325 Sports vs IS250 vs new C Class

[AlexC]

E90 vs IS

Contenders to the E90 are the IS, Audi A4 and the new C Class. To me, the Audi is a non-starter because it is not RWD. And since I have yet to testdrive the W204, I shall focus on the E90 vs the Lexus.

Was at the Lexus dealership earlier this week and the first thing that strikes you is the customer service. The staff (and by that I include the security guard, receptionist and lounge servers) are courteous, helpful and knowledgable. And I thought Sapura Auto was good.

Salesguy (Product Consultant in Lexus-speak) ran thru the features of the IS250 showroom car and highlighted the various features. Then it was onto a testdrive on the Penchala Link (generous since it involves 2 RM2 tolls).

First impressions- the driving position is excellent. Leather seats are soft (relative even to a CBU S-Class) and the steering can be MECHANICALLY adjusted for rake and scope. To my dismay the IS has a foot-operated parking brake. So no handbrake turns for you, bad boy.

Performance and handling the E90 325i wins hands down- the PC conceded this fact at the onset since the IS is not directly aimed at the balls-out performance crowd. The IS concedes >10hp to the E90 and it shows (although the demo unit had about 2600km and needed more loosening up). And the inline 6 in the 325i sounds way better than the too-quiet-for-my-liking V6 in the Lex.

Handling wise the IS exceeded my expectations. Any car shod with Re050 tires (as opposed to RE050A RFTs) would. The IS tracked effortlessly thru the long righthander after the tunnel above 140kmh in its own lane and could've easily carried more speed. The ride is a hell lot of more compliant and comfortable than even my RFT-less E90 was on std springs.

Paddle shift was nice to have but I'm one of those that would use ANY paddle shift AUTOs merely to stay awake during long drives. E90 tranny shifts smoother but most folks already know that.


IS - the Good

Sunroof is 7 grand more, but at least it's an option
Adaptive Headlights std
Bloody marvelous 14-speaker ML sound system with IN-DASH 6 disc changer
3 years / 100k km warranty
AC Ionizer std (for the smokers)

The Bad

Sports mode is actually manual mode
Weird manual mode where you are limited to +/- 4 gears
For the equivalent of our DS mode you have to press a 'PWR' button to hold gears longer
Wood trim not as sporty as the aluminium trim in the E90
No Service Inclusive plan
No SatNav
Toggle switches (to the right of steering coluum) look out of place in a car of this class

The Ugly

The doors on the demo unit did NOT auto-lock!

 

[Juan Powerblow]

Thanks AlexC! That's a fantastic review. Can I safely say that you would recommend the E90 325i Sports over the IS 250 since they're basically almost the same price? I would think so and totally agree.

 

[Traveler]

AlexC, one more thing to add: you can get aluminum trim for the IS-250 as aftermarket mod (according to the Lexus salesguy, when I test drove the car).

 

[Juan Powerblow]

It's nice that Lexus, Merc, Audi etc are more sports-oriented with their entry level executive saloons but I think the BMW 3-series is still iconic. For that reason alone, the E90 325i should be the prime consideration for the sports-oriented i.e. better to buy the Merc, Audi or Lexus for The Wife, heh!

P.S. I'm hoping though for the price of E90 325i Sports to drop cos it's the most expensive of the trio, for the moment.

Don't mind me making a lot of less than senseful postings. I'm quite bored in the office today.

 

[Daniel]

Let's see:

BMW E90, been around for 2 years? Its underpowered and heavy. Aftersales service sucks.

IS250. Hey, its a Toyota after all! ever heard of a toyota breaking down?????

New C -Class, new car. Loads of potential, aftersales service was better then BMW. Possibly underpowered and heavy but with thie new V6 engines, things are looking up.

