Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests IS300 Replacement

once i saw this car rigth i had lexus badges all over it. i told my boy it was a new civic si hatch in dark blue. it had lexus badges on the rims back and a lexus emblem in the front. bu tit looek dlie a civic s.i.. than later i thaugth maybe it was a toyota vitz cause i saw one in a magazien and it resembled it. but it was a 2 door hatch looekd just liek a civic s.i. with lexus badges on it and it said IS300 in the back. i know lexus doesnt make a 2 door car with a hatch that looks like a new si. why would someone do such a thing. it ws grown man driving it too !!!!!

Actually I think Honda copied them

James, you are crazy. I would hardly call the lack of MTX/hatch and folding rear seat fatal flaws. I guess if it were my only vehicle, maybe the folding back seat would mean more, but I have a pickup.

The interior has just as good materials as the G35, just styled more towards sport than class. Although I haven't driven one, I was somewhat let down with the G35 when I surveyed the interior. With all the hype, I was expecting more, and larger. IS300 makes better use of its size than the G35 whick rised on a 6" longer wheelbase.

Buying a new Mazda 6 would leave me in no better situation than I am in now. I would not buy a 4-cyl, let alone lease one. The only reason I bought the Stratus over others is becuase of this special lease program. Sticker was $19.2k. If I lease it for a year then buy it, I pay $10.6k plus tax. I could barely get a Neon, Ranger not a Focus for that much money, and I have a mid-size car with decent equipment. $5k more for Mazda 6i. It may be a better car, but who cares when it cost 50% more? If I wer buying a 6, it would be a 6s with most options. I would owe the same amount as my IS300 and I know the IS300 is a better car for keeping for 200k miles, even with a 40k head start for a new car. I would have to get the sport package with 17" wheels and still have low profile tires that don't work for my commute. I would lose HID, RWD, LSD, and go back to a Duratec which although sounds nice, is nowhere near as nice as the I6. I never said I was I was underwhelmed with my car. I love driving my IS300! And, the quality and little details enhance my lifestyle.

I put on about 22k miles per year, another 18k on my wife's truck between commuting and camping/4-wheeling trips. And Another 3-5k on my RX-7. Leasing has never been an option for me. But, I can trade cars with my wife occasionally, and drive the RX-7 more. Or, I can buy it and not pay mileage penlties. Or, I can get another car in 8 months and park this one. The deal is just too hard to pass up.

Eric,

My wife said I don't even have to wax this car if I only keep it for a year. I told her I may even take it to a soft cloth car wash. But you know me. There will be Zaino on it for the winter and I'll send you pictures.

Aaron

Well the Stratus WAS a nice looking car in '01 when it came out, especially the coupe

Then Dodge had to go and screw up the looks with that ugly facelift . . .

I know I'm , but life's more fun that way.

As I have already have a toy (the RX-7 coincidentally enough (details on yours?), my primary car has to be and do everything. The rear seat not folding down on any car is an inexcusable oversight, and is at the very least a severe utility drawback. The lack of a manual transmission is a fatal flaw. I will not buy a car with an automatic transmission.

I would have the RX-8 high on my list of contenders if the rear seat folded, though it would have to pass winter driving tests.

I was still seriously hoping Lexus would get its anterior out of its posterior and put a MTX in the hatchback, as I agree the car was a blast to drive.

When Mazda brought the 6 out, I no longer was interested in the IS300. The 6 outscored the IS300 as an overall car for about $7000 less. To me, losing the HUD and RWD were benefits. It replaces the SVT Contour in my mind as the closest thing to a perfect no-compromise car.

I hated the G35 personally. The car is just too matron-doing-lunch inside, outside, and in the driving experience. I also agree the car wasn't efficient in its use of space. What I meant in the the IS300 having an interior that became declasse was nothing to do with quality of materials. It merely doesn't look like a car priced in the $33K to $35K range anymore.

I think the overall difference we have different value equations. I place a high value on a car that is more than just a machine. Driving experience, personality, and style count as heavily as features, numbers, and the nuts and bolts. The whole must be greater than the sum of its parts and transcend being just a machine, just an appliance. Then that score is weighed with price to yield the final value-weighted score.

Do I think the Mazda6 is 50% more car than the Stratus? Yes.

I'm not meaning any offense, and I'm sorry if I did offend.

No offense taken.

