What Is It Like? Ether Is250 0R Is 300H

[Hippogriff]

Ian - the mention of a rattle, as commented on by DJP, is the most concerning thing about your initial review. I've actually had no end of rattles, buzzes, clicks, squeaks and the odd "bump" in my two A4s. It annoys the hell out of me - the number of road tests I've been on where the Audi Tech. has said they can't hear what I can hear just depresses you. Eventually they get it fixed but it took four road tests before they accepted my front suspension squeaked, three 'road tests' (actually sat in one of their car parking spaces turning my wheels back and forth) before they accepted my front wheel "clicked" on turning (they had to disassemble the car for that one), two road tests before they accepted that there was a buzz from near the driver's door mirror (a loose grommet, apparently).

These are all separate road tests over the years... I've had others I've probably forgotten about or erased from my mind.

Anyway, back to the review - it looks like you're mostly pleased. Do you have the Mark Levinson system, or not? I would like to see this split screen facility. The folding mirrors work when you press a button, right, not when you lock the car? Someone mentioned the lack of passenger focused arm-rest could be a problem, did your passengers seem to mind?

And, lastly, but most importantly... can you see your own DRLs brightly reflected in the rear of other cars (not all cars as some are funny shaped) that you come up behind at junctions or in traffic? And how do they look? Any chance of a photo? My A4's DRLs being reflected in the backsides of other cars still gives me a childish pleasure (that might be 'cos they always look "happy", whereas the IS 300h's look quite aggressive / frustrated).

[Hippogriff]

Cool, I'm not taking the plunge until around September, so I will monitor this thread for your comparison.

I've always had standard audio systems in cars, the A6 Black Edition will come with BOSE (which I'm a bit unsure about, but I'll give it a good test) and the 300h obviously has the choice of Mark Levinson. I don't use CDs any more, so one thing that I am interested in finding out is what file types are supported by the car... is it just MP3s (which might not do justice to a premium audio system) or is there the opportunity to use something lossless (despite potential larger file sizes) like FLAC, WMA (the lossless one) or even a WAV taken at the same quality as a CD itself - 16-bit 44.1KHz - is there any way, at all, to get your album cover art displayed on the main screen (either via tags or folder.jpg), do the USB ports in the car provide enough 'juice' to use a small USB hard disk (don't have any Apple stuff), can you voice control your music selection.

These are the kinds of questions that I have going around inside my head and that I know the answer to will have a bearing on my overall decision-making process. Let's see if I can get that extended test drive sorted... hopefully not one where I sit there, parked-up, trying to get various pieces of digital audio to play.

Hell's teeth, are you sure it's a car you're after? Totally off topic but I'd have a small wager your a Sonos man......

No, no... I just like listening to my music in the car in a convenient way. This means I don't want to be tied to an apple device, I prefer a USB hard disk, and I like to be able to navigate my music 'tree' easily... if I can see Album artwork, then I'm even happier. As I've never gone for a 'premium' sound system before, I'm thinking - whether it ends up being BOSE or Mark Levinson - about the options for lossless or higher fidelity music options, when compared to MP3s... otherwise you're not using the kit to its best ability, I'd say, and you've paid £1,000 for it.

I don't use Sonos. ;-) I wrote my own music program... http://www.hmusiccentre.org.uk/ ...and I have a small but loyal set of users (I mostly wrote it for myself, though).

[ColinBarber]

I've not seen the spec for the ML system on the IS but I don't think it will support lossless. On the current GS and other systems it will support MP3 and WMA up to 320kbps and 48kHz sampling rate. The upgrades on the ML are more about the output state, amps and speakers, rather than the headunit.

I believe the system will navigate a USB stick, down to 8 directory levels. No idea on power output, it may not support HDD directly although you could probably power that from a 12v feed.

With the iPod integration I believe the iPod itself sends out analogue audio rather than digital so you can play apple lossless format and not tied to the limitations of the system. This would also apply to the aux/headphone in from another device but you wouldn't get any control of the device from the vehicle.

[Chris Dodson]

The second entry said the ride is bad. Not surprised as it is something Japanese car makes just can't get right. I have a brace of Lexus's - a 2007 LS460 and a 2005 SC430. Neither rides as I would expect for what they cost when new, you tend to feel every bit of our badly cared for roads and often it affects the handling. I would not have thought it beyond the wit of Lexus to get this right.

I might excuse the SC a bit as at a recent service the Lexus dealerships said it needs a new near side front shock absorber - £488 - before the December MOT. Thought I could get it cheaper elsewhere. Have tried all the usual high street fitters, searched eBay and even a brokerage website for scrap yards but found nothing. ATS told me Lexus has not released the patterns and therefore all their suppliers would have to buy the shock from Lexus. Has anyone else found the same or is there somewhere I can get the job done without going to the dealership?

