Lexus IS250AWD vs Mercedes C3004M Purchase decision

[Waldi]

Hi!

Looking to get new wheels and would love to get your opinion on Lexus IS250 AWD and Mercedes C3004M. Any experience with dealers in Calgary (particularly bad experience with sales staff)?
I am torn between those two and need to make decision like in the next few days (would make nice Christmas or new Years gift).

Thanks

[boxer23]

Mercedes but wait for the refresh coming out soon.
The lexus will be boring and dated imo

[Redlyne_mr2]

Both very nice cars, the MB is a bit heavy which leads to worse fuel consumption in real world situations.
The IS250 also offers real leather where the standard MB is simulated leather IIRC. The Lexus has push button start, the benz does not. I think the benz might have 3 zone climate while the Lexus is dual zone. Maintenance cost on the Lexus is much less and the service is fantastic. Both great cars so yah I can see the difficulty you're having. I can give you a bit of a break on the Lexus as well.

[bspot]

The IS250 feels WAY too much like a Camry. HID's aren't even standard... rediculous for a 'luxury' car these days.

And soooo slow...

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by bspot
The IS250 feels WAY too much like a Camry. HID's aren't even standard... rediculous for a 'luxury' car these days.

And soooo slow...
Camry? It's a rwd platform that's about 3/4 the size. C300's arent fast either. Not everyone is looking for 300hp. :)

[Xtrema]

If you have driven any recent car with more than 3L in displacement, you won't like the IS250 or C300's lack of power.

Lexus got a nice but tight interior. Mercedes got pretty shitty but bigger interior.

[max_boost]

The Benz is so classy though. Looks very luxurious for its price and quite the head turner.


Originally posted by Waldi
Hi!

Looking to get new wheels and would love to get your opinion on Lexus IS250 AWD and Mercedes C3004M. Any experience with dealers in Calgary (particularly bad experience with sales staff)?
I am torn between those two and need to make decision like in the next few days (would make nice Christmas or new Years gift).

Thanks

Dominic Wong at Lone Star is good to deal with. I bought my SLK off of him.

Any Lexus questions, just PM redlyne_mr2, he'll set you in the right direction.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Xtrema
If you have driven any recent car with more than 3L in displacement, you won't like the IS250 or C300's lack of power.

Lexus got a nice but tight interior. Mercedes got pretty shitty but bigger interior.

IS is very tight in the back man. Hell my GTI has way more head and leg room than it haha

[Danny Meehan]

Ièd go with the Mercedes , although the service would cost more

[B18C]

Benz for me.

Neither car is really sporty but I found the IS to be much less fun to drive. The IS is also significantly smaller too and if you want HID's they only come in a package that is like $5k or something, IIRC.

[JordanLotoski]

Merc all the way....:thumbsup:

[20incheyes]

Go with the Benzo, IMHO just a better overall product and when I had a C-Class maintenance wasn't too pricey since you only need service every 15K-20K. No major issues with the one I had till i sold it with 130K

[Waldi]

Wow, really appreciate your comments.
I prefer manual transmission , but it is very hard to get one in upper end (luxury). I love manual transmission and control I have, unfortunately it is hard to get Lexus or Mercedes with manual (stopped once at Hyatt Merc just to check and message I got is not a chance, unless I order one - I am impulse buyer and can't wait lol)
So now if I can't get standard, I may as well go with AWD. I will still keep my VW Passat standard for fun.
Since this will be my third car, I am looking for something smaller (hence C class and IS) but also like to have climate control, dimmed mirrors, Bluetooth integration and decent ride. I do not envision to use this car for long trips. The key for me is reliability (Passat is fun to drive but what a crap in term of quality/reliability) and good buying experience.

[Waldi]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Both very nice cars, the MB is a bit heavy which leads to worse fuel consumption in real world situations.
The IS250 also offers real leather where the standard MB is simulated leather IIRC. The Lexus has push button start, the benz does not. I think the benz might have 3 zone climate while the Lexus is dual zone. Maintenance cost on the Lexus is much less and the service is fantastic. Both great cars so yah I can see the difficulty you're having. I can give you a bit of a break on the Lexus as well.

Thanks for the info and offer, I guess you are linked to Lex dealer in town. I also heard from friends about superb service at Lexus. I appreciate your offer and will definitely take your offer. I was planning to do car shopping this weekend but, look like I'm going skiing instead.

