Thanks for that. I tried to go by the Lexus dealer to look at an IS250 since they have no 350 in stock but they close earlier today and I didn't notice til I was looking up the address so I'll try next week when they are open later.

I wish the new Accord coupe wasn't so huge, the styling looks great, the engine would be reliable and the pricing starts far less than the Lexus. I have a feeling it handles like crappy so I'm not all that interested.

As far as the Lexus I'm thinking I will want to get current generation which is 2009+ and will normally be priced about 20k or a bit more. With the IS350 though it would easily replace my Pontiac as an only car that's reliable so I can spend a bit more.

What year IS250/350 is supposed to be the best/reliable? Just the most current? I'm going to read up on them too.

My 04 R32 is going on 130K on the odo, and it's in the shop a lot lately. But it's just so damn much fun to drive.

Drove the Cruze today. It was a better ride and quieter than the Sonic. Not as good as the Golf, but still very good. Steering had good feedback and the car felt light. I picked an Eco to drive since it has the lower weight which was worrying me in regards to noise and ride, but both were fine. I drove an auto of course, but will buy a manual I'm 90% sure now. It felt pretty peppy despite being geared for economy and only being a 1.4L turbo. Lag felt better than on the Sonic. The 2013 model will introduce more standard equipment and more options so I will certainly wait for that regardless of my choice of gas or diesel. Honestly the turbo gas motor was ok. If the diesel ends up being $23k+ I may just go with the gas at $19k.

Mornings are not my best time (stay up waaay late) and that's when I would have the ability to visit the Lexus dealer that is about an hour away, so we'll see when that happens, but atm I'm on course for a 2013 Cruze Eco-D in Spring 2013. Really like the car and the diesel will make it that much more fun to drive.

Just got back from Lexus dealer. They had no IS350 at all so I looked at IS250s and both in my price range were getting serviced and detailed. The one that was getting detailed I got to look at while they were working on it and man people don't take care of their cars. This one had scuffs all around and inside plus it was really dirty inside.

So with those occupied he let me drive a 2011 IS250 with 9k miles that was stickering for somewhere around $33k. This was the F Sport model. I don't know what all that includes except suspension and seats, but paired with the 2.5l V6 and after driving... I wonder why they bother. It was really slow and the auto transmission was slow to downshift. It had paddles but I mostly drove in normal auto. The ride was quiet and refined otherwise. The "sport" seats really didn't hold all that well compared to even the basic Golf seats.

A few interesting things to note are some of the luxury features I thought I really would like to have I now think I can do without very easily and one I actually didn't like. The keyless entry and push button start is nice but after using it, I could live without it. The one I really did not like was the automatic climate control. I like being able to get in, start the car and set the climate to the speed I want to feel instantly. The auto climate in this thing was not very friendly to this type of control. I adjusted the temperature and the fan speed didn't change like I thought it would. I asked the sales guy to turn it down to a whisper so I could hear road noise and he did so somehow. The center stack was not as nice as I expected and even the automatic shifter was kind of clunky.

I really liked the back up camera so I will get it on whatever car I end up with. I've had an accident before where I backed into someone who pulled in behind my parking spot next to a curb which was NOT a parking spot and didn't offer me enough room to get out of mine. They did this while I was getting into my car and I didn't see them and with the angle of the sun at the time, my back glass was blocked by glare so I backed right into their car. Despite them parking not in a parking spot and directly behind a real parking spot I was found at fault and my insurance had to pay. Some stupid shit out there. So long story short... I want a backup camera.

Ignoring the sad engine of the 250 I thought the IS was a good car but somehow didn't measure up. I guess I was expecting more sport and less fluff. The odd thing was the fluff didn't seem all that nice either. Odd car. If I had plenty of money I think I would still pick a Cruze over the IS new vs new considering the price difference. The IS is just not 20k better. I would honestly take a Golf TDI at 27k over a IS350 at 45k even if money were no object. The steering and suspension feel of the Golf is way more fun and while it feels solid it doesn't feel heavy or large like the Lexus did. The Lexus felt like my Grand Prix in size and weight just with stiffer but smoother suspension. I think my car accelerates better than the 250 which is really sad.

The IS350 no doubt is better with the better engine and is a good car, but not for me. This is really the first time I've seen this in my shopping to this degree. I like it but at the same time don't, but can easily see how someone could love it. Odd.