Tell me about IS200

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Discussion

Jag-D

Original Poster:

19,633 posts

226 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
Out of some form of idle curiosity I fancy a dabble on a Lexus IS200 at some point, but I've just realised that I've had very little experience with these cars

I know what the engine is the drive train and what not, but what are they like to drive and live with?

tr7v8

7,299 posts

235 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
I'd be interested in the answer to this as currently looking at IS300 Sport Cross models.

MondeoMan1981

2,407 posts

190 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
First thing I thought was poor on fuel ?

...goes to google to check

  • IS200 2.0 153bhp, combined 29.1mpg
  • 318iSE, 143bhp, combined 38.2mpg
  • 320iSE, 170bhp, combined 31.7mpg
Even a 325 has better consumption.

Lexus looks nice inside though, lovely cluster.

Altezza RS200 looks interesting...

Edited by MondeoMan1981 on Monday 8th November 19:31


Edited by MondeoMan1981 on Monday 8th November 19:31

dufusmuppet

937 posts

187 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
A friend of mine has one and loves it,very reliable but not quick (150bhp).IS300 sounds nice though...

Edited by dufusmuppet on Monday 8th November 19:31

EDLT

15,421 posts

213 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
MondeoMan1981 said:
First thing I thought was poor on fuel ?

...goes to google to check

  • IS200 2.0 153bhp, combined 29.1mpg
  • 318iSE, 143bhp, combined 38.2mpg
  • 320iSE, 170bhp, combined 31.7mpg
Even a 325 has better consumption.

Lexus looks nice inside though, lovely cluster.

Altezza RS200 looks interesting...
Good news! The IS300 gets roughly the same MPG according to google.

Now you can tell the other half it would be stupid to get the slow model wink

gary71

1,981 posts

186 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
I drove one for a while when they first came out, a bit slow, but very refined and sweet handling.

IS300 is auto only if I remember correctly, which may (or may not!) be a problem.

unpc

2,894 posts

220 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
tr7v8 said:
I'd be interested in the answer to this as currently looking at IS300 Sport Cross models.
Mrs UNPC had one of these and it wasn't a bad drive. Auto only of course and oddly missing some things like a trip computer and had a pathetic boot IIRC smaller than the saloons but it handled ok. Traction control cannot be turned off on the 300.

ambuletz

10,978 posts

188 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
from alot of reviews and forums, I read that mpg is quite poor for a 2litre. anywhere from 25-33mpg. Smooth engine, not much torque, more revvy. Ride is not is abit more lively/not as composed as the E46. Slight road noise at motorway speeds (E46 is quieter). the satnav was a £1000 option. Car doesn't really have any faults, and is very reliable. Only fault is the 6CD changer (front mounted) which eventually gets an error message and might aswell be binned (and say goodbye to the CD's that you have in it). Handling is great, bit tail happy in the wet. If you expect it to have bags of performance, you might be disappointed(i suppose thats down to it being revvy).

Jag-D

Original Poster:

19,633 posts

226 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
Had a feeling it would be slow and thirsty...

Probably wont bother then

robsco

7,872 posts

183 months

Monday 8th November 2010
quotequote all
The 200 is gutless for the economy it will return. It does have a lovely looking instrument cluster however, and the gearbox is divine smile

Matt UK

17,955 posts

207 months

Monday 8th November 2010
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I ran one for a month or two as a pool car back in 2001.

Performance could best be described as 'thin' and it was a bit of a noisy bugger on the motorway.

Nice interior though and well screwed together. Handled well but the lack of oomph meant that momentum was key to good progress.

The e46 320i of that era was also a 6-pot 2ltr and performace / mpg ratio was similar. But it is for these same reasons the 320i is not very popular now.

Edited by Matt UK on Monday 8th November 23:51

srwrightdotcom

603 posts

201 months

Monday 8th November 2010
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Alan Partridge

Fox-

13,336 posts

253 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
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Matt UK said:
The e46 320i of that era was also a 6-pot 2ltr and performace / mpg ratio was similar.
Not true. The E46 320i was a 2.2 litre 6 pot with 170bhp. It was considerably faster than the IS200, but it delivered the same fuel economy as the 325i and the 330i.

The IS200 is therefore a fundamentally pointless car. It performs like a 2.0 Mondeo but drinks like a 330i.

Buy an IS300 or dont bother.

Matt UK

17,955 posts

207 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
quotequote all
Fox- said:
Matt UK said:
The e46 320i of that era was also a 6-pot 2ltr and performace / mpg ratio was similar.
Not true. The E46 320i was a 2.2 litre 6 pot with 170bhp. It was considerably faster than the IS200, but it delivered the same fuel economy as the 325i and the 330i.
Bit off thread here, but I'm pretty sure that in the e46 the 170PS 2.2 superceded the 150PS 2.0 motor in about 2000/2001.


schmalex

13,616 posts

213 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
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I had one of these on a W plate pretty much when they first came out. As has been said before, it was not particularly quick & the 6 speed gearbox was a real PITA, as you just ended up changing gear endlessly.

On the plus side, it felt very well built & the instrument cluster was fantastic.

Steameh

3,155 posts

217 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
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pop in a engine and gearbox from a 2.5 turbo soarer job done for performance!

Matt_N

8,916 posts

209 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
quotequote all
I must be the odd one out who doesn't like the instrument cluster!

I looked at 2 before getting my ATR, the first one had a misfire on the test drive and after a bit of research on the owners club it seemed coil pack failures are reasonably common on some of the older cars, wouldn't be so bad a quick ebay search revealed some quite high prices for replacements.

I had a good drive of the second one, a 2001 Sport in the dark met grey, I really like the way they look on the outside but I'm not overly keen on the cluster and goldy coloured dash.

The car drove well, the gearbox is lovely, engine needs to be revved to get the most from it, but it sounds nice in doing so, just didn't feel quick enough for me.

Fox-

13,336 posts

253 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
quotequote all
Matt UK said:
Fox- said:
Matt UK said:
The e46 320i of that era was also a 6-pot 2ltr and performace / mpg ratio was similar.
Not true. The E46 320i was a 2.2 litre 6 pot with 170bhp. It was considerably faster than the IS200, but it delivered the same fuel economy as the 325i and the 330i.
Bit off thread here, but I'm pretty sure that in the e46 the 170PS 2.2 superceded the 150PS 2.0 motor in about 2000/2001.
Not in the UK. There was no 320i in the E46 range prior to the introduction of the M54 engines in July 2000. It went straight from 318i to 323i with nothing in between.

todd69

240 posts

221 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
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I owned an e46 330ci before my altezza and the BMW had far better fuel economy!

That said I far prefer my altezza, IMO just a better all round car.

eightseventhree

2,208 posts

211 months

Tuesday 9th November 2010
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srwrightdotcom said:
Alan Partridge
Cock piss partridge

Cook Pass Babtridge