2002 Lexus IS200 Review

[@Krezo200]

Tomorrow im gonna look for one, wish me luck mate!!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Ooh very nice! Good luck indeed

[@B3AN_machine]

This video is what helped me finalise my decision in buying an IS200. Haven’t looked back since, I absolutely love the car! Cheers for helping me out mate!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Cheers for that! Glad you're happy with it!

[@tishawnlopez1518]

Same me got one too :) sold my bmw

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@tishawnlopez1518 Nice

[@louis9856]

250 or 200 I can’t decide atm 😅

[@B3AN_machine]

@@louis9856 funnily enough I've moved onto a 250 since owning my 200. Both are absolutely brilliant, the 250 is much more of a cruiser in my opinion, the 200 is great if you're looking for something to modify and have fun with though

[@rogerpowell222]

UK Lexus is200 Owner. Thanks for the video but why didn't you explore the PWR and SNOW switches next to the Gear Shift. SNOW slows things down. Varies the electronic limited slip diff. and gently calms the car to drive in sticky situations. But press the PWR button for fun, fun and more fun. The car hunkers down. Steering sharpens up, all gear change points are increased upwards so that the VVT engine comes fully on song which is like an old fashioned turbo coming in. Auto gear shifts are smooth because the CPU cuts in for a fraction of a second to help with the ratio change and the suspension seems to settle down for serious driving. I had two manual is200s with the 6 speed close ratio box which is a delight to play with when using 3rd, 4th and 5th gears before being forced to drive an auto and I wasn't looking forward to the auto option. But no worries. Find a good one and enjoy, but watch for body rot on and behind the sills next to the rear wheel arches and get rid before it becomes a major problem

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice yeah frankly all the power and snow modes do is adjust the throttle response and shift points. Not really much to talk about

[@naruftw3235]

Im looking forward to buying one, i need to know is what's the fuel consumption?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Not brilliant haha - probably about 10-11 L/100km

[@Ventural_]

I’m in love with this car, i want my own lexus is200 so bad

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah it's a bit of a unit. Definitely best with a manual though

[@diegocastro8772]

I have the 02 is 300 and it’s freaking fun to drive

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

@@diegocastro8772 The 300 would definitely be the best.. I am also gonna look for one in a couple of months. But it's prob gonna be a Is 200 since the 300 is darn expensive here.

[@darshiorganogoldcoffee7079]

I have had my IS200 Lexus since 2007 and love it.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah they're good cars aye

[@NicoYoshimitsu]

Nice, i hace the Sport Version. Tis really like a Sportscar! =)

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice!

[@Druze_Tito]

excellent review and video of an excellent car. I have it and I can't say a bad word about it. The only way one is going to hate this car is if he buys it from a bad owner that has already ruined it.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah true. Glad you're happy with it!

[@curtisshaw6887]

Good review i have 2000 is200 se they are great allround cars one bug bear is the fuel economy i get 22mpg avg and 26 when ive feathered the throttle. I live in uk and fuel is not cheap so thats the only bad point but thats minor on such a great car.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah agreed - my mate that owns this one says the fuel economy is pretty bad

[@curtisshaw6887]

@@KiwiCarLife but so worth it

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah I imagine - have to be one of the cheapest "reliable" rwd cars on the market

[@ReezwanIslamsavinglives]

@sandman I am considering buying one, is it a good buy at present?

[@hassankhan384]

Love this model of lexus is200, just if they had made one in 4cylinder that would be great so I could buy this as my first or second car, but I cant because they came in only 6 cylinders, and in uk insurance is a pain and insurance always want youg drivers to drive small engine cars becaue to I sure this car in uk at age of 20 it would cost me more then £6000 which is too expensive unless I have 3-4 years of NCB award on insurance and also be over 21 years old, but I would love to have this car as soon as possible.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Jeepers 6000 pounds?? Here insurance is like $1000 which is about 500 pounds

[@hassankhan384]

@@KiwiCarLife yeh you're lucky there here in uk its pain hence I have a 2002 Toyota corolla as I payed £2k for the insurance even though the car itself costs £1k

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@hassankhan384 wow that's insane!

