Like i said, i will feel more uncomfortable if i have to carry some elder people who are important to me, not carring myself in the back seats.

Dimension Facts (MB C / Lexus IS):

Rear Headroom: 37.3 / 36.7
Rear Legroom: 33.0 / 30.6
Rear Shoulder room: 54.3 / 52.7

The 2.5" difference in the leg room accounts for almost 10% of the total legroom and yes, it is very noticeable.

The 1.6" shoulder room will give you almost 1" more space between your shoulder and the person sitting next to you and it should be considerably significant.

Plus, if you ever have a chance to sit in the center of the rear seat in an IS, you will find yourself awkwardly in a higher and forwarding position because the center seat stands out much more than our C class. Not to mention that, with a lower headroom, there's a better chance to bang the top.

The difference therefore might seem to be subtle but indeed quite noticeable.

 

I still think the Lexus is much smaller than the 3 series. Put it this way, the Lexus' rear seats in my opinion are even smaller than the E46 3 series.

I've actually sat in my rear seats. Being 5'6" at the time (I think I'm 5'7" now), I found it to be quite comfortable. Not monstrous leg room, but it was comfortable enough. I could probably go from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the back seat if the car were to stop halfway so I could get out and stretch.

The BMW 3 series is a bit worse than the C Class, I've sat in the 325i and 330xi E46 sedan models. Even though I'm relatively short in height, my hair was touching the ceiling (and I don't have the spikey hair style). I have sat in the back of the 3 series coupe and although many people disagree with me, I actually found the E46 coupe to be somewhat more agreeable. Personally, I think the 3 series is worse than the C Class. Amazingly however, the legroom on the 3 series is actually quite liveable. Not much difference than the C-Class. Also, the E46 3 series is actually considered to be "sub compact" which is surprising because the interior is rather comfortable for a sub compact car.

Lastly, when it comes to the Lexus IS, the 2006 model (I am not familiar with the chassis identification number), the rear seats are in my opinion, the worse. The height is a bit better than that on the 3 series, however, because the rear window is also smaller (narrower), on my short trip in the IS, the driver asked me to kindly duck my head to perform lane changes. And the worst aspect are the rear seat's legroom. Much less legroom and you get the overall cramped feeling very quickly.

However, in my opinion, I would still like to acquire the Lexus IS. The buttery soft leather (but firm cushions) are simply tacitile to the senses.

It's a very enjoyable automobile, the handling is very good (comparable to Mercedes and BMW), and the audio system (stock, not the Mark Levinson, just the standard audio) was almost equivalent to the premium H/K system found on the C Class and 3 series. As for the Mark Levinson, I doubt I'd be able to hear the difference so I'd opt without it and save myself the $2k associated with it.

I just got the brochure for the IS and I read it has a sports suspension, I may go back to the dealer for a test drive in the following weeks to inquire upon a test drive of one with the sports suspension.

Lastly, for those of you who are thinking that Lexus has less expensive maintenance, this is harldy true, at least at my local dealership. While large jobs are not as expensive as the large jobs on Mercedes-Benz vehicles, they require more constant oil changes. However, Lexus vehicle brakes don't cost $1000 a set as Mercedes-Benz vehicles do. But the overall net savings is minimal. Lastly, the Lexus IS300 was one of the worst cars to insure, I hope the new IS250 and IS350 are exceptions, but not likely.

 

If I were in the market for an entry level luxury sedan right now, I'd either get an A4 or S40. Right now I'd give the edge to...

 

This is true as my 01 IS300 cost the same to insure as my 05 C55.

On a side note. I had a choice in getting a IS350 and my C55. I only got my car for the name and looks, hope it doesn't cost me with the several dealer trips as many has said.

If not for the AMG name I would have bought the IS350, a regualar C class then hell no. Residual value drops like a rock in a Mercedes. Just look at my cars value trade in, **** like 30k, 30k loose in one year.

 

Before I acquired my automobile, I also considered a Volvo S40 (being young and a first time driver, my parents started with Volvo). The Volvo S40 has a rather odd brake feel and the handling was perhaps subpar in my opinion. Something that I couldn't get used to. I had wanted to acquire the Volvo S40 in the AWD version but after testing the basic 2.4i version which was incredibly small inside, I wasn't particularly interested.

The Infiniti G35, another car I had considered, had a brake pedal that was overly sensitive, but the handling was surprisingly decent (coming quite close to Mercedes-Benz handling). However, the brake pedal might've been something that I could've gotten used to, but if I were to switch between other cars in the family, I might've ran into some difficulty.

That Volvo looks sharp. I'm not familiar with it. What is it?

