[FYI: the photo accompanying this review does not appear to be a 2007 Lexus IS 250.]

Around January, last year (2006), my wife started saying, “When I get my promotion, I’m going to buy a BMW.” A BMW 325i, more specifically. Well, she got the promotion, effective July 1, and that’s when we started window shopping. I’m not really a BMW fan, so I persuaded her to at least consider some alternatives, including the Acura TL and TSX, the Lexus IS 250 and the Infinity G35. She wanted a fairly small car, so we eliminated the TL right off, and she didn’t really like the looks of the Infiniti, so that left the BMW and the Lexus.

So, one day in mid-September, we headed for the auto mall, with the intention of doing head to head comparisons and test drives of the 325i and the IS 250 on the same day, including some spirited driving on the local back roads. Well, as we expected, the BMW shined in that situation. It was sure footed, nimble and confidence inspiring. The IS 250 was no slouch, but it just wasn’t up to the performance level of the BMW. But, in every other driving situation, we both felt the IS 250 was superior. It was quieter, and it responded more predictably to throttle and steering inputs.

The 250 was also more comfortable than the BMW, reflecting a difference between Japanese and German aesthetics. The seating position in the BMW was more upright and the seating surfaces harder, while the 250 felt more like sitting in an easy chair. Furthermore, the interior design of the BMW seemed a bit harsh, dated, and at times confusing, where the 250 looked crisp and modern.

My wife changed her mind. It turned out to be no contest. She bought the IS 250 last November.

Of course, you can get all the specs and do head to head spec and feature comparisons on the web, so I’ll just list a bunch of observations that may not be apparent from web research or even a test drive.

Who Should Buy This Car?

The first question is, would this car fit your needs? I’d classify it as a compact sports sedan, meaning the people in the front seats are very comfortable (as long as they’re not too big), and the people in the back lack leg room. It’s definitely possible to accommodate four not-so-big adults comfortably by careful adjustment of the front seat positions, but the Lexus has a few inches less rear leg room than the BMW. It’s possible to put a fifth person in the middle position in back, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The seat is raised a bit there, and the floor hump accommodating the drive shaft and other duct work is huge. So, the car could work for a single person or a couple with one or two less than full size kids. But the cabin is compact and trunk space is limited, so it works best as a travel car for just a couple.

Comfort

As I said, the car, especially the front seats, are extremely comfortable, a real plus for long trips. The car is also very quiet and smooth. The seats have six-way adjustments plus lumbar support, and they’re also heated and cooled. Automatic dual climate control also lets you forget about messing with climate controls as conditions change. Set the temperature for your side of the car and forget about it. In the automatic mode, the system also kicks in defrosting as needed.

If good listening is part of your comfort, the car comes standard with a six-disc in dash CD player that puts out excellent sound through enough speakers to make it really good! There’s also an auxiliary audio plug for your iPod or other player.

Driving Impressions

I’ve already mentioned that the 250 is very quiet and smooth, but I’ll have to qualify the latter a bit. The suspension tends toward the taught, sporty realm and the tires have a very low profile. Because of that, the car transmits quite a bit of “road feel” on rough surfaces. The seats absorb much of that energy, but this is definitely not one of those soft suspension “boats.” It’s actually very comparable in road surface transmission to the BMW.

The car isn’t a dragster, but it has plenty of horsepower to spare, accelerating briskly from a stop or in passing situations. It’s a huge step up from my wife’s old four-cylinder Accord, and again very comparable to the BMW. Yet it’s so quiet and smooth that you can easily shoot past 80 mph without noticing. To keep you from getting too many speeding tickets, there’s a driver programmable warning ring on the speedometer that lights up when you reach a chosen speed. My wife has her’s set at 80 mph. And there’s also a settable warning on the tachometer.

The six-speed transmission is smooth as butter; most of the time, I don’t even notice when it shifts. It’s certainly the smoothest automatic transmission I’ve ever experienced. It also has driver selectable modes for power vs economy, for hill climbing, and for starts on snow or other slippery surfaces.

Some Unusual Observations

The car ships with unidirectional tires, and the front and rear tires are different sizes. That means you can’t rotate the tires, which may affect tire life. It also might affect the cost of tire replacement. The wheel wells are very snug, too small to accommodate chains for winter driving.

The car is also has less ground clearance than most, which takes some getting used to. We’ve already scraped up the lower front trim piece driving repeatedly over the concrete stops in parking lots. The designers seem to have anticipated this by making this seem to be a fairly small, easily replaceable sacrificial piece.

Visibility

This is the one area where the designers could have done a better job, Visibility to the rear is pretty limited because of the high trunk and large rear pillars. There have been plenty of times when I’ve had to get out and guide my wife as she backed up. This seems to be a neglected area of design as I’ve noticed so many new models with poor rear visibility. Just look at a Nissan Murano, e.g.

Gas Mileage

The mileage claims are 24 city / 32 highway. At about 4,000 miles, the on board computer says we’ve gotten exactly 24 mpg over the life of the car, so it’s clear that the 32 mpg highway estimate is wildly optimistic. Still, that’s pretty darn good mileage for a 200 HP V6 that’s driven mostly around town. A downside is that the manual calls for premium fuel.

Convenience

It’s nice to have a bunch of the little convenience features that come standard: garage door opener, compass and automatic dimming integrated into the rear view mirror, indicators for outside temperature, mileage for the life of the vehicle and for the current fill up, approximate range remaining assuming you started with a full tank of gas. Another gauge shows gas mileage in real time, which can be useful for training yourself to stop being a lead foot. The car also has tire pressure sensing and low pressure warning.

There are also a bunch of owner selectable convenience settings. For example, when you use the remote to unlock the doors, should it unlock all of them or just the driver’s door and then the others only if you give a second click.

But the real convenience is the “keyless system.” You just keep the electronic key in your pocket or purse, and you never have to take it out because the car senses its proximity. Locking and unlocking the doors and trunk and starting the car all take place without taking a key out of your pocket. This is a great feature which is becoming much more widespread, but it does have a downside. First, it takes some getting used to. Second, replacing a lost key is pretty expensive. Third, there actually is a mechanical/electronic backup key which you have to use in certain power failure situations or if you want to secure the trunk and glove compartment for valet parking. Remembering the procedures for these situations might be challenging.

Extras

My wife opted for the basic model, which in California came with Xenon headlamps with the “around the corner” pointing feature, special wheels and tires, and a premium package including features most people wouldn’t want to live without.

Specifically, we didn’t get a navigation system because we have a nice Garmin navigator that we take with us as needed.

As for the choice of the IS 250 vs IS 350, cost was the major consideration. That and the fact that the 250 has more horsepower than anyone needs in the real world.

Maintenance

Lexus performs the first (5,000 mile) maintenance for free. On the other hand, BMW offers four years of free maintenance. However, we determined that the extra cost of a comparable BMW more than offset the expected four-year maintenance costs on the Lexus, especially given my wife’s relatively light usage of about 9,000 miles per year.

Conclusions

After five months, my wife is completely happy with the car. She had zero buyer’s remorse, and each outing confirms that she made the right decision. We continue to be extremely happy with the quality of the Lexus, especially the superior materials and superb fit and finish. Just getting into the car and driving to the grocery store is a pleasurable experience.