Lexus (2 Viewers)

[jm1234567890]

But Lexus is quite popular in the states... more so than the other premium brands.

Also instead of thinking Lexus is just a souped up Toyota. Think of Toyota as a cheap Lexus

EDIT: and the LS460 looks almost the same as the new avalon

 

[seremify007]

Also instead of thinking Lexus is just a souped up Toyota. Think of Toyota as a cheap Lexus

ahaha.. I was wondering how long it'd be before someone said that. You can't have a "Lexus is an overpriced Toyota" without someone bringing that up!

 

[wheredanton]

Are you saying that from fact or speculation? Because I'm pretty sure the "radio navigation" implies some form of satellite navigation. I'd compare to our own cars, but in Malaysia, there is no sat nav available so the feature isn't enabled on any of our 5/6/7 series BMWs. Only our 330Ci has it enabled because it was the Singaporean model.

320i's does not have i drive. $3600 option. Navigation $6900 option.

325i does not have i drive. $3600 option. Navigation $6900 option.

330i has the 6.5 inch screen as standard. 8.8 inch Screen with 'professional navigation' is a $3300 option.

6.5 inch screen is not navigation. Wheels makes a note of it in this years Car when it has a winge about BMW standard equipment

Even at 96 500, the 330i asks more for sat nav ($3300)

The 6.5 inch is standard on the 330i and according to Wheels that doesn't include nav. According to Wheels Nav is a $3300 option. This corresponds with the official BMW options list.

http://www.bmw.com.au/common_content/models/bmw/price_options/2006-Feb-3Sedan.pdf

Plus if you watch the videos on cnet or visit e90 post or other BMW forums you will find the same.

I'm pretty sure at that price, it's inclusive of satnav.

Look it up on the BMW australia website. There is an official options list.

Navigation isn't even standard on the 530i or the 525i. It's a $4000 option.

I'll take your word for it. I don't have the 3 series brochure on me atm to have a look at but I wouldn't be surprised if it was $1250 for the system whereby the key never leaves your pocket to unlock the door/start the engine... but the system whereby you have a button to start the engine is standard fare I think.

Yep...push button start is the new it thing. However comfort access is 1250 on BMW, even the 96k 330i. It's standard on all is250s.

 

[seremify007]

I guess Lexus probably thumps the BMW in features/value, but it still doesn't change which one I'd rather be driving

 

[wheredanton]

I guess Lexus probably thumps the BMW in features/value, but it still doesn't change which one I'd rather be driving

Ahaha yes. I'd like a 325i (no i drive thanks) with Sports seats, Alum metal inserts for the interior, Lemon leather and Xenon Headlights. If I didnt have to drive in traffic too much I'd take it in 6 speed manual form as well.

 

[seremify007]

I wonder what people here think of the looks of Lexus (apart from the first few posts)... I mean, if all prices were equal, and assuming the cars are identical in other aspects (ceteris paribus!), who prefers the look of the Lexus? I can't really say much about the new IS since I haven't looked at it much in person, but the old IS200, which looked quite cool, reminded me of something like the R34 (I saw a stock one today and it looked quite ugly... needs a bit of work done. But I guess it was grey), whereas something like the e46 BMW 3 series looked bloody sexy. The IS looked a bit dated, but you could tell it was no 'cheap' Japanese car, but then the e46, whilst being one of the cheaper BMWs, looked like it had a sense of elegance and style which I don't think Lexus has quite captured. That and the branding with the style of headlights and kidney grills, just further add to the brand's style and "wow factor"- something which Lexus is gonna take quite a bit of time to emulate.

