I had a sedan version with a manual of this car. A 2004 IS300. I purchased it new as I got out of college and got a job. I owned it for 15 years and 264k fun miles. I loved that car and had some great memories in it. I shed a tear when I sold it. 😢 I now have an IS500 as its replacement. Here is to another 15 years of fun and memories with Lexus.
@@raresneagu5309 actually a 2023 Molten Pearl IS500 that, get this was built on October 31 (Halloween) 🎃. Fitting for the color combo of orange 🧡 and black 🖤. In between I was driving my 2000 S2000 and my dad's do all Corolla. Sadly the S2000 is gone too as it sacrificed itself for the IS500 as I needed a family car 😉.
Owner of 2 manual swapped Sportcross’s here. They are worth it. Even though I’m $20-25k into one, (1JZ-GTE Swap) I still wouldn’t have any other car. I have completely fixed the unresponsive steering Doug described with FIGS/SuperPro polyurethane lower control arm bushings (they wear out on these cars), poly/solid steering rack bushings, Spoon rigid collars, and the solid UHP tires. In my case, Falken FK510’s. Also, just up to date suspension components like fresh ball joints and tie rods go a long way. Just because they don’t clunk doesn’t mean they can’t use some love. Fortune Auto 500 coilovers + for 200-300TW tires I'd reccomend 14k/10k with swift springs. If you're running all seasons, keep the recommended 12k/10k setup. Manual swaps are very well documented. The W55 transmission, while it’s not good for big power, can be tuned to feel almost as tight and engaging as an S2000 transmission. You can do this by ditching the dual mass 30+ lb flywheel in favor of the lighter OEM 17lb NA MK4 Supra W58 flywheel (Supra clutch too), buy a Australian-made Cubespeed short shifter, and fresh Redline MT-90 transmission fluid. It is TRANSFORMATIONAL. IS300’s NEED sway bars to eliminate body roll, a factory LSD to put down the power, and are well paired with IS350 or 17Z Cayenne front brakes to bring it to a halt. The car is very very capable and has won its class at Autocross events multiple times. As far as power goes, my Sportcross on a Dynojet made 213WHP/187TQ with a BC 264 camshaft, intake tube, stock air box, straight through Y-pipe, and an HKS muffler. It is so eager to get up and go. They may be rare, but they pop up for sale ALL the time in different states. I flew to Maine for mine (one family owner, no rust). Go get one!
Fantastic tips as I’ve been hunting down info like this on forums and fb groups since I’ve got mine a year ago. As for manual swaps I’ve heard great things about the ar5 from a Pontiac solstice or Colorado as well as a BMW zf5/6. I’m leaning towards those but your tips for the w55 seems more financially feasible and seems like it would pair ratios better than other swaps.
@Riley Sullivan I'm running the ar5 in my is300 and it's great. If you can find a good w55 that would probably be the most cost effective option since there are oem components for all the parts needed for the swap. If you plan on keeping your is300 I would definitely manual swap as it's a totally different car as a manual.
I think he shot a half dozen or more vids in a couple days. Several with Keenan back to back, then Tyler and then the car reviews. He must of been going crazy with all the footage trying to organize it. Ha!
Doug, I believe the reason for the additional brake lights on the trunk-lid is because in Euro markets those lights actually serve as the rear fog lights, which is mandated in many countries.
I owned one of these, same exact specs, same color! The reason the gauges in the instrument cluster look so good is because they were designed by a watchmaker! This was my first Lexus and I absolutely LOVED that car, I would get tons of great comments every time I pulled up anywhere in it! The 215 hp were enough to keep me happy. Street racing, going to the drag strip or losing my license all together were never my thing as I was expected both at work in the morning, home and night, and driving the kids around in between! I had that car for 10 years and never once did it leave me stranded, never once did the check engine light come on, or any other warning light for that matter! I gave it to my nephew when he started Med school, 9 years later he’s a surgeon, and this is still his DD! It’s only because I get to drive it pretty often, my old car I mean, otherwise I’d be bidding on this one! Doug, you should buy this car, it’s quirky, FUN and very rare!
The instrument cluster may have been designed by a watchmaker but it wasn't designed by anyone who drove a car. I have a 2005 IS300 sedan (bought it new) and the gauges are the worst thing on the car. For example, the numbers on the speedometer are circumferential rather than being level. This means it takes longer to read them. You don't want that when you're busy. The whole panel is like that. It may look good but it doesn't function well. The other bad thing is the traction control. It feels like it was made for front wheel drive. So if you're trying to throttle steer, it cuts off the power whenever you get any rear wheel slip, which is exactly what you don't want. I leave it off and everything's cool. But I have to turn it off every time I start the engine. Everything else is great. When I got the car, I was comparing it to the BMW 328 and it felt identical except it was $12K cheaper. So Lexus it was. It's been totally reliable and a pleasure to drive for the last 18 years.
I've had the car for a couple years and the guage has never bothered me. I guess i never need to recite my precise speed at an instance. Just gotta be at those speed limit intervals or flow of traffic. And the trac off button is graciously close enough to press without taking your hand off the shifter in park. The TC does suck.
The reason the IS and the GS have those lights on the trunk is because in European markets those were rear fog lights. They didn't light up with the brake lights, the blank spot next to the memory seat button was a rear fog light switch in euro cars. Also those memory seats were only offered in 04-05.
I loved these cars back in the day. Those taillights looked so cool and the speed gauges paired with a manual transmission and aluminum pedals gave it a great vibe.
I actually hated those tail lights, just because it spurred aftermarket recreations and everyone was putting them on their cars. Remember the late 90's Mitsubishi eclipse with the tail lights that went across the trunk? Seeing those with aftermarket "altezza" tail lights was pretty much the ugliest crap I had ever seen.
Man, this takes me back. Owned an '01 IS300 and this review is spot on, kept it stock, little slow, built to last. A/C was the coldest ever in any car I've had
I was working at the local BMW/Lexus dealer when the IS came out. The first one delivered was yellow. It sold the same day it arrived to a younger lawyer. We could not keep them on the lot. I don't recall ever seeing the wagon version. We knew they were available, but we never ordered one, and no one ever asked. I do like the wagon a lot, though.
@@paulcarmi8130 It is perfectly plausible, they're originally right handers. I remember seeing these in Europe, not even that long ago. They're not for me though. I'm one of those people that can't understand why someone would choose a station over a sedan when it comes to sporty, good looking cars, unless that person is blind.
@@ForcesNL I would choose a wagon because my first car was an outback wagon, and even though subie is a shit brand, the practicality of a wagon comes in handy so much. I drive a fiat 500 (loser spec, no turbo) and MAN is that thing small 😂 moving apartments was HELL.
I wish manufactures would bring back gauge clusters like this. It's so nice looking compared to lcd screens. I've always loved the IS300. It was so nice!
Doug, I have been waiting AGES for you to review an IS300. I have owned an '02 for about 4 years now and the durability really shows, the last owner beat the heck out of it and I've put about 30k miles on it in 4 years and it just keeps on going, starts every time, and is a blast to drive and even work on as it is my first "project" car. (Btw it has 230k miles on it at present.) Loved the video as always Doug!
Thank you for finally reviewing the Is300. I am lucky enough to have a 2002 manual with 97 000 kms. Gald to see how much others appreciate how amazing these cars are.
I worked for a Lexus dealer straight out of high school (circa 2005) when these were new, i literally dreamt of them. In 2007 my 2004 Jetta 1.8t was in the shop more than i drove it, so i was able to snag a fresh trade in 2002 sedan version of what you reviewed (silver, black interior, 5 spokes, tint, and spoiler) for ACV. For a kid making it on his own, i literally looked amazing in my 5 year old Lexus at 20-21. Out of 57 cars and 36 years of age now, the IS300 was still my fave! It did nothing “out of the park” but it did everything WELL
I can't get over how clean this looks. Not even much of a lexus fan but this takes me back to my teens checking out cars with my old man. Honestly the wheels do it the most for me, usually the shape of the vehicle would be my first observation, it feels like this was literally built from the ground up, as silly as those trunk lights are? It all blends in so well. I really am surprised how much more i appreciate late 90's and early 00's lexus designs. They're extremely good for the age when we had so much plastic and mis matched panels. It'd describe it as a very smooth looking sedan. i'd imagine it feels like that too!
