Great looking car (Lexus IS200 S)

Member Name: johnboyle007

Product:	Lexus IS200 S
Date:	27/07/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfort of drive

Disadvantages: Boot space and rear seat space

Lexus IS220d

Lexus 220d

My colleague asked if he could swop his Lexus for my Nissan Qashqai as he was off to South Coast for a week with the family. The reason was lack of boot space. I was happy to do the swop for a week.

The Lexus is a lovely car to look at and initial impressions were favourable. The car is a diesel and the engine starts without a key by using a Stop Start button. The engine quickly and quietly leaps into life. The car is about 10 months old and has done 25000 miles so I was impressed at how quiet the engine was even when ticking over

The dashboard is well illuminated with brilliant white numbers on the Speedo and Rev Counter. Digital display also shows mpg outside temperature etc etc

The seating position is quite low, my partner does not like it at all as she much prefers the high position in the Qashqai. Seats are firm and supportive and I have found it comfortable to drive on both short and long journeys. They are a fabric seat.

Leg room in the front is plentiful. I am reasonably tall at 5 11 but I suspect a shorter person would struggle with the handbrake - it is a bit of a reach

Steering wheel is adjustable. Gears are easy to use and very slick to change. Car is very responsive at both low and high speed - can see how you can get points on your licence so easy.

Seating in the rear looks a bit cramped but think it would be ok for a long journey. Friends who were in the back did not complain so perhaps it is just my perception.

Boot space is I think small for such a big car - two medium sized suitcases would take up most of the space and then small holdalls at the side. I put the weekly shop in the boot and it seemed full in comparison with what the Qashqai holds.

Toys lots of them fitted on the Lexus as you would expect. Again it is a personal preference but I did not like the controls for the AirCon they were not intuitive you had to search for them whilst driving taking your eye off the road. Again as with any car guess you get used to it. Fold up mirrors which when you open the doors remotely shine out a little light which makes me beg the question why ? as it does not actually illuminate anything useful like the door handle.

Cruise control is easy to set and useful when travelling through roadworks with average speed cameras

Air con itself is very good think you could leave the engine running and use the car as a fridge at the lowest setting. Noise levels are low when it is blowing

Stereo system EXCELLENT and LOUD.

Fuel consumption averages around 44 mpg which has mostly been around town.
So all important question if I had the choice would I choose one. The answer is no I would prefer my Qashqai over the Lexus as it has a much higher level of comfort and equipment. The Lexus does have a certain status and a couple of people asked if I had been promoted so in terms of image it obviously hits the right buttons but with this extended test drive it failed to impress me.

Summary: Not my cup of tea

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