I love my is250 .. it was so ahead of its time and I'm so glad you mentioned the seats..they really are the most comfortable. When I sit in other peoples cars I always notice the difference.

Your reviews always make me wanna go for a drive. I like the details you mention especially interiors and the general build quality which is something you can't tell from a spec sheet...

The 2GRFSE bolts right into the IS250 6MT and to the RA62 using the stock engine mounts and wiring and everything making an IS350 6MT. There have been 6 made in the world so far. You can also take the 3GRFSE and it bolts up too making a 2nd Gen IS300 6MT. I’ve been collecting my parts for my IS350 6MT for four years. I’ll drive this platform until I’m dead. Love it.

For your viewers, I have owned my CL9 Euro since 2009 and have been driving an IS250 for the last 3.5 years as a work vehicle around some of this countries best driving roads and also Targa Tasmania Stages here in Tasmania, Australia. Basically I agree with this review. However, there are some points that were not discovered or covered during this test. Transmission: If traveling at speed, moving the gearstick from the Auto gate to Manual gate will cause the transmission to select 4th, even if you wanted to stay in 6th. The transmission will not allow you to apply full throttle in a manually selected gear if it has the opportunity to drop back a gear. Example, traveling at 60kph with third manually selected through a corner, apply medium to full throttle and the transmission will go back to second. So you cannot use an engines torque and you have to feather your throttle until the revs clear around 3,500-4000rpm before you have any hope of giving it full throttle and holding the selected gear. There are two gear selector displays. One will show the highest possible gear and the other will show the actual current gear. The gear shown in the display when in manual mode is the highest gear that the transmission will shift up to. So if 4th is showing, the trans will use any of those 4 gears as it sees fit. So you might be in forth at 80kph and as you apply more throttle it will go back to 3rd - so it is not a real manual mode like in a Honda Accord Euro. The transmission has no grade logic so in auto mode it will constantly try to move into a higher gear, even when going uphill or through a corner. Then it will hunt up and down until you crack the shits and go to manual mode. When using the cruise it hunts even more. Great ratio spread in the 6-speed auto and I would love that gear spacing in my Euro. Electronic Brake Assist: When trail braking into a corner, as you turn the steering a few degrees, there is an electronic beep from down under the dash and the ABS unit will apply extra braking, more than you wanted and will also hold that brake pressure even though you have moved your foot off the brakes and applied the throttle. This really disturbs your flow through corners and passengers think you cannot use the brakes smoothly. Brake performance is fine. Stability Control: Designed for the lowest common denominator drivers (Americans maybe!), very intrusive and over acting and not smooth when it intervenes - as was seen on the video. Stability cannot be switched off and traction will re-apply at 50kph. The rear suspension suffers from roll over-steer during steady state hard cornering on part throttle and this makes the rear suspension sensitive to the types of tyres fitted. On a damp, greasy or slippery surface, you have to brake and slow the vehicle more than needed, staying off the throttle and then wait until the road straightens before applying the throttle again. This really disturbs your flow through corners and passengers think you were going too fast if the back steps out, even though you weren't. When the stability control cuts in, it is savage and you cannot use throttle to control a slide from the rear - it just shuts everything down and beeps at you. Very untidy and not as smooth or non-intrusive as the Euro. If you come across some ice and you get some gentle controllable under-steer, the stability control system will try to straighten the car up by apply different wheel brakes which then tends to pull you off the road because you were going through a corner at the time. When this happened to me, I was lucky that there was enough of a cleared area on the outside of that corner so I just waited until the car stopped trying to kill me and I then drove back onto the road. Bloody dangerous software really. The car is worse on dirt roads and is very nervous as the brakes keep pulling at different wheels for no real reason - when driving on loose gravel anyway. As said in the review, this is not a sports car to equal a BMW 3 Series for example but it is a comfortable car for cruising the highway. Sorry for the long winded post but over the years, I had never seen these issues mentioned by car magazine reviewers. Must be why car mag's are going the way of the Tasmanian Tiger. Too much time spent talking about things we can see and read about from a brochure instead of how the vehicle actually behaves when driven. Keep up the great work. Cheers.

The first gen must come only with it's fantastic 6 speed manual. Definitely one of the best feeling gearboxes in that price category.

I seriously just discovered this channel like 10 mins ago and im considering buying a IS250 and this video popped up... I believe my decision has been made :) you have earned my subscription

Awesome review. This is how it should be done. Do you think you could ever do a comparison between a 2IS250 and a 3IS250?