@@AngelValdovinos I had no idea what you meant by Kaizen Philosophy but after a little researching, Perfect analogy! now i've learned a little more about Japanese business philosophy as well. Thanks for that! It makes sense especially with Lexus being Toyota's premium brand. I just never appreciated the design as a kid. Sincerely hope the seller gets a price they're happy with. it's been kept so well!
i remember racing one of these is300s in my old STI, i was shocked at how well he hung with me, especially since I had my boost turned up and everything. Never knew these had the 2JZ in it, but I guess that explains it. Shit was probably modded pretty decently.
FYI - In 1999 Toms tuning shop released 100 Altezza for sale, they were called Toms 280T and all were sold within one day. Toms modified them to 280bhp and are extremely rare.
On some versions, the trunk lights were actually the foglights, activated by a switch next to the seat memory switches. My 2004 IS200 sedan has it like this.
Same except I have 80k miles got it when it had 50k miles it’s parked for almost 6-8 months outta the year because it snows heavy where I am Edit: it’s also factory manual slicktop
Time to rebuild those engines and build them for big boost boys! Manual swap it! Then add a big turbo, sick wheels, air suspension, side mods of course. Paint it a sick laguna seca blue. 🤤
I had tried to find one of these (is300 in general) as my second car in the mid to late aughts solely because of gauge cluster. It was beautiful, and I had wanted to it to be able to look at every day. Such a silly reason to want a car, but there you have it. Good work as always, Doug!
I always wanted one of these - with a stick. I drove a friend's manual IS300 sedan at an autocross event, and was impressed with the agility of the chassis, and flexibility of the drivetrain. It had that quality of good sporting cars that it seemed to get smaller when driven hard.
One the most unique "quirk and features" of the vehicle was that it has a staggered tire set-up. Rear tires are a different size than the front, just a tad wider. I was in the tire industry during this time & informing customers of this & trying to find a match set through tire brands was a nightmare. And the price of the tires at the time was on the high-end. A LOT of customers didn't like that Many of those that leased the car just put all 4 of the same size tires when they turned the car...and then were charged for rear tires.
@@ChristopherSimmons I am more referring to when the car first came to market. Today, there are many options from many manufacturers that can do a staggered set up in the current performance (speed) rating the Lexus wants.
That passenger table was used in all the first gen Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe vehicles, very useful feature (I own an '03 Matrix), fun to see that it was used in a Lexus prior to sticking it in the Matrix/Vibe!
Not sure why we would call them forgotten. They have a huge following and are expensive and sought after. Nobody forgot about these they are incredibly popular
I think he's specifically referring to the station wagon body style, which didn't sell well in the US and Canada markets. I'm pretty familiar with Lexus's car offerings over the years, so I knew about the 1st-gen IS 300 sedan, but I didn't know they made a wagon variant as well.
@@stevenwilliams1805 i think it's because of the influence of american brands making garbage station wagons for years and that being basically all we knew for wagons
The is200 is a very popular model in Ireland modified with its reliability rear wheel drive and it’s common to get it swapped to a 1uz v8 as we didn’t get many is300 it’s also the most failed model for nct ( a yearly vehicle inspection)
Really nice cars these. They manage to be classy and sporty at the same time, and I think the styling has aged well. I remember back in around '04, the older brother of one of my school friends had a black IS saloon. It was probably a 200, rather than a 300, insurance being what it is in the UK, but I thought it was the coolest thing because, of course, it had those taillights. Edit: I'm sure someone has already pointed this out, but I imagine the trunk-mounted brake lights were used as fog lights in markets that required them, e.g., the UK.
More random trivia - the back seats on these are so tight because the length of the car fit it into a particular tax classification, or at least it did on the smaller engine, the 2 litre 1G-FE. Those came first. Having an engine under 2000cc and being that length qualified it as a compact car in Japan. I had an IS200. Lovely car. Not fast, but these have a nice chassis (double wishbone), and reasonably fun with the LSD. It also always felt well made.
One of my favorite car ads ever was for the IS300: There was no voiceover or text; just a 30-second shot of the gauge cluster as the speedometer climbed to 100mph, with the engine revving in the background.
I had an IS300 for a long time, modded it a bunch, was really active in our local midwest IS300 club, and this video was an excellent trip down memory lane. Thanks Doug! The wagon boys were always a unique crew.
These are fantastic but becoming incredibly rare. It's been years since I last saw one in the wild, they will be missed 3:22 the ct-200h was also excellent, a nice interior cooler looking more fun to drive Prius, and it inherited the ultra high reliability too
It’s interesting seeing the differences between my ‘01 sedan and this ‘04 wagon. I didn’t get memory settings, but where the wagon has two blank buttons next to the traction control button, I have two heated seats buttons, one for the driver and one for the passenger. Also, my “PWR” button is “ETC PWR” which is a strange change.
Hi Doug, pretty interestimg car! Here in Germany this model was offered as a Lexus, the IS200 with 2l inline 6 engine and IS300. As you said it should have been a competitor to the BMW 3 , and i think it really was, but sales were very weak in Germany.
My (American) parents took us on a trip to Germany and Switzerland in summer 2001, and we had an IS200 as a rental car! It was dark blue with a black interior. I'm sure it was fun for my dad to drive but I remember even as an 11-year-old kid how cramped it was in the back seat, and how I wished he'd upgraded to a Mercedes. Still a great memory.
Had an 06 matrix with a folding front passenger seat too, I think a lot of Toyota/Lexus from that era did that. Meant you could get surprisingly long objects into small cars and i always appreciated it
Cool! This is one of my favourite cars of the last few decades. It makes so much more sense that most of the cars that are on the roads nowadays. Not a fan of the Lexus lights. Like clear headlights, they mess up the clarity of the overall design of a car and add fuzzy details. I like clear lines and shapes. At least the basic form of the backlight area is a clear shape.
I had an IS200 while in the United Kingdom. It was my holy grail car during my high school years, so having one was such an amazing experience! Well built, beautiful cars they were... I wish Toyota/Lexus would bring back an updated version of this car that echos the styling.
That last comment about how he would make it more fun was literally describing the IS300 modification community 🤣 We know it's fun because we do what you described!
YOU MISSED A QUIRK! you can change the size of the front cup holder. The middle pulls out and you can reinsert it. The middle part has 3 different slots to insert it in.
I had a 2002 WRX, which had a weirdly convergent path to production (a hot car from a manufacturer known for staid wagons and weirdo vehicles like the BRAT) and it was always interesting to see an IS300, both drivers trading looks like hmm, wish I had more of that - the IS300 person wanting performance, the WRX person wanting more luxury.
Funny enough my first project was a stock survivor 2002 wrx with 200k miles on the original motor. Absolute blast to drive even stock and enjoyed it for 3 years. Sold my daily for an ‘02 is300 sportcross and just recently sold my bugeye to fund this. It’s awesome being able to compare these 2 opposite cars from the same year. Can’t be too sad I sold the wrx as the Lexus has a completely different experience and as a spirited driver I do admit it handles very flat and planted throughout turns.
@@rileysullivan841 I drove my 2002 (I was the first owner, bought it in 2001) to 186k miles and half of those were with a set of (high quality) upgrades that had it making 404hp to the wheels, well over 120hp per cylinder, and it was absolutely fine and running well the day I sold it. I can’t speak for more recent Subarus of course but 15 years of fun was what a car got you back then, whether you went Subaru, Toyota, or Nissan.
Its funny because I've owned my 2004 WRX Wagon for 7 years. Did a JDM ej207 STI swap to wake it up and I also own a manual swapped 2003 IS300 Sportcross. The Subaru is faster by a considerable amount at current moment but the Lexus feels so much cooler to drive. People constantly gawking when I drive by is a slammed Lexus wagon makes my day. Both cars are great and as that weird guy whos obsessed with wagons these two are my top two affordable manual wagons.
I had an IS300 Sportscross back in 2002. During desert training, we had to medevac an injured Marine that we put on a spineboard and c-collar. Our field ambulance was not available, so we put him on my brand new Sportscross. With the right backseat and the front passenger seat down, the spineboard fits perfectly. Plus, we have a room for another medic on the left back seat to monitor our patient. Man, I missed that car!
