Few Questions About Buying An Is250awd Or A Is350

[Stealth-Ghost]

First off, thank you VERY much for any information

1. When you "build" an IS on Lexus' site, both the IS250AWD and the IS350 pop up with "Available Packages", yet you can't unselect them (I'm not asking is it possible to unselect them on the site, i'm asking if I can go to the dealer and pick up a IS250AWD or IS350 with some of them taken off for a lot lower price. The lack of ability to take them off on the site just throws into my head maybe I HAVE to have that package, which would put the IS350 out of the question for right now). The IS250AWD's is $2,205.00, and the IS350's is $7,813.00. I don't see any of the options in the selected packages that I really would need, besides the headlights maybe. Audio quality is important to me only up to a certian level, maybe if I could only keep the audio/cd player and drop everything else, that would be nice. I doubt i'll ever use the navigation, or the back up camera, stuff like that.

2. I recently moved to Colorado, and unlike California where I lived my whole life, it snows here. I think we are almost done with the snow season, and I don't think it was THAT bad. I drove to work everyday in it in a jeep wrangler, and rarely put it in 4WD. Question is: do you think it is worth the drop in preformance to get the AWD, as in will the 350 not be able to drive in snow, and the 250AWD will be able to or something. Also I might move back to california either soon, or 2-5 years, i'm really not sure yet, and having a 350 there would be a lot nicer than having a 250AWD, since the weather is more or less perfect. Maybe it is worth not being as stable on the road during heavy snow for a year or two, to have the great preformance when it's sunny and nice out? Also, I remember someone once telling me the AWD systems of today are more for how the car drives under better conditions, and don't help all that much in bad ones, i'm not sure if this right at all, or maybe only pertains to a few awd systems/cars, but just throwing that out there. (Personal experience here would obviously be a plus, maybe if you've driven both the 250AWD and the 350 in snow, or know someone who has)

Again, thank you VERY much for any experience or information you can share with me!

[ProjectIS250]

As far as the package goes, it wont let you de-select it online but when you go to the dealer you can get a 250AWD with out the package, no HID's, etc. Sticker is just like on the site 34,2xx.xx + your 590 for delivery, processing & Handling, + 200-300 extra for mats, trunk net, and something else. for a total of about 35000.

For your 2nd question, I owned a 350Z and live in NJ. Needless to say that RWD and snow just do not mix, that’s why I had it only 11 months. I couldn’t take another winter with it so I traded it in. You can do things like winter/snow tires etc. but how effective that will be, not sure. Good luck with the purchase, its an awesome car, had it for almost 2 weeks now and love it.

[nasalcedo03]

Lets put it this way:

RWD with 4 winter/snow tires is better in snow than AWD with 4 all-season tires

[SilverSport]

Lets put it this way:

RWD with 4 winter/snow tires is better in snow than AWD with 4 all-season tires

I have had my 350 with the sport suspension since November. I put Bridgestone Blizzaks on Spider wheels all around when I got it and survived the winter just fine. I drove my Durango 2 days all winter. Otherwise, the 350 handled the roads fine. Deep, deep snow would be another issue, but we didn't have any this year. I just put the performance tires back on today. My dealer loaned me a 250 AWD while mine was in. I'm glad I went with the 350. The 250AWD seems heavier (it is) and sluggish (it is). Lacks the fun factor.

[Stealth-Ghost]

Lets put it this way:

RWD with 4 winter/snow tires is better in snow than AWD with 4 all-season tires

I have had my 350 with the sport suspension since November. I put Bridgestone Blizzaks on Spider wheels all around when I got it and survived the winter just fine. I drove my Durango 2 days all winter. Otherwise, the 350 handled the roads fine. Deep, deep snow would be another issue, but we didn't have any this year. I just put the performance tires back on today. My dealer loaned me a 250 AWD while mine was in. I'm glad I went with the 350. The 250AWD seems heavier (it is) and sluggish (it is). Lacks the fun factor.

Do you know how much it costs for the winter tires/wheels? That sounds like a good idea

Also how often did you have to change the tires back to preformance? I ask this because I hear if you drive on the winter tires when the roads are clear it's bad for them or something, and you also live in Colorado so you probably face the same conditions I do.

Thanks again

[steviej]

Do you know how much it costs for the winter tires/wheels? That sounds like a good idea

find out for yourself. TireRack.com

steviej

[SilverSport]

Lets put it this way:

RWD with 4 winter/snow tires is better in snow than AWD with 4 all-season tires

I have had my 350 with the sport suspension since November. I put Bridgestone Blizzaks on Spider wheels all around when I got it and survived the winter just fine. I drove my Durango 2 days all winter. Otherwise, the 350 handled the roads fine. Deep, deep snow would be another issue, but we didn't have any this year. I just put the performance tires back on today. My dealer loaned me a 250 AWD while mine was in. I'm glad I went with the 350. The 250AWD seems heavier (it is) and sluggish (it is). Lacks the fun factor.

Do you know how much it costs for the winter tires/wheels? That sounds like a good idea

Also how often did you have to change the tires back to preformance? I ask this because I hear if you drive on the winter tires when the roads are clear it's bad for them or something, and you also live in Colorado so

you probably face the same conditions I do.

Thanks again

I only plan to change between performance and snow tires in the fall and spring. There's nothing wrong with running the snows all the time except that they are a very soft rubber compound so they wear real fast. If you push it much all you'll find little bits of rubber in the wheel wells and on the rear quarter panels. I'm guessing I'll get 2-3 winters out of them at about 4 months each winter. As far as cost, it ain't cheap - somewhere in the 2.5 to 3 grand range, depending on what you get. Don't forget you need a second set of tire pressure sensors if you have a second set of wheels. I don't know the cost of those little gems as my dealer packaged it all together but I think they're north of 100 bucks a piece.

[Scott M]

Also, to add to the tirerack.com suggestion...

It's an awesome website and offers tons of reviews on all tire types, written by the people who have purchased and tested them.

Just keep in mind that the prices on Tirerack are not accurate if you only plan on using the website for research.

If you buy the tires from them, you'll need to also add in shipping costs, and the cost of having them mounted on your wheels at the garage.

If you plan on using the site for research only and purchasing from a local retailer, plan on adding $25 - $50 per tire to what Tirerack shows for a price.