Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car so far. I have only spent money on maintenance. They gave me the first two services under warranty, which was awesome since I had just spent quite a bit of money on the car. Since then, I have spent about $500 on service, for a 15k, 30k, and other services in between. Mostly they are done at Toyota since this is a Supra engine.

General Comments:

This car makes me want to cry for joy every morning. It has plentiful torque for when I need to accelerate in a hurry, and plenty of braking power for when I need to halt it. The radio is better than some movie theater sound systems, and the dials, controls, and instrument panel are fun to look at and use. This car starts every morning without a problem and gets great gas mileage, considering. The paint, body, and wheels are in excellent shape. I may need to invest in new tires soon, but other than that I don't anticipate any problems.

Faults:

All alloy wheels have had some corrosion and have been replaced once. They are still corroding!

CD player occasionally gets stuck so that it doesn't recognize a CD and it gets jammed inside the player.

I have an annoying little rattle from somewhere in the drivers side dash.

I do 20-25k miles per year and most of this on motorways. The paint across the front of the bonnet is not holding up too well.

General Comments:

I lover the car, it's just a shame that the things which have gone wrong are annoying little niggles rather than showstoppers.

The car seats are very comfortable, but I feel they would benefit from lumbar support also.

Having driven it for nearly two years, I am now finding it a little underpowered in the lower gears and so low pressutre turbo wouldn't go amiss.

Tires have lasted well. I'm still on my first set. Good for a low profile tire despite what I read before I bought it.

Rear leg room is good compared with others in its class. I tested BMW 3 series and didn't find that as comfortable as the Lexus.

I would definitely consider another IS200 for my next car if it were a little more economical. I struggle to get more than 30 mpg, whereas I have colleagues with BMW 320 who gets 34+ mpg regularly and drives his car harder than I drive mine.

Faults:

Nothing so far, in the first 7 months of ownership.

General Comments:

This is an extremely well-built, comfortable car.

I previously had a BMW 523 SE; the new company car tax rules meant that when I came to replace it, it was going to cost more in tax that I was prepared to pay. I spent about 8 months looking at alternatives, and test drove the BMW 320i, the Saab 9-3, the Audi A3 and A4 (both 1.8T), and the Mercedes C class (2.3 litre CDi) and C class coupe (2 litre kompressor).

I eventually chose the IS 200 Sport, and am entirely happy with my decision. It turns heads wherever it goes, as it is still a rather unusual sight on UK roads (though rapidly becoming more popular).

The build quality is excellent; the instrument cluster comes in for some stick, but all I can say is that I rapidly got used to its unusual design, and every passenger I have ever had in the car has commented favourably on it.

A somewhat contentious issue with car is whether or not it is underpowered in 2 litre guise. I have found that it has all the power I need (though I do notice the difference from a BMW 2.5 litre engine!) and the road handling is noticeably better than the beamer. My one and only gripe would be that, with a six speed box, the frequent gear changes on winding roads can be tiresome, but this is the price you pay for the better acceleration and overall performance you get with a six-speed box.

I was really keen to ensure build quality was good, as we have to keep our company cars for 4 years. From what I have seen so far, it is on a par with the BMW and better than the Mercedes E class I previously had.