Great vid as always. One interesting quirk on this car was that Lexus fitted it with 8.5” wheels in the rear that only came with the Sportcross. They became sought after by the bolt on tuner folks.
I agree with Doug about that gauge cluster, definitely one of the coolest looking from that period. The play in the steering may be just because the car is 20 years old and could use some new rubber bushings for the steering column or control arms, rubber deteriorates over time, whoever buys this may want to check that out. However, a little steering play is desirable in a luxury car because you can blow your nose, drink a coffee, eat a whopper, and get roadhead without the car swerving all over the road, it will hold a straight line even if your hands aren't steady. Also.... didn't Nissan actually do the "Altezza" style tail lights first? I'm pretty sure they predate the Lexus ones by a few years....hmmm.
I love the SportCross because my cousins best friend had a 04 SportCross but he did a lot of work to it. He did Twin Turbo Kit and a lot of custom stuff (No wide body kit or nothing). He also did a 6 speed sequential swap and it has about 750 hp. I love the SportCross
Owned a 2001 from 12k miles to 120k miles. Drove that car everywhere and loved it. Even Autocrossed it a few times. Sold it after about 6 years but eventually bought the IS350. Not one single issue. Ever. Only complaint I ever had was the CD changer was wonky and would eject CDs randomly.
Doug is pretty much spot-on with this car. A friend had a sedan he turbo'd and refreshed the suspension. (I think that would fix the vagueness.) I literally created this YT account to leave this comment. It might just be the best car I've driven. I think it was near 200k miles. No squeaks or rattles inside. 5 speed stick shift. I think he said 11 lbs. boost. Made a great sound with the perfect balance: luxury, space, and speed. And you'll NEVER get tired of that gauge cluster.
A lot of the look and drivability reminds me of my 04 Mazda Protégé 5 wagon. Handled like a Miata and was slow af, but had a 5 speed manual! Some drunk kid totaled it last year tho.. only had 44k miles in it too ugh. At least insurance gave me 7k for it lol
Glad you finally talked about this, we used to have this back in college days, i kind of regret selling it Wish i could revert back in time, such a sweet car & ride
Yo Dough thanks for paying homage to first Gen IS. Just a slight correction the Altezza brand was mainly in Japan. However the rest of the world it was the IS200. I am an owner of one it’s a 2003 model year sedan.
As someone who owns the Sedan version, its so cool to see you go over the interior! If anyone has questions, feel free to ask lol. Mine has way more mileage than this car 😅 (210,000)
Bought this exact car 6 month ago, daily drive it and I love it. It's fast enough to enjoy, yet practical enough to take trips to IKEA. Plus it's a very unique looking car. Two main downsides, fuel economy is terrible and the oil filter is very hard to get to.
9:20 - cool, never knew that that was an option, I always scoffed at the electric seats, because they are heavy as hell, and it is really only useful when you have memory buttons. 10:15 - doesn't improve power output, simply just makes the A650E transmission a bit more aggressive with shifting 15:28 - it's not a stock feature, but a popular "skyline look" mod in the IS, I don't know about the GS. 21:40 - the IS200 handles a bit quicker, since the 2JZ is a huge and heavy lump of iron, the IS300 is a bit front-heavier. 21:45 - the IS200 had a pretty good close-ratio 6MT J160 Aisin gearbox. As a side note, there have been quite a few "IS400" SC - an IS200 with a 1UZ/3UZ engine swaps with an IS300 LSD thrown in to create a small, reliable, MT V8 sleeper. I've owned a 2002 IS200 SC and now a 2001 IS300 SC. Great cars. They do have their drawbacks and weak points (rusting rear wheel arches and underneath the front hood, weak balljoints, weak and maintenance heavy brakes), but other than that they're pretty solid machines and parts are relatively easy to come by, of course apart from body panels for the rear section. But in a place like Poland, where this class of car is almost exclusively dominated by 3 series and A4s, the IS200/300 SC is a very interesting thing. When I got the IS200SC back in 2015, they were so few and far between, guys from my local Toyota dealership's part depo actually went outside to have a look at it, because no one saw them live ever before. Heartwarming. Thank you for the vid Doug, I have been waiting for it for a long time.
Hi Doug! As a motor journalist in Spain, I can corroborate many of the things you confirm. However, in Europe, the IS 300 was never sold with a manual gearbox. If you wanted it, you had to go with an IS 200, never sold in North America. Happy owner of a 2001 unit
The CT200h was a lexus corolla hybrid and a lot smaller... They should have really used the Blade Master (which has all the lexus trimmings in the interior) with its 3.5l v6 2GR-FE
@@bytchslappa Indeed, I wish the CT were a bit bigger, I would have bought it as a small family car. Its reliability is excellent, like all Toyota hybrids.
My cousin drove one of these when I was 8 years old. She sold me into the brand. I now own a 2011 in the same color. I love the Lexus IS, best car I’ve ever owned. I just love driving it. The seat is designed so well I never get drivers fatigue.
We had it as the Altezza in New Zealand and when I was at high school EVERYONE wanted one of those, so damn cool. You still see plenty of them today and they still look so cool.
A family member got one of these not too long ago. I was shocked to see it, I checked it out. Seats were ripped and there was some rust in corners but, it looked good overall. It had 129K on it and he paid $6K for it... I thought it was a good deal. Shocking nice looking ride that was pretty rare...
Great cars, used to drive a bunch of the sedan versions at work. Useless in winter with summer tires, took 4 salesman and a detailer just to push it a few feet lol.
Lol yeah I could definitely see that. Wouldn't be a good car where there's a bunch of snow. I remember years ago driving to work when it was frozen outside and it was sketchy.
i recall those tail lights from the "Something Wicked This Way Comes" series of commercials starting in the late 90's. I think that Lexus included them for the same reason that they made the dash cluster sporty -- to help attract a younger demographic to the car. The backend and the ad campaign left an impression on me. I still think that the backend looks sinister when I see one of these in the wild.
I bought a new IS300 back in 2003. I put 364,000 miles on it and it never gave me any problems at all. Best damn car I've ever owned. I'd still be driving it today if some damn high school kid hadn't run a stop sign and crashed into it last October. Insurance gave me $7,000 for it. The money was nice, but it was very hard to see it leave my driveway for the last time.
Edit: the Altezza was the IS300s Japanese predecessor and was made in Japan since 1998. Toyota just made USDM and European market variants, which was a reasonably cost effective method of making a 3 series competitor. IMO, Toyota should have given the USDM and EU variants the 3SGE and 2JZ as engine options, as the 1G-FE 2l I-6 only really made sense in Japan for the purpose of economy. Altezza Gitas (the Japanese predecessor and equivalent) are available in Japan for under $6,000 but cannot be imported into the US until 2027 due to being 2002 and newer model years. I have an Altezza with the 3SGE and it is a great little sports sedan. I highly recommend it to those who want a "JDM" car but can't shell out $30k for a Chaser or equivalent F/R sports sedan. Additional edit: what is that out of the window at 21:00? 😂
The IS200 isn't even really good on economy. Mine gets 23-24 mpg. If the IS300 was offered in Europe in manual I would have gotten that, however I would still much prefer the beams engine over the other two.
@@vakusRP I guess I should have thought about it more before I sent the comment, the 1G-FE made more useable torque for city driving than the 3S-GE. Also, common misconception: both the 1G-FE I-6 and 3S-GE are "BEAMS" (Breakthrough Engine with Advanced Mechanism System) but the 3S-GE 4 cyl is the more desirable of the two. Fun fact, even the JDM RAV-4 SUV had a variant of the 3S-GE, Stephen Papadakis of Papadakis Racing built one as a desert ripper 😄
@@Garrett. I figured as much 😅 I just wanted to be a goofball about it. Edit: excellent sleuthing, I'll have to pin this somehow in case I need a Mariana-Trench level deep dive into background details, you'll be my first POC 😂
@@Garrett. kudos, reminds me of the time that Shia LaBeouf put a live feed of a flag in Bumfuck Egypt and some redditors used stars and airplane patterns to track it down and remove it "for the meme."
