I currently own 2 civics at the moment. I'm planing to get rid of my project civic (not sure yet) for the 00 - 05 Lexus IS 300. Reason is I've always loved the IS300 but was never able to afford one till now but I also have a project civic that I've spent a good amount of money on and use to use for shows and drag. Thing is i see to many people now a days with civics (or honda in gernal) and i want to try to stick out from the crowd a little. I havent seen to many nice IS300 around in the tuner scene and was wondering what mods are good for it or should i stick with the civic after what i've done to it?

There are hardly any IS300's around, and they're a bloody awesome car. Take the Lexus for sure, they're absolutely brilliant :D

I see loads of tuned IS300's here in Northern CA... they're always trying to race my S2000 (and losing).

I used to work for Lexus of North America and while the IS300 is a good car overall and I even considered buying one when I got my S2K, I've got myqualms with it...

-The interior is HIDEOUS. The dash is just fugly. Civics aren't well known for be hot cars inside but any year Civic beats the IS for aesthetics.

-The half-suede seats are a pain in the arse to keep clean if you get a tan interior.

-In terms of tuning, you can swap out the 2JZ-GE for a 2JZ-GTE (the turbocharged version) which will give you some AWESOME numbers, and there are lots of engine tuning parts for the turbo version. However, I was massively let down by the 2JZ-GE in the IS300... it doesn't have enough oomph stock, and as I discovered from people in the tuning scene, it would cost more to mod the stock engine into the turbo version than to just buy the JDM turbo engine and drop it in; completely different internals, heads and the like.

-The auto transmission (which nearly all of them came with) is very slushy and doesn't lend itself well to sporty driving. I don't know why people bother turbocharging automatic IS300's but I see it often enough. Although it's got the manual shift mode, it's super slow and it would have shifted on its own anyway by the time it recognizes your input. It also won't allow you to get anywhere near redline or downshift into high RPM's like you can with a stick.

On the pro side, the handling on the things is great; it's a fun canyon carver, and the RWD layout will put a huge smile on your face if you're used to the Civic. I like the stypling aside from the widely-copied tails, and the reliability is great.

Honestly, if you were looking for a sporty RWD sedan, I'd save up a bit more for a G35 sedan. Way more guts to it... the 3.5 liters in those are great!

If you are attached to the civic then keep it. If you want a new project, then go for the Lexus. You might find something creative to do with it. Good luck