Very good review! Just took my girlfriend's stock clean is200 on a 1000km road trip through the forests and it handled it so well, temps stayed great even when flooring it (as you need to sometimes to keep speed), fuel economy was wonderful 7-8L/100kms, didn't skip a beat! I definitely agree with your points, I've driven 3 generations of IS andthe second gen 250 is a very fun and luxurious ride. Keen to see your thoughts on third gen is350, and my personal ride as well - second gen GS300!! I find second gen GS and first gen IS to be great enthusiast cars, as they are historically full of culture and have a heap of aftermarket support. I'm doing up all my suspension in the GS300 and it's starting to feel very sporty, a lot less boaty than stock. Now just time to build another 2JZ and show the chassis some boost!! Good work, subscribed

Enjoyed that. Now I want an IS250 :)

man you have some gorgeous roads there!

Brilliant cars! I’ve always taken a liking to the is200, but trying to find one that hasn’t been absolutely ruined is getting harder and harder.

I‘ve got a manual is 200 and its a very fun car, the straight six just sounds soooo good

those is250 head and tail lights are really nice

I liked the IS20O with the Altezza body kit. It looks really nice and manual transmission, really nice car!

You should definitely review a manual altezza rs200, mate of mine has one, he also has a ae86, maybe you could review them if he is interested. We are both in Lower Hutt.

I have the exact same color IS 200. When I bought it I wasn't too sold on the gold, but I quickly realized that everyone else loves it.

I'd love to see a review on the FN2 civic type r!!

Always been a fan of the is200. Its a shame they never done the is300 with manual in the UK. And as for the is250, its hard knowing the states has the is350

Got an Accord mk7 as my first car almost a year ago. 2.2 CTDI, 6sp manual. Looking at getting an IS200 SportCross as my next car. Your channel's a goldmine mate

The Is250 is nice, but it would be better to have the IS350. The 350 has the 2GR-FE engine which is known as a excellent reliable and powerful V6. The 250 also has DI problems where as the 350 is port and Direct injection

Went with an IS250 over an Accord Euro a few years back. Glad to hear it's considered an upgrade haha

Was that the Paekakariki Hill Road that leads to the lookout over Kapiti Island? If so, that’s a very nice road that reveals a lot about a car’s capability, as long as you’re not too crazy along the windy bits of road.

ayyee finally the 250 for review

The way you pronounce your words starting with letters V....W......F is cute 😁. I've noticed you over pronounce other letters such as words starting with the letter S. Yes I'm Kiwi and yes I have myself have a letter speech impairment. I love your videos because it's Kiwi car culture and I'm of a similar age so it's cars I'm very much into and can relate to myself.

Nice Caldina GT4 in the back ;-)

@3:30 I love the drive train and the 0 to 100 comparison. Just to make a bit better....when you say the max power etc, could you please state at the rpms the max outputs arrive at. I've driven a few Six cylinder cars from the 90s and 00s. I've owned Nissan RBs and Ford Barra and I currently have a Toyota 3.5L V6... My first time owning V6. There's one thing I've always noticed...the V6 always seems to be more responsive than the I6. And the I6 is seems to be more about torque, esp the bigger the engine.

The six speed manual IS200 is great fun on back roads

I think the correct answer here is the RS200 Altezza with the BEAMS motor, preferably in the manual, you can get the nice ones which have had the Lexus interior stuff transplanted.

It's the is350 which is most appealing to me so shame we didn't get these in the uk

These cars are so well kept… my 2006 IS350 was neglected by previous owners so I got it for really cheap but goddamn I want to get it repainted

surely try get your hands on a crown athlete modellista with the +m supercharger 2008ish. 500nm 2GR

1:40 bom bom matey I still use it sometimes when the only other input is from tape adapter or FM transmitter :)

Bro i have an is f an lovin it

I had 3 is200s in my life and all 3 where relible and great cars, first one I had was a 2002 is200 clean car automatic so I decided to trade it in for another is200 but this was sport with manual trans and LSD kept that for few months but car needed some work and had alot of rust as they are known for rusting so I sold that for small profit though I lost money over the first one due to px-ing it then I came across an nice 2005 is200 auto as well with full leather seats and satnav, was clean and well maintained unfortunately I had accident and front was damaged so I tried to fix it but never got time and also needed few parts too so I sold it for a alot less then what I got it for to a guy who wanted to fix it as he had his workshop as well so I was happy to sell it to him, now I have a yaris sr 1.8 for stop gap, at same time I got a 2008 auris SR 1.6 too but im thinking to sell both of these cars end of this month and maybe either go back to the IS200 if I can find a good clean one again or go for the IS250 but I just want one of these lexuses.

Always been a fan of the I300, performance upgrades are endless vs the IS250 you're limited unless you slap on a supercharger but at that point you might as well get a IS350 lol

Beautiful cars

I am currently deciding whether I should get a lexus is250 or a skyline 250gt. Ive been looking more at the skyline, but would like to hear your opinion as you have reviewed them both?