On the sedans, the manuals command a premium over the automatics. You could find unmolested IS300 manual for twice the price of the automatics. Fun fact: the IS was the last Lexus (in North America) to ever come with manual transmissions. They ditched the manual transmission in 2012 (IS250).
The SC300 offered a manual (although they’re even more uncommon than an IS300 manual), but perhaps the most uncommon of them all was the ES300 manual. They were only offered for two years (92-93) before they got the axe. Aside from that, that was it for Lexus and stick shifts - and it’s sort of a shame.
managed to snag an 01 IS300 sedan w 130k miles ab 3yrs ago, it’s my daily and genuinely such a fun car to drive - especially on curvy roads, manages to make 215hp feel like more than enough. mines stock besides suspension but it’s nice to know the option for a crazy build is there. happy i got mine for 3k since they’ll definitely go up in price after this vid looks so unassuming to most people but i swear i’ve gotten more comments and offers to buy this car whenever i’m out compared to anything else i’ve owned.
13:09 youre kidding, i legit ran out to my garage to check if my car also had it since i never noticed AND IT DOES!!!! IDK WHY BUT I LOVE IT IM SO HAPPY
Man, not too long ago a couple friends and I were walking down the street and somehow the IS300 SportCross and its rarity came into the conversation. Just as we were talking about it, an IS300 SportCross came zooming past us. We were speechless.
I love wagons. I used to own a Jetta Sportwagen years ago. I loved that thing. When I bought my GTI a few years ago what I REALLY wanted was a Golf Sportwagen with a GTI engine in it.
I never knew this car existed and I LOVE IT!! Idk why they ever stopped doing these folding from pass seat. So many cool uses! Doug talking about customization at the end cracking me up because he’s so anti custom 😆
Putting the car in manual mode and using the shifters is probably one of my favorite things about the is. It's a testament to how good Toyota is. My favorite thing is it stays in the gear that you put it in unlike Mercedes where it will jump to the next gear perfect for drifting ! That car is perfect
I just saw an IS 300 wagon exactly like this in the last week, I couldn't help but smile. I love all the IS300s from this generation but especially the wagon however I wish you could get them with a manual transmission. By the way, you're voice sounds a little off today, Doug. If you're sick or have sinus issues, I hope you get to feeling better soon.
@Doug Demuro, you missed some quirks in the hatch area. I had one of these for half a decade and it was awesome. There is a hidden storage compartment at the "back" of the hatch right against the seat back on the floor. It spans the full width of the car and was useful to put a mini shovel or road side kit in it. Another quirk was that whole hatch floor collapses down to make more room. There are little feet that you fold down and you gain more room. In the video the floor was raised to its full height position. The hatch was also full aluminum which was rare in the early 2000's. In Japan the Gita came in manual ALL WHEEL DRIVE!!! Other people already mentioned the staggered wheel setup, torsen LSD option, and the rear fog light option. This appeared to be a base model sportcross but in good condition since heated seats, c-pillar speakers, and rear fogs aren't shown.
15:36 there's a bunch of Lexuses out there with the plastic faded, so when the driver puts on brake lights, it almost looks clear as if the backup lights are on!
Gotta give credits to the owners for keeping it in such great condition, also i love cars and bids for selling such mint condition cars. There is not even a single crappie condition cars in their website. Every listed cars look perfectly maintained 👌👌
I want one! I absolutely LOVE the SportCross! Plus, if I do get one, I will never have to get a new car again. The alteza taillights are gorgeous! Also the cargo mat, the cargo net, and the first aid kit are I believe factory. I have them in my LS430.
Best quirk i remember from my 01 IS300 - gauge, AT metal ball shifter, shift up and down button on steering wheel, and obv the RWD only after 2003, the IS300 center console had an armrest
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I had a sedan version with a manual of this car.
A 2004 IS300. I purchased it new as I got out of college and got a job.
I owned it for 15 years and 264k fun miles.
I loved that car and had some great memories in it. I shed a tear when I sold it. 😢
I now have an IS500 as its replacement. Here is to another 15 years of fun and memories with Lexus.
Legend
Damn bro u got a 472hp 2021 v8 lexus from an is300? That's one hell of an upgrade :)))
GS 350 from 2004-2006 was super dope. Still the IS300 was what most of my high school senior guys were driving.
@@raresneagu5309 actually a 2023 Molten Pearl IS500 that, get this was built on October 31 (Halloween) 🎃.
Fitting for the color combo of orange 🧡 and black 🖤.
In between I was driving my 2000 S2000 and my dad's do all Corolla.
Sadly the S2000 is gone too as it sacrificed itself for the IS500 as I needed a family car 😉.
@@YablokoG the car definitely is 😉
Owner of 2 manual swapped Sportcross’s here.
They are worth it. Even though I’m $20-25k into one, (1JZ-GTE Swap) I still wouldn’t have any other car.
I have completely fixed the unresponsive steering Doug described with FIGS/SuperPro polyurethane lower control arm bushings (they wear out on these cars), poly/solid steering rack bushings, Spoon rigid collars, and the solid UHP tires. In my case, Falken FK510’s.
Also, just up to date suspension components like fresh ball joints and tie rods go a long way. Just because they don’t clunk doesn’t mean they can’t use some love. Fortune Auto 500 coilovers + for 200-300TW tires I'd reccomend 14k/10k with swift springs. If you're running all seasons, keep the recommended 12k/10k setup.
Manual swaps are very well documented. The W55 transmission, while it’s not good for big power, can be tuned to feel almost as tight and engaging as an S2000 transmission. You can do this by ditching the dual mass 30+ lb flywheel in favor of the lighter OEM 17lb NA MK4 Supra W58 flywheel (Supra clutch too), buy a Australian-made Cubespeed short shifter, and fresh Redline MT-90 transmission fluid. It is TRANSFORMATIONAL.
IS300’s NEED sway bars to eliminate body roll, a factory LSD to put down the power, and are well paired with IS350 or 17Z Cayenne front brakes to bring it to a halt.
The car is very very capable and has won its class at Autocross events multiple times.
As far as power goes, my Sportcross on a Dynojet made 213WHP/187TQ with a BC 264 camshaft, intake tube, stock air box, straight through Y-pipe, and an HKS muffler.
It is so eager to get up and go.
They may be rare, but they pop up for sale ALL the time in different states. I flew to Maine for mine (one family owner, no rust). Go get one!
I was thinking that if the owner did sway bars, they might as well have did the bushings too
Man I live up here and I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild, especially with no rest considering how our roads get
Fantastic tips as I’ve been hunting down info like this on forums and fb groups since I’ve got mine a year ago. As for manual swaps I’ve heard great things about the ar5 from a Pontiac solstice or Colorado as well as a BMW zf5/6. I’m leaning towards those but your tips for the w55 seems more financially feasible and seems like it would pair ratios better than other swaps.
@Riley Sullivan I'm running the ar5 in my is300 and it's great. If you can find a good w55 that would probably be the most cost effective option since there are oem components for all the parts needed for the swap. If you plan on keeping your is300 I would definitely manual swap as it's a totally different car as a manual.
This is a powerful comment. Doug should pin it. Cheers on the Sportcross! I've been looking for one for a bit.
Doug must have blown his voice out because he was so excited to film this car 😂 been waiting for this one on the channel for a while!
Hoovie wore that throat out it seems
@@ghoulbirth705 😂ruptured blood vessels
Up all night talking cars with Hoovie.
I think he shot a half dozen or more vids in a couple days. Several with Keenan back to back, then Tyler and then the car reviews. He must of been going crazy with all the footage trying to organize it. Ha!
This!!! (cough, cough, cough) lol
Doug, I believe the reason for the additional brake lights on the trunk-lid is because in Euro markets those lights actually serve as the rear fog lights, which is mandated in many countries.
Can confirm, mine are fogs!
Exactly! Was about to write the same
Same in Australia
In many countries they are mandatory. In Russia too.
