If we're still talking about this, the IS300 (sportcross) I bought 3 years ago is still great! I like it better than the new IS by far -- more refined handling, inline 6's feel smoother to me than v6's, and okay I'll call styling a toss-up.

 

It's not like it's free. You actually pay for all that. The free loaner cars too.

 

My dad had one of the first IS300s delivered to the US. As a matter of fact, it didn't have a sunroof, leather, or about five other things that ended up being standard about three months later.

I pretty much learned how to drive in that car, and to this day it might be my favorite 4-seater. The only word for the handling is crisp, same with throttle response and power. You're not going to win drag races, but it's never more than a throttle blip away from getting up and passing when needed. As I recall, the E-shift was a little confusing... if you had it in 4th gear, it could select any gear up to 4th. A little different than the e-shift on my Celica, which seemed more logical.

My brother ended up buying the car from my dad, and he's still enjoying free loaner cars, coffee, and food with his service. You can't beat owning a Lexus.

Damn... now I really miss driving it.

 

I had a 2001 Pearl white. the shifting is soooooo smooth for an automatic. oh and the handling was awesome. great car to fit 2 people in, decent when it comes to 4 , horrible at 5.

oh, and a big ROFL for reviving this thread.

i think im going to revive the " the one i hug the most" thread lol
HAHAHAHAHA shiet.....

 

the 1st gen IS was a great car and the 2nd gen is great if you like straight line acceleration, but something about the whole package of the 1st gen. maybe its because i had one but the style, size, ride, handling, inline 6. the best thing i loved about the car was the handling. it was mind boggling how much grip that car had with 215/45 series tires and the car was very nuetral at 8/10th driving. heck, even my wife misses the car saying we should've kept it and she's not a car person.

i also miss the lexus service dept. everytime i brought it in for service they washed and waxed it. if they kept it for more than hour they gave me a free loaner. honda i won't even go there because the service would be comprable to ruth chris vs outback steakhouse.

what's up this thread being 4 years old?

 

go for it then go for the 2jz-gte swap. Big hp and good cruiser. Stock engine = no good.

 

old..