleration so did my IS300 when comparing to the 250. as you already said it might be your sensitive hearing but does not mean the IS200t has a trash can sound the video clearly shows how quiet and composed the car accelerated to its top speed and even got quieter the faster it went and in my opinion was not a trash can sound. 

volvo XC90 hybrid

9 hours ago, J Henderson said:

Probably not but they are definitely cutting corners in terms of standard equipment. My previous car (2010) was better-equipped than the one I have now despite it being newer and the same model/trim level & spec.

Latest IS model is no different. Some things that used to be standard are now an option or not available at all. Lexus seem more interested in adding stuff no decent driver would ever need or want like lane departure warnings and auto high-beam. 

 

This was also one of the contributing factors i decided not to bother with a new or nearly new as i also found out newer models within my reasonable budget did not have most of the toys which were standard on older models and if i decided to go full spec will be in my case too much £££ for what i need a car for when an older model packs pretty much the same spec..

just because 

On 2017-6-24 at 1:09 PM, Linas.P said:

 

@noby76 - that is all perception. It is like fitting louder exhaust and thinking you going faster. Just in case of IS250 vs IS200t it is double to amount - both engine and exhaust sound better. I am not denying IS200t is an overall faster car than IS250, I just don't like the way it sounds and I don't like how 2.0t engine feels. Based on my senses (which by no means are perfect) I feel faster in IS250 even though I know that is not the case.

4 pot engines be it NA or Turbo can sound nice and not trashing as you put it.. i have owned a V6, Striaght 6 and V8 and can tell you the 4 pot engine in my Accord is just as smooth and less trashing when compared to the V6 and straight 6 infact it actually goes about its business like a 6 cylinder. cruises like a 6 and has its own 'race' engine note at top end. below is one accelerating and i couldn't hear a trashing engine if any thing it sounded/accelerated in a composed way infact it actually got quieter the faster it was going...

how does an engine making 350NM from 1600rpm feel underpowered??  ...  its not like its any heavier than the IS250... the reason why the 200T will out accelerate the 250 in any gear at any speed is due to the artifcial flat torque the engine is able to produce from around 1600 to around 4500rpm  couple that with 8 close ratio gears so if any thing the 200T will drive and feel powerful.. we all know the 250 sounds better but does not mean its going faster.. certainly no slouch the 250 as i have seen one pull 160mph easily..

i agree the CT needs the 2.0T engine to take some market share from  petrol turbo versions of BMW 1 series and Audi A3 not sure which corporate executive at Lexus makes these decisions but their decisions dont help sales and Lexus brand in Europe.  This is how the IS200T fares against closet rival BMW 328(2.0) auto. not much about half a second to a second difference between them. but the BMW is very light in weight.. 

 recon an IS350h and IS450h would be a better model for UK/European market.. maybe thats where Lexus might be aiming.  below is the in gear acceleration figures for 250 and 200T. 

wouldnt be surprised if Rayaans turns up with this ..

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201705305945829?sort=price-asc&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=mk160ay&radius=200&advertising-location=at_cars&make=ASTON MARTIN&body-type=Saloon&page=1

one of my fav Super Saloon's 

you are right but i don't think you got my point.. I am not talking about racing the cars at illegal speeds.. cars like the Toyata MR2,Celica's . S2000 and compact sport Saloons/Coupe do not have as much sound insulation and not as heavy so e.g. even when taking a corner/rounbabout at a permitted 50 mph it sounds and goes about it in a fun way than an LS400 taking the same corner at the same 50mph...

35 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I could not disagree more - it is not about driving to the limit - it is the refinement that I find so pleasing with the LS400. I will admit, I do have to be careful as the power is intoxicating at times - but I am training her to to keep to 70 mph.

Yes but we all know an LS was not built with sportiness in mind as you say its more for refinement and wafting but will get up and go when asked which was the same case with the 430 i had.. it had power but i wouldn't  call it a fun car and the LS400 falls in that bracket aswell. some drivers dont want refinement and wafting rides and thats where cars like GT86, Celica's and MX-5 and compact Saloons come into play. 

44 minutes ago, rayaans said:

I think you're generally going to struggle in the UK for driving enjoyment. 

Generally I do have to go out on the B roads and do some stupid driving (its only fun when you're at 10/10th).

Which is why cars like the GT86 and MX5 are fun, their 10/10th is significantly less than say a Porche 911'S 10/10th

i do agree i find my 190bhp accord to be much more fun to drive than the GS430 V8. Yes on a straight line speed the V8 comes into its zone but the edginess and being able to do more with less in the Accord just makes it so much fun to drive.. and i think most make the mistake of say going for 400-500bhp cars with the notion of bringing driving enjoyment when 90% of the time they cannot extract the full potential of the car when all they need is a car they can drive at 10/10th even at legal driving conditions..

3 hours ago, rayaans said:

 

Can't help it! Its all a game.....

Im enjoying myself very much but its going to be a PITA when the other half finds out

I knew you was a TESLA fan like Gang. 

1 hour ago, dazed said:

You're barking mad

It's older, has higher mileage, costs more and won't be as reliable. I'm struggling to see the upside.

its faster and "may" handle better... but i will have an F-sport GS450h over one..

2 hours ago, Verbout said:

Expensive keeping up with the Joneses.