Doug is american centrist
I owned one of these, same exact specs, same color! The reason the gauges in the instrument cluster look so good is because they were designed by a watchmaker! This was my first Lexus and I absolutely LOVED that car, I would get tons of great comments every time I pulled up anywhere in it! The 215 hp were enough to keep me happy. Street racing, going to the drag strip or losing my license all together were never my thing as I was expected both at work in the morning, home and night, and driving the kids around in between! I had that car for 10 years and never once did it leave me stranded, never once did the check engine light come on, or any other warning light for that matter! I gave it to my nephew when he started Med school, 9 years later he’s a surgeon, and this is still his DD! It’s only because I get to drive it pretty often, my old car I mean, otherwise I’d be bidding on this one! Doug, you should buy this car, it’s quirky, FUN and very rare!
The instrument cluster may have been designed by a watchmaker but it wasn't designed by anyone who drove a car. I have a 2005 IS300 sedan (bought it new) and the gauges are the worst thing on the car. For example, the numbers on the speedometer are circumferential rather than being level. This means it takes longer to read them. You don't want that when you're busy. The whole panel is like that. It may look good but it doesn't function well.
The other bad thing is the traction control. It feels like it was made for front wheel drive. So if you're trying to throttle steer, it cuts off the power whenever you get any rear wheel slip, which is exactly what you don't want. I leave it off and everything's cool. But I have to turn it off every time I start the engine.
Everything else is great. When I got the car, I was comparing it to the BMW 328 and it felt identical except it was $12K cheaper. So Lexus it was. It's been totally reliable and a pleasure to drive for the last 18 years.
I've had the car for a couple years and the guage has never bothered me. I guess i never need to recite my precise speed at an instance. Just gotta be at those speed limit intervals or flow of traffic. And the trac off button is graciously close enough to press without taking your hand off the shifter in park. The TC does suck.
@@soaringvulture This car it's not for YOU then. 👍🏽
@@Certified_Classic_B It's not for me? But I've had it for 18 years. I was just pointing out its deficiencies. Nothing's perfect.
@@soaringvulture I said if you dont like the car u had, then it wasn't for you, its not hard to understand.
The reason the IS and the GS have those lights on the trunk is because in European markets those were rear fog lights. They didn't light up with the brake lights, the blank spot next to the memory seat button was a rear fog light switch in euro cars. Also those memory seats were only offered in 04-05.
Doug is american centrist
makes sense i have a fully loaded sportX and didnt see memory seats:(
Wiring them to your brakes is a semi-popular mod in Europe
I loved these cars back in the day. Those taillights looked so cool and the speed gauges paired with a manual transmission and aluminum pedals gave it a great vibe.
I actually hated those tail lights, just because it spurred aftermarket recreations and everyone was putting them on their cars.
Remember the late 90's Mitsubishi eclipse with the tail lights that went across the trunk? Seeing those with aftermarket "altezza" tail lights was pretty much the ugliest crap I had ever seen.
@@volvo09 I’ll agree with you in the case of the classic Eclipse, but on this car, it looked great.
The wagons never got the manual unfortunately
@@SuperSpeederBaker yes they did. I drove them and almost purchased one.
@@bindingcurve yeah doug is saying no manual but I'm sure there was a manual, a friend owned one and it was not a swap.
Man, this takes me back. Owned an '01 IS300 and this review is spot on, kept it stock, little slow, built to last. A/C was the coldest ever in any car I've had
I was working at the local BMW/Lexus dealer when the IS came out. The first one delivered was yellow. It sold the same day it arrived to a younger lawyer. We could not keep them on the lot. I don't recall ever seeing the wagon version. We knew they were available, but we never ordered one, and no one ever asked. I do like the wagon a lot, though.
Ive only ever seen one, and I swear it was right hand drive but I guess I was wrong lmao
@@paulcarmi8130 It is perfectly plausible, they're originally right handers. I remember seeing these in Europe, not even that long ago. They're not for me though. I'm one of those people that can't understand why someone would choose a station over a sedan when it comes to sporty, good looking cars, unless that person is blind.
There is a yellow first gen near me
@@ForcesNL I would choose a wagon because my first car was an outback wagon, and even though subie is a shit brand, the practicality of a wagon comes in handy so much. I drive a fiat 500 (loser spec, no turbo) and MAN is that thing small 😂 moving apartments was HELL.
I wish manufactures would bring back gauge clusters like this. It's so nice looking compared to lcd screens. I've always loved the IS300. It was so nice!
yeah gauges used to be art and now its a screen design
Doug, I have been waiting AGES for you to review an IS300. I have owned an '02 for about 4 years now and the durability really shows, the last owner beat the heck out of it and I've put about 30k miles on it in 4 years and it just keeps on going, starts every time, and is a blast to drive and even work on as it is my first "project" car. (Btw it has 230k miles on it at present.) Loved the video as always Doug!
02 230k club let's go!
I have a manual with lsd with 305k on the og engine and trans lol
02 Sportcross 212k miles, owned since 167k for 4-5 years and has been dead reliable.
I have a manual slicktop with 80k miles
@@RandomBlake2564I have 2001 and 2002 Altezza Gita AS300's with 70K miles. I've had them for five years, never given me any issues.
Thank you for finally reviewing the Is300. I am lucky enough to have a 2002 manual with 97 000 kms. Gald to see how much others appreciate how amazing these cars are.
Doug the kind of guy to ask a traffic cop if he wants to see his Quirks And Features, in exchanges for not writing him a speeding ticket.
Doug is the type of guy to give a dougscore to the traffic cop
I stg NONE of these r funny
I hooted with laughter and my wife jumped 😅
It looks mitsubishitly 'Saaby'
Doug in his Skyline and stopped a traffic cop questioning why his steering wheel is on the right side is a classic!
I worked for a Lexus dealer straight out of high school (circa 2005) when these were new, i literally dreamt of them. In 2007 my 2004 Jetta 1.8t was in the shop more than i drove it, so i was able to snag a fresh trade in 2002 sedan version of what you reviewed (silver, black interior, 5 spokes, tint, and spoiler) for ACV. For a kid making it on his own, i literally looked amazing in my 5 year old Lexus at 20-21. Out of 57 cars and 36 years of age now, the IS300 was still my fave! It did nothing “out of the park” but it did everything WELL
I can't get over how clean this looks. Not even much of a lexus fan but this takes me back to my teens checking out cars with my old man. Honestly the wheels do it the most for me, usually the shape of the vehicle would be my first observation, it feels like this was literally built from the ground up, as silly as those trunk lights are? It all blends in so well. I really am surprised how much more i appreciate late 90's and early 00's lexus designs. They're extremely good for the age when we had so much plastic and mis matched panels. It'd describe it as a very smooth looking sedan. i'd imagine it feels like that too!
Kaizen Philosphy 🤡
@@AngelValdovinos I had no idea what you meant by Kaizen Philosophy but after a little researching, Perfect analogy! now i've learned a little more about Japanese business philosophy as well. Thanks for that! It makes sense especially with Lexus being Toyota's premium brand. I just never appreciated the design as a kid. Sincerely hope the seller gets a price they're happy with. it's been kept so well!
Is it just me, or do the wheels look similar to those on the McLaren F1?
i remember racing one of these is300s in my old STI, i was shocked at how well he hung with me, especially since I had my boost turned up and everything. Never knew these had the 2JZ in it, but I guess that explains it. Shit was probably modded pretty decently.
it's not the turbo version but still hauls for sure, also RWD tops out later on the torque curve compared to an awd subie
FYI - In 1999 Toms tuning shop released 100 Altezza for sale, they were called Toms 280T and all were sold within one day. Toms modified them to 280bhp and are extremely rare.
On some versions, the trunk lights were actually the foglights, activated by a switch next to the seat memory switches. My 2004 IS200 sedan has it like this.
This trunk foglights are mandatory in Europe
@@adamthewiseman that probably explains it
I've had mine for almost 5 years as my mostly stock daily. 240k miles, and I absolutely love it!
same here, same miles same length of time for ownership
Same except I have 80k miles got it when it had 50k miles it’s parked for almost 6-8 months outta the year because it snows heavy where I am
Edit: it’s also factory manual slicktop
Time to rebuild those engines and build them for big boost boys! Manual swap it! Then add a big turbo, sick wheels, air suspension, side mods of course. Paint it a sick laguna seca blue. 🤤
I had tried to find one of these (is300 in general) as my second car in the mid to late aughts solely because of gauge cluster. It was beautiful, and I had wanted to it to be able to look at every day. Such a silly reason to want a car, but there you have it. Good work as always, Doug!
