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Hitting 55mpg again today, over about 20 miles.

One minor niggle: the boot lid. This is not automated (as it is with Jaguar and some of the Germans) and is irritatingly designed in such a way that I rarely get it fully closed first time, always having to press down subsequently from above. Can't quite believe it is so basic on a car which is otherwise so advanced!

check other cars on dealer when you are next time there... with 2IS problem was that if you applied even tiny bit of force, they would slam shut... so you would have to tip toe when closing them. Maybe enough people complained or new one has aluminium boot, who knows... just make sure it is not your seal or something.

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Jeroen,

Jouw Engels is veel beter dan mijn Nederlands!

The UK/Ireland specifications are entirely different from those in Continental Europe, for fairly obvious reasons. So I wouldn't worry too much about them (although you should be able to have a brochure emailed via www.lexus.co.uk). As you say, they do also differ between countries, even between the UK and (the Republic of) Ireland - for example, the 250 petrol version isn't available at all in the Republic and the names of the trim levels are different.

I know Lexus Netherlands has a blog similar to the UK Lexus one, you could check that out for details of specifications there. You may be right, as a slightly larger market there may be more options there, provided there is no cost to import.

Michael

Welcome! You took a very similar risk to me, I ordered without ever having driven a Lexus before.

So basically you've gone for the fully loaded! The one advantage I had going for a more popular version was I got it sooner, ordered mid-May and arrived 31 July.

Will be very interested to hear what you make of it including all the gadgets. 57.6mpg over an hour sounds about right to me - which is pretty impressive given these are new cars not yet "run in".

David

What options did you go for specifically? I wonder why you've had to wait quite so long, though admittedly I've only seen one F-sport even in the showroom.

Hi Ian

Only option is the sat nav along with metallic paint. I think the fact that it's Ultra Blue prolonged things.

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The keyless entry is standard on all UK specs. I can't speak for IRL.

UK reviews, with the very odd exception, appal me for their bias and inaccuracy:

- "We only got 40mpg": yeah, in Sport mode accelerating like a maniac; usually you get 50-55 for a short journey and I've already got over 60 for Belfast-Carnlough;

- "The glove compartment is small and an iPad doesn't fit in it": no it isn't and yes it does;

- "The steering lacks feel": show me a car with better steering;

etc etc.

The seats are excellent in any version, btw!

50-55mpg for short journey's is actually very good and respectable as that's the time the car is the most inefficient. Show me any modern diesel or petrol saloon that has good econ in sport / heavy boot mode!

Hmm will have to double check the keyless entry. Knowing how the Irish market works here I bet it's optional. 90% of all CT's sold her have no sat-nav and any extras. But I'll do what I did last time and import 2 better spec'd UK Lexus models.

Yeah for lexus fans it's been a pain in the ***** reading some of the european reviews as they're painfully obviously biased. Imagine impact on normal readers of the reviews who would be suckered into believing what they read. Journalistic integrity down the pan pandering to their big advertisers and supports no doubt. US reviews seem much better and upbeat. I guess it's natural to compare to BMW but I wish Lexus had stood their ground and not done the whole sport thing as on the IS it's not going to come close to a M sport BMW in any variant!

Glad you find steering is greatly improved. It's pretty bland on IS-F but once you get used to it; it's fine on demanding track use so it can't be that bad!

Two areas which they seem to have really picked up the ball is the seats and steering adjustment which are both the weakest points for me in the 2IS. You could never find that perfect seating position :/

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Re economy, that's another thing the reviewers miss. I live eight miles from Belfast. On an average trip in and out, I exceed 50 mpg. In my wife's diesel I exceeded 50mpg driving to Amsterdam, but not in and out to Belfast!

Re options, am I right that even options are taxed down there? I noted they have an "Eco" trim level, which looks suspiciously like the bare minimum!

I think we've discussed the BMW thing before. I'm not sure Lexus should have LED on the "driving experience" thing, not least because there is no manual. Even if it's true (and the Lexus driving experience *is* spectacular), no one's going to believe it, at least not in Europe. The truth is, I was never in the market for a 3-series - for me, the choice was C-class, S60 or IS (or A5 at a push). I suspect I provide a likelier hunting ground than brash BMW thrill seekers...

I genuinely didn't think the S80's seats could be beaten - one Dubliner even fitted out an entire home cinema with them! The 3IS beats them. Astonishing.

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Re economy, that's another thing the reviewers miss. I live eight miles from Belfast. On an average trip in and out, I exceed 50 mpg. In my wife's diesel I exceeded 50mpg driving to Amsterdam, but not in and out to Belfast!

Re options, am I right that even options are taxed down there? I noted they have an "Eco" trim level, which looks suspiciously like the bare minimum!

I think we've discussed the BMW thing before. I'm not sure Lexus should have led on the "driving experience" thing, not least because there is no manual. Even if it's true (and the Lexus driving experience *is* spectacular), no one's going to believe it, at least not in Europe. The truth is, I was never in the market for a 3-series - for me, the choice was C-class, S60 or IS (or A5 at a push). I suspect I provide a likelier hunting ground than brash BMW thrill seekers...

