| IS250 - challenger?
Well i went and test drove a IS250 Sports Auto today... 6speed gearbox, 2.5L V6 brand new engine and the car looks great, it really does, it looks better than in the pics..
The car is ultra-quiet, engine is ultra smooth, gearbox too... the handling is very good but not as 'meaty' as the BMW (1series, haven't drove the new 3 yet), but comfort is of very high standard as well as the quality of the interior... sound system kicks ass! It has some nice gadgets too, like when you get above 5000rpm before you change gear, there is a little 'ring' of lights around the rev counter and it lights up, looks very very good!
But there are strange things about it, when using the tiptronic, it forces you to accelerate from 1st gear, i guess it is needed because the V6 needs quite a bit of revs to get going...
Well there is too much to cover, but I have to say, if this car is marketed properly, it is another major threat to the BMW 3, because it actually looks better! It is just a tad cheaper than the 325i so it has no price advantage, but of course the 3 is larger and the engine/gearbox is still much better while the handling still has a reasonable advantage... I went to the BMW dealer today and the salesman tried very hard to convince us that the IS250 is simply a 're-branded Toyota with a higher price' even though the IS250 has basically exclusive everything and nothing much from Toyota models... To get rid of this image will be difficult. |