Bmw or Lexus
- Thread starter Thomas. PLease.
- Start date
If it were a choice between the GS and The 5-Series, I'd say go for the Lexus. But an IS? Not a chance! The Gen1 IS is a pretty poor car and isn't deserving of the brand.
I'm a Lexus convert though after years of terrible dealers, poor reliability and shocking parts prices from the german manufacturers. It was like a breath of fresh air to buy a Lexus and be treated like a king rather than the scum BMW/Merc/Audi usually take me for.
It's hard to describe really until you've been there with Lexus. The whole ownership experience is just..... nicer.
I'm a Lexus convert though after years of terrible dealers, poor reliability and shocking parts prices from the german manufacturers. It was like a breath of fresh air to buy a Lexus and be treated like a king rather than the scum BMW/Merc/Audi usually take me for.
It's hard to describe really until you've been there with Lexus. The whole ownership experience is just..... nicer.
[TW]Fox;10482441 said:So is the IS200, they are both cars introduced in the 90's
Whats your point?
Yes, one was mid nineties and one was late nineties! Thankfully, a hell of a lot can happen in 3 or 4 years and it shows.
I certainly wasnt wearing the same clothes at 19 as I was at 16 as fashions and designs change.
In both examples, it shows, bias or not, hell, I'd even pick the E39 over the Lexus but not for looks alone.
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[TW]Fox;10481908 said:Where does he live?
It's not this, is it? These wheels look so crap on this car I simply had to take a snap:
I guess it isnt becuase that is NOT the perfect example of a 2001 5 Series but hey, shows everyone what one would be like with 18" MV's on it.
Funnily enough that is the exact car, parked outside co-op, surprised i'm not in the shot tbh. I really hate those wheels on that car, makes it look so awful, i keep telling him they are wheels designed for the 3 series and do his car no favours, but he won't listen.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Except one is actually a 2000 facelifted model and the other is a model as introduced in 1998. OMG A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN 2 YEARS etc etc etc.
Well you can now tell him it looks so bad, somebody took pity on it and took a picture of it to put onto the internet.
His numberplate was chav as well.
So now you are going to do deny facelifts freshen up cars? I've already been told not to post Sport models becuase it makes the car look better, now apparently facelifts dont count?
Facelifts always freshen up a car. Look at a 1999 S Class versus a 2004. Both fundamentally the same car but the 2004 is more modern becuase it's been facelfited. Thats what a facelift is. Look at a late 2004 E46 330i and compare it to an early 1998 E46 328i. Other than the basic shape they look quite different. So, yes, actually, facelifts ARE the answer to BMW's styling inadaquacies, perhaps the biggest case in point is the E65 which went from being the ugliest car in the range to a vaguely acceptable luxobarge through a simple facelift.
PS, Lexus IS200 model in the UK was 1999
And available in Japan for quite some time before that.
I've gotta agree with that. (Well not quite OLD!) The e39 is starting to look a bit tired now. Don't get me wrong it's had a fantastic innings an all that. The face light did help a bit though.
Similary the more I see modern Audi's and BM's the more the e46 is stating to just get on a little too.
Shame.
Oh and no way should you change a e39 for an is.
[TW]Fox;10484348 said:
No, of course not, I just dont think the facelift worked amazingly well on the E39 and, as you often say, to Mr J Bloggs, he probably wouldn't really be able to tell the difference unless he had both sat in his living room holding his mother in law ransom!
I would say that the facelift of the E46 was better even though people only think the front lights are differet when its actually a case of grill, bonnet, wings, etc.
You have to be joking? The E39 facelift worked very well, not only becuase it introduced the lighting concepts BMW now use on every new model. It looks much fresher in facelift form than it does in original form. Again, it was more than just new lights, even though the new lights were pretty fundamentally different.
It is aging too obviously. But I think it's doing it more gracefully than the e39 and *possibly* the e46.
P.S - I don't claim to know when they were all introduced so I'm not taking that into account. Just purely if you blonked them next to each other today.
P.S - I don't claim to know when they were all introduced so I'm not taking that into account. Just purely if you blonked them next to each other today.
I think the problem with the IS200 is that it looks like a posh minicab and far too Toyota Avensisy from the side.
Which is odd, given I've never seen an IS200 Minicab yet there are now quite a few E39 minicabs.
The prefacelift E39 has been dating for quite some time - not helped by the fact they are often cheap and tatty with completely fogged up headlights etc. My opinion that the facelift changed a lot is not becuase I own one - but the reason I own one. I'd not have been happy owning an entirely prefacelift E39.
Which is odd, given I've never seen an IS200 Minicab yet there are now quite a few E39 minicabs.
The prefacelift E39 has been dating for quite some time - not helped by the fact they are often cheap and tatty with completely fogged up headlights etc. My opinion that the facelift changed a lot is not becuase I own one - but the reason I own one. I'd not have been happy owning an entirely prefacelift E39.
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[TW]Fox;10484451 said:
What I'm saying is, it didnt make a huge difference to its every day to day looks. Sure, the lights were great, but unless you had the lights on, who the hell knew that there was any difference at all to spot?
To the average motorist, I just don't think it is as obvious as it maybe was to the enthusiast.
The IS200 (although I still have no idea why the two are being compared) just looked fresher from the off.
So you are saying that to the average joe, my facelift looks no different to this T plate 528i, the highest similar spec at the time:
Obviously becuase the lights are turned off, nobody can see any difference?
For clarity, here is what cosmetic additions the facelift added:
Revised front/rear bumper on SE
Full colour coding on SE
Angel Eye headlights
CELIS LED rear headlights
Wider kidney grille
Clear side repeaters
Par for the course for facelift, similar amount of stuff to what was changed on both S Class and E46..
The average motorist probably couldnt tell, nor even care, about the difference between an Astra and a Focus unless they owned one themselves.
Obviously becuase the lights are turned off, nobody can see any difference?
For clarity, here is what cosmetic additions the facelift added:
Revised front/rear bumper on SE
Full colour coding on SE
Angel Eye headlights
CELIS LED rear headlights
Wider kidney grille
Clear side repeaters
Par for the course for facelift, similar amount of stuff to what was changed on both S Class and E46..
The average motorist probably couldnt tell, nor even care, about the difference between an Astra and a Focus unless they owned one themselves.
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