I genuinely didn't think the S80's seats could be beaten - one Dubliner even fitted out an entire home cinema with them! The 3IS beats them. Astonishing.

Yep, here in the republic, every optional extra you tick is charged at the cars VRT import rate.. so 16-18% depending on co2 of base model. The eco model is crap in terms of what you get but gets the lowest co2 and looks cheap.

Interesting about the fuel econ .. most people should then find good savings on fuel if they do commuting/traffic/kids drop off miles. Long trips for me = 24-28mpg, tootling around town and drop-offs... *cough* 12-18 *cough*

I find this site useful in getting real-term MPGs over many miles for cars; http://www.fuelly.com/car/lexus/ct200h <- here you can see the CT does pretty well over the long run with no one recording long term mpgs under 40 ... not a totally fair comparison as different car: http://www.fuelly.com/car/bmw/320d/2013

Hmm the seats are that good??? might be worth a test drive in the near future to see about these seats. It's such a shame they didn't bother doing a BTO for the IS350 like they do with the IS-F... very odd as I'm sure it would have more sales than the IS-F ever did: 219! http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/lexus_is_f_auto

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You don't have to have a Manual BMW to enjoy it. The new generation BMW 8 speed auto's are awesome - especially the Sport ones. It's uncanny how the gearbox almost always has you in the right gear and they are really superb - compared to my GS which I must admits is a bit of a dim whit when you try and push on - a bit jerky.

I too didn't want that rash BMW image again, the "hard" ride, I was fed up with the run flat tyres, the bad dealer attitude and the stingy kit. The new Gen of Lexus's seem to offer good value, but even better is the extreme comfort. The only small areas of concern are materials inside of the 4GS - some of the switches are decidedly Toyota, the LED heater readout looks very dated - not classy at all. Other than that and the economy of the non-hybrid cars, you really cannot fault them. Refinement is top notch - and thats why you buy a luxury car.

And the good news is that the new IS seems to be equally as good!!

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@Silver Arrow: Yeah the BMW 8 speed ZF box gets amazing reviews. And it's used many many other luxury cars so it's been well proven too. Agree on the rest of the sentiments. TBH the 8 speed in the IS-F is pretty trick and almost magical and could have been used on it's IS brethren :/ tho saying that it seems a 7 speed sport version is available in the US on the IS350 non-f-sport. Why do they not give us such nice toys here .... :(

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@Silver Arrow: Yeah the BMW 8 speed ZF box gets amazing reviews. And it's used many many other luxury cars so it's been well proven too. Agree on the rest of the sentiments. TBH the 8 speed in the IS-F is pretty trick and almost magical and could have been used on it's IS brethren :/ tho saying that it seems a 7 speed sport version is available in the US on the IS350 non-f-sport. Why do they not give us such nice toys here .... :(

GS250 doesnt get 7 speed in US, it is same 6 speed. 8 speed is in 3.5l engine.

I dont think the gearbox is the problem in GS250, it is engine that is not suited to the car at all. As to the materials, I find it heads and shoulders above A6/5 series (GS). But 2.5l is not competitive at all and after driving it, i would never get it.

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Re economy, that's another thing the reviewers miss. I live eight miles from Belfast. On an average trip in and out, I exceed 50 mpg. In my wife's diesel I exceeded 50mpg driving to Amsterdam, but not in and out to Belfast!

Re options, am I right that even options are taxed down there? I noted they have an "Eco" trim level, which looks suspiciously like the bare minimum!

I think we've discussed the BMW thing before. I'm not sure Lexus should have led on the "driving experience" thing, not least because there is no manual. Even if it's true (and the Lexus driving experience *is* spectacular), no one's going to believe it, at least not in Europe. The truth is, I was never in the market for a 3-series - for me, the choice was C-class, S60 or IS (or A5 at a push). I suspect I provide a likelier hunting ground than brash BMW thrill seekers...

I genuinely didn't think the S80's seats could be beaten - one Dubliner even fitted out an entire home cinema with them! The 3IS beats them. Astonishing.

as to the European magazines, you are right, there is no chance that IS or GS can beat BMW in tests, they are automatically rated worse :-).

But Lexus main market is USA, and there GS has won plenty reviews against 5 series and 3IS is winning reviews over new 3 series too, which never happened before. C&D said IS350 was supple and firm at the same time while 3 series was crashing and disturbed over the bumps. Imagine Autocar writing that? Their hands would turn black and fall off! ;)

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Is the keyless entry system optional on non-premium versions? I *love* it on my IS-F but don't see the point it getting the premium and can't find much info on lexus.ie.

It seems to me the F-Sport version is full of gimmicks like the IFA inspired TFT speedo gauge replacement. Are there any features in it that are worth it as obviously you don't get any real performance benefits other than perhaps tweaked handling... I do like the look of the seats :)

As an aside did anyone look at the BMW 320D or similar models in comparison to the new IS? I note that the price of the IS premium is cheaper than a base spec M Sport 320D here in ireland which surprised me. Adding any of the options available on the IS Premium pushes the 320 over 50k!