The Audi A4. 7 Speed DSG. 2.0 Turbo. What else do you need? well, the NEW A4 PERHAPS?????? but aftersales service, probably non existance as Audi do not keep parts locally.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Actually, the E90 is the most powerful 2.5 ltr compared to the Merc and the Lexus IS 2.5 ltr powerplants. Also makes peak torque lower than these 2 engines.

Weight wise, the 325i weighs about the same as the smaller E46, while the MB has gained fat compared to the W203 230 V6. I suspect the BMW is the lightest of the trio and the most powerful. Hence it has the best performance spec on paper.

 

[David Yong]

E46F, you are absolutely right. The E90 engine is the lightest among all. In terms of engine performance, the E90 is much better.

 

[Daniel]

then what about the new C-Class, they have to be lighter than the model it replaces.

 

[INNOVATOR]

Daniel Let's see:

BMW E90, been around for 2 years? Its underpowered and heavy. Aftersales service sucks.

Daniel, obviously, you've been going to the wrong dealers. AB has been very good to me. It is one of the main reasons why I went back for my second and then, my third BMW from them. Of course, theres still plenty of room for improvement.

So, much better than, Audi, Honda and Ford. As for Merc, the sales people have yet to really entice me. They have not gone that extra mile to present their products to me. They expect that after having driven once round the block, the brand and the looks (very subjectiive), I should be convinced to buy.

Jaguar had given me a 3 hour testdrive, BMW's testdrives are very comprehensive; Porsche had lent me put their 997 to the limit, whereas Merc limits itself to the Myvi style testdrive.

 

[Juan Powerblow]

Actually, the E90 is the most powerful 2.5 ltr compared to the Merc and the Lexus IS 2.5 ltr powerplants. Also makes peak torque lower than these 2 engines.

Weight wise, the 325i weighs about the same as the smaller E46, while the MB has gained fat compared to the W203 230 V6. I suspect the BMW is the lightest of the trio and the most powerful. Hence it has the best performance spec on paper.

Yup, I totally agree and it's just not straight line speed that matters. My brother has the latest gen A4 1.8T and my aunt has the CLK 230K. The E90 325i will easily kill 'em off though I think the CLK 230K can cream my E92 323i. I'm still a bit disappointed why BMW brought in the entry E92 in 323i. I would have been more contented with the 218 bhp in the E90 325i.

 

[danc]

Let's see:

BMW E90, been around for 2 years? Its underpowered and heavy. Aftersales service sucks.

IS250. Hey, its a Toyota after all! ever heard of a toyota breaking down?????

New C -Class, new car. Loads of potential, aftersales service was better then BMW. Possibly underpowered and heavy but with thie new V6 engines, things are looking up.

The Audi A4. 7 Speed DSG. 2.0 Turbo. What else do you need? well, the NEW A4 PERHAPS?????? but aftersales service, probably non existance as Audi do not keep parts locally.

Daniel,

E90 is heavy and underpowered? Compared to what, IS250, W204, B7 :stupid:

After Sales for Mercs are better??

I gues the only thing we have in common is our name

 

[peanut]

Let's see:

BMW E90, been around for 2 years? Its underpowered and heavy. Aftersales service sucks.

IS250. Hey, its a Toyota after all! ever heard of a toyota breaking down?????

New C -Class, new car. Loads of potential, aftersales service was better then BMW. Possibly underpowered and heavy but with thie new V6 engines, things are looking up.

The Audi A4. 7 Speed DSG. 2.0 Turbo. What else do you need? well, the NEW A4 PERHAPS?????? but aftersales service, probably non existance as Audi do not keep parts locally.

Underpowered relative to what? An EVO or Waja? I wondered if you have ever driven a E90 to make a statement that it is underpowered and heavy. While I am not a big fan of BMW's 4-potters model, it is hardly considered underpowered and it can be quite a fun drive. the 325i is definitely not underpowered to me.

I like Audi but not in Malaysia.

 

[Schwepps]

Jaguar had given me a 3 hour testdrive, BMW's testdrives are very comprehensive; Porsche had lent me put their 997 to the limit, whereas Merc limits itself to the Myvi style testdrive.