[Ian J. Parsley]

I've had a few private messages and those above, so I'll try to address them all, though as per the above agreement this still isn't my final report... :)

"Rattles" - I drove nearly 100 miles today and heard no rattles at all. I'm beginning to suspect actually that I had the sun shade rattling against the windscreen; easily resolved! Nevertheless, I'll keep an ear out.

"Audio" - I don't have ML; I'm not a huge music fan but if you are and want to listen via Bluetooth, I'd suggest the upgrade is worth it. The sound off CD or DVD is exceptional; off DAB it's pretty good; off anything else it's distinctly average. That said, I'm so enthused by how quiet the car is, I've generally had the audio off - it's fun just listening to the silence! I haven't by any means explored the audio fully yet (I do have nav, which makes a difference to exactly how it works).

"Ride" - I'm not sure the ride could be any better. My last car, a current Volvo S80, was smoother in the comfort chassis setting (though not in any other), but the penalty for that was no "feel" at all. So although the ride is marginally harsher, I'll take it because the actual driving experience is leagues better.

"Steering" - Worth adding to the above, I am literally finding myself going around familiar corners without braking where in other cars (Audi, Ford, Volvo) I do brake; the steering is that good (i.e. direct).

"Consumption" - I drove 90 miles today in all terrains (hills, motorways, urban, country etc) at exactly *60.0mpg*. So yes, reviewers suggesting you can't hit 60 are suggesting that *because they don't know how to drive a hybrid car*.

"300 vs 250" - I cannot understand, honestly, why anyone would buy the 250 over the 300. The latter is two cars in one - drive it properly (as above) and you have a luxury cruiser with truly stupendous steering hitting 60mpg in silence; stick the shift in "S", turn up the synthetic noise, use the paddles and turn on the sport mode and you have something seriously resembling a sports car (and you'll still get over 40mpg, by the way).

"Looks" - A final bone of contention was the looks; anyone who's looked at mine has thought them superb (but very masculine, whatever difference that makes). I haven't noticed the lights in the back of other cars, but will look out!

Hope that covers most bases!

[Ian J. Parsley]

Sorry, there was also mention somewhere of the folding mirrors: these close on parking automatically only in the Premier trim; I have the Luxury.

I had automatic folding mirrors on my last car but it doesn't bug me - as a matter of course, when turning the car off, I just incorporate pressing the fold button alongside applying the foot brake.

[Roger Bill]

Ian, thanks very much for all your comments and info. It's really so much better to hear opinions of real owners rather than of motoring journalists. I'm hoping to get an IS300h luxury or, if funds permit, a premier sometime during the first half of 2014 so I'm keeping a close eye on this and the Club Lexus forum. In the meantime can I ask two quick questions about the nav system. I was wondering how good the connected traffic system is in the UK and also whether you've noticed the slow response problems which some in the USA seem to be having? Once again many thanks for sharing your early impressions, keep up the good work!!

[Ian J. Parsley]

Thanks Roger.

In response to two things (one raised privately):

- I suppose it is a tribute to how good the car is that I've hardly looked at the Nav! So I cannot yet answer on the Connected Services; however, I think I can say that there is no "delay" in the UK (I saw the same reports from the US).

- I am running the car today solely in sport mode and will report back an mpg figure; but one thing I have noticed is the car starts in "Normal" regardless of what you had previously selected. I haven't decided whether that's a good or a bad thing!

As a final point, I know that the *second* IS300h sold in NI was the Premier model previously used as a demo. If you don't mind that, I'd say you'll have a fair choice of them in early '14.

[petayV8]

The second entry said the ride is bad. Not surprised as it is something Japanese car makes just can't get right. I have a brace of Lexus's - a 2007 LS460 and a 2005 SC430. Neither rides as I would expect for what they cost when new, you tend to feel every bit of our badly cared for roads and often it affects the handling. I would not have thought it beyond the wit of Lexus to get this right.

I might excuse the SC a bit as at a recent service the Lexus dealerships said it needs a new near side front shock absorber - £488 - before the December MOT. Thought I could get it cheaper elsewhere. Have tried all the usual high street fitters, searched ebay and even a brokerage website for scrap yards but found nothing. ATS told me Lexus has not released the patterns and therefore all their suppliers would have to buy the shock from Lexus. Has anyone else found the same or is there somewhere I can get the job done without going to the dealership?