Ian it would be interesting for you to post follows up of long term fuel economy as some annoying reviews (i.e. the telecraph suggested a 300mile average of 33mpg!) suggest very poor econ. I'm hoping for > 50mpg over long term. My wifes CT (2011 launch model) is getting over 55mpg over 30k miles.

Hi Damien, I had an opportunity to drive an IS300h back to back with a BMW320D. The BMW was only in base spec with manual gearbox so it wasn't really a fair comparison especially as I'm more a Lexus than a BMW fan. In my opinion the noise and vibration from the BMW engine was such that you certainly knew it was a diesel and it didn't seem as refined as the Honda, Jaguar and Mercedes diesels I've driven recently. Also the BMW gearbox was not as slick or enjoyable to use as the Ford Fiesta and Honda Accord manual gearboxes I've used recently. Over the years I've been wanting cars with quieter and smoother engines. I also like comfortable cars, although not to the extent of wanting a big luxury barge. There's always a balance to be struck between handling and comfort and, for me, the IS300h hits the spot more than anything else I've tried. Also the options which I'd want, would push the BMW 3 series price up above the Lexus.

Like Ian, I would have considered a Mercedes C class but for the fact that my brother's C250 has needed a lot of work under warranty which makes it a non-starter for me as reliability and minimum ownership hassle are top priorities.

Hope this helps, but overriding all this is the fact that choosing a car is a highly personal choice and as you have an IS-F whereas mine is just an IS250SEI our starting points are very different and so, I guess, are our likes and dislikes.

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@Roger Bill: Thanks for the feedback. As with you reliability and min ownership hassle are top priorities for me too, especially when owning a V8 and having looked at many options the rare and Q like ISF hit the bill and touch wood has been a stress free ownership. TBH it's the hidden gem of owning Japanese high performance cars as this is my second. But as you, I'm a bit of a Lexus fan having also owned a CT and RX but was thinking perhaps my glasses were too tinted hence the comparison to BMW. Also, let's not forget (in the UK at least), Lexus dealerships are second to none. I've had the displeasure of being at the mercy of BMW dealership courtesy a number of times at two different locations and it was abysmal! They treat non-sales customers as scum.

My father-in-law owned two merc's from new since 2000 and his ownership woes have put me off for life (the C63 AMG was out). He constantly had issues and when the car went out of warranty it cost a bomb to replace simple parts. In the end he got fed up and went Hyundai.

Regarding refinement of the BMW diesel, this surprised me as they're supposed to be the best in class and technology wise they seem to be able to deliver the best performance vs co2 emissions and economy. Which tbh was the only reason I was even considering. BTW I have no interest in manuals; not after having double clutch gearboxes and the IS-F one. Couldn't bear to go back. One thing I do miss from my old RX was the hybrid when in town and traffic. I loved the engine just switching off and the car was quiet. It really did act as sort of calming effect. Sitting in traffic with a humming V8 is fine but not sure a diesel would be as enjoyable :)

That's the thing about the options where Lexus does well (or did ... they seem to be offering more and more options now and more levels)...When choosing the ISF second hand all I had to worry about was mileage and colour as I knew everything else would be standard on the car. I like my toys :)

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Hi Damien, Like you having read so much about how good the BMW diesels were I was surprised. Maybe the one I drove was a bad one and it did feel as it might have had a hard life but on the other hand it only had 3,000 miles on the clock. I think if I were to go the BMW route it'd have to be a petrol rather than diesel but their fuel consumption figures don't seem particularly good relative to Lexus according to the fuelly web site or http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/ On the fuelly web site I think the nearest equivalent they list to the new IS300h would be the Lexus ES300h which gives around the same consumption figures as the BMW 320D.

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Honestly, I just don't "get" BMWs! Obviously, however, a lot of people do - although a slightly declining number proportionately, judging by UK/Irish sales so far in 2013.

I could well be wrong, but my suspicion, in the UK and Ireland at least, is that the people who do get BMWs would rarely consider Lexus in the first place, except out of desperation with BMW's notoriously poor after-care. Thus, lining up Lexus as a serious competitor to BMW is somewhat pointless. Perhaps it is different in other markets, notably North America, I just can't say.

To me, Lexus aces on comfort, refinement and actually just all-round feel - I feel the same about a GS in its segment. Where I think the new IS really strikes is that it is markedly different from the GS, whereas I suspect the others will come to regret essentially rushing to create different "models" which are essentially the same car built from the same platform just in slightly different sizes or shapes.

That said, it seems to me the GS has sold particularly poorly in the UK. That's disappointing, as it is unquestionably a great car. Perhaps, as I've written elsewhere, the new, less expensive hybrid (GS 300h) will make a difference.

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That said, it seems to me the GS has sold particularly poorly in the UK. That's disappointing, as it is unquestionably a great car. Perhaps, as I've written elsewhere, the new, less expensive hybrid (GS 300h) will make a difference.

The GS has always sold poorly. Depreciation is a killer with this vehicle, especially on the 250 with Lexus offering 6 month old vehicles with £8k+ off list plus another £2k offer on finance. The 450h is too expensive, they should have offered a lower price SE spec. It will be interesting to see how competitive the 250h is priced.

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