[@hassankhan384]

@@KiwiCarLife yeh I know, the insurance here in uk depends on age, were you live, how many years of no claims you have, what type of car you have and engine size, saftey, and how many of that model of cars get into accidents every year, and experience of driving. These all are a matter of factors to reduce your premium for insurance.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@hassankhan384 Yeah much the same for us, just seems like our prices are way cheaper. But 6k means they're basically assuming you will write off the entire value of the car every year you own it. Crazy!

[@30psiboost4]

How reliable is it ? How much maintenance is required in the years ? Do parts break normally ? Is it expensive to maintain

[@KiwiCarLife]

It's a Toyota what do you expect?

[@30psiboost4]

I can’t expect anything from an object I never had before .. you know more about it then I do so just anwser the question.. it’s a car review so I’m gonna ask my own personal questions 😂

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@30psiboost4 I would like to suggest you do your own research. If I wanted to answer those questions I'd be doing exactly the same thing and then just relaying them back to you! I'm not an expert on every single car

[@andersonphromjom7684]

Oil & oil filter change every 5,000km and keep the major service regular every 100,000kms or after 5 years and its about as reliable as a corolla/camry! Very good little car

[@sparky6996]

Had one..had a 2006 and im looking at getting another one of these...brilliant car

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah - good fun with high power and rwd, but still reliable!

[@alexlazarescu3869]

Hey man, i know its a 2 year old vid, but im confused about which is200 variant had the 3sge engine. Any chance you could clear that up for me?

[@KiwiCarLife]

The Lexus Is200 only came with the 1g-fe 6cyl. The is300 game with the 2jz-fe. Only the Toyota altezza came with the 3sge in the RS200 variant. The altezza AS200 had the 1g

[@alexlazarescu3869]

@@KiwiCarLife I see, thank you. I initially thought that the 3sge was only on certain is200s.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@alexlazarescu3869 yeah nah they didn't put the 3sge in any Lexus models

[@shanxW16]

I'm planning on getting a used 2002 is200 with 170000km on it. This will be my first car in Australia. Is it a good first car? Is it too expensive to maintain? - Cheers

[@KiwiCarLife]

Reliability should be good, these aren't known for fuel economy tho

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

@@KiwiCarLife Yea but what about maintenance costs? How much do you spent per year on average and how many km's/miles per year do you drive.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@MarshallMathersthe7th no idea how am I supposed to know this wasn't even my car and this video came out 3 years ago. You're gonna find a more useful answer by executing ze googleing

[@one-se5kl]

Hey just asking what is the car like to drive with a automatic gearbox vs manual one

[@KiwiCarLife]

Never driven a manual one, the auto has veeerry long gears so doesn't feel all that quick off the line. Manual I've heard is a lot more spritely due to having shorter ratios

[@PaulDouglas-i5m]

​@@KiwiCarLife You can move the Gear Lever on Auto Box to make it hold the Gear longer like you would on a Manual Box...but auto's dont like that can cause excessive wear to the Internal Clutches......

[@rebecca_stone]

Great overview but mate you need to turn down the background music in the first half of the video, it’s hard to hear what you’re saying!! :) I’ve got one of these beauties in the sports luxury edition 6-speed manual, bit of a shame yours was auto here, you’d have had soooo much fun driving the manual. Mine’s 2000 and has coilovers and after-market extractors, to anyone considering this car I’d say snap it up if you see one for sale, they’re getting extremely hard to find in manual and will be a treasure for years to come.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah this is one of my really old videos. My latest ones are much better

[@rebecca_stone]

@@KiwiCarLife Ha, all good - still a nice video and intro to the car. :)

[@Swaglord-ry8vw]

Nice review man! Not a lot of them out there.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah true cheers

[@neonreign2988]

I'm in the States, and I have an '01 IS300 with the NA-2JZGE (so I can only speak on that), but if your focus is on fuel economy, then this isn't the car you should focus on buying. But if you enjoy a fun, balanced, refined rear wheel inline 6 that is aesthetically pleasing to look at then this is definitely a car you should get! A lot of people like to tune them or swap a 2JZGTE or 1JZGTE in them, but I think they're great to drive even without the modifications.

