I S 3 5 0

[cecil]

i was speaking to the dealer in Canberra today about the 250 - 350

He said that their Is250 customers are predominately retired couples. I nearly smacked him LOL. He said for that reason they wont expect to sell many is350's.

From my own experiences, I have found that GS model hangs around in the retirement villages more than IS.

Your thoughts??

[k2sty1]

well, IMHO

IS's are mainly driven by older people

but then again the GS and LS are aswell

but out of all of em, the IS i recon has the most younger drivers

there are many IS's out there, and whenever i see one its mostly older people (50-60+) but then again i see some younger drivers aswell

pretty good mix i think

in comparision, nearly every GS or LS is owned by older people

[Lexus Nerd]

I've found Canberrans' taste in cars much different to those living in other cities. Most cars are of low value, even in the wealthier suburbs; you don't see many SUVs there, let alone prestige or luxury cars.

From what I've seen in Sydney between North Sydney and Eastwood, drivers of IS250s tend to be executives in their 30's to 50's (plenty of 250s in North Sydney) and middle-aged Asian women. A few nearing retirement age, perhaps, but I don't even recall seeing a retiree drive one.

[DANSLEX]

I'm 29, and if I can speak on behalf of other gen y's out there, the IS is probably the only model Lexus I would buy. Indeed GS, LS and LX are for the retired (or close to) folk. Have never seen a young(ish) person drive one. They're great cars, but realistically they're too expensive for young people, and don't really appeal to our demographic. RX is for the soccer mums / families. I know I'm generalising. Each time I see an IS on the road, it seems to have an equal mix of various ages etc.

[FrankyX]

I'm 30 and there seems to be a consensus on the general age of the IS drivers and of other Lexus models, yea sure it does seem to be generalising, but it is true. However, one important point to make. Has anyone ever seen a young person driving a Gold IS250???? I have only ever seen older retirees, but as for the other colours, generally younger.

But sticking to the topic of the 350... are they in dealers yet? What colours are on show?

[k2sty1]

saw a Black F Sport model drive past me on Boundary Road near willoughby/chatswood

looked mint

[cecil]

Yes, the Canberra dealer has one set up as a demo. I didn't want to drive it just in case, if you know what I mean

[adrian]

There's a write up on the IS350 in the Motoring section in the WA paper. "Champagne pace on a beer budget"

Summary: IS350 kicks ass :)

Audi A4 3.2 FSI Quyattro 6.4s 0-100 = $87,000

S4 5.1 sec = $115,000

Mercedes C300 = 7.2sec = $85,900

C63 AMG 4.8sec $144.365

IS 350: 0-100 5.6sec (matches BMW 335i M sport but $46,000 cheaper), 9.4L / 100km

IS 350 price range: 233kW $64,800 Prestige - $81,300 Sports Luxury

IS 250 price range: 153kW - $55,800 - $76,000

IS 250C: $79,000 - $99,900

[icefirehk]

took my is350 f sport out for a spin the mountains and beach roads today, gave it a bit more juice, having put on a few hundred ks of driving this week to run it in

excellent power delivery and acceleration, suspension very well set up, even in the wet felt very grippy, all in all, damn nice =)

the ONLY thing i have to comment on, is that another gear in the box would be welcome, if they had the is f's gear box in the 350 - this car would be a perfect daily driver/sports sedan !!

i have a drive day coming up on the Great Ocean Road in 2 weeks, hopefully car run in more by then and see how it goes =)

[Agent86]

Its a pity the IS350 TV ad is so boring. A guy sitting waiting for everything?????? And the music????

Lexus trying to be too clever with that ad. Its a poor effort and the car deserves better.

Lexus marketing is their weak point.

[Aircon]

i have a drive day coming up on the Great Ocean Road in 2 weeks, hopefully car run in more by then and see how it goes =)

a group of us did that this weekend in a variety of sports cars. floods..landslides...you name it, we drove through it! it was still fun, but I hope the weather is better for you!

[Aircon]

Here's one landslide that was dropping rocks onto cars minutes before I got there.