[bspot]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

Camry? It's a rwd platform that's about 3/4 the size. C300's arent fast either. Not everyone is looking for 300hp. :)

I meant more in the lack of features. It felt way more Toyota than Lexus in it's base form. I love the exterior looks, and when you option them well (or just get an IS350) they are great cars.

I think I'd way rather have the RWD than the AWD the poster mentioned with that engine.

[Waldi]

Originally posted by bspot


I meant more in the lack of features. It felt way more Toyota than Lexus in it's base form. I love the exterior looks, and when you option them well (or just get an IS350) they are great cars.

I think I'd way rather have the RWD than the AWD the poster mentioned with that engine.

I agree with RWD partially, I would rather have RWD with manual trans. and if I have to move to automatic, may as well go to AWD.

[C4S]

I like the look, power, price on the Benz more .. but .. it is a Benz.. so ...

If you concern about service and quality, Lexus is better.

Again, if lease, I will go for the Benz, if buying, Lexus. (if u dont mind it is slow .. very slow)

By the way, is toyota going to update the IS250? it probably need extra 30-40HP to complete with Benz or BMW or Acura.

[SCHIDER23]

I would probably go with the MB, since it looks more aggressive, and more updated than the lexus, but I would only keep it till the warranty is about to expired, btw I usually see IS250 driven by girls and old couples :dunno:, since they are slow. I heard nothing but good comments on Lexus, their service department is really good, that is the only reason why I even considered Lexus when I was looking for a new vehcile ithis past january, I was looking at the IS350, good luck on the what you decide.:thumbsup:

[Waldi]

Lots of good a nd informative opinions. I must say it is hard to decide, I will have to test drive both Lexus and Merc.
From design Merc is very nice but Lex is not missing much. Well there is another criteria I have, must fit tow golf bags in the trunk. My wife wanted my to look at Volvo C30 T5 and I did test drove (manual trans). Liked very much performance , but no trunk or that strange hatch did not turn me on (rather off).

[Sharronholloran]

I love both car. Both of those cars are fantastic, but it depends on what you're looking for. The C class will save you some petrol, and will be a bit more flashy. The Lexus, believe it or not, was actually a lot of fun to drive, and the interior was nice as well. The fuel economy is not bad. he thing is, the Benz is roomier, has a better ride, and a better interior. Bear in mind, I'm a Lexus fanboy, and my last car was a Lexus. I'm not being biased.

[slinkie]

my ex has an is250 and the interior is a little cramped for a sedan, like others have said...however the finish seemed pretty great in my book

[Pahnda]

I was in the exact same situation 1/2 a year ago. My thinking was: I really wanted an AWD car and if possible, manual would be awesome to have. So initially I thought of BMW but after trying the 3 series and absolutely hating the interior (BMW engineers must seriously be blind) I decided I may have to give up on the idea of having a manual transmission. So then I was thinking of the:

G37x
C300 AWD
IS250 AWD

My friend reminded me that Audi redid the A4 (I don't like the previous generations of A4) so we went to test a 2009 A4 and it was easily the one I liked most. Best interior and balance of features. I really like the understated but unique exterior traits, and the AWD system Audi uses is pretty awesome.

For some people it may be underpowered (2.0L Turbo, 211 hp, 258lb-ft@1500rpm) but if you don't mind flashing it, people have dynoed it at 234hp, 333lb-ft@2250 on 93octane (APR Stage 1 Upgrade)... which is pretty good for an ECU upgrade. Even stock it's fairly torquey low down though, just don't expect it to be an S4!

But what I liked the most about the A4 is how balanced it was in all the areas that were of some importance to me:
-I didn't want to get shit mileage (Over the life of my car I have averaged 8.6L/100km, fairly decent I think)
-I wanted a really comfortable and inviting interior
-The exterior was somewhat but not incredibly important to me
-As long as I had decent passing power I didn't care too much about engine power
-I wanted a good and solid feeling manual and last but not least I wanted a good AWD system

I think the A4 was the best fit for those needs.