 

The C55 is a big money eater, the value may be slightly higher than $30k unless you've put a lot of miles on it. But I'm sure it's more than twice as rewarding than your IS 300. Having driven the previous IS300, I found the rear end to have a very light feeling and would be about to lose grip any moment during moderately sharp turns.

Personally, between the C55 and the IS 350, I would actually seriously consider acquiring the IS350. However, in your case, you probably wanted something of a change since you already had an IS300.

Personally, I think the Mercedes name is going down the drain, since they're so easy to acquire these days. I'd say the Mercedes looks better than the IS by far. The IS has huge side mirrors, a bad view from the front, a bad view from the side, and a decent view from the rear. When Mercedes has a good view from all these angles.

 

It's all done up by Evolve Tuning and was featured in Eurotuner. The issues you mentioned would certainly be taken care of by modding the suspension, brakes, etc. Until I recently fell for the S40, I didn't realize there were so many aftermarket options for Volvo!

 

I never test drove the new IS but I just took pics of the cars and showed my wife. SHe like the C55 so we bough that used. Some things to get use to is the controls and what not. lock unlock is on the center dash vs on drivers side door. Mirrors on C55 so small and almost unusefull. My Old IS handled very well with new stiffer springs and better wheels so I never could compare the stock setup but I love it. I was either go turbo or just upgrade and I decided to upgrade due to age 01 IS. I'm happy and have a warranty on the C55 and I'll be only keeping the car for as long as the warranty. I will then get the IS350 at a later date. I like both cars and these guys who say they wouldn't own a Lexus are morons. Toyota/Lexus is going to be the automobile juggernaut and there's a reason behind it.

 

Yes, I'm surprised as well.

However, most importantly, a good car must start with a good chassis. The S40 in my opinion sometimes leaves something to be desired. It may be possible to change it when it comes to springs and shocks, but I'd rather start with a proven chassis.

Yes, I'd be surprised to hear that there are a lot of atermarket options for Volvo, this picture surprises me greatly.

 

Go for a test drive in the new IS. It's entirely different. It's fantastic on the handling in my opinion. Handling is the number one priority when it comes to me and cars. Obviously, I don't want a Lotus Elise, but a BMW M3 would be ideal.

I'm glad to hear that you have your IS300 the way you like it, in my previous experience, it left much to be desired.

What was the damage on a used C55 if you don't mind my asking? You shouldn't be taking that much of a hit if you acquired it used already.

While the C230 is my first car, and I've still got a long ways to go on it (I plan to drive it until problems develop), I would seriously consider a Japanese car as my next daily vehicle acquisition.

 

Well bought my 01 IS used for 28k back in Feb of 02 with 6k miles on it. Traded her in in August of 06 for 15k with 39k miles on it. Got the used C55 for 42k with 22k miles on it. I was deciding to on either IS350 loaded with Nav but wife car and she wanted a Benz. Personally when you drive Jap cars your who life European cars interior are laid out weird to you. My dads old 560 sel was awsome though, I loved that interior. I really can't stand all the damn electronics and not being able to do the maintenance on the vehicle. I can't even do an oil change on it. I'm lucky I can just replace the air filters, lol.

 

Personally, I'm somewhat ignorant, I just don't bother with doing the stuff myself and I just have the dealer to do it for me.

The damage for a used C55 isn't too bad then if it's $42k with 22k miles on it. This is about what I would expect and the depreciation on the vehicle isn't what I'd call substantial.

Personally, I think the BMW M3 is a better car when it comes to keeping its value. As for the actual drive, the two are very comparable, the M3 does have its reliability issues if you drive the car hard constantly.

European cars to me are laid out relatively the same as Japanese cars. Audis in particular are almost identical in my opinion, they also have the door locks on the doors as you mentioned.

As for me, personally I believe the IS350 is overachievment, the throttle is very responsive even to the slightest change in foot movements. When I test drove it, I had to test drive it again with the ECT in "Snow" mode, the dealer's agent had it in "Sport" mode. I found the "Snow" mode much more agreeable in traffic. Thus, I would probably be more likely to opt for an IS250 and just have it in normal mode.

Personally, I find the IS's feature's button layout to be somewhat odd, why do they put so many things that only the driver can access, such as the power rear sunshade is in the driver's lower left hand area. I do prefer the European layout.

Time will tell if I will one day acquire a Japanese vehicle, but with the handling improving on Japanese vehicles such as the G35 and IS350, the vehicles seem much more enticing and worthwhile. However, it's still some years away before I make my next purchasing decision, we shall see until then.

 

You're not the only one.