By Dave Ramsees take, the Joneses are broke so no point trying to keep up..   i find his topics very interesting and educational as well..

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

The real question is - why have they not made an RC300h using the 2.0l Turbo in combination with the hybrid pack instead of using the 2.5l inline four

I second that... RC300h with the 2.0Turbo + 50bhp shot of Battery power would near 300 bhp easily that would get a lot of interest in Europe for sure. Lexus could even badge it as RC350h. Dont understand why Lexus makes these decisions and example was the IS350, GS350 not sold in Europe but the guzzling IS-F, GS-F are?? were is the sense in that  if the V8's could achieve around 24-25 mpg as stated sure the 350's could do 28-30 mpg? which in my books is not bad for the power output and reliability aspect compared to say Turbo 335 offered by BMW which might be good on MPG but wont be as reliable?  Lexus cliamed they wanted to attract 25-35 year old with the CT but only offered it with a combined output of 135 bhp which is OK for most that dont care about driving dynamics and performance but they sure needed a performance version of the Hatchback CT either a Turbo or 2.5 Hybrid version to rival 1 series, A class and Audi A3's no wonder i see lots of younger buyers flocking to these brands.   

There is a 2.0 version of the Accords as well with performance similar to the IS200 and better mpg figures being a 4 cylinder.. the 2.4 is still better on fuel than IS200.

never heard of rusts on Lexus cars but saying that, would depend mainly on where the previous owner lived in UK as cars near the coast will tend to show signs of rusts compared to ones that dont. below is a link to the one  i picked up as you can see, no rusts for a 14 year old 

yes i have the 5 speed auto in excutive which has the nav 6 cd changer and  bulit in dvd player the type S had the nice body kit but looses the leather nav and few toys which translates to being lighter and inherits A Spec sports suspensions. i have liked thier looks for ages and decided to get one..test drive both the IS and these Accords and you wont go wrong with either both well put together cars

ohh also consider Honda Accord CL9 of that same era of the IS i currently own the 2.4 Executive and driving dynamics are just like my IS300  hoot to drive with 6 speed box and also have double wishbone suspensions on all corners just like the IS's

stretch another £300 and you can have this sport version. same owner since 2007 and 50miles from Cheshire

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201706036079778?radius=200&sort=price-desc&keywords=OWNER&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&price-to=2000&transmission=Manual&postcode=wa145qh&model=IS 200&make=LEXUS&advertising-location=at_cars&price-from=1000&page=1

try and stick to a 1-2 owners if you can even though they might be rare or above your budget. but saying that back in 2012 the IS300 TTE I purchased if i can recall had 3 previous owners with just over 110k on the clock but that didnt not deter me after i saw the car in the metal did all my checks and took it for a drive. when it comes to second hand cars the least previus owners the car has, the better. FSH is a must but saying that the service booklet can be forged easily with false stamps if cambelt has been done will be good to get it verified by the garage if in doubt do it again. i did it again on both my prevois IS300 and GS430 including plugs. but i will say to stay safe from potential issues always buy 1 -2 owner cars second hand.

So from what i gather from responses so far it seems both new car buyers like Rayanns and vasileios and used car buyers all favour buying second hand rather than new. so one could say besides the feel good factor of driving a brand new car and manufactures warranty, 9 times out of 10, financing a new car Privately not as a company car is essentially flushing £££'s down the toilet regardless of the finance option one went for i.e HP or PCP? surely there should be instances where financing privately works out in favour of the buyer considering the number of new cars on UK roads?

So before buying my daily car which is a second-hand 2003 1 owner Accord 2.4 Executive, I toyed with the idea of actually financing a nearly new or new Lexus.

But after some further investigation researching online and few videos I decided to go with a well looked after second hand car which based on my knowledge packed pretty much anything in terms of toys/gadgets one could find in a 2017 car apart from Bluetooth connectivity, lane keeping assist and reversing camera which truth be told are gadgets I can live without. Majority of my music are still on CD’s so I don’t stream music from my phone.

Having owned about 9 cars in total the youngest car I have owned was 5 years old. And I am the sort that tends to change my cars every 2.5 to 3 years so didn’t want to be locked in or keep driving the same car for the next 4 - 5 years which tends to be the average years car finance/hire contract runs for.

I also couldn’t justify making monthly payments on something which is depreciating faster compared to a 5 year or older second-hand which has done most of its depreciation so not a lot to loose when reselling.

Advance in auto technology has improved mpg figures and emissions which keeps road tax down on newer cars but my maths concluded the savings made on mpg and road tax will be wiped out by monthly payments towards driving the car compared to a less fuel efficient but decent older car bought outright with no monthly payments being made on it.

Also came across this US article which in a way persuaded me more in my decision not to bother with financing a new/ nearly new car.

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/heres-four-reasons-why-you-should-never-ever-finance-a-1638384343

So for those who prefer new cars what’s your reason for making this decision and would you go back to an older car in future or keep financing new and for those who prefer to buy and drive second hand cars would you buy another older car or finance new and what will be your reason?

noticed the same when i was in Boston and new York as well seems the amrecans are not too hang-on on badge like in Europe where anything other than German is not credible..

the ES is quite a large car lots would confuse it with the GS. I can undertand why Lexus is making the decision to discontinue the GS. ES is large enough

Nicely crafted aswell