I finally bought a sportcross again 2 days ago! It’s been sitting for 4 years and I’m excited to post videos and fix her up!!
Subbed
I always wanted one of these - with a stick. I drove a friend's manual IS300 sedan at an autocross event, and was impressed with the agility of the chassis, and flexibility of the drivetrain. It had that quality of good sporting cars that it seemed to get smaller when driven hard.
One the most unique "quirk and features" of the vehicle was that it has a staggered tire set-up. Rear tires are a different size than the front, just a tad wider. I was in the tire industry during this time & informing customers of this & trying to find a match set through tire brands was a nightmare. And the price of the tires at the time was on the high-end. A LOT of customers didn't like that Many of those that leased the car just put all 4 of the same size tires when they turned the car...and then were charged for rear tires.
LOL... still have mine, and easy to get proper set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4s from COSTCO every few years.
@@ChristopherSimmons I am more referring to when the car first came to market. Today, there are many options from many manufacturers that can do a staggered set up in the current performance (speed) rating the Lexus wants.
That passenger table was used in all the first gen Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe vehicles, very useful feature (I own an '03 Matrix), fun to see that it was used in a Lexus prior to sticking it in the Matrix/Vibe!
Not sure why we would call them forgotten. They have a huge following and are expensive and sought after. Nobody forgot about these they are incredibly popular
I think he's specifically referring to the station wagon body style, which didn't sell well in the US and Canada markets. I'm pretty familiar with Lexus's car offerings over the years, so I knew about the 1st-gen IS 300 sedan, but I didn't know they made a wagon variant as well.
@@JobiWan144 Americans have long ago fallen out of love with the wagon. Unfortunately 😢
@@stevenwilliams1805 i think it's because of the influence of american brands making garbage station wagons for years and that being basically all we knew for wagons
I couldn’t tell you the number of times someone has told me they never knew about the IS wagon 💀💀
people only cars for sedan version
The is200 is a very popular model in Ireland modified with its reliability rear wheel drive and it’s common to get it swapped to a 1uz v8 as we didn’t get many is300 it’s also the most failed model for nct ( a yearly vehicle inspection)
Damn thats dope i always though the is300/200 body swapped with the 1uz would be a perfect match. It could have been the first lexus is-f
Really nice cars these. They manage to be classy and sporty at the same time, and I think the styling has aged well. I remember back in around '04, the older brother of one of my school friends had a black IS saloon. It was probably a 200, rather than a 300, insurance being what it is in the UK, but I thought it was the coolest thing because, of course, it had those taillights.
Edit: I'm sure someone has already pointed this out, but I imagine the trunk-mounted brake lights were used as fog lights in markets that required them, e.g., the UK.
Yea, the altezzas with no rear bumper and rubber sprayed down their sides with no muffler and different colour body panels are really classy
Some of the best styling from the era...I wish cars still had some of these cues tbh. Gorgeous design.
@@alexandergoodwin3329 tf are you talking about, that's not what he said.
@@alexandergoodwin3329 we're not talking about drift missiles my guy
Not classy at all
More random trivia - the back seats on these are so tight because the length of the car fit it into a particular tax classification, or at least it did on the smaller engine, the 2 litre 1G-FE. Those came first. Having an engine under 2000cc and being that length qualified it as a compact car in Japan. I had an IS200. Lovely car. Not fast, but these have a nice chassis (double wishbone), and reasonably fun with the LSD. It also always felt well made.
I still daily my 2002 is300 and now being a manual, lsd, single mass flywheel car its a blast to drive all the time. 1uz vvti coming in the future....
All the IS300 guys running the comment section is hilarious lol
Instrument cluster and control console have a beautiful red-orange glow. Still the best looking interior in the dark at night.
Still love the gauge cluster the most, especially the JDM one with the tach being in the center ❤
Tach is only in the centre on the RS200
One of my favorite car ads ever was for the IS300: There was no voiceover or text; just a 30-second shot of the gauge cluster as the speedometer climbed to 100mph, with the engine revving in the background.
I own a sedan solar yellow and its stunning.. low milage and in perfect running and looking conditon. Great car!
Here in Ireland the IS200 and the IS300 are some of the biggest cars in the scene, simply because they are rwd and Japanese
People in America don’t understand how POPULAR Toyota and lexus cars are.
I had an IS300 for a long time, modded it a bunch, was really active in our local midwest IS300 club, and this video was an excellent trip down memory lane. Thanks Doug!
The wagon boys were always a unique crew.
These are fantastic but becoming incredibly rare. It's been years since I last saw one in the wild, they will be missed
3:22 the ct-200h was also excellent, a nice interior cooler looking more fun to drive Prius, and it inherited the ultra high reliability too
I have a beater ct-200h. This car doesn't die, and I love it.
@@kevinerosa how old?
@Cory Mac manus 2012.
@@kevinerosa can’t call that a beater you’ll get another 100k miles out of her ;)
I had an is300 and have a ct200h so this comment speaks to me.
Brother had an IS300 sedan from this generation. I was very impressed by how tight and smoothly it drove.
It’s interesting seeing the differences between my ‘01 sedan and this ‘04 wagon. I didn’t get memory settings, but where the wagon has two blank buttons next to the traction control button, I have two heated seats buttons, one for the driver and one for the passenger. Also, my “PWR” button is “ETC PWR” which is a strange change.
I think it’s the way this one was spec out. My sportcross has heated seats but not memory options
Wagen*
I always loved the look of these, getting parts for anything in the rear is probably a nightmare
the IS300 / Altezza is my favorite car. I want one! Can't believe Doug gave it a 4 for cool factor, this is THE coolest version of a cool car!
Hi Doug, pretty interestimg car! Here in Germany this model was offered as a Lexus, the IS200 with 2l inline 6 engine and IS300. As you said it should have been a competitor to the BMW 3 , and i think it really was, but sales were very weak in Germany.
My (American) parents took us on a trip to Germany and Switzerland in summer 2001, and we had an IS200 as a rental car! It was dark blue with a black interior. I'm sure it was fun for my dad to drive but I remember even as an 11-year-old kid how cramped it was in the back seat, and how I wished he'd upgraded to a Mercedes. Still a great memory.
Sales were probably weak because it had a freaking 1gfe in it 😅
Had an 06 matrix with a folding front passenger seat too, I think a lot of Toyota/Lexus from that era did that. Meant you could get surprisingly long objects into small cars and i always appreciated it
Cool! This is one of my favourite cars of the last few decades. It makes so much more sense that most of the cars that are on the roads nowadays.
Not a fan of the Lexus lights. Like clear headlights, they mess up the clarity of the overall design of a car and add fuzzy details. I like clear lines and shapes. At least the basic form of the backlight area is a clear shape.
The design still looks a million times cleaner than anything you can get now from Toyota or Lexus.
I had an IS200 while in the United Kingdom. It was my holy grail car during my high school years, so having one was such an amazing experience! Well built, beautiful cars they were... I wish Toyota/Lexus would bring back an updated version of this car that echos the styling.
Same! I bought a IS200 for £1600 quid when I turned 21 (36 now) I miss that car so much. It was 1 owner and super clean. Even had the navi option!
They're all in Ireland now
@@colmsmyth3234 oh yeah? Why
I've been a huge fan of this car for the past 20 years. I've only ever seen two in my life, but it's still one of my favorite car designs.
i love mine
That last comment about how he would make it more fun was literally describing the IS300 modification community 🤣 We know it's fun because we do what you described!
YOU MISSED A QUIRK! you can change the size of the front cup holder. The middle pulls out and you can reinsert it. The middle part has 3 different slots to insert it in.
I have a SportCross, and I did not know this! I'm dying to run over to my car and check it out!
Also missed the secret storage bin in the trunk
@@paul--b That's because it was secret. Now everybody will know.
@@soaringvulture Lol it's not a secret
just hidden
I had a 2002 WRX, which had a weirdly convergent path to production (a hot car from a manufacturer known for staid wagons and weirdo vehicles like the BRAT) and it was always interesting to see an IS300, both drivers trading looks like hmm, wish I had more of that - the IS300 person wanting performance, the WRX person wanting more luxury.
