2006 IS 300 245hp V-6 AWD

[Penguin]

I have driven the new GS300 AWD, and I have a feeling the 245 is a bit under rated. Just by my seat of the pants dyno. The IS will not weigh as much so it might actually be an interesting car. By the way the new GS is nice, and they finally got the handling down, drove a 530 ten minutes later, same road. I'll take the GS over the 5 series.

[Mines]

The new IS will use a 3.5 engine

[Penguin]

According to the links above we are being treated to a 2.5L V6, or a Diesel that will never make to the states. I do not think we will see the 3.5L V6 from the new Avalon, I wish Lexus would offer that engine in the car but when I asked the factory reps (I work for a Toyota, Lexus, BMW dealership) about it I was told that the 3.5L is going to be a Toyota only engine for the forseeable future. It is actually a destroked version 4.0L V6 found in the 4Runner and Tacoma, and may not fit into the space under the hood of an IS. Oh well I can allways hope.

[boxerfan]

I think the new IS is gorgeous -- inside and out. So far so good...but these three components will be huge for me: 1). Price - Need I say more.... 2). Engine(s) - 2.5L V6? 3.5L V6? Hybrid? All Three? Different sites say different things -- USA will get both V6 engines....USA will only get the larger V6....a hybrid will be offered.... 3). Transmissions -- I read that the 6 spd manual will only be offered with the smaller engine and WILL NOT be availabe in the AWD model(s). That's a turn off for me. Overall I'll be watching the IS closely before I make my final purchase this year. Regardless, I'm happy to see Lexus seriously competing wtih BMW and Audi in this category. The fact that they're offering a sedan, coupe, and convertible is pretty cool considering the manufacturer. Competition is ALWAYS a good thing.

[autoxdad]

[quote name='Th3Franz']I don't think I have ever seen a sportcross IS300 on the road. Only sedans. lol[/QUOTE] I just sold my 2002 IS sportcross and bought a Legacy GT I love the IS and it was fun to autocross but after driving one sons WRX and the other sons STI i wanted something more fun, but the IS was a great car and I thought it looked sportier than the sedan and had lots of room.

[Mines]

[url]http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101903[/url] autoweek said that "sources" said that the 2.5 V6 makes 215hp and the 3.5 V6, which is supposed to be announced later on will make 245hp

[gt_ltd]

it even has an engine start button!

[mycl]

[url]http://www.lexus-europe.com/about_lexus/news_and_events/geneva.asp[/url] The official website..!

[boxerfan]

Sound familiar.....the new 325i will have 215HP while the 330i will have 255HP. Price is really going to be the driving factor here. I'm sure Lexus is primarily targeting BMW, but they would be wise not to neglect the pricing of the TL, G35, or even the LGT (even though Lexus probably doesn't see itself competing with Subaru). Both the TL and the G35 offer more HP than even the IS350. MSRP on a loaded TL (no NAV) is $33K. The G35 offers 280HP for $35K (with premium package to be honest). The LGT LTD is $28,500 with 250HP and AWD.

[some6uy008]

[quote name='Penguin']I have driven the new GS300 AWD, and I have a feeling the 245 is a bit under rated. Just by my seat of the pants dyno. The IS will not weigh as much so it might actually be an interesting car. By the way the new GS is nice, and they finally got the handling down, drove a 530 ten minutes later, same road. I'll take the GS over the 5 series.[/QUOTE] Really? You drive the 2006 GS300 all ready? Where was this at? need closeup pics of interior!

[racerdave]

Ok, OT, but lol on the Maserati Bi-Turbo. I drove one once and it was, floor it, nothing, nothing, nothing... Everything!