Should do one compared to rs200

Thanks for your awesome videos. I'm actually trying to decide between an IS250 (09) and an Accord Euro (07). My heart wants the IS but I have 2 kids and need to put car seats in the back. Do you think I could make it work or too cramped? Is the Accord much bigger? Thanks!

Is350 is the best! If your looking to buy one get the 350!

Having owned both a ‘00 IS200 6 speed manual and an ‘06 IS250 automatic, I have to say the 250 was the better car in pretty much every way possible. Although I absolutely love the looks of the original IS and it had pretty decent handling, it was mainly let down by the engine. It made the power of a 4 cylinder combined with the fuel economy of a V8. The worst of both worlds. It’s also relatively cramped inside. The 250 feels more spacious, has a much better engine, the autobox is miles ahead of the crappy 4 speed in the 200, although the manual in the 200 has a nice feel and it’s much more comfortable (manual 200’s never had cruise control in Europe for example).

The soft touch material really lets the interior of the first gen down. He should remove some of the panels, scrub it off and give it a lick of paint. And judging from the panelgaps at 2:16, that corner's been in an accident :P

fun fact i believe is250's had a 6 speed manual option up until like 09? i got an 07 250 with the auto and its amazing

Would you compare the is 300 and the is 350 and see what you think of those Lexus

kapiti , beatiful town..

Thoughts on Toyota Markx??

Keep in mind the gen 2 IS in this video has aftermarket post production headlights. That is not stock :)

Is250 vs CU2 please!

I've noticed the is250 is a locally delivered car but your ISF appears to be a grey import? NZ never officially had the ISF?

No cupholders in the 200 but you can stick just about anything to the melting dashboard

Mate I think you should really try and review a GS 350 (no not the first gen 400) it’s probably the best Lexus after the IS F in terms of performance

How do they handle compared to the accord?

Fuel economy for both ? What you think is lighter ?

So an is250 is better than an accord euro? Stock for stock? I have owned 3x manual is200 and one auto. I supercharged one, was still slow and drove a friends t28 turbo one, was also still slow). Great cars but just so damn slow!

We’re there ever any is350s that came with a manual in nz ?

i think the toyota version (Altezza RS200) with manual would eliminiate is200 problem.

Cant lie my favourite is Is200

Would you choose a skyline 250gt or is250 👀

How would you rate 250 against your old Accord, in terms of handling and driving pleasure?

An IS200 in Auto, is like a Pizza without cheese. A dance without music. A wee without a fart. While technically possible, not as enjoyable.

Do u wana review my chaser

That generation of IS250 is one of the only Lexus models that isn't compatible with E10 fuel which has become the new standard in the UK. Beware of the longevity of them and of the possible internal damage being done to them right now by unaware drivers.

I have a 200 myself and lucky enough mine does not have sticky dash like the 200 in the photo :)

In Italy just a few drivers uses AT.......

My daily is200 was thrashed for 9 years slammed on its guts and mistreated and those 1gfes are nuggets but bullet proof. Got a 250 now and it’s okay but the electrics are a nightmare adding a sound system is a headache, the front end is uglier. 200/300 are still king makes me want to sell 250 and get one again.

Is200 with under 100k??? That's a unicorn right there...

So is the is200 the is300 in the states?

Kiwi

Would you prefer an IS350 over a 350z?

Funny how the IS is better looking than the other IS

Bro do an Aristo / Lexus gs300 comparison

Damn I only have only used cars

Damn, just found out that IS200 came with Auto lights fuctionality... Shiet.

With car should you buy ? The IS 350 😄🤟💥

What is your height? This cars are comfortable for you?

A shame you showed them the auto and 1gfe powered is200 (altezza) that's the worst varient by far. Need to review a manual 2L beams. That car my brother had for 6 years and it chopped almost every car!

IS250 looks decent. It's always super amusing to see kids try to go and Touge in an IS200. They are slow as shit and a little bit boaty for twisty roads. Like slower than NA MX5, Slower than Honda Fit with that auto box. Good cruiser but pretty much anything up on the hill is faster. I have seen maybe one person drive one actually quite fast and that was a 6speed RS200

Do you still own the IS200?

never will sell my manual is200!

IS250 is way better, not a fan of is200 powersteering that thing goes leaking its a pain in the ** i currently own is250 same best car ive ever driven

The Inline 6 sound better 😚

(4gr bro ) (gazoo racing) love my is 250 remove plastic cover engine bro plastic cover not good just -sound engine (👉 + engine more air cold plastic cover +heat engine good engine car potentiel upgrade

3:32 NAH ur doing something wrong our manual is200 ran 9 seconds flat or around it 6 times 😂

Nah is350 is sports sedan in my book

Chur

For God's sake, why do you always make a video about what I'm most interested in, cars. You're either following me or using telepathy.

How's the gearbox responsiveness compared to the 370z auto? This seems same as toyota blade i think