Funny enough my first project was a stock survivor 2002 wrx with 200k miles on the original motor. Absolute blast to drive even stock and enjoyed it for 3 years. Sold my daily for an ‘02 is300 sportcross and just recently sold my bugeye to fund this. It’s awesome being able to compare these 2 opposite cars from the same year. Can’t be too sad I sold the wrx as the Lexus has a completely different experience and as a spirited driver I do admit it handles very flat and planted throughout turns.
@@rileysullivan841 I drove my 2002 (I was the first owner, bought it in 2001) to 186k miles and half of those were with a set of (high quality) upgrades that had it making 404hp to the wheels, well over 120hp per cylinder, and it was absolutely fine and running well the day I sold it. I can’t speak for more recent Subarus of course but 15 years of fun was what a car got you back then, whether you went Subaru, Toyota, or Nissan.
Its funny because I've owned my 2004 WRX Wagon for 7 years. Did a JDM ej207 STI swap to wake it up and I also own a manual swapped 2003 IS300 Sportcross. The Subaru is faster by a considerable amount at current moment but the Lexus feels so much cooler to drive. People constantly gawking when I drive by is a slammed Lexus wagon makes my day. Both cars are great and as that weird guy whos obsessed with wagons these two are my top two affordable manual wagons.
If you want a tad more luxury on a WRX, you can't do better (stock) than a Saab 9-2X Aero. Exact same car, better trunk lid and a few more features.
This!!! Is the ultimate dad car 🤌🏼🤌🏼
I had an IS300 Sportscross back in 2002.
During desert training, we had to medevac an injured Marine that we put on a spineboard and c-collar. Our field ambulance was not available, so we put him on my brand new Sportscross. With the right backseat and the front passenger seat down, the spineboard fits perfectly. Plus, we have a room for another medic on the left back seat to monitor our patient.
Man, I missed that car!
Great vid as always. One interesting quirk on this car was that Lexus fitted it with 8.5” wheels in the rear that only came with the Sportcross. They became sought after by the bolt on tuner folks.
I agree with Doug about that gauge cluster, definitely one of the coolest looking from that period. The play in the steering may be just because the car is 20 years old and could use some new rubber bushings for the steering column or control arms, rubber deteriorates over time, whoever buys this may want to check that out. However, a little steering play is desirable in a luxury car because you can blow your nose, drink a coffee, eat a whopper, and get roadhead without the car swerving all over the road, it will hold a straight line even if your hands aren't steady. Also.... didn't Nissan actually do the "Altezza" style tail lights first? I'm pretty sure they predate the Lexus ones by a few years....hmmm.
As the owner of a manual swapped GGP 03 IS300 SX thank you for this awesome spotlight on a often unknown and overlooked variant of the sedan!
I love the SportCross because my cousins best friend had a 04 SportCross but he did a lot of work to it. He did Twin Turbo Kit and a lot of custom stuff (No wide body kit or nothing). He also did a 6 speed sequential swap and it has about 750 hp. I love the SportCross
wow that is so not even a little interesting... this isn't about you and/or your cousin
@@slowery43 If you don't like what I said the why did u comment? I'm just talking about the SportCross in General and how cool it can get with the 2JZ
@@tjhomie728 I think he’s just jealous 🤣
@@barrettnichols4987 probably so 👀💀
Owned a 2001 from 12k miles to 120k miles. Drove that car everywhere and loved it. Even Autocrossed it a few times. Sold it after about 6 years but eventually bought the IS350. Not one single issue. Ever. Only complaint I ever had was the CD changer was wonky and would eject CDs randomly.
Lol yeah I forgot about that. The factory cd changer had issues.
Doug is pretty much spot-on with this car. A friend had a sedan he turbo'd and refreshed the suspension. (I think that would fix the vagueness.) I literally created this YT account to leave this comment. It might just be the best car I've driven. I think it was near 200k miles. No squeaks or rattles inside. 5 speed stick shift. I think he said 11 lbs. boost. Made a great sound with the perfect balance: luxury, space, and speed. And you'll NEVER get tired of that gauge cluster.
A lot of the look and drivability reminds me of my 04 Mazda Protégé 5 wagon. Handled like a Miata and was slow af, but had a 5 speed manual! Some drunk kid totaled it last year tho.. only had 44k miles in it too ugh. At least insurance gave me 7k for it lol
Oh man I love the IS300. Wish I was able to get my hands on one especially a MT before they went up in price so much.
Glad you finally talked about this, we used to have this back in college days, i kind of regret selling it
Wish i could revert back in time, such a sweet car & ride
Yo Dough thanks for paying homage to first Gen IS. Just a slight correction the Altezza brand was mainly in Japan. However the rest of the world it was the IS200. I am an owner of one it’s a 2003 model year sedan.
I've owned 2 is300s and I wanted to get another one but thanks to Doug they're not cheap anymore! People are catching on dang it!
As someone who owns the Sedan version, its so cool to see you go over the interior! If anyone has questions, feel free to ask lol. Mine has way more mileage than this car 😅 (210,000)
Would you rather fight one duck-sized horse or 100 horse-sized ducks?
Can you fit an object similar in size to a woman in her mid-30s in the trunk? Asking for a friend.
@@ScavengerSexy Not in my trunk 😁
@@ScavengerSexy easily
What’s in a Wonderball?
Bought this exact car 6 month ago, daily drive it and I love it. It's fast enough to enjoy, yet practical enough to take trips to IKEA. Plus it's a very unique looking car. Two main downsides, fuel economy is terrible and the oil filter is very hard to get to.
I have to feed the damn filter in from the bottom, lay it over something and put it in from the top, such a pita compared to others🤣
Never expected this video. Now the IS line will go up 10k. When they are already overpriced
9:20 - cool, never knew that that was an option, I always scoffed at the electric seats, because they are heavy as hell, and it is really only useful when you have memory buttons.
10:15 - doesn't improve power output, simply just makes the A650E transmission a bit more aggressive with shifting
15:28 - it's not a stock feature, but a popular "skyline look" mod in the IS, I don't know about the GS.
21:40 - the IS200 handles a bit quicker, since the 2JZ is a huge and heavy lump of iron, the IS300 is a bit front-heavier.
21:45 - the IS200 had a pretty good close-ratio 6MT J160 Aisin gearbox. As a side note, there have been quite a few "IS400" SC - an IS200 with a 1UZ/3UZ engine swaps with an IS300 LSD thrown in to create a small, reliable, MT V8 sleeper.
I've owned a 2002 IS200 SC and now a 2001 IS300 SC. Great cars. They do have their drawbacks and weak points (rusting rear wheel arches and underneath the front hood, weak balljoints, weak and maintenance heavy brakes), but other than that they're pretty solid machines and parts are relatively easy to come by, of course apart from body panels for the rear section. But in a place like Poland, where this class of car is almost exclusively dominated by 3 series and A4s, the IS200/300 SC is a very interesting thing. When I got the IS200SC back in 2015, they were so few and far between, guys from my local Toyota dealership's part depo actually went outside to have a look at it, because no one saw them live ever before. Heartwarming.
Thank you for the vid Doug, I have been waiting for it for a long time.
Fighting a cold there, bud?
Hope you get batter, soon!
Hi Doug! As a motor journalist in Spain, I can corroborate many of the things you confirm. However, in Europe, the IS 300 was never sold with a manual gearbox. If you wanted it, you had to go with an IS 200, never sold in North America. Happy owner of a 2001 unit
Fantastic car.
The more recent CT200h gives similar vibes.
The CT200h was a lexus corolla hybrid and a lot smaller... They should have really used the Blade Master (which has all the lexus trimmings in the interior) with its 3.5l v6 2GR-FE
@@bytchslappa Indeed, I wish the CT were a bit bigger, I would have bought it as a small family car. Its reliability is excellent, like all Toyota hybrids.
My cousin drove one of these when I was 8 years old. She sold me into the brand. I now own a 2011 in the same color. I love the Lexus IS, best car I’ve ever owned. I just love driving it. The seat is designed so well I never get drivers fatigue.
We had it as the Altezza in New Zealand and when I was at high school EVERYONE wanted one of those, so damn cool. You still see plenty of them today and they still look so cool.
We had IS200 and IS300 here in NZ from new. Altezzas are all second hand JDM imports.