[Driver72]

[quote name='some6uy008']Really? You drive the 2006 GS300 all ready? Where was this at? need closeup pics of interior![/QUOTE] Hit your local dealership, they just came out. The IS300 with the new 245 hp engine should be quite fast, unlike some here seem to think. The much larger and heavier brand new GS300 with that engine and and AUTOMATIC tranny has Lexus listing it's 0-60 in 6.8 seconds. So figure an auto equipped IS300 should be around 6.4-6.5 and the manual equipped version should be in the high 5's. And if you get RWD and the manual, it'll probably run pretty well once rolling...maybe well enough to pull slightly on our LGT's stock for stock. The new engine is apparently much lighter too, considering it's all aluminum, compared to the current 3.0 I6 which has an iron block. I think the new engine is 80 or so pounds lighter than the I6 it's replacing. I would think low 14's (maybe 14.3-14.4) at around 98 mph would be in the neighborhood the new IS300 will be running in the 1/4 If it's price stays within $1K of the outgoing models price (for the 3.0 engine), I'm going to seriously take a look at it for my lady, as a replacement for our 02 Maxima.

[Jedi Pimp]

There is no reason why the IS350 won't be the 280hp Avalon V6. The only question is whether it will be AWD or auto trans only.

[type b]

I have heard that the IS350 will have "over 300 Hp" so don't go writing it off just yet

[Driver72]

I agree that if they throw the 3.5 liter from the Avalon into the Lexus IS it will be rated higher than the 280 hp the Avalon has. I don't know about "over 300 hp though" Nissan has been making a 3.5 liter for over 3 years now and has just finely tuned it to 300 hp. Acura has just improved there 3.5 liter this past year in the new RL and it's now making 300 hp. Toyota isn't exactly know for having the most power per liter in their larger engines (or smaller for that matter). Im not saying 300+ hp isn't possible from NA 3.5 liter, but I doubt Toyota is going to be the company to do it. They might just try to pull of the "bragging rights" marketing game and tune it to the max and "call" it 302 hp or something. But I'd bet on closer to 290 hp. Which in the Lexus IS would just be an absolute BLAST to drive. In the 3600 pound brand new Avalon, with FWD and an automatic, it pushed the car to a 6.5 second 0-60 and 1/4 of 14.9 @ 97.1 mph. With slightly more power, and probably 250 pounds less weight and RWD, even an auto IS300 would be doing low 14's at 99 mph. Enough to make it entertaining. But I think the 3.0 liter and a manual would be nearly as fast, but more fun, get better gas mileage, be a good 50-80 pounds lighter, and funner to drive. We'll find out soon enough, as they North American debut is at the end of this month. So I'm guessing they'll release prices around then too.

[Jedi Pimp]

I wonder if the sportcross model will die out or not. A 280hp RWD compact wagon would be pretty sweet with a six speed.

[Driver72]

I doubt the sport cross will continue. One, it looked a bit weird, and two, it was pathetically small back there. If someone needed more room, the sportcross was NOT the "wagon" to get. By the way, I asked my local Lexus dealer when the new IS would be hitting the showrooms. He said he was told by Lexus around September. I hope it's before that, but can somewhat believe it. With the new GS just being released, they want to give it a good 6 months to soak in the limelight for a bit first. By the way, I don't like the looks of the new GS as well as the old. The rear of it looks like the back of a Maxima (kind of large and frumpy). And the front looks "old" already. Kind of a disappointment that they didn't boost the power of the 4.3 liter either. But I'm guessing that will be the case for the next model year. It gives them something to change. They want to sell as many as they can in the first year, based on the restyle alone I'm sure.

[SC GT]

Am I the only one that thinks that it looks like a Camry/ES300, and looks heavy as hell? I hate it when cars keep bloating up generation-by-generation.

[timbuktu]

[quote name='SC GT']Am I the only one that thinks that it looks like a Camry/ES300, and looks heavy as hell? I hate it when cars keep bloating up generation-by-generation.[/QUOTE] Nope, I completely agree with you that the ES330 looks bloated and heavy. The current gen Camry...it just looks bigger than the fourth gen, but at least its a cleaner design. On the flipside, I also thought the 4th gen looked smaller than the 3rd gen (which isn't true). Bloating seems to be never ending. Look at the Protege versus Mazda3 or the last four generations of Corollas. I mean, the current gen Corolla is bigger than the 2nd gen Camry! On the flipside, bloating also means we get crush zones, 6 airbags, side impact door beams (my '95 Camry doesn't have them, and the doors seem really slim compared to the LGT) and all kinds of other things. I'm amazed that Subaru extracted some weight out of the Legacy. :D

[gt_ltd]

i think it looks like a 4dr Scion tC.