But anyway, if you haven't thought of the A4, you may want to give it a test run. But if it doesn't fill your needs then I would say get the Benz. :D

[Waldi]

Originally posted by Pahnda
I was in the exact same situation 1/2 a year ago. My thinking was: I really wanted an AWD car and if possible, manual would be awesome to have. So initially I thought of BMW but after trying the 3 series and absolutely hating the interior (BMW engineers must seriously be blind) I decided I may have to give up on the idea of having a manual transmission. So then I was thinking of the:

G37x
C300 AWD
IS250 AWD

My friend reminded me that Audi redid the A4 (I don't like the previous generations of A4) so we went to test a 2009 A4 and it was easily the one I liked most. Best interior and balance of features. I really like the understated but unique exterior traits, and the AWD system Audi uses is pretty awesome.

For some people it may be underpowered (2.0L Turbo, 211 hp, 258lb-ft@1500rpm) but if you don't mind flashing it, people have dynoed it at 234hp, 333lb-ft@2250 on 93octane (APR Stage 1 Upgrade)... which is pretty good for an ECU upgrade. Even stock it's fairly torquey low down though, just don't expect it to be an S4!

But what I liked the most about the A4 is how balanced it was in all the areas that were of some importance to me:
-I didn't want to get shit mileage (Over the life of my car I have averaged 8.6L/100km, fairly decent I think)
-I wanted a really comfortable and inviting interior
-The exterior was somewhat but not incredibly important to me
-As long as I had decent passing power I didn't care too much about engine power
-I wanted a good and solid feeling manual and last but not least I wanted a good AWD system

I think the A4 was the best fit for those needs.

But anyway, if you haven't thought of the A4, you may want to give it a test run. But if it doesn't fill your needs then I would say get the Benz. :D

Thanks for very informative post.
I have Passat 1.8T manual and love the performance of that car and engine (it is Audi engine), however, my issue is with reliability and service (perhaps both of those). I diligently service this car and still get way too many issues for 5 years old car as compared for example to Volvo XC (my other car). Drove BMW and I would even forgive interior but reliability is an issue with my friends cars, so it is off my list. Ended up with similar short list Lex, Merc and Infinity.
Based on my requirements, LExus and Merc made on to short list and here I have a bit of dilemma as Lexus has superb service and reliability, however according to some, a bit underpowered. If I would be able to get it with manual trans. (without ordering and waiting) that would be my choice, however, given that manual is not an option, I might as well go to AWD. I will have to go and test drive each and make decision based on that. I think if I compare IS250 AWD to MB C250 there might be definitely advantage for Lex, so I will think in terms of getting C300AWD. My aunt just got C250 couple of weeks and I she loves it, but she is in the different demografics so for her it might be sufficient. I will plan if weather permits to go and do testing next week.

[Waldi]

I just added new contender Volvo S40 T5 AWD (manual trans.!!!).

[max_boost]

Audi's are very nice. Totally forgot about the A4. Great eye appeal, fantastic interior, AWD, DSG, and it's just HOT. If you chip it ($600), it's game over vs the C300 and IS250. Neither of those have a chance.

Actually I would take that over the C300 and IS250. Final answer.

Say what you want, speed isn't everything but when you are spending close to $50k, you want a car with some go right? :burnout: :thumbsup:

[B18C]

Originally posted by Waldi
Lots of good a nd informative opinions. I must say it is hard to decide, I will have to test drive both Lexus and Merc.
From design Merc is very nice but Lex is not missing much. Well there is another criteria I have, must fit tow golf bags in the trunk. My wife wanted my to look at Volvo C30 T5 and I did test drove (manual trans). Liked very much performance , but no trunk or that strange hatch did not turn me on (rather off).

2 golf bags might be a bit of an issue with the C-class. I didn't think it would be but it's tight. You'll have to take out the driver and and fairway woods first and put them in the trunk separately. I know that I've always folded down a rear seat to get 2 bags in easily. The problem is that you can't get a bag straight across the back. It has to go in diagonally (if you don't get the driver and woods out). I know this is true for the A4 and the C-class and would assume it's even worse for the IS since it's smaller in general.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Trunk on the IS is actually quite big.. they gave it a big trunk but kept the rear interior space small.

[Waldi]

Well, I made a decision and now got new set of wheel - MB C3004Matic. Nearly ended up with Volvo S40 T5 AWD manual trans, but deal fell on technicality (color and package that did not wanted)
So ended up with C300 which I am picking on Thursday. Still thinking about extra warranty if I should take.

Thank you all for valuable information and pointers.:angel:

[Redlyne_mr2]

If you plan on keeping the car past the warranty period definitely get the extra coverage , congrats