playdoh43

Back in March we posted information on the new Lexus IS250/350, now Lexus has released North American pricing information.

IS250 (with Manual Transmission) - USD$30,580 / CAD$36,300
IS250 All-Wheel Drive - USD$34,875 / CAD$41,900
IS350 - USD$36,030 / CAD$48,900





http://www.toyotanation.com/

truemagellen

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Lexus and their customers:








haha

playdoh43

??? while its more expensive than acura and infiniti, its not any more expensive than its bmw and mercedes counterparts. i think its overpriced, but its within the range of its competitors. whats so funny?

czr

iTrader: (3)

I noticed truemagellan hates lexus and toyota. For what reason, I have no clue but they are poised to be the #1 automobile manufacturer for good reason. The only thing they are missing is a sports car.

dwill9578

Thats right there with the 3 Series, I think the 250 with a 6 speed could be a great ride

termigni

lexus still ain't no Mercedes or BMW. i REFUSE to pay that much money for entry level glorified Toyota.

truemagellen

never ever ever ever trust the majority opinion, especially in regards to cars...for goodness sake, most people drive and talk on the phone at the same time

my girlfriends family all had Toyotas/Hondas/Acuras whatever until I met them

now she has a Mazda3 S

her dad wants an RX-8

her brother also wants a Mazda3 (well the 8 too but he just started driving on his own)

I believe and have believed for over 20 years that Mazda is a better car company for many reasons...the biggest one, they take chances and are truly innovative...I haven't seen an innovative concept come out of the big two Japanese Cos in years...I'm not just talking about design I'm talking about technology as well

Mazda on the Other Hand
-Continues major R&D on Rotary Engines, the only production Rotary Manufacturer out there
-Most advanced production Engine management system in the world (although myself and others would find this a burden )
-Using the Miller Cycle design for their Millenia S V6 Supercharge
-New Layer weld technique
-Aldyhyde filter technology
-Focusing on driving, sportyness (suspension design), enjoyable experiences....not just treating a car as a mode of transportation

Red Devil

I agree that Toyota needs to take chances. Their line-up is very bland, imo.

ECHO1

what about the f1 inspired LF-A concept? 500+ hp, sub 5 litre v10 capable of 200 mph....

Dinhx8

you can also build them on lexus.com..
For the 350 (the one that matters in my opinion, the 250 is slower than slow) the 48,900 figure above is for a fully loaded one with like cameras in the bumper and stuff.. base is 36ish, the first package (few gizmos, no nav) will run for about 38-39 msrp. With Nav and prem package its about 44K.

So it is possible to get a 350 without nav for about 38. Ive test driven one with a friend last week. My main thing as once you enter the 40K range that opens up waaay to many options, and its makes it difficult simply because the IS350 isn't full blown luxury (legroom)- Not full blown sport. but it can be in the 40s which is too confusing. If i wanted a sporty sedan with legroom id save 10K and get a TL. If i wanted a sports car with a backseat I'd just get another 8. If I wanted a super fast car i'd pay a few more and get a c6. The achilles heel of lexus always seems to be identity. This is only my opninion though. I think its a great car nonetheless.

I think the whole "lexus cars don't handle well "is a bit overplayed (a la, the rx8 taking cars in the twisties). they make good cars, for all intensive purposes they do their job really well. Sometimes i wish they were a bit cheaper though.

The whole appeal of the japanese luxury brands was to offer that european flair at a cheaper price. Lexus now is pricing the same as its german competitors, and there's something 'weird' about that, regardless of the specs they put up. Maybe it just takes more time to develop that swagger.

Dinhx8

while its your opinion in which case i dont' want to argue, the new IS is built on a new platform, and is not a glorified Toyota. Its a variant of the GS platform, and not entry level. The old one was an Altezza which you could say was glorified. But the new one does not have a true Toyota counterpart. In fact, Lexus now, is a Japanese brand as well (previously not, just in US). If you havne't noticed, they have redesigned all their sedan and will by 2007. The LS is on the way as is the ES revision. This is so the "Lexus" brand in Japan will have its own models. So it is more of Toyota being a poor mans' Lexus, rather than a Lexus being a glorified Toyota.

spork

Well, remember that a lot of people value reliability, service, and comfort over driving, sportyness, etc. And most people do treat their car as a mode of transportation. Lexus/Toyota/Honda/Acura are superior to Mazda in those terms.

And man, I have to say terms of service alone, I WISH I had a Lexus, not a Mazda. Two different Mazda dealerships and at both, I felt highly unsatisfied with their service. I don't feel like I can trust them. While on the other hand, friends and family with Lexuses have only had great things to say about their service. Heck, for two different people I know, they gave out loaners that were better cars than the cars that were taken in.

I'd take the new IS over ANY mercedez of comparable cost. The 3 series though is iffy, though I'd probably go IS just because there's too many 3 series on the road now.

playdoh43

"you can also build them on lexus.com..
For the 350 (the one that matters in my opinion, the 250 is slower than slow) the 48,900 figure above is for a fully loaded one with like cameras in the bumper and stuff.. base is 36ish, the first package (few gizmos, no nav) will run for about 38-39 msrp. With Nav and prem package its about 44K.