[@xmarkd5630]

Can you open the Trunk from the outside? Or only via using that little handle under the driver's seat? Cant find a video about it haha. Looking to buy an IS200 as my first car, been hunting for cool cars and looks like this will be my decision.

[@KiwiCarLife]

I'm pretty sure it's only from the key or lever inside. A lot of older sedans don't have the button outside for some reason

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

@@KiwiCarLife That's weird.. Every sedan i owned had a button on the outside (Mercedes Seat and Skoda) maybe it's a Japanese thing, i also used to have a Suzuki Baleno sedan, i could only open the boot from the inside lol.

[@paul17uk44]

What’s your thoughts on this car vs the Honda Accord CL9 ??

[@KiwiCarLife]

Hmmmm, you know I've heard the I4 beams altezzas are really good, and with them being rwd they're probably more fun to drive, but I haven't driven the I4 one. Comparing it to the I6, I'd have the CL9 any day. It's more practical, newer, and noticeably faster.

[@paulsz6194]

I stopped the video at 1:34 and I don’t see the projector headlamps you were talking about. I saw the front fog lights have a projector type lamp, but not the headlamps.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah sorry I got that wrong it's actually got reflector hids not projector

[@paulsz6194]

KiwiCarLife sweet as bro. 👍

[@antonioxjr8383]

Is this good for a P plater as their first car??

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah don't see why not

[@djcymatic]

WTF. Music far to loud man.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah sorry this was one of my very early videos. My more recent videos are much better

[@retsed_lbc8986]

What's the difference between 200 and 300 plus right hand drive

[@KiwiCarLife]

IS200 has a 2.0L I6 with 155hp, IS300 has 3.0L I6 with 220hp

[@dimitargologanov5014]

@@KiwiCarLife I believe the IS 300's engine is the NA 2JZ, but I'm not sure. :)

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@dimitargologanov5014 it is

[@Alextheskater91]

@@KiwiCarLife I have the is300, I love it

[@nicenow25]

Fucking good review mate

[@KiwiCarLife]

Haha thanks man

[@indigo2061]

1:20 "if a supra came as a 4 door varient this is it". i would say a 4 door varient of the supra would be the lexus gs300/toyota aristo as they came with 2jz engines. the aristo having the gte varient which is twin turbo'ed and the gs300 having the ge varient which is non turbo'ed

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah this is a super old video I dunno what I was on about

[@noflex2863]

I'am thinking Subaru 2006 legacy + bad fuel economy + unreliable = same price Or: Lexus is200 + bad fuel economy + crashimg into a tree Witch one is better?

[@KiwiCarLife]

I dunno, drive them both and decide for yourself I guess!

[@noflex2863]

Yeah I don't really want to be broke by owning subaru, also don' want to be broken bones by owning lexus😂

[@KiwiCarLife]

Get an accord then - I'm selling mine for 8k

[@tomwilkinson2307]

@@noflex2863 why would you break your bones with a lexus bahaha

[@paulsz6194]

NOFLEX learn to drive better, that way you won’t crash into trees! Can’t say I’ve heard of many is200/300 drivers crashing into Poles or Trees...

[@Gronkhsau]

Powerfull?? Dude is has 150 hp...

[@KiwiCarLife]

Well at the time as a little 16 year old I thought it was fast haha. Times have certainly moved on since then...