[petayV8]

Wow what a fantastic read. Some really great comments and some fantastic feedback. Just what i wanted to see, just neutral, factual and honest comments. Very informative.

Ive never been in the position to buy a car as new as the 3IS or anything close to it so ive never really looked into it - but its a massive shock to me to find out car audio systems of today, as amazing as they are, do not support uncompressed file formats. Its beyond belief.

Also suprised to hear comments that the 4 cylinder is quiet and refined, i guess i was wrong about the 250 being superior in that department. I always said ill never go back to a whiny, tiresome and noisy 4 cylinder, but time may tell!

[Ian J. Parsley]

I'm no expert but I suspect it is all to do with the sound proofing.

There is even a ridge on the side which pushes the wind over and under the side mirrors (this doesn't matter much when it's windy anyway, but on a calm day it means literally all you hear, even at 70mph, is road noise).

By the way, the synthetic noise available in the hybrid is nothing like as intrusive as in the YouTube clips and only applies in Sport mode - so, to my surprise, I've generally left it on.

[Ian J. Parsley]

A couple of people have kindly contacted me privately to ask about consumption, and specifically whether I know how to maximise it. I suspect people familiar with CTs or other hybrids will know far better than I do!

I started getting just under 50mpg all other things being equal. Over the last 100 miles or so I have edged this up to around 54mpg (on around 50 miles/day usually over about four separate journeys). Changes have included:

- all but abandoning Eco mode except for heavy urban traffic;

- restricting use of EV mode only to entering my own development, car parks, or in heavy urban traffic;

- using cruise control liberally (generally at bang on the limit); and

- maintaining speed through corners when safe to do so (the superb, direct steering allows this).

I don't know which if any of these have helped. Still keen to see if I can go towards that 60 mark!

[Hippogriff]

Ian - have you connected digital music to the car yet, via HDD, USB stick or what-have-you? If so, how is it represented on the main screen and the driver's screen (where the dials - or dial on F Sport - are... I'd call this a "DIS" in Audi terminology)?

Also, I have a question or two outstanding with Lexus, which they're finding difficult to answer (going to ask a specialist I've been told) - my question is this: "On page 37 of the IS brochure there is item 7, "Connected Services" that is said to be available as an option, or standard on some grades. Could you tell me more about this? This does not appear to be inextricably linked to the Lexus Hotspot on page 48 of the same brochure."

Do you, or anyone, have knowledge of this? It sounds like Google and various other on-line services can be used, but it's certainly not clear how that is achieved. I would expect via a 3G connection, which would - intuitively - use the (I believe unreleased) Lexus Hotspot - but the brochure is not clear (at least to me).

I've got an F Sport test drive booked for Friday and Saturday on the 16th. I test drove the A6 Black Edition last weekend - Sunday and Monday.

[Ian J. Parsley]

Trying to take those in order:

Re HDD/USB - no, I haven't tried to connect. However, it seems quite easy. The "audio mode" can be selected either from the centre console and main screen or from the dashboard via steering wheel buttons, cycling through AM/FM/DAB/DVD/Bluetooth/AV/AUX1/AUX2 (I think that's then all). I did connect my iPad today.

Re connected services: I appear to have them and have signed up to the "portal" so I can sign in and use them, yet I haven't actually yet seen the need to do so (what a heathen I must appear!)

Re Hotspot: I confess I can't understand what the hotspot would be for. If the car is in my driveway, it connects to my home WiFi. Otherwise, as far as I can tell, it connects via my Iphone (i.e 3G/4G). Certainly I got a traffic alert from somewhere a couple of hours ago (it could have been the radio, but it was turned off so I doubt it).

As you can tell, this didn't much matter to me but I would suggest this: the chances are your salesman won't know much more about it than I do (tho' will no doubt try to push you on the Hotspot!) so ask to speak directly to someone more senior in Lexus UK or, easiest, contact Lexus via the UK Lexus blog (very fair and knowledgeable in my experience).

[Hippogriff]

Yes, I have sadly found this is usually the case with car salespeople. I went into BMW and coached the guy about what I was interested in - technology, gadgets, connectivity, music fidelity etc. etc. - then he surprised both me and the girlfriend by talking about how you could tap the indicator stalk down and make the indicators blink 3 times, without you having to lock it down and then push it back up!?!?!?

I was somewhat bemused by that line of selling to say the least. I think he'd gone a bit out of his depth and just didn't want to stop talking.