[gt_ltd]

just saw this at edmund: [left] [img]http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/il/features/general/future.toyota.2000gt/future.toyota.2000gt.340.jpg[/img] [b]Son of Supra[/b] By: [email="editorsIL@insideline.com"] editors at Edmunds.com [/email] Date Posted 02-28-2005 Looking for a high-profile sports car to polish its image, Toyota is finishing up development of a Supra successor, code-named project 395. When you think of exciting Toyota sports cars, one you can't ignore is the lovely 2000 GT featured in the 1967 James Bond film, [i]You Only Live Twice[/i]. The new front-engine, rear-drive sports car will even borrow subtle styling cues from that icon. Our sources suggest Toyota is looking at two distinct versions for production. [b]One will use a 3.5-liter development of the new V6 (introduced in the 2006 Lexus GS 300), making 300 horsepower.[/b] The second, higher-intensity model could use the company's 4.3-liter V8, tweaked to give about 350 hp. Styling features a long front deck and short rear, much like the Mercedes-Benz SLK, BMW Z4 and Honda S2000 that the new Toyota will compete against. We expect it will employ a conventional folding soft top. Pricing will likely run close to $30,000 for the V6 (to rustle 350Z feathers) and into the low-$40,000 range for the V8. The Supra spirit will rise again! [/left]

[gurpman]

Over at the is300 forums, they are saying no sportcross model. A new crossover vehicle based on a different platform is supposed to take its place and debut for the 2007 model year. Also they are saying the is350 will come in auto only, at least for the first year. They are hoping for a manual next year.

[Driver72]

[quote name='SC GT']Am I the only one that thinks that it looks like a Camry/ES300, and looks heavy as hell? I hate it when cars keep bloating up generation-by-generation.[/QUOTE] It probably IS a bit larger than the outgoing model. But, that's a good thing, since the current IS300 is a bit small and offers next to no rear seat leg room. But the car will most likely be lighter in weight. Not only is the new engines all aluminum (the current one has an iron block) which alone will save in the neighborhood of 60-80 pounds, but I'm sure they've found other weight saving areas too. I expect, even though the new IS will be a bit larger, it'll weigh at or slightly less than the current model in weight (which is 3255 pounds).

[type b]

[QUOTE] Toyota isn't exactly know for having the most power per liter in their larger engines (or smaller for that matter). Im not saying 300+ hp isn't possible from NA 3.5 liter, but I doubt Toyota is going to be the company to do it. [/QUOTE] Eh? I'm driving a 210 hp 2 litre Altezza that has been on the JDM market for 6 years, and there's a 1.8 Celica over here with 187 hp - Toyota can and do do high specific output naturally aspirated engines.... The LF-C "son of Supra is supposed to develop more than 500 from a 5 litre - Lexus are on the attack!

[Driver72]

That may very well be the case, but over here, other than the Celica with it's 180 hp 1.8 liter, EVERY Toyota's power figures SEVERLY lack those of it's competitions. And only until what a couple weeks ago did Toyota release the 3.5 liter making 280 hp and 260 tq (funny exactly what Nissan/Infiniti rate one of their tuned versions of their 3.5 liter V6. It's exactly one of the main reasons Toyota has such a bland and "unfun" image here in the States. None of their cars make any kind of power. And the Celica's engine is noisy, buzzy, and full of Vibration. Hardly a Toyota attribute. Obviously, I'm sure Toyota has the engineer capability and know how to make higher horsepower motors, but they're just so "republican" they choose not too. But it appears, they might be changing their ways in the near future.