[@Gronkhsau]

KiwiCarLife 😂

[@jericlamb2676]

what year did eps start for lexus?thanks

[@KiwiCarLife]

Hmm, not sure on that one sorry - I know this 2002 model has hydraulic power steering but I imagine sometime after that, possibly with the model change in 2005, it switched to EPS

[@jericlamb2676]

@@KiwiCarLife thanks man

[@7_eleven790]

There was the is 300 , that came with a 2jz

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah haha I dunno what I was thinking when I said that. I should have said if the supra ever came in a baby 4 door variant or something...

[@Gronkhsau]

Bigwangboy 24,7 no the is300 came with the 1jz. The SC300 came with a 2jz

[@7_eleven790]

im pretty sure the is300 in most of the world has a 2jz , all the lexus 300 models have a 2jz , the 400 models i believe have a v8 , the is200 has a 1gfe

[@Gronkhsau]

Bigwangboy 24,7 okay maybe I‘m wrong. I will google it later

[@vinislive.twitchvinduarte1178]

LordExona here in the US all lexus is300 from 2001-2005 have 2jz just N/A

[@carolinestevany2578]

Hi mate does the back seat fold?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Can't remember sorry, reviewed this car years ago

[@NigelDSouza1994]

no it doesn't

[@samt6021]

im 99.9% sure the driving part is sped up

[@KiwiCarLife]

Can't remember haha but most unlikely - coz it would mess up my voice and stuff too

[@samt6021]

@@KiwiCarLife just bits like 8:14 look strangely fast

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@samt6021 Lol maybe I did - it was one of my first videos so I probably did some weird stuff

[@samt6021]

@@KiwiCarLife still a good video though, im looking to buy a ls200 myself

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@samt6021 Yeah they're good cars - nice to drive and very reliable

[@MegaJoojee]

well if you look it up it does 0-60 in 9 seconds.. my honda civic can do the same...

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah aye this was one of my first videos and I thought this was a really cool car at the time so I probably bent the facts a bit to make it sound better than it was haha. I'd take an FD Civic over this any day

[@MegaJoojee]

@@KiwiCarLife really :D im looking thees videos cos im thinkig to get one of thees, I'd rather have rwd

[@edugamer950]

@@MegaJoojee the civic is probably more fun for your money, this car is awesome if you don't care too much for power and fuel costs

[@khawolfran2268]

@@edugamer950 to be honest i would take the is200 if you invest 1300 euro in it for a supercharger like one of my friends did the power delivery is crazy and this car turns into a different beast and this inline 6 sounds awesome the is 200 has alot of tuning potential

[@edugamer950]

@@khawolfran2268 it does, but I live in Spain, and here it's completely illegal to add on a supercharger or a turbo to an na engine 🤷‍♂️

[@alexbyrne4785]

The Supra does come in a 4 door ? Loads of 4 doors but the most popular would be the Toyota chaser

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah toyota chaser is very popular here in nz

[@nv_johan8711]

Pretty sure the manual is a 6speed, not 5

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh oops did I say 5? This was such an old vid I can't remember. Yeah should be 6 as you say

[@shanxW16]

Any idea on how long do these engines last? The 2000 model I'm planning to get has done 150k kms.

[@KiwiCarLife]

In general all toyota engines tend to be very reliable - there's no shortage of these with over 300,000kms still going strong

[@gunthermaurer5451]

Einfach super. Da ich auch einen habe noch immer mit 80 tausend kilometer auf der uhr

[@KiwiCarLife]

Danke! Sehr gut

[@ネットビジネス-p7h]

luxury sports sedan！

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yesss

[@georgiiliyanov9566]

How is the noise in cabin?

[@KiwiCarLife]

It's pretty good 👍

[@ネットビジネス-p7h]

the lexus sports！

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yes

[@keir__]

Looking at purchasing one this weekend! Thanks for the video

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice!