 

IMO, go for Lexus, I've driven one before, its quality isn't anywhere behind the MB, plus it's more reliable (Toyota is the most reliable car in the market), resell value is higher than German car (im serious, i worked in VW, and i can tell you becuz of the car being not reliable, the resell value down to the drain, same with my current C-Coupe, the resell value is like crap),

Maintainence cost, MB are well known rip off and expensive, a service can cost you arms and legs, if you try to do it outside the dealer, they might challenge you and void your warranty.

More mod option, that's just a guess, I'd think there will be more mod option for the jap car than the MB, but then, i think the stock IS already look pretty nice unmodded.

Colour wise, IS win, the Pearl colour always turns my head and look at the IS250/IS350. Lexus is a very comfortable car too.

 

I bet if I were to drive a Japanese car, I may be a bit unaccustomed to the interior button layout for the first few days of acquisition.

 

I am a Lexus fan also an having the IS350 for a short time and several others like the es300 and IS300 I really trust the Toyota backed Lexus. I also own a 04 C230 k and it has on it over 90k with no out of the ordinary problems at all.Based on the exterior the C230 is slightly better looking but where the IS shines is the Tech department. Options not available on the C230 like heated/ventillated seat, touch screen navigation, a built in with nav bluetooth and dvd player with the Mark Levison package. If it were my choice I would of taken the IS250 fully loaded and it most likely would have been cheaper overall with the toyota minimal worry quality.

 

hummm well, if this means any thing i used to drive a c230 coupe and i loved it. imo it was reliable i never died out any where or my car would never not start. but i ended up totaling the coupe and ended up getting the lexus. and i think its really what your into, both cars are great but its def a diffrent feel. imo the benz handles better and you feel more control but the IS is alot easier to drive, granted this is a negative thing at time, the steering wheel is as light as feather. its omost as if the lexus guys woke up one day n said "hey lets put all the power steering we can into this car". that being said i do love my lexus alot also, and what really makes you like it is all the neat little things. some worth noting is comfert access where you can leave you key in your pocket (finaly that little pocket on jeans have a purpose) and you just touch the door handle and all your doors unlock. the auto puddle lights, and how if you hold unlock all your windows and moonroof open. i wont really say much about the features of a c230, i mean look around the forum its a great car and alot of fun, honesty more fun than the IS. but if your looking for a plain daily commuter with some good resale value and really soft seats with little fans that blow air on your ***, go for the IS

hummm, ya this is kinda wrong. IS has very very few mods. you can get exhaust (theres a pretty big selection for that) or you can get intakes. none really give u much HP gain now, their mainly for sound. but recently there was a guy on lexus forums that spent a ridiculous amount on a TOMs supercharger from japan (has to mod his US car, i guess the s/c wasnt compatible with US ECU's), but im not to much sure how much hp gain he got from that.

 

Let's put it this way.

Lexus = less interesting to drive than its European counterparts, but vastly more reliable.

With Lexus, you don't feel as connected to the road as you do with your German machines. You don't have the same confidence to drive at 100 mph in a Lexus as you do in a Mercedes-Benz.

However, Mercedes-Benz reliability does leave something to be desired, so one needs to find a balance. Do you want prevalent Italian driving pleasure but Italian non-existent reliability or do you want subtle Japanese driving pleasure but superb reliability? Or perhaps something inbetween.

I'll consider the IS, it's good and it does handle fairly well. But it's still not the high speed 100 mph touring cars that Mercedes-Benz cars are.

 

my friend's CEO is a billionaire and owns quite a few exotic cars including Ferrari's, mercedes, and porsches. he owns a IS350 as his daily driver and says it's the best built car that he owns. just passing that along.

 

C230 alll dayyyy

 

What's a lexus? Sounds ricey...

 

If it's a W203 I would take the IS250. If it's the W204 then the Benz. Even though this is an MB forum, I have to say I think the IS looks brilliant inside and out and is dead reliable. The C-class just doesn't have enough soul to outweigh these facts.

 

your comparin a car that is much newer than a W203 compare it with a w204

lexus=over priced toyota imo

g luck with your future purchase

 

woot for a thread from 2yrs ago. i'm sure the guy already bought the car by now.

 

Just been down this road for a friend who wanted IS250SE. The Lexus is very well screwed together and fairly pleasing to look at & should be on your shopping list but go for the well sorted & timelessly styled Benz.

The only things I have against the Lexus:

- It is the only 4 door 2 seater in it's class - back seat for midgets only
- It has no soul, is crap to drive, feels like another boring but reliable Toyota
- High waist line small glass area is claustrophobic
- It rattles - especially facia - they all do
- Poor cabin & ergonomics - nice instrumentation
- Nice but Lazy engine - does not go the way specs would suggest
- Expensive for what it is
- Don't think the styling will will stand the test of time
- Tries unsuccessfully to take on the Germans by throwing in every option as standard - a nice try

Buy the Benz! My friend did