1st Jun 2004, 10:00
I have driven both the standard IS200 and Sport and in my opinion the car with 16" wheels is a far better drive, it rides better, corners better and does not tramline, fidget or jar, the Sport on the other hand suffers a lot due to the 17" wheels and tyres, they are totally superfluous on this car.
The 17" wheels detract from the handling, and are just there for flash value, I would opt for the 16" wheels every time and I have done a collective 180,000 miles in both cars.
7th Jul 2004, 03:01
I run 18" by 9" wheels (not on an IS200) and used to have serious "tramlining" as you have described. I had the wheel alignment fixed (toe-in in particular) and the car was transformed. You may need to get advice on settings for the non-standard wheels, as I did. I run 30psi as my 235x40R18's have very rigid sidewalls.
17th Jan 2005, 17:24
I have a 200is sport with the styling kit which has the 18" alloy wheels. I must agree with yourself that it tends to twitch a bit. Good at a high speed though, I was doing 130mph (illegal I know) and it was solid.
8th Apr 2005, 16:37
I have just driven a Lexus is200 with the 17" alloys, and I thought it was OK, this is not my car, as I drive a Renault Laguna, but the point I would like to make is my Laguna also has 17" alloys, but you can feel more of the poor road surfaces in the Laguna than in the Lexus.
I know the Lexus is in a different league, but I was trying to make a comparison.
The Lexus is200 could do with a little more power though, but nevertheless a great car with a fantastic array of kit on the SE version.
11th Apr 2004, 09:04
As the author of the original 'nice, but' comment, I can now say (5,000 more miles down the road) that my original criticisms or reservations were mostly unfair. Some of the roads round here have dire surfaces and I have found that other cars do no better on them, while some fare a lot worse. More to the point, the Lexus 200 is not supposed to be a 'magic carpet' limo, but a swift sports saloon, and is much more satisfying when driven with a bit of zest, as I have found.
It has been wholly reliable, the paintwork has been durable and chip-free and getting it serviced at Lexus Leicester was the equivalent of travelling 'first premier' class instead of economy. You pay for that I suppose...