Ahaha yes. I'd like a 325i (no i drive thanks) with Sports seats, Alum metal inserts for the interior, Lemon leather and Xenon Headlights. If I didnt have to drive in traffic too much I'd take it in 6 speed manual form as well.

iDrive isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be... it's quite cool using it especially with the mobile phone. I'm actually speaking this from experience- I picked up how to use it pretty quickly. Sure it's harder to use than if there were just conventional knobs which did what the label designated, but it's not that bad. The interface is also quite sexy to look at; and with a bit of practice, I'm pretty sure you could use it without looking at the screen much when driving- but I guess nothing will beat the simplicity of no-iDrive.
However... You wanna know what's worse than iDrive? The old 7 series (our 750iL) has something which is even more painful to use. The interface had something which looked like it was from the DOS GUI era with plain text and minimal (and crappy) graphics. The pre-iDrive system used by satnav in the 330Ci is usable, but the controller is so small (think of it like a rotary dial on a cheap deck) and I'm pretty sure if had the iDrive controller, it'd be considerably easier to use.
If I had to pick which system I liked the most to use- I really like the Jaguar touch screen interface. The only thing which concerns me is it'll get damaged/less sensitive over time; but apart from that, the Jaguar interface is really nice to use if you've ever tried it. Sure it's got soft-buttons on the screen, but the buttons do what they say, and it works pretty well. It takes the best of both worlds where the buttons are simple and do the simple/single purpose they say they do, but they are also displayed as context sensitive buttons (ie. when necessary).

 

[wheredanton]

I wonder what people here think of the looks of Lexus (apart from the first few posts)... I mean, if all prices were equal, and assuming the cars are identical in other aspects (ceteribus paribus!), who prefers the look of the Lexus? I can't really say much about the new IS since I haven't looked at it much in person, but the old IS200, which looked quite cool, reminded me of something like the R34 (I saw a stock one today and it looked quite ugly...[/quote[
The new is looks quite nice in person. As does the 3 series. Personal choice.

The old IS looked too ricy.

 

[supercharged]

IMO opinion Lexus has some of the best and most pimped out luxury interiors in the business, especially the SC430 (and much better than the new gen BMWs, which look too clinical to be luxurious)

Even the less popular ES300 had a pimp interior

If you think Lexus is too similar to Toyota, you need to get yourself inside. Sitting behind the wheel of a Lexus is very different feeling to sitting behind a Corolla or Camry. Like comparing chalk and cheese.

I've had a quick spin of the previous model GS300 and it was a beefy beast. Sweet black leather interior, very sensitive throttle and effortless torque from low revs. Nice car.

I like the new IS250, massive generational improvement over the previous cramped and super gutless IS200. I saw a shiny black one with gold chrome grille and 18 inch rims in the city and it looked damn pimp. Can't wait for the diesel and 3.5L V6 IS350 versions to reach Australia.

I would easily buy the IS250 over BMW 3 series (320i) but only in the prestige and sport models. The sport luxury model is a complete rip off (same engine as base model, just more equipment), may as well buy the 325i (more equipment AND heaps of extra grunt over the base 320i) which would blow the IS250 into the weeds.

Although they have the same engine capacity, the BMW engine is in another league of output especially low rev torque which the IS250 doesn't have much of. BMW still kicks ass in its small capacity N/A engine engineering department which Lexus still can't match yet. The IS250's closest rival enginewise would the detuned BMW 323i.

 

[seremify007]

Whilst I agree the interiors in those Lexus you showed look nice (at least in comparison to the old IS), they don't have the same class as their BMW and Mercedes counterparts. Sure there's heaps of leather and wood stuck on everywhere in the photos you posted, but one look at the first photo (SC430) which happens to be the flagship, makes me think it looks as if the different sections in the centre console (ie. the air conditioning and radio) were made from different companies and just assembled together. In comparison, even the older BMWs from pre-2000 have had much more 'common look' in their dash in terms of all the displays looking the same, button layout, button style, etc...

I can see your point with the 'clinical' argument in regards to the German brands which seem to have moved towards the 'less wood' interiors, but you can always put the Elegance options in to get the wood back.

The ES picture you posted looks quite nice too though, but it still doesn't look seamlessly as one. Maybe this is because they want to allow people to modify their head units or something, but in that price bracket, I would prefer a more unified appearance. The transmission gates also look very out of date and old-fashioned in comparison to the new style look transmissions with tiptronic (bar the Jaguar- which has it's J-gate).