So it is possible to get a 350 without nav for about 38."

CAD48,900 CAD = Canadian Dollar

Dinhx8

wasnt disagreeing, and i live in the US

playdoh43

im just pointing out that the 48,900 CAD is the entry price for the base car in Canada. not the price of a "fully loaded one with like cameras in the bumper and stuff".. thats all

Dinhx8

ahh yes, good point. , yeah 48US is what aloaded one would be, not CAD.

playdoh43

and a Simularly equipted Acura TL is not 10k cheaper, its more like 3-4k cheaper. but the TL has 258hp vs 306 of the IS350, and its AWD vs RWD because Honda dosnt have a RWD platform, after driving the IS350 at taste of lexus at fedEx field, i wasnt impressed with the handling, it wasnt as good as the bmw 330ci or my g35c. but it handles much better than the TL. 3k extra is worth it to me at least to pick it over the TL for the extra hp and superior handling and better interior. I also like it better than the g35 sedan, but i wouldnt pick it over a 330ci.

btw i see youre from arlington, im from college park md. UMD student. do you guys have a DC area rx8 club like the national G club and DC evo club?

Dinhx8

Comprably equipped the cars price diff can reach up to 9-10K. A TL Without Nav, you can get one about 31K, so you could say the TL is only roughly 5-7k cheaper. BUT keep in mind the tl comes with a lot of options, pretty much fully loaded (DVD audio system, etc) that are package items on the Lexus. The only option in the TL is a nav. The 350 doestn' even come with Xenons standard....
So if you were to load up a TL (35K, with nav), a comparably equipped IS will be about 44.5K, which is a diff of around 10K.

I can't argue or won't argue FWD vs. RWD cause that's all preference. i'D LOVE for the TL to be RWD or AWD, but its also much cheaper and can handle well for my purposes, but not for everyone...its the trade off I guess, but you get much more legroom.

There have been some meets out in VA but i haven't heard of a DC area club...
oh oh, you're a terp? Im a wahoo!

playdoh43

the TL starts at 33,325 msrp, while the is350 starts at 36msrp. both the TL and IS350 come loaded with tons of stuff, but both can get very expensive with options. Navi is by no means the only option on the TL. however you are right in that you can get the TL much cheaper than MSRP, but it wont happen for the IS350 right now, not till this time next year. so right now the price difference realistically is greater than 3-4k.

and yeah im a terp, im in the national G club, for some reason we only have coupes, no sedans in the club. but its real fun, we meet at On the Boarder restaurant at Tysons corner every thursday and hang out every week, its a real close group of people. you should drop by sometime, people from dc evo club and other various clubs hang out with us. we are going to skyline drive on nov 19th, its going to be real fun 105 miles worth of twisties at skyline, VA. perfect for an rx8.

Dinhx8

Actually, Im pretty sure Nav is truly the only option on a TL- all other things TL are accessories. If you go to the dealer, or check the website, it'll show it as such. Even at MSRP, a loaded TL will be 35. A loaded IS is about 46K. Engine aside still a big diff in my opinion.
You're totalyl right, the lexus may budge in about a year, but so will the TL....
a 'bare bones' TL, (no nav) still has many more features than a bare bones 350, but the diff in price is less....

all above being said, the two cars aren't directly comparable due to diff price points and class, i just feel, personally for me, i'd sacrifice the RWD and extra HP and save 10K or so, and get thE TL which gives more more room and close sportiness...

maybe I will check out one of those meets..sounds like a helluva drive

playdoh43

i consider them to be the same thing, the way lexus does it is that the packadge a bunch of accesories together to form an option. u can pick up the entire option for cheaper or pick up the individual accesories. if you pay attention at the type of extra accessories for the TL and the accessories in the option packadges for the IS350, they are the same type of accessories. the only difference is that Is350 allows u to group them together while Acura let u pick them individually. if you really do the simular options on both cars they end up 3-4k apart, not 10k.

therm8

I agree, Lexus would like to think they're competing with zee Germans, but in reality they're competing with Acura, Infinity, and zee Swedes.

spork

In the United States, Lexus is the top ranked marque luxury brand. Not sure if it's still true but at least from 2000-2004.

Unless you're talking about competing by the audience they attract? And even then I'm skeptical since I think BMW should start to get worried by the turn the IS has taken. It's not enough yet to fully grab the 3 series market, but they're definitely on their way. The new redesign is definitely a big step into BMW's market... A few more changes and who knows what might happen?

Dinhx8

i don't disagree with you, but simply put.: a loaded TL with nav will be 36K. Any IS350, with Nav will be about 45 right now...

BlueEyes

I'd take the IS350 second only to the 3 series coupes. Hopefully they offer it with a manual transmission in the future, or at least, an SMG style unit. I don't think any sedan, other than the 3 series, has enough "fun to drive" qualities to outweigh what Lexus brings to the table.

TL is no comparison. FWD. I thought I read somewhere that they are going to offer their SH-AWD on the car, but I don't know if that has come to be yet.