Brother's new ride: 2004 Lexus IS300

[repinS]

2004 Lexus IS300
3.0 inline-six RWD, 83,000km

Went out and snapped some photos of my brother's new car. My dad's free 1991 Toyota 4Runner blew a head gasket (no surprise for the 3VZ-E V6), so the 1994 Volvo 850, originally my brother's college graduation gift in '08, went back to dad. It's quite a fun to drive car with excellent punch in the midrange. Should be an interesting run against the S1 L67, that should happen soon

The wheels you see there are 16" snow tires (Continental ExtremeWinterContact), the OEM 17" wheels will come out in a month or two.

[95naSTA]

Looks good even with the steelies.

[01bonneSC]

It looks like a Focus..no offense, just has the same side profile.

[J Wikoff]

Looks good! I like the color. My one complaint about the looks is the taillights. The single red round one on the trunk lid looks out of place next to the Altezza style lamp.

[Jim W]

That light is functional, IIRC in Europe its required that cars have rear fog lamps, thats what those lights do.

[J Wikoff]

Is that car sold in Europe?

Edit: Looks like it was, but the light still wasn't very well excecuted.

[petraman]

The single red round one on the trunk lid looks out of place next to the Altezza style lamp.

The IS300 is actually called the Altezza in Japan, and that's where the term Altezza-style tail lights came from. This car spawned a major component of a typical ricer's car, lol.

[J Wikoff]

I know, that's why I capitalized Altezza.

[repinS]

It looks like a Focus..no offense, just has the same side profile.

But the Altezza/IS200/IS300 came out in 1998 in Japan, the Focus in 1999. So the Focus looks like an IS

That light is functional, IIRC in Europe its required that cars have rear fog lamps, thats what those lights do.

Yup. Since nobody knows what they are here in North America, they double as anti-tailgating mechanisms!

[PRD2BDF]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did he pay, those goes for a fortune around here.

[repinS]

Listed for $17,999 CAD, purchased for $15,999.

It holds its value for a reason, and driving / riding in it I can see why.

edit: I quote his criteria from the forums that he frequents:

(the public transit happened because he gave up the Volvo after dad's 4Runner blew its head gasket; his daily drive involves driving 5-10 minutes to the subway station so it was possible for him to just bus it to the subway in order to go downtown every day, whereas dad commutes 20 miles each way)

Having to take public transit for a week meant my search for something new became a little more important. I don't drive a lot (maybe 15,000KM/year). I wasn't looking to buy new as I didn't want to be taking the hit on depreciation. I had about $20K to spend. I had a fairly long list of criteria... call me a nerd but I think I'm pretty picky when it comes to my daily driver. I'm sure some of you are similar. Here's my list of some criteria:

* Four doors. Even though I'm the only one in the car most of the time, I like having my four doors.
* Comfort is a plus. My Volvo was pretty loaded and all those little features made for an enjoyable experience.
* A bright interior. I like big windows. Cars like the new Camaro and 300C are cars you can't actually see out of. I hate this.
* Whatever I got needed to have more power than the Volvo did (it had the 2.4L I5, 170hp in a narrow powerband). 6-cylinder power is preferred.
* FWD or RWD didn't really matter.
* No preference as to what type transmission it had. I have a little experience with stick shift.
* I wasn't really interested in anything American. Just wasn't interested.
* Had to have a good turning circle. The Volvo had a stupidly good one (33.5ft) considering its FWD powertrain. The maneuverability is a huge asset in the city.
* A known-durable powertrain is a plus. Something proven, tried, and tested.


... I'm sure there's more but it escapes my mind at the moment. I'll add to the list if anything comes up.

Other cars I was looking at were the Acura TSX, Volvo S60, Infiniti G35, just to name a few. Basically, stuff in the entry-level luxury (executive) sedan market. The TSX was ruled out because while it did have a good powertrain, it lost points because of the 4-cylinder motor. That, and it seems to be excessively "Asian" around here. Go to Richmond Hill (a suburb just north of Toronto), and you'll see white TSX's everywhere, all driven by young Asian men. I didn't need to add to the stereotype The Volvo S60 was ruled out because it has a very poor turning circle for its size. The Infiniti G35, at least the older ones, didn't seem to be aging very well. The interior felt a little cheap, and the exterior didn't appeal to me much.

[BonneMe]

Saw in on Auto[M]ay, sweet car!

I'd totally rock one, they do have some roll to them @ AutoX though..

[repinS]

For sure, as fun and great handling as they are as a daily driver, the AutoX course shows that they're still a bit softly sprung. There's a black 5-speed that runs up here bone stock except for slicks and a FEROCIOUS driver. They either used to have a Miata, or they compete with both, I forget.

[driverjohn2005]

Looks clean!

[BonneMe]

Only about 100-200lbs heavier than my car too, not bad!

[2000CadillacSTS]

The single red round one on the trunk lid looks out of place next to the Altezza style lamp.

The IS300 is actually called the Altezza in Japan, and that's where the term Altezza-style tail lights came from. This car spawned a major component of a typical ricer's car, lol.

I always thought that was really cool, that the car spawwned the name of the taillights.

[01bonneSC]

We have a bunch of those around here lol

[Water 97SSEi]

The only Toyota I would ever consider buying. This is the American market Altezza as others have mentioned. What a great sports sedan and one of the exceptions to Toyota's reputation of building beige and boring cars.

[2000Silverbullet]

I wasn't really interested in anything American. Just wasn't interested.

[repinS]

In all seriousness though, if he doesn't like the look of the CTS, what would've fit his criteria? The G8 is too big. Anything FWD would have the turning radius of a land yacht. I got him to test drive the 2010 Fusion SEL, but the IS still drives better.

He could have gotten a BMW 3-series, but my brother is smarter than that The IS is a 3-series without the big repair bills