Like you said to Daniel, perhaps you went to the wrong SA? My C&C SA was great during the sale and still keeps calling me even now to tell me about the latest models on offer, almost 3 years after I bought a W211. That's how I knew about the W204 preview before anyone else.

Having both a Merc and a BMW, I can attest that the service side of C&C beats AB by a mile. Now that is, although I can't see AB catching up soon.

 

[David Yong]

I must agree with Schwepps.

C&C service really beats AB by a mile. I have friends who are driving Merc and friends who are driving BMW and it always seems like that not much of complaint especially on service level from those who drives Merc.

 

[Daniel]

Perhaps Schwepps,
But Penang only has one MB dealer with this Lowe Motors.
Our W220 is fully maintained by them.

So being the owner of MB and BMW, i too agree that MB's aftersales service is miles ahead.

 

[Daniel]

Daniel,

E90 is heavy and underpowered? Compared to what, IS250, W204, B7 :stupid:

After Sales for Mercs are better??

I gues the only thing we have in common is our name

I do not know your background nor what you drive but, let me ask you this question:
Do you believe that a stock 325 is powerful?

About your disbelieve that the aftermarket sales service being better then BMW's, believe it!

 

[Daniel]

Underpowered relative to what? An EVO or Waja? I wondered if you have ever driven a E90 to make a statement that it is underpowered and heavy. While I am not a big fan of BMW's 4-potters model, it is hardly considered underpowered and it can be quite a fun drive. the 325i is definitely not underpowered to me.

I like Audi but not in Malaysia.

Same question as i asked danc, and you answered it for me.

You believe that a E90 325 is not underpowered.

Thus i have nothing more to add as you would not understand.

 

[Daniel]

let me just say that the E90 325i has 218bhp, 250nm and it weights in at a heafty 1505kg.

This are not great figures.

 

[Daniel]

Daniel, obviously, you've been going to the wrong dealers. AB has been very good to me. It is one of the main reasons why I went back for my second and then, my third BMW from them. Of course, theres still plenty of room for improvement.

So, much better than, Audi, Honda and Ford. As for Merc, the sales people have yet to really entice me. They have not gone that extra mile to present their products to me. They expect that after having driven once round the block, the brand and the looks (very subjectiive), I should be convinced to buy.

Jaguar had given me a 3 hour testdrive, BMW's testdrives are very comprehensive; Porsche had lent me put their 997 to the limit, whereas Merc limits itself to the Myvi style testdrive.

Perhaps. But Penang only has 1 dealer.

That being said, their sales personel are actually very good, it's the service people that needs to grow a personality and some basic PR skills.

 

[INNOVATOR]

Schwepps, get your SA to call me. My car will be 3 at the end of this month. So, I am looking at the probably of getting something new. So, he would come highly recommended by you.

As for the brand and model of the car; its all very subjective. Neither looks, power, price, brand or maintenance - each in its own, will influence us to buy. To each his own. In the UK, there are people still buying Bristol Blenheims - handmade cars with designs of the 70s. But their prices matched that of Rolls Royces and there is a waiting period to get your hands on one of those. Reputation.

I had a friend who had to change the gearbox of her 3 day old C200k. And another who called Porsche's 911 Turbo a glorified Volkswagen - he had a couple of Lotus Esprit Turbos.

There isn't really a wrong car or right car - only the best one that suits our individual taste. We should never allow people to be an absolute influence in our decision-making. they can make some suggestions and just leave it as that.

As for Lexus, I was invited for a test-drive about two weeks ago. On the day of the appointment, I get a call from the sales rep, reminding me about the testdrive appointment, but she wouldn't be there as she had another appointment. What kind of chicken shit is this? I didn't go for the appointment. Can you imagine the probable shitty aftersales service? Gosh! Where do these companies pick these people from?