I have been driving an SUV for 12 years. When my wife decided to get an SUV, trading in her sedan, I decided it was time for a switch. After several months of looking and a ton of test-driving I decided on the IS300.

Now, I am not a gear-head. I don't have a clue what I am looking at when I open the hood. So for you motor-enthusiasts this review won't tell you about the horses, or the fuel injection etc. As someone who spends too much time on the road I can tell you this is a great car.

Being a young 30 something male, I felt totally forgotten in car market. I found that once you decided not to get an SUV your options were few and far between. There are cars for the low 20k's and cars for the 40k's with not much in-between.

The IS300 fit the bill for what I wanted; something reliable, fun and young. I simply love driving it. The ride is smooth, the seats are comfortable and it looks great. I am a big guy, 6'2 and size and comfort are of great concern to me. I have no problem sliding into the car, getting behind the wheel and maneuvering around.

I don't need to put the seat all the way back to get comfortable, and even if I did, that doesn't make the well lit, and easily accessible dash and controls hard to get to. Everything is where you would want to. The only thing that is missing is the radio controls on the wheel.

The back seat is tight, but hey we have the SUV. With a little one of the way and the triptronic system available, I elected to go with the automatic transmission. While driving on the highway I switch to manual mode, yet when stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic it is really nice not having to worry about a clutch or gears.

My main fault with the car is the rear wheel drive only. Living in snow territory I am a tad concerned for our first snowfall. I have been told that purchasing snow tires will take care of the problem so time will tell.

The price on the car wasn't too bad. I was able to negotiate a purchase price below sticker on the car that made for a competitive lease price.

All in all I love the car. If you have a family, this probably shouldn't be your biggest car, but for tooling around with 2 people it is great. For the first time in a long time I love my car. Oh and by the way, I fill up with regular fuel, it costs less than $20 to fill and I am getting over 300 miles per tank. $20 and 300 miles is something I have not experienced in over 10 years- how great is that.

Amount Paid (US$): 30000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: automatic -triptronic