thewalrus

Thanks for the advice. Having gone through this website, and some of the past topics, I noticed that this is an oft-repeated comparison. Especially between the similar BMW 328 or 330 and the Lexus IS 250 or 350. From those topics I was able to glean a pretty good idea of the differences between the two brands. It'll come down to a test drive and some good first hand experience. But there's very little not to like about either brand.

Weighing some issues here. I'm going to get a basic car here, so no options with either. And the two cars it's coming down to are the BMW 323 (a Canadian sedan - not available south of the border with a 2.5 L 200 hp engine), and a few fewer options than the 328. I'm weighing this against the IS 250. I assume that this is a biased sample here, but I'd be curious about your opinions. I've come to the realization that the BMW is probably more performance orientated, a bit more focused on driver involvement. At the same time I'm planning on keeping this for a while, and I believe that the Lexus is probably the more solidly built, reliable car over the long term. Combine this with more standard features and I'm torn between the two.

Well the dollars are getting closer for sure, but it seems that car prices have yet to fall. I'm not aware of any additional importing fees that get slapped on - and I know some cars maintain very similar prices that do conform to the exchange rate. So I'm not really sure what the rational is... might revolve around certain requirements that are unique to Canada. I know day time running lights are mandatory up here for example... and I think there's certain differences in bumper requirements and crash tests. So all that might factor in if a company has to change a car a great deal for import into Canada. Unfortunately I'll probably be sticking with the rear drive model - but I figure with the number of electrical nannies present, the comfort of a manual transmission (which I find a lot easier to drive in the snow), and Lexus reliability I should be OK. I hope. We'll see tough. Maybe I can scrounge together another couple thousand and bump myself up to the AWD model - of course I also kind of want that 6 speed...

Yeah, you're telling me. I did a double take when I heard what WRXs were going for down south. You're paying about $10 000 more for one of those up here. The difference between the 350 and the 250 is greater as well in Canada, so no 300 + hp for me, sadly. Canadian prices are higher. You should be able to compare by looking at Lexus Canad website. The retail to invoice ratio may be similar though.

I'm new to the forums here, and have been wrestling with a similar dilemma. Let me say first off that I'm one of those dedicated manual guys. I like it, because I'm used to it I guess. And it's a lot of fun to row up and down the gears. Plus, in the winter on the snow being able to modulate the clutch and the gas is a big advantage. Almost as big as AWD - I've just never felt as comfortable driving in the snow in an Auto (then again, I should qualify by saying I've never tried paddle shifters either). But to digress, I love the IS 250, but have also heard that it's just not the performer that some of the price-wise competition is. Namely the WRX (which in Canada clears the $35 000 CND mark along with the IS), the Mazda Speed 3 and 6, the Honda Accord V6, etc etc. As people here have already said, the Lexus is about luxury, class, style, with a little sport thrown in. And that's what's making me look favorably in this direction. I'm not a stop light racer, and I don't intend on taking a luxury sports sedan to the track, so I'm not entirely sure that the extra 2 seconds or so to 60 mph is worth the extra cash that a 350 requires. And, as above I really like the traditional manual.

Hey all. I'm new to the forum, but am quite sure that I'll be picking up a Lexus IS 250 for my next car. My question would be whether those prices above would carry on over to Canada (where I'm living), or whether they'd be a bit inflated for those of us living north of the 49th.