You can have a folding rear seat and a hatchback, but you have to take an automatic. Or, take a manual and skip the hatch and folding seat.

I have an '85 GSL-SE. Yes, I fit just fine. I don't have the convertible experience, but I don't like second gens except the T2. 156k miles and fun to drive. Decent shape, but it is at the age where many things are failing at once. I sunk $900 into it a couple weeks ago, plus $200 for the clutch and $400 for a Racing Beat full exhaust system. And there are still many things it would be nice to replace. That is why I cannot rely on it every day like I wanted to. Last summer's Zaino pictures. If the RX-8 were out when I bought my IS, I'd propbly own one instead.

I think you are on crack if you think the Mazda6 is a better car price withstanding than an IS300. While I agree that the IS300 doesn't fit the $33-35k market any more, transaction prices are down in the invoice price range or less which is mere $3-4k more than similarly eqquiped Mazda6s.

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I think the overall difference we have different value equations. I place a high value on a car that is more than just a machine. Driving experience, personality, and style count as heavily as features, numbers, and the nuts and bolts. The whole must be greater than the sum of its parts and transcend being just a machine, just an appliance. Then that score is weighed with price to yield the final value-weighted score.

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I don't think we are different in that regard. I agree completely. Give me a drivers car with that certain feel over one that has a list of features and/or great numbers behind it.


However, I don't do anything half assed. I get exactly what I want, or I get nothing. I chose nothing this time to save a crapload of money.

Mazda6i with similar equipment to the Stratus SXT is $20.5k MSRP, or I get S-plan which is close to invoice, $18.8k. Maybe it is a better car (I don't know), but it isn't worth an extra $8k worst case assuming I buy this Stratus. No rebates, no special lease. One reason why I took this lease was because it is only for 1 year. I can save some money, then re-evaluate what I want. Do I want a nice car again, or do I want cheap, something in between. Ideally, I would benefit from my wife's manangement lease program. but the specific price needs to be evaluated vs. what I could do otherwise.

Just go test drive one of these, a Stratus SXT, before comparing to others. This class of car is basic transportation with room for 4 or 5 people. People don't pay $8k extra for basic transportation, including me.

Wow Aaron, the Zaino transformed the RX-7! Looks a million times better than when I saw it in your garage last time.

BTW, how does the Racing Beat exhaust sound? Must be fun to drive. Back in Australia we used to rag the crap out of my buddies old series 2 RX-7, it was fun, but not as fun as an Rx-3 with a 13B Turbo in it!

That compromise the IS300 requires is absolute stupidity, and I won't deal with it. It would cost almost nothing to offer a manual in the hatchback (everything is already there). I like the 6 better because of it has personality. I never got a name to the IS300. The 6 was dubbed "Brad" as soon as I drove one. When I buy one, that will be his name. I found, like the SVT, the 6 is closest to exactly what I want. The IS had a little more of making me fit it, even if Lexus got an infusion of brains. On price, they aren't talking here... you pay list or very close.

Maybe I'm on some good drug. Just wish I knew about it.

I wanted an RX-7 convertible since I saw articles when I was in middle/high school. The GenII has always been my favorite due to its more touring character and it's gorgeous high-80's styling. Buying Rex was a dream come to reality for me. I do fit in a 1st gen, having sat in one at the RX-7 Revolution in Indianapolis this past spring (www.rx7club.com), but I need to recline the seat a bit under the convertible roof. Rex will be going into storage as soon as I get an oil change and clean him up good.

By the way, your RX looks great... I need to get mine done up, but just haven't had time

I understand the idea of going pure practical for a car. I made that mistake before buying the SVT. It was a 1994 Nissan Sentra that I was glad got wrecked in a hail storm, because it gave me a legitimate excuse to get rid of it. I owned it 13 months and bought the SVT. After insurance settlement and trade in, the cost was about $1600. 166,000 miles later (168,000 total), and I still love Ross dearly.

I didn't hate the Sentra, but I wouldn't buy a car as mere transportation again.

I have driven the Stratus, and I hated it. Not being able to see out was enough to drive me crazy (the roof starts too low in front), and it was utterly numb. I felt like the seats were transdermally injecting novocaine in my whole body. It was like the car was actively trying to separate you from the driving experience. The seats also did not fit me at all, and lacking a manual transmission is a crime.

APT, check out http://www.stratusphere.us Its another site I frequent and my roommate moderates

-Mark