In terms of drive... I've only ever driven a 740 and an older model S class; and shotgun'd in 330, 645, 750, CL, S500, so I don't think I can really compare performance of those cars with the other models since I'm pretty sure the IS nor the new 3 series have half those features (eg. the suspension system which changes body height as you drive- or does it have it now?)... although like I said in another topic, the 740's 4.4L v8 did not feel as meaty as one would expect- at least not in comparison to a 540.

 

[wheredanton]

Take note. Wheels head to head comparo out today.

lexus is 250 sport/luxury ****

BMW 325i ***1/2

 

[transcendent]

It was out a week ago and I've already read it. This is the third Lexus/Beemer comparo I've read.

 

[seremify007]

There's a lot of them... rationally speaking, and from a quantitative standpoint, the Lexus is bound to beat the BMW hands down, but I still stand by my... if I could pick either car, I'd still rather be in the BMW. Call me shallow, but at that price range as well, I still don't like the idea of driving around in an overpriced (yet very sexy-looking) Toyota.

 

[transcendent]

I would normally defend the Lexus, but I don't agree with the front bumper and grill look. The rear end is excellent but it's completely different from the IS200/300. What's this L'finesse and how do you tell? Cause I can't. If the 3 series had the Lexus's rear I'd prefer that.

 

[seremify007]

Haha here goes again- the new 3 series has a cheap-ass looking ass.

 

[seremify007]

Did any of you guys see the article in today's (Friday 12th May 2006) Drive (from SMH)? The cover story was a Lexus GS450H vs. Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG... talk about an unfair comparison! But anyhow, what I found funny was how much Lexus overstated their performance figures claiming a 0-100 of 5.2seconds.

Time to test the acceleration claims. On flat tarmac, the best we could extract from the GS450h was a 0 to 100kmh time of 6.9 seconds. We then tried a couple of downhill runs, to see what the GS is capable of in a best-case scenario and both times the clock stopped at 6.1 seconds, a far cry from the Lexus claims. The Mercedes, meanwhile, recorded 5.1 and 5.2 second times with monotonous regularity.

Haha... pretty big jump from the "luxury sedan [which] can complete the 0 to 100kmh sprint in a supercar-like 5.2 seconds" which is "the fastest Lexus ever built". On another note, the back of the Lexus looks surprisingly similar to my Civic's tail- at least the lights anyway.

 

[transcendent]

how would you react if Lexus brought out an IS model that competed directly against the 3 series M badge?

i flicked through some Seppo mag about possible cars from the spy cams, not the picture above, that there may be an IS450 or something. i personally wish Lexus had a chance but most likely will have less performance potential than an M3 or lacking in one or two areas but think of the possibility of an IS that CAN compete.

 

[seremify007]

I think M3 is more of a cult following... even if a Lexus could rival it in performance, it'd probably end up becoming like the GTR in the sense it forms it's own following rather than stealing those who go for the M3... that, and it would probably become a car which gets riced up which is a minus in my books- the M3 has plenty of guts, but it's also got 'class' to it.

 

[transcendent]

yeah, that's why all the lebs go for it and why i know some people rather not buy a beemer at all.

 

[Exeter]

who the fuck cares who makes what as long as it looks half decent and more importantly drives well then it doesnt matter

the old IS series were based on the Toyota Altezza (which wasnt sold off the shelves here). And it is said that the Altezza is the predeccessor of the ae86's. despite being fundamentally

 

[seremify007]

who the fuck cares who makes what as long as it looks half decent and more importantly drives well then it doesnt matter

the old IS series were based on the Toyota Altezza (which wasnt sold off the shelves here). And it is said that the Altezza is the predeccessor of the ae86's. despite being fundamentally

I'm not quite sure what you're saying there... I thought IS was the same as the Altezza, and the Altezza is a new car whereas AE86 is the old one?.. in which case the AE86 is the predecessor?