I bought my Lexus IS200 SE in January 2006 and it's safe to say it is the best car I've ever had. The build quality is rock solid, it handles brilliantly and as for the cabin, it is an extremely pleasant place to be.

There's nothing to complain about with the ride and the handling either. Under-steer is non-existent and over-steer is easily controlled and never scary (unless you hit a patch of diesel half way round a wet roundabout that is) flattering even a driver like me! The tyres are quite low profile, but the ride, though firm, feels refined. The tyres are quite wide as well, so tram-lining can be a pain, but you do get used to it. I only seem to notice the car tram-lining when you are stuck behind a slow vehicle though, the car seems to get better the faster you go. Traction control and ABS are both there, and work well. Never jumping in too early, but certainly looking after you if you drive like a spanner. The car will slide at the back a little bit before jumping in to straighten things up, and when you turn the TC off, it stays off. Brilliant in this day and age, when car manufacturers want to make everything sterile. (I use the car for track days as well, so TC comes off then)

There are some downsides to this car, although, I may well be picky. The first, is the fuel consumption. I am fortunate in that my employer pays most of my fuel bill. 25mpg real world fuel consumption from a 2 litre engine is poor in anyone's book. The car won't seem to do anything more then 20mpg unless you are going downhill and take your foot off the accelerator. I find myself taking my foot off the accelerator a lot, to try and get the fuel consumption up. The second problem relates to the engine and the gearbox. The gearbox itself is fine, gear change is positive and there is no sloppiness; it's the ratios. The car has six gears, but none of them is a cruising gear. They're all designed to keep you as close to the magic 4500rpm level as possible. Even 70 mph in 6th means you are doing 3500rpm. This thankfully is fine, considering the engine is never loud or intrusive, it's there alright, but it's not overbearing. The next problem relates to the engine's red-line. 6000rpm is not great considering good performance doesn't kick in until only 1500rpm earlier. The word's stirring and custard come to mind. At least the gear change is nice. I can't help but think that fuel consumption would be much improved by a seventh cruising gear. 1500rpm at 70 would be more like it and suit the 6-pot engine very well.

Tyre-wear can be an issue and Bridgestone Potenzas don't come in cheap. The only thing I can put it down to is the fact that the tyres are all angled out to give better cornering performance. The inner walls get a pounding and they wear out well before the outer edges. You do need to keep an eye on this as if you don't you can find yourself running on illegal rubber well before you think you are.