To say modern cars have more computers in than ever before, and are entertainment systems in their own right, you think they would gen up on this a bit more. My Lexus sales guy was going on about laser-glued roof bits and the fact that the hem of the wheel arch was smooth to the touch... who cares? I didn't understand it... but I also very politely said that I didn't want to understand it.. :winky: ...what I do want to understand is all the bits that will make the car's driving seat a pleasurable, convenient and intuitive place to be.

So... your car connects to your home wi-fi in the drive, does it? And can connect to your phone and 'connect' somewhere for something - that certainly appears as though it's a separate thing to the Lexus Hotspot, for sure. That information helps me. I reckon I'll find out more when I get a hold of one...

[Ian J. Parsley]

Yes, it seems to be basically like a tablet without a sim, you can either connect to Wifi or via Bluetooth over 3G/4G, or so it seems to me anyway (your phone connection a d charge is displayed). I suspect this is all part of the nav package, I'll re-check the manual.

The welding stuff did interest me because it makes the car look stunning, and I really can't fault my own salesman either with Volvo or Lexus (the latter even re-cleaned my windscreen himself after I'd taken the stickers off), but I entirely take your general point. Knowledge is King but in the Internet age, the customer may well be the one with the knowledge!

[spwolfx]

Ian - have you connected digital music to the car yet, via HDD, USB stick or what-have-you? If so, how is it represented on the main screen and the driver's screen (where the dials - or dial on F Sport - are... I'd call this a "DIS" in Audi terminology)?

Also, I have a question or two outstanding with Lexus, which they're finding difficult to answer (going to ask a specialist I've been told) - my question is this: "On page 37 of the IS brochure there is item 7, "Connected Services" that is said to be available as an option, or standard on some grades. Could you tell me more about this? This does not appear to be inextricably linked to the Lexus Hotspot on page 48 of the same brochure."

Do you, or anyone, have knowledge of this? It sounds like Google and various other on-line services can be used, but it's certainly not clear how that is achieved. I would expect via a 3G connection, which would - intuitively - use the (I believe unreleased) Lexus Hotspot - but the brochure is not clear (at least to me).

I've got an F Sport test drive booked for Friday and Saturday on the 16th. I test drove the A6 Black Edition last weekend - Sunday and Monday.

Apperantly if you have nav in 3IS, you get stuff like pics from google streetview...

The 7-inch screen is operated by Remote Touch or voice commands. With vivid 3D graphics and many mapping options, once parked, the system generates a QR code for your smartphone, with directions by foot to your final destination.

The IS offers next-generation services like Online Search, Google Street View® , Panoramio® or Connected Traffic. For extra convenience you can even forward a route from your laptop or tablet to your car’s navigation system

as to the iphone/ipad/usb, it picks up album artwork in the base unit....

[Roger Bill]

Darren: I haven't got a new IS or the owners manual so this is just my interpretation of information I've found on the internet (e.g. see the links I posted in http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/82832-test-drive-in-new-is/). Connected services come with the nav system which gets data from your 3G phone via Bluetooth. Among the services are real time traffic reports and prediction of travel conditions 15, 30 ... minutes ahead and the spaces currently available in car parks which are hooked up to this service. In the UK this system is run by INRIX see http://newsroom.toyota.eu/newsrelease.do;jsessionid=FE6DC8B3D74CF2060CF5830B59403A63?&id=3398&allImage=1&teaser=lexus-inrix-launch-pioneering-parking-traffic-navigation-service&mid=1 Most car nav systems pick up traffic data from FM radio stations broadcasting RDS data which, like the traffic reports you hear on the car radio, often seem out of date or inaccurate. http://www.tap.iht.org/objects_store/201206/In_vehicle_information_in_the_UK_note05-12.pdf INRIX map and traffic apps are free to download for various phones and tablets. I've got the INRIX app on my Windows 8 tablet and Windows Phone and the quality of the traffic information seems good.

In the USA their equivalent to connected services is known as Lexus Enform: https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/lexusenform/home.do

The £350 Lexus Hotspot option takes a 3G sim card which provides a constant data feed to the nav system's connected services and it provides a WiFi hotspot for up to 5 tablets, laptops, phones, etc. I guess the aerial used for the hotspot system might give a better signal than a phone inside the car but you'd need to pay monthly data charges on a Sim from one of the mobile phone companies. Some of our local buses now offer free WiFi using, I guess, something similar to the Lexus Hotspot equipment.

I've no experience of these systems on the new IS so the above is just my best guess and I'd be very interested to hear of owners experiences or from anyone with more knowledge or information.

[Hippogriff]

I'm asking about connecting something like a HDD / USB stick etc. because I would like to know if there needs to be a folder structure to follow... i.e. the music files have to be held in a top-level folder called "MUSIC" or something like that. I don't want to connect any kind of apple device which, of course, would make things easier. I'm all for difficult.

