Lexus IS250 review (Longish post)

[msm]

So it's been a year with the Lexus IS250 and thought I'd share my subjective impressions of the car, with particular reference to the BMW's I've had.

Brief History
Some background on the car first: It's a 2007 Lexus IS 250 SE Auto. Got it a year ago with around 76K KM on the clock. Now has around 91K KM. At the time, I had my E90 330d (Miss Marple) parked next to it and the Lexus was to "function" as an alternate run-around vehicle.



Comparison to the E90
Interesting, taking the engines out the equation, both the E90 and Lexus were 2007 models, so it gave me a good chance to compare both vehicles of the same year. Even though I sold the E90, I still had that car for about a year, so it made for an interesting comparison, now that the Lexus is with me for a year too.

Initially, overall quality of the BMW feels much better. The leather, the interior surface area, the way the doors close felt more premium on the BMW. For the first few weeks of driving the Lexus, the perceived quality on the Lexus was lacking. Everything from the window buttons to the steering stalks had a cheaper feel to it, whereas the BMW felt more "solid" somehow.

A few months into ownership
After living with the cars for a few months, my perceptions of the cars changed. While the Lexus initially felt inferior, it was first the BMW to fault on quality. The soft touch interior of the BMW started to peel away in places - that premium feel it had started to get exposed. The "solid" sound of the BMW's door locking gave way to faulty door actuators (that were replaced under MP), while the Lexus "clunks" away today as it did a year ago - not premium in it's sound, but continues to work.

I guess this is totally random. You could have a 5 year old E90 without any single problems or you could have one with lots. As for the Lexus, besides maintenance and a flat battery, nothing went wrong in the year that I had it. This car has quite a few features from PDC, to rear cameras, to heated/cooled electric seats, etc, etc - so far, everything still works ... touch wood :fencelook:

Driving impressions
The BMW E90 is a sports car with some luxury touches.
The Lexus IS is a luxury car with with some sporty elements.

Can't really compare further than that. Depending on what you want, one will emerge as a primary choice depending on your requirement.
The E90 330d engine is simply brilliant - modded or stock - the E90 is all about engine and I enjoyed that.

The Lexus feels slightly "average" to drive - it's engine is severely lacking in low down torque but it makes up for this in smoothness. I've had a few in line 6 cylinder NA BMW's in the past and the Lexus V6 puts them to shame in terms of smoothness - that's saying a lot about it. But you could argue that it makes so little power, it can spend it's time being smoother... valid argument.

The ride quality on the Lexus feels more like an older E46 - almost this perfect balance of refinement and sportiness. The E90 feels like a thorough sports car with the M sport package - and for some people that's fine. For me, after several hundred km's of JHB roads, it got annoying.
If I were to take a spirited drive to Durban, I'd prefer the 330d. Monday to Friday, work and back, I'd prefer the Lexus. No clear winner - it all boils down to what you want out of a car.

Lexus IS250 Maintenance
Nothing broke on the car, but I discovered that the Lexus is not really as cheap as chips to run. It may have service parts from the Toyota bin, but they are expensive compared to what I'm used to on BMW's. For example, getting the oil filter cap out requires a special tool and is done from under the car - so not very "self service" friendly compared to the equivalent job on a BMW.

Brake discs and pads are a bit more rare, which translate into higher prices as very few brands are available locally compared to BMW. Service intervals are also 15K KM - not as long as BMW petrol engines. Still don't know whether that is good for any BMW engine though...

Also, other small things like decent 5x114 wheels are a lot more difficult and expensive to find than 5x120 wheels. Hence, while the Lexus does appear to be more reliable, it also has a higher price for parts that do need to be replaced.

Conclusion
All reviews of this nature are subjective. I usually get bored of cars easily, so I tend to buy cars below my budget and change them often. Whenever I test drove a BMW, I ended up loving most of them from the start, until I got bored of it. The Lexus did something different - I initially liked it, not loved it - then it grew on me. Right now, after 1 year of ownership, I don't want to get rid of it - I've grown to love it!


Hope you enjoyed the read. Flame away...

 

[JodyD]

Wow bud

Awesome review my old man is thinking of getting the
IS250 in the new year. I have been driving him crazy into
Buying another bmw, at least now I can relax alil

Thanx for the thread:thumbs:

 

[sash]

Great review mo. I agree with you, 2 different cars 2 different reasons to drive

 

[Oresome]

:thumbs:


I almost went for a Lex, they are stunning looking cars, well the newer models, I think they messed up with the face lift... How would you say fuel consumption compares?

 

[msm]

Consumption is a bit difficult to compare directly as both cars were driven in different manners. The 330d urges you to floor it - that torque surge is simply irresistible, whereas the Lexus encourages you to relax behind the wheel.

Anyway, here are the consumption stats from Fuelly, including the City/Highway splits. While these splits are approximates, it does give a good indication of the car's usage profile too.

IS250:




330d:




NB: Ignore fuel pricing on these, as the 330d lags by 9 months due to the large price increases we've had. Also, the 330d pricing seems to have lost it's total value on Fuelly after I archived the car. They seem to only keep the stats not pricing info.

 

[AcidBurn]

its a fact that jap cars have been built to last forever im sorry to say this but the same cant be said about the german vehicle and if you think im sucking this out my rear end check the top reliable car brands. I have also owned three jap cars and will be moving back to another jap car in the near future maintenance is just much much less

:disappearing:

 

[STaX@reflections]

Interesting, your opinion of the interior qualities is the opposite of a few people, me included, that have tried the two brands too. I feel the plastics in BMWs has become very poor. Maybe they do feel nicer but the painted bits, especially in the pale interiors, starts to wear off after a while. Seen it in a few 3 series models. I know of a couple people that went from BM to Lexus and said they'll never touch a Beemer again.

You are 100% with the driving experience, they are a bit old man and designed more to cater for the pensioner than the driver. My Dad has had his now for a few years and besides the usual servicing costs there have been no major expenses, even though he had a few scares that ended up being nothing.
I wouldn't like to see how that engine performs at altitude, at the coast they are simply adequate, so they must be a bit breathless when you move away from the coastal areas.

Depends what you want in a car I suppose....for me I'd go Beemer....probably. :rollsmile:

 

[Dippies]

Goor review mo. I also like the shape of the is but in comparison to the e90 I still think the e90 is better looking

 

[Jiggy]

I have a 2008 IS 250 SE manual at the moment and agree with most of the comments, especially the part of growing to love the car. It was a safe choice in terms of longevity but offers such high levels of refinement in the drive that when you jump into another brand they feel 'cheap and light'.

My consumption is very good for a V6 - get about 8.5l/ 100km in mixed driving. Also, the service you get from the dealership is fantastic and the mark levison sound system is epic!