Lexus: SC300 or SC400

I have an early SC400 and I still enjoy it after all these years. I don't
believe the economy of the 6 cylinder is that much better than the V8 (I've
averaged 20.3 mpg for 170K miles). In my mind the only reason to consider
an SC300 would be to get a manual transmission which was never available on
the SC400.

Ted

"Vinny" <com> wrote in message
news:google.com... 

>I have an early SC400 and I still enjoy it after all these years. I don't 

I agree. The manual tranny option for the SC300 was discontinued in 1997,
and only 10% of the production was manuals to begin with, so manual SC300s
are not very common. And the inline-six and five-speed auto were never a
particularly good match in the SC, GS, or IS - all these cars are
unresponsive and don't shift particularly well. Unless you're going for one
of the early SC300 manuals, get the SC400.

- Mark

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:50:23 GMT, "markjen"
<net> wrote:
 

I was lucky enough to get a '95 SC300 5 Speed Manual and I have been
pretty happy with it. It gets about 23 - 24 MPG in City driving and
about 27 MPG on the highway at ~ 75 MPH.

City driving for me was not really big city like Cleveland, Atlanta or
Los Angeles, so your mileage may vary. I was in Dayton, OH (metro
population ~ 250,000). Rush hour in Dayton only lasted 20 minutes

The SC400 line always had more features as standard equipment like
Traction Control etc.

I agree with the posters above. You are not buying this car for fuel
economy, so don't buy the SC300 automatic, you might be disappointed.

Ken - West Union, SC Population 270 + 2 (counting dogs and chickens)
"If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail."
- Abraham H. Maslow

"Vinny" <com> wrote in message
news:google.com... 

I would go SC400 if you plan on buying a 99, if performance is important to
you. Starting with the 98, the SC400's engine gained a larger
horsepower/torque advantage over the V6 model, roughly 70HP and about the
same in pound-feet of torque. I plan on buying one sometime next year from
that time period, I'm curious how the 5 speed automatic performs vs the 4.

FYI some of the model year changes are listed here:
http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2272

 
Traction control was never standard, but an option.