[@keir__]

@@KiwiCarLife Just bought it! Looking forward to skidding it up haha

[@LifeOfTuners]

Look whose here 👀

[@keir__]

@@LifeOfTuners leshgooo

[@theWolfXLIV]

Thinking of picking up one of these, any problems I should look out for?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Just did a quick search and it seems there's not too many common faults - fantastically reliable cars, just do a normal check for general wear and tear, water pump etc. Only thing to note is that they don't get great fuel economy so if you want something more economical, maybe go for an I4 altezza rather than the 6 in this

[@theWolfXLIV]

@@KiwiCarLife Thanks, I'll be getting one soon

[@amjidali588]

I jst got a lpg 😎

[@paulm2467]

130, 000 miles,18 years old ,never broke down, timing belt needs changed on service every 60,000 miles so check that this has been done. You can get low boost turbo or supercharger and take them up to 220 + bhp and they are pretty bulletproof.

[@bigsleez8655]

Great review man

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks mate

[@altspitfire]

Kinda painful watching this with all of the mistakes you made.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Sorry to hear that

[@nzwotb2525]

I'm going to try and get one or the Toyota altezza when I get my restricted in november

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah man they're good cars

[@nzwotb2525]

@@laurafinlay5838 yes

[@sheb2723]

love the video! By any chance do you know what the knob at 4:06 does, the one with the lightbulb on it? I have a lexus is200 myself and cannot figure out what its purpose is for the life of me.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Adjusts the brightness of the gauges

[@drunknmonk12]

How is this the most powerful car you've driven?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Well at the time I'd only had my restricted licence for 3 months - I've driven much faster cars now though...

[@Liam94Smith]

Projector headlights? They're reflectors...

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah apologies there are a few mistakes in this video - Still HID, but yeah they don't have a lens so not projectors

[@Liam94Smith]

@@KiwiCarLife No problem, I apologise if I seemed abrupt. A good review otherwise :)

[@Kiwiriderandcarnut]

Quite a slow car even considering the capacity, 155hp @crank is pretty abysmal for a 2l straight 6

[@KiwiCarLife]

Bear in mind the engine was designed 20 years ago, and 160hp is more than BMW could manage in the e46 320i. If you want smoothness, get the IS, for performance, get an Altezza. That's my thoughts

[@drunknmonk12]

@@KiwiCarLife It came with 153hp, not 160 and the E46 320i came with 168hp. Keep on spewing bullshit mate, we can tell you've no fucking idea.

[@kristoffer3000]

@@drunknmonk12 the 320i came with a 2.0 150hp engine pre facelift, 2.2 170hp after facelift. Might wanna do some actual research before "spewing bullshit"

[@Krezo200]

drunknmonk12 dont embarass yourself Dont insult other people doing videos for free The m52 in the e36,e46,e39 had 2.0 i6 150hp The m54 2.2 (also known as 520i fl, 320i fl) has 170

[@KiwiCarLife]

And I've just rechecked, and wikipedia suggests the IS200 makes 160hp (other sources are saying somewhere in the ball park of 153-160) and 200Nm of torque. Either way, the E46 320i has 148hp and 190Nm of torque (with the 2.0L, let's compare apples to apples here, no 2.2L business). Besides even if it did make more power, the BMW equivalent is probably at the scrappers with major electrical failure by now, but my mate is still driving his IS quite happily with the only complaint being the fuel economy...

[@paul--b]

Great vid! Especially considering your age and experience at the time. I cant resist nitpicking and pointing out two more tiny mistakes though. The rear lights are not LED just good old bulbs with fancy reflectors. And the manual version is 6 speed and I think was only sold in the UK. The US got a 5 speed IS300 from 2002, so that’s probably where the confusion comes from.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yes fair enough this was one of my early videos when I didn't know much about cars so yeah got a couple of things wrong

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

We had the 6 speed in Holland as well tho, but Lexus sold them standard with automatic (manual was an option) atleast here in Holland t was.

[@taunuslunatic404]

@@MarshallMathersthe7th I'm from Spain and it was sold here with a 6 speed manual too.