A family member got one of these not too long ago. I was shocked to see it, I checked it out. Seats were ripped and there was some rust in corners but, it looked good overall. It had 129K on it and he paid $6K for it... I thought it was a good deal. Shocking nice looking ride that was pretty rare...
The first car I ever bought after college with my own money was a silver Lexus is sportcross. 😊 memories.
Great cars, used to drive a bunch of the sedan versions at work. Useless in winter with summer tires, took 4 salesman and a detailer just to push it a few feet lol.
Lol yeah I could definitely see that. Wouldn't be a good car where there's a bunch of snow. I remember years ago driving to work when it was frozen outside and it was sketchy.
Doug the kind of guy who steals Hot Wheels cars to order.
i recall those tail lights from the "Something Wicked This Way Comes" series of commercials starting in the late 90's. I think that Lexus included them for the same reason that they made the dash cluster sporty -- to help attract a younger demographic to the car. The backend and the ad campaign left an impression on me. I still think that the backend looks sinister when I see one of these in the wild.
I think that was the GS400 commercial
I love my is300. I upgraded everything on it and did a 1jzgte swap easily.
Fancy seeing you here
There’s about 600 comments of other ppl saying the samething
Why a 1JZ? Easier to get than a 2JZ?
@@soaringvulture wiring wise on a 2001 yes.
I bought a new IS300 back in 2003. I put 364,000 miles on it and it never gave me any problems at all. Best damn car I've ever owned. I'd still be driving it today if some damn high school kid hadn't run a stop sign and crashed into it last October. Insurance gave me $7,000 for it. The money was nice, but it was very hard to see it leave my driveway for the last time.
Edit: the Altezza was the IS300s Japanese predecessor and was made in Japan since 1998. Toyota just made USDM and European market variants, which was a reasonably cost effective method of making a 3 series competitor. IMO, Toyota should have given the USDM and EU variants the 3SGE and 2JZ as engine options, as the 1G-FE 2l I-6 only really made sense in Japan for the purpose of economy. Altezza Gitas (the Japanese predecessor and equivalent) are available in Japan for under $6,000 but cannot be imported into the US until 2027 due to being 2002 and newer model years. I have an Altezza with the 3SGE and it is a great little sports sedan. I highly recommend it to those who want a "JDM" car but can't shell out $30k for a Chaser or equivalent F/R sports sedan. Additional edit: what is that out of the window at 21:00? 😂
The IS200 isn't even really good on economy. Mine gets 23-24 mpg. If the IS300 was offered in Europe in manual I would have gotten that, however I would still much prefer the beams engine over the other two.
@@vakusRP I guess I should have thought about it more before I sent the comment, the 1G-FE made more useable torque for city driving than the 3S-GE. Also, common misconception: both the 1G-FE I-6 and 3S-GE are "BEAMS" (Breakthrough Engine with Advanced Mechanism System) but the 3S-GE 4 cyl is the more desirable of the two. Fun fact, even the JDM RAV-4 SUV had a variant of the 3S-GE, Stephen Papadakis of Papadakis Racing built one as a desert ripper 😄
@@Garrett. I figured as much 😅 I just wanted to be a goofball about it. Edit: excellent sleuthing, I'll have to pin this somehow in case I need a Mariana-Trench level deep dive into background details, you'll be my first POC 😂
@@rhubarbpie2027 hey I just wanted to try to see if I could tell from a map, it was fun
@@Garrett. kudos, reminds me of the time that Shia LaBeouf put a live feed of a flag in Bumfuck Egypt and some redditors used stars and airplane patterns to track it down and remove it "for the meme."
My wife and her friends got to sit along as passengers in an IS300 drift car at a recent event at COTA. They had so much fun!
On the sedans, the manuals command a premium over the automatics. You could find unmolested IS300 manual for twice the price of the automatics. Fun fact: the IS was the last Lexus (in North America) to ever come with manual transmissions. They ditched the manual transmission in 2012 (IS250).
The SC300 offered a manual (although they’re even more uncommon than an IS300 manual), but perhaps the most uncommon of them all was the ES300 manual. They were only offered for two years (92-93) before they got the axe.
Aside from that, that was it for Lexus and stick shifts - and it’s sort of a shame.
managed to snag an 01 IS300 sedan w 130k miles ab 3yrs ago, it’s my daily and genuinely such a fun car to drive - especially on curvy roads, manages to make 215hp feel like more than enough. mines stock besides suspension but it’s nice to know the option for a crazy build is there. happy i got mine for 3k since they’ll definitely go up in price after this vid
looks so unassuming to most people but i swear i’ve gotten more comments and offers to buy this car whenever i’m out compared to anything else i’ve owned.
Best wagon, best chassis. Came from S-chassis, probably never leaving.
13:09 youre kidding, i legit ran out to my garage to check if my car also had it since i never noticed AND IT DOES!!!! IDK WHY BUT I LOVE IT IM SO HAPPY
Man, not too long ago a couple friends and I were walking down the street and somehow the IS300 SportCross and its rarity came into the conversation. Just as we were talking about it, an IS300 SportCross came zooming past us. We were speechless.
I love wagons. I used to own a Jetta Sportwagen years ago. I loved that thing. When I bought my GTI a few years ago what I REALLY wanted was a Golf Sportwagen with a GTI engine in it.
Doug sounds a bit under the weather 😕
I have a legenday memory with one of these, in black. Going up the hills buddies exhaust fell off into the ditch and lit the grass on fire 😂😂
Imagine swapping a mk4 supra front end on that?!
I'd take mk4 engine, suspension, steering, and brakes, but leave the bodywork. IS front fascia is just too clean with it.
I never knew this car existed and I LOVE IT!! Idk why they ever stopped doing these folding from pass seat. So many cool uses! Doug talking about customization at the end cracking me up because he’s so anti custom 😆
Those doubled brake lights were designed to be used as rear fog lamps on other markets, but US guys as always had to have it differently :)
Putting the car in manual mode and using the shifters is probably one of my favorite things about the is. It's a testament to how good Toyota is. My favorite thing is it stays in the gear that you put it in unlike Mercedes where it will jump to the next gear perfect for drifting ! That car is perfect
112k on my '05 SportX and still going strong...absolutely love it!
I just saw an IS 300 wagon exactly like this in the last week, I couldn't help but smile. I love all the IS300s from this generation but especially the wagon however I wish you could get them with a manual transmission.
By the way, you're voice sounds a little off today, Doug. If you're sick or have sinus issues, I hope you get to feeling better soon.
I love the CT200H. If I didnt need something with a bit more storage space (ended up with a hybrid Maverick) I was strongly considering picking one up
Always loved the original IS300. Almost bought a 2004 IS300 sedan with the manual. Was fun to drive, regret now not getting it back in the day
Always loved the design of this era of IS300
@Doug Demuro, you missed some quirks in the hatch area. I had one of these for half a decade and it was awesome. There is a hidden storage compartment at the "back" of the hatch right against the seat back on the floor. It spans the full width of the car and was useful to put a mini shovel or road side kit in it. Another quirk was that whole hatch floor collapses down to make more room. There are little feet that you fold down and you gain more room. In the video the floor was raised to its full height position. The hatch was also full aluminum which was rare in the early 2000's. In Japan the Gita came in manual ALL WHEEL DRIVE!!! Other people already mentioned the staggered wheel setup, torsen LSD option, and the rear fog light option. This appeared to be a base model sportcross but in good condition since heated seats, c-pillar speakers, and rear fogs aren't shown.
15:36 there's a bunch of Lexuses out there with the plastic faded, so when the driver puts on brake lights, it almost looks clear as if the backup lights are on!
Gotta give credits to the owners for keeping it in such great condition, also i love cars and bids for selling such mint condition cars. There is not even a single crappie condition cars in their website. Every listed cars look perfectly maintained 👌👌
I want one! I absolutely LOVE the SportCross! Plus, if I do get one, I will never have to get a new car again. The alteza taillights are gorgeous! Also the cargo mat, the cargo net, and the first aid kit are I believe factory. I have them in my LS430.
Best quirk i remember from my 01 IS300 - gauge, AT metal ball shifter, shift up and down button on steering wheel, and obv the RWD
only after 2003, the IS300 center console had an armrest