Hi Alan,
Prior to buying my is250 9 mths ago I nearly bought the top of the range aurion(about $50000).This model is actually higher spec`d than the base 250 with sat nav,leather,rear camera,push button start,sunroof,bluetooth,xeon lights etc altho the sound system is nowhere near as good.With all these toys it is better value and it has the bigger 3.5 v6 engine but is front wheel drive.They also have a cheap fixed price service for 3-4 yrs.Obviously being a Toyota its a good car but it isn`t in the class of a Lexus.I`m very happy that I chose the 250 instead as its more of a drivers car with the rear wheel drive & so quiet.Much nicer shape as well unless you want a larger car.Re the rattle/noise aspect,mine did start but the dealer fixed that up in a couple of mins(adjusted something on the passenger side seat)now fine.I get a slight dash noise over rough roads occasionally but doesn`t bother me.All in all a much more refined car looks great & drives supremely well.Rob