No Budget Reviews: 1999 Lexus IS200 SE XE10 (Toyota Altezza) with

[@MattysCars]

Thanks for reviewing my new daily Joseph it's a really solid car I'm sure you'll agree

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Sir, more than that, it's a great deal of fun! Thank you for bringing it over.

[@mattw8332]

I loved the look of these when they were launched. Would have had one of these over any of it's German rivals any day. Really like the interior in all it`s “purplieness“.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

It's an amazing car to drive. I would get one, but Mr Coleman would refuse to work on it, which would most certainly be a bit of a problem. Thank you for watching!

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

The car that spawned the Lexus Lights for other brands of cars we like to focus over here on Scottish Car Enthusiasts and Trains TV. Another car i would have to drive or own at some point in time. As always Sir a Excellent review and what a lovely sound it makes.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Sir, we did enjoy ourselves, as did Mr Manning on the way down from Liverpool! Thank you ever so much indeed for watching once again.

[@richardhall2384]

Great review. I laughed when I heard the bit about the Lexus IS200 in Bournemouth with 230k on it... as I am pretty certain I now own this 😄 I bought a blue one in Bournemouth last month with 224k on it, automatic, for £450. It runs great! Obviously has a few issues and things to sort out... but with 6 months MOT I'm just enjoying driving it and loving the cruise control and the comfortable but fun drive.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

That's a very cheap IS200 indeed! Glad you enjoyed the video, I couldn't believe how nicely this 25 year old Lexus drove.

[@TommyRogic18]

A gentleman on my road owns one of these sir. Despite continually parking like an utter berk I do admire the Lexus’s (plural: Lex-I) propensity to keep going and still look fairly modern even today.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

These are superb cars to drive, one of the best of their type in my opinion. I am not surprised that so many of the original owners decided to hang onto them for as long as possible! The second generation IS is also brilliant.

[@alaricbragg7843]

Thank you for this video. These were very - perhaps TOO - popular in New Zealand. Very fitting that you have also reviewed a BMW 3 series from roughly the same period, given that both the Lexus/Toyota and the BMW were racing against each other in our Touring Car Championship at the start of the century. Unfortunately in New Zealand these have a bit of a reputation for being 'hoon cars!' Its hard to find an IS200 or Altezza not carved up or wrecked by what you call joy riders. Great that you found one in relatively good condition. 🙂

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

It is also increasingly difficult to find standard IS200s and IS300s in good condition in this country these days, sir, due to rust, low secondhand values and less than straightforward servicing to some extent.

[@alaricbragg7843]

@@lloydvehicleconsulting In some ways they were a victim of their own success, especially in New Zealand. Back in the early 2000s this was REALLY the only RWD small to mid-sized saloon car/wagon available in New Zealand that was not a BMW, Mercedes-Benz or second hand imported Skyline, and reasonably priced and easy to maintain. Hence its appeal to speed freaks. Although it wasn't just the joy riders who bought them by the dozen. The RWD layout was a must for people with boats and caravans! I am friends with a Church guy with a big family and he owns a 2010s Lexus that was an evolution of this car (Forget the exact model but definitely the same size and RWD!). It can pull a heavily loaded trailer of wood as if it was a kite and the handling is very obedient when pulling such loads.

[@Sam-go3mb]

@@alaricbragg7843 You're so right, I've attempted to rescue an ex-boy racer wagon one with the 2jz here in NZ (mostly successful...) and yeah, generally 2 types of people you see driving these in NZ - old people, who still treat them like a Mercedes lol, and presumably jobless hoons who you hear coming before you see them. They are quality cars for the money, but pretty awful on gas (and yeah, rare to find unmolested).

[@alaricbragg7843]

@@Sam-go3mb My hoon cousin wrecked his family's Altezza years ago...

[@Sam-go3mb]

@@alaricbragg7843 rwd and teenagers, worse mix than coolant and oil 😂

[@dominicjackson2498]

Congratulations on 10k subscribers sir. I used to have a work colleague about 20 years ago, when these were contemporary models, who had the auto version as a courtesy car and said it was a bit of gas guzzler. No Forbidden Fuel engines in this generation either of course. You may have noticed the slightly-more-subscriber Mr Douglas de Muro took a SportBack version for a spin last year. Never knew they were all six cylinders - I’d always assumed the 2 litre was a four. But I second the other commenters - I still really like these cars and I believe the likes of What Car, Which and Honest John used to recommend them and only stopped due to them getting old. I seem to recall the impact they had on the prestige German brands in forcing them to up their game. And to carry on the Alan Partridge theme, those power folding mirrors… “That is a very nice action!”

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Sir, we did enjoy those Alan Partridge programmes back in the day. We liked them so much that we made a video about them a few years ago. The Sportback is extremely rare over here, although they do come up for sale occasionally. The main issue with these is the rust, like so many other cars of the era. The cambelt change isn't necessarily too easy on the 2.0 engine, sadly.

[@frazzleface753]

Sir, I note that Mr. Manning did not move the seat forward for you even though he demands that you get in the back of every vehicle you review!

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Sir, Mr Manning did not alter the seating position for me, but it did not matter, as his car was wonderful.

[@James-ld2jc]

Good evening. You have done it again! Another car I like the look of and would consider if mine was to need replacing... are the late nineties, early noughties peak car?

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

It's something people like to debate all the time, and it is an interesting subject. I don't really know the answer, but I do know that cars from the late 1980s onwards are much easier to live with than earlier ones.

[@lordstiffupperlip3095]

Hello Joseph , Do you remember all the Citreon Saxo's with Lexus rear lights ?

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

And MG ZRs, sir...

[@alaricbragg7843]

I also remember these cars from playing Gran Turismo 2. I always thought that they were like a Toyota version of the Skyline. What I can not help noticing is how the front wheels are located almost on both corners, very little overhang. I presumed that assisted the handling. Do you know that there was a Japan-only Turbo version? Would have been quick. Forgive me if you have already addressed that in this video, I was commenting while watching the early stages. Plus I live in a different time zone so I was a bit sleepy when I first saw this and had to re-watch some parts later. Do you know that New Zealand was the first country to race an IS200? It came fourth at the 1999 Pukekohe 500 on its debut!

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Sir, perhaps if you have to ask questions like that, maybe watch the video all the way through before leaving comments? You don't have to watch them the moment they come out.

[@alaricbragg7843]

@@lloydvehicleconsulting Apologies, over-excitement and trying to juggle KZbin time with family matters.

[@roygardiner2229]

I am surprised that it does not have a timing chain. Another website had suggested that all Toyotas had them. I wonder if it is an interference engine.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

No, there are some Toyota and Lexus models with cambelts, although virtually all of them these days have timing chains.

[@alaricbragg7843]

Was the wagon version of the Altezza/IS200 available in the UK? Like the BMW, the wagon shape was somewhat truncated, more a sport wagon.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

I think that we covered that in the video, sir...

[@alaricbragg7843]

​​​​@@lloydvehicleconsulting Sorry, I watched again. Thanks for information. Did you say three litre six? Would have given such a car a great power to weight ratio.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Yes sir, the IS300 was a three litre six cylinder engine.

[@thatguyfromcetialphaV]

'Kiss my face!'

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Indeed, sir!