Hello Everyone

[SWheat]

Hello everyone,

My name is Sam. I live in Orange County, CA. I bought a new 07 IS350 last week. I had a hard time deciding on whether to buy a new Tacoma truck or an IS350. I went to the dealer to buy a truck (which I called in advance for) but I came away with the IS350.

I paid $38,992 for the car, which has these options:

18” wheels + summer tires

High intensity headlights

Nav system

Premium package

Preferred accessory package

Chrome wheels

Before buying I also drove a BMW 335i, which I think is a better car, but not a better value. I think the IS350 has sufficient features in the areas that matter and for a more reasonable price.

Issues:

#1 issue: I hate the seatbelt. I am not a very big guy (5-10, 250) but I can hardly put on the seat belt because the connector is so low that I am sitting on it when I get in the car.

#2 issue which is not really an issue: The brakes seem really grabby. This is probably because I am not used to them yet, and also the car downshifts rapidly when braking which seems to cause a jerk. The downshifting is cool because the car responds well when re-accelerating, that is why I say it is not an issue, more likely something I have to get used to.

#3 I don’t like carrying that huge electronic zapper key thing in my pocket. If I could have got a plain ol’ mechanical key I would have.

Bottome line the car is great Toyota quality, no regrets buying it and I look forward to years of reliable use. I especially like the oil filter placement. I wish they would move the guy who designed that to the seat belt engineering department.

If you see a black streak flying north up the 57 in the morning – it’s me and I'm prolly late for work!!

[Yimbie]

Congratulations on your new car, SWheat. I decided to go with the BMW 335i (ordered and arriving late August) after I test drove both vehicles but the Lexus is both inside and out. I personally am impressed by both vehicles but the "driver's car" just really took me away. Best wishes to you and your new vehicle. I'm glad that everything went well and that you didn't get a Toyota Tacoma over a Lexus IS350!!!! (you may have regretted it badly) Post some pics!!! BTW.. where did you get your vehicle? (I live in SoCal - Apple Valley)

[bartkat]

Yimbie

Please come back and give us your impressions of the BMW after you've driven it awhile. That would help us a lot in our ongoing comparisons.

thanks

[SWheat]

Congratulations on your new car, SWheat. I decided to go with the BMW 335i (ordered and arriving late August) after I test drove both vehicles but the Lexus is both inside and out. I personally am impressed by both vehicles but the "driver's car" just really took me away. Best wishes to you and your new vehicle. I'm glad that everything went well and that you didn't get a Toyota Tacoma over a Lexus IS350!!!! (you may have regretted it badly) Post some pics!!! BTW.. where did you get your vehicle? (I live in SoCal - Apple Valley)

Thanks Yimbie, and congrats on your new BMW! The 335i is an amazing car by any standard. If money was no object I would own one. I got my car at Longo Toyota.

[jetman]

Congratulations on your new car, SWheat. I decided to go with the BMW 335i (ordered and arriving late August) after I test drove both vehicles but the Lexus is both inside and out. I personally am impressed by both vehicles but the "driver's car" just really took me away. Best wishes to you and your new vehicle. I'm glad that everything went well and that you didn't get a Toyota Tacoma over a Lexus IS350!!!! (you may have regretted it badly) Post some pics!!! BTW.. where did you get your vehicle? (I live in SoCal - Apple Valley)

Yimbie - Decided to go with the BMW, eh? Good for you! You really couldn't go wrong either way. I might have even considered one myself, but it was just a little out of my price range. But like I replied in your earlier post, I do LOVE my IS!

SWheat - Congrats on the new car. I'm sure you'll be happy with the IS over the Tacoma, although you might miss the cargo room. As to your issues:

1. The seat belts ARE a little low. I'm sure you'll get used to them after a while. If you have different passangers in the front seat, you'll notice them always trying to fiddle around to find the insert. Not the best design, IMHO.

2. The brakes are high-performance and do tend to be a little grabby - the first couple af days I almost put my passangers through the windshield during a stop :) . And wait until you see the brake dust! Lexus will replace the factory brakes with different ones if you complain about the excess brake dust. The new ones may be a little less grabby, but I'm not sure.

3. Definitely a matter of personal preference. Although the fob may be a little bulky, I love the convienience of never having to take it out of my pocket. Plus it's a cool feature to demonstrate to your friends when showing off your new ride!

Welcome to the club!

[lambobaby1218]

Yimbie

Please come back and give us your impressions of the BMW after you've driven it awhile. That would help us a lot in our ongoing comparisons.

thanks

And I'm just curious, did you go to the BMW dealership in Ontario, or somewhere else?? I hope they got you a great deal!!!

[lambobaby1218]

Congratulations on your new car, SWheat. I decided to go with the BMW 335i (ordered and arriving late August) after I test drove both vehicles but the Lexus is both inside and out. I personally am impressed by both vehicles but the "driver's car" just really took me away. Best wishes to you and your new vehicle. I'm glad that everything went well and that you didn't get a Toyota Tacoma over a Lexus IS350!!!! (you may have regretted it badly) Post some pics!!! BTW.. where did you get your vehicle? (I live in SoCal - Apple Valley)

Thanks Yimbie, and congrats on your new BMW! The 335i is an amazing car by any standard. If money was no object I would own one. I got my car at Longo Toyota.

I got mine at Longo, as well. Had a lot more cars to choose from than Crown Lexus......