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Location:
Cabramatta, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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 Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sat, 28 February 2004 06:15
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Just test drove the Baby Lexii... Here are my thoughts...
IS200
I can say with certainty that I will forever be bugged by this car. I just cannot comprehend how a stock fat severely-underpowered luxury car can corner faster than my lowered ultra-firm car! It's just insane! This is the best handling car I've ever driven, and I've driven a few.
The previous benchmarks were the FD RX-7 and the MX-5 SP, but I can safely say that this thing would outhandle both if it had more grunt!
It was so frustrating without the power. This is the first car I've driven in a LONG time that I couldn't snap seconds... It was so weak!
Another complaint is the crappy steering, you just can't feel anything. You're in such a cocoon that you don't really know what the car is doing, and you can't feel it either. You know that you're drifting (not in the dorifuto sense of the word) at 100km/h because you're exiting the corner wider than you think you should be, but that's about it... Normally my occupants would be leaving fingernails in the dash if I did that in my car. In the IS200, they're just sitting there enjoying the luxury...
I would love to get my hands on an RS200... I reckon I'd fall instantly in love with one of them 'coz I would've bought the IS200 straight away if it had 50% more power.
IS300
Hopping from the lithe, nimble IS200 into this automatic thing was just a disappointment. It really felt like an old man's car. With the heavier engine, they firmed up the front shocks (well that's what it felt like) but they didn't touch the rear end. It leaves a car that's very unbalanced and just unenjoyable to drive when you've just hopped out of the perfectly balanced IS200.
I didn't like this thing at all. The extra power was nice, but totally unusable because of the slushbox.
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Location:
Melbourne
Registered:
November 2003
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sat, 28 February 2004 15:12
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And if you ever get enough money to purchase one of these cars, why wouldn't you get a Supra RZ instead?
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Location:
Cabramatta, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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 Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 00:00
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Oh, believe me, I've been looking!
But I found out on Thursday that I can only salary package a car that's less than 4 years old. 
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Location:
Newcastle
Registered:
August 2003
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 05:08
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Hey, what engine is in both of these again, only know abit bout the RS.....
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 05:25
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IS200: 1G-FE (2.0 I6)
IS300: 2JZ-GE (3.0 I6)
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Location:
Wollongong
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 05:27
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1G-FE in the IS200
3S-GE in the RS200
Both are 2.0L, 1G is inline 6-cyl, 3S is inline 4-cyl.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
sydney.au
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 05:36
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rumors are that the rs200 was a brainchild of the original ae86 engineers. nimble. even weight distribution. a little power, not too much. NA engine of small capacity.
i rekon by the writeup by nark this might be true!
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Location:
Cabramatta, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 05:43
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To coallate, summarise, and add power figures... 
IS200: 1G-FE (2.0L I6 114kW)
RS200: 3S-GE (2.0L I4 157kW)
IS300: 2JZ-GE (3.0L I6 157kW)
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 09:03
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1g-fe.. fuck that
my 1g ge is shitty.. i know its much much in the future from 84 when mine came out.. but still.. runs around the same power... it would be hopeless without a manual box
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
March 2003
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 12:57
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Slalary packageing is good 
The car handles really good, I keep up with my friends DC2R (Type R) around the nasho! Once the 1JZGTE conversion is complete, it should have the whole package!
Dont worry, from the day Ive had the IS200, ive HATED the performace! The first day, I tried to smoke it up, but now my clutch slips lol!
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Test drove IS200 and IS300
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Sun, 29 February 2004 22:56
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I've done the salery package thing and you can get a car through a few places that means you can get a car that is no older than 10 years at the end of the lease (novated) I was looking into an IS200 when I was looking (Ended up with the ute) and was planning a conversion to the beams 3sge with an altezza front cut. I found a few IS200 2000-01 models for around the 30,000 mark that had around the 200k-kms on them but the body and interior were in excellent nick. perfect for conversion and freshening up of driveline and suspension to bring it back to a newer standard.
Otherwise you'll end up with a base Camry,magna,commo I suppose it depends on weather you want to keep the car at the end of the lease for future mods or just have a second car that costs nothing to run (effectively) and pour all your effort into a project. I went down the Ute path because I wanted a tow car for my project car, boat, box trailer and for me at the moment a ute makes sense.
Just a thourght.
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