[ilv1004s]

took my is350 f sport out for a spin the mountains and beach roads today, gave it a bit more juice, having put on a few hundred ks of driving this week to run it in

excellent power delivery and acceleration, suspension very well set up, even in the wet felt very grippy, all in all, damn nice =)

the ONLY thing i have to comment on, is that another gear in the box would be welcome, if they had the is f's gear box in the 350 - this car would be a perfect daily driver/sports sedan !!

i have a drive day coming up on the Great Ocean Road in 2 weeks, hopefully car run in more by then and see how it goes =)

rofl

i woudlnt be complaining if i was you lol

clearly you havent a driven a 250 for a long time lol

i just want that 234kw!!

[icefirehk]

took my is350 f sport out for a spin the mountains and beach roads today, gave it a bit more juice, having put on a few hundred ks of driving this week to run it in

excellent power delivery and acceleration, suspension very well set up, even in the wet felt very grippy, all in all, damn nice =)

the ONLY thing i have to comment on, is that another gear in the box would be welcome, if they had the is f's gear box in the 350 - this car would be a perfect daily driver/sports sedan !!

i have a drive day coming up on the Great Ocean Road in 2 weeks, hopefully car run in more by then and see how it goes =)

rofl

i woudlnt be complaining if i was you lol

clearly you havent a driven a 250 for a long time lol

i just want that 234kw!!

hehe.. i traded in my 09 is250 to but the is350 !!

its a great car but i'm always honest about how the cars perform lol!! with the extra power, the 8gear box in the is f would make a damn good improvement to its power delivery and acceleration outta corners =) still its a good auto box, takes some getting used to that intuitive gearbox learning thing tho haha, anyone know if i flick to sports or if i set ECT to power, it over rides the intuitive gear box?

but as yet.. nothing of note =)

[LEX51S]

8 gears is too many. Although i havent driven a 350 id imagine it is as well refined as the 250 when it came out only 100 times better.

The isF gearbox is for a 311kw 5 litre v8. The is350 234kw for a 3.5 litre. Apart from that. The 8 speed gearbox would put the price of the 350 up alot pricing itself out of the market.

[icefirehk]

8 gears is too many. Although i havent driven a 350 id imagine it is as well refined as the 250 when it came out only 100 times better.

The isF gearbox is for a 311kw 5 litre v8. The is350 234kw for a 3.5 litre. Apart from that. The 8 speed gearbox would put the price of the 350 up alot pricing itself out of the market.

the review i have read seems to suggest that more gears would be nice for the car, especially in the 2/3 rd gear ratios, it would definately make for a more comfortable drive and better delivery of power imho, i'm not a mechanic or anything, just a driver

of course the pricing would increase with the is f's gear box as i said, its just an observation for what can be improved. although i highly doubt u can have too many gears if you have a fast shifting gear box, the vw has a 7 speed dsg for like a 120 kw engine from memory, more gears lets me control the revs better through the corners..

again i'm not mechanic or car expert but hey.. i love my cars =)

[LEX51S]

And you have chosen an awesome car to love lol.

[LEX51S]

And you have chosen an awesome car to love lol.

[icefirehk]

damn right =)

[onnzo]

I feel the need, the need for speed! Jumped into my is250 after a weekend of driving a rs6 and it feels like I'm driving a snail. That v8 burble and the sound of twin turbos spooling is magical! An is350 should cure it :)

[icefirehk]

The rs5 is going to be one sexy beast !!!!

[Agent86]

RS5 was at the Motorshow. Very nice but very over priced

IS350 is the best bang for buck....

[Lexus Nerd]

In case you were wondering what's different about the styling in the new IS350, or the MY11 IS series in general ... here's a collection of shots from the IS350 SL dis-lex-sic brought to Saturday's meet.

[ilv1004s]

nice shots there lance..

the IS350 is just an awsome car

the power difference is massive

[dis-lex-sic]

nice shots there lance..

the IS350 is just an awsome car

the power difference is massive

Yep power is great ilv1004s.

I love the brakes most....for me that is the best improvement over the 250.

Best of all the car still has the characteristics of the 250.

LEX51S didn't say much about his first drive of the 3fiddy.....but he did have a grin from ear to ear.

Lexus Nerd great photos...well put together.