Dunbar

Gavrill, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the IS300. I went and drove a '02 5sp today. I thought the interior looked nice and was certainly well put together. My primary dislikes were 1) Engine not nearly as smooth as the BMW straight 6's; 2) Car wasn't that powerful, maybe a little quicker than the 325; 3) Ride is pretty firm, not as polished as the BMW sport suspension; and 4) Way too much road noise on the highway. On the plus side the handling is excellent and the steering wheel feels like an aftermarket piece. Between the IS300 and 325 it's close but I'd probably go with Lexus because of the stellar build quality and reliability. But compared to the 330 the IS300 falls well short. Tomorrow is the CLS 6 speed drive

gavriil

My intention is to drive the IS300 with the manual soon. I have driven the auto 2 years ago. I have posted my review here

http://www.epinions.com/auto-review-...3985C053-prod1

nandowong

gavriil, Im going to send your reviews to motortrend magazine and I bet that they will hire you. great job, and keep those reviews coming!

gavriil

Thanks nandowong, I will try.

Dunbar

Well I went and drove the CLS 6 speed today and had the fortune of driving a 99 323 sport 5 speed right after. Overall the CLS is nice but the chassis just doesn't compare to the E46 sport. The BMW handles so great while delivering great ride quality. I think I prefer the 3.0 BMW engine too (which I drove previously) because it's a smoother and better sounding while only feeling slightly slower than the CLS. The E46 has that intangible quality that makes it so charming. Oh well, gotta start saving up for a used 330Ci sport 5 speed

astro

nice work gavrill good reviews...the s2k is still my fav out of those tho...

gavriil

For hard core drivers, that is the car to get. Take it to the road, take it to the track....