car.kiv

Inari

2013 Lexus IS250 · daily driver · always a work in progress

Intro

My 2013 Lexus IS250, whom I lovingly refer to as "Inari," after the fox goddess in Japanese mythology.

She was the first car I purchased entirely with my own money, as my previous car was a hand-me-down that had gone through five different people in my family. My 2007 Toyota Corolla.

Initially, I wanted the 2005 IS300. I had a friend with the GS300 and I fell in love with the sound of the 2JZ.

Well, in 2024, the market for the IS300 wasn't the best. And the IS250 market wasn't great either. I looked at so many cars. I decided then, that my priority, since this would be my only vehicle, was to find an example that was well-maintained.

When Kris, the previous president of Lancer Motorsports and former Mercedes auto-tech, and I test-drove what would later become Inari... we both finally thought, "this is it."