It might say this in the manual, so if anyone fancies poring through it for me... that would be really nice before my test drive. I don't want to spend all my test drive in front of my PC, trying to get music into the correct format for the car to play (and I probably would).

If the system plays video, the same question would apply, I guess. On my A4, my device has Artist folders at the root level and this works just fine. On a PS3, an attached device has to have these named folders, "MUSIC" etc. so I was just curious if anyone had had the chance to play around with this yet.

Answers on a postcard, please...

[Hippogriff]

I saw the F Sport in the sparkly red in the showroom. It looked lovely. It makes me sad that I am so cheap and I refuse to pay for paint on cars, always going for solid black, like some kind of G man. However, don't you all think they have too many grey / silver options for paint? The one that I saw out-and-about in Sheffield was the F Sport White... I didn't realise, at the time, what a good choice it was by that particular owner, with it being "exclusive" to the F Sport.

[Ian J. Parsley]

The manual is a monster, but if I happen to get a moment I'll have look!

Re colours, you should be able to negotiate metallic well down from £610. I actually went for the celestial black over the (non-metallic) velvet.

I do understand the greys - one is very light silver, one is almost brown in some lights, and one is gun-metal. The drawback is, ordering blind, you don't *absolutely* know what you'll end up with...

[Ian J. Parsley]

Ian - have you connected digital music to the car yet, via HDD, USB stick or what-have-you? If so, how is it represented on the main screen and the driver's screen (where the dials - or dial on F Sport - are... I'd call this a "DIS" in Audi terminology)?

Also, I have a question or two outstanding with Lexus, which they're finding difficult to answer (going to ask a specialist I've been told) - my question is this: "On page 37 of the IS brochure there is item 7, "Connected Services" that is said to be available as an option, or standard on some grades. Could you tell me more about this? This does not appear to be inextricably linked to the Lexus Hotspot on page 48 of the same brochure."

Do you, or anyone, have knowledge of this? It sounds like Google and various other on-line services can be used, but it's certainly not clear how that is achieved. I would expect via a 3G connection, which would - intuitively - use the (I believe unreleased) Lexus Hotspot - but the brochure is not clear (at least to me).

Find attached a section from the sat-nav manual which may mean something to you, though it's all acronyms to me!

Re Connected Services: this requires an Internet connection (but yes, this can be by 3G/4G over the phone Bluetooth) and enables you to view, either via Streetview or Panoramio, places on the map. However, the real aim is that it enables you to look up a location (say, a newly opened restaurant), either on your computer or in the car itself via "Online Search", and look at it and/or navigate to it. You can transfer new locations found on your computer either by simply downloading them through the Lexus Portal (a kind of cyber-storage via my.lexus.eu) or via USB stick.

Does that make any sense?!

[Silver Arrow]

IJP - I did a lot of questioning on the Connected Services, and it seems it needs you to have a tethered smart phone. Once you have the phone tethered using Bluetooth, you can access the internet from the car. In the 4GS, it seems to be able to work with Vodafone and O2 only. I tried connecting my EE Iphone 4s and the gave up, it just wouldn't work.

I understand tethering to be a facility where the mobile phone becomes a modem, for want of a better phrase. The car then connects to it over Bluetooth, using your data bundle.

My contract is up soon, so I'll be shifting to O2, and then see if it will work.

I have registered on the Lexus portal, and can now access Google maps through it, and then save destinations to a USB memory stick, which I can upload to the car with Memory points. That works quite well. Having said that, it's not as good as BMW's Connected Drive, where the car actually has a 3G SIM in it, and you can send destinations to the car from Google maps, and the SOS button on the roof lining connects you to the BMW control centre, where they can send destinations to your car if you need them to. It's a brilliant system, and one that I miss!! There's no faffing about with tethering, because the car is a just a BIG mobile phone lol. It had 4 years subs paid at registration, but heres the rub; it costs £120 a year to renew after year 4!

[Roger Bill]

Hi Jonas, My understanding is that connected services in the new IS uses a tethered phone unless you have the £350 Lexus Hotspot option which takes it's own sim card and is, therefore, the same as the BMW system you describe except that in the UK we don't get an SOS feature.

Can you tether your EE phone to a tablet or laptop or is the problem just with tethering to your Lexus? I believe some mobile phone contracts try to block tethering but sometimes work-arounds can be found on the internet.

[Ian J. Parsley]

That's correct.

Connected Services can also give you updated traffic info via your smartphone. No idea how, but it definitely works!

I don't know about EE; I'm with O2.