IS 3rd generation

[Steve vialls]

Hi All, I am in search of buying a 3rd generation IS, I have already driven a 200t which I really liked the drive of, I used to have a 2nd generation IS250, I am unsure of which variant to look for out of a 200t, 250 or a 300h, I am looking around a 2016 plate. What do you recommend the only thing i no is that it needs to be an F Sport model. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Zotto]

I love hybrid eCVT  so my opinion is biased, but not all people like it, my suggestion is to try different models and decide.

[Steve vialls]

Have you had any battery/hybrid issues with it, I just don’t want to have any big repair bills if I went for a hybrid. Also with the hybrid what speed does the hybrid go up to. Ie can you drive in hybrid mode at 70 mph?

[Zotto]

The big mistake is to think to hybrid with a system in which you go electric OR thermal: actually it is not so. HSD stands for Hybrid Sinergy Drive, both systems work together to obtain the best results for power delivery and fuel efficiency. But, even if wonderful, it  can be felt as not good for some reasons, usually I think for habits that thermal engines car drivers have.

The most confusing feature is the lack of discrete type of gears transmission, no more gears to change , but what some drivers find awful is the total lack of relation between speed and rpm of (thermal) engine, you press the right pedal and rpm go high even if in the meanwhile it seems there is not a proportional acceleration; you have also a steady speed and have rpm going up and down (also to switch off thermal engine if under 45 mph): all this make some petrolheads to deeply hate HSD system, so my suggestion to try one before buying and decide.

Max speed could be also an issue, as almost all hybrids have a speed limit (between 180 or 200 km/h).

Otherwise, there are many real advantages that make loving HSD .

Gear is always the right one for the speed you are cruising, every time you slow down with light braking you recover energy charging Battery and sparing fuel and brake pads, quiet riding in silence for most of the time in city driving, a gearbox without clutches to worry about.

Other advantages are coming from local laws encouraging ecological vehicles  with lower taxation or access in limited city zones.

Hybrid batteries are not a problem, having a long warranty time (till ten years with proper servicing) and ,even they are rather expensive, in old cars can be repaired changing not the entire pack but single cells.

[ganzoom]

The Lexus hybrid drivetrain is the same tech as found in the Prius which is the backbone of MiniCab companies world wide, that tells you all you need to know about reliability.

Ours don't do massive miles, but after nearly 5 years of ownership its been faultless with the engine bay looking almost identical to the day we picked it up.

Don't worry about the hybrid/EV modes, just think of it been like a petrol car that can achieve diesel levels of efficiency!

[Jayw13702]

Have you had any battery/hybrid issues with it, I just don’t want to have any big repair bills if I went for a hybrid. Also with the hybrid what speed does the hybrid go up to. Ie can you drive in hybrid mode at 70 mph?

My IS300h is sat at 131,000 miles and racking up about 45k a year as a taxi, to date I have had zero hybrid/battery issues with mine and really done expect to either this side of 200k.

I have run a number of Prius before the 300h and none of them gave me any hybrid issues neither, collectively I have done about 400k on hybrids and had nothing but total reliability out of them




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[jevestobs]

I'm just trading in my IS300H Premier at a main dealer after 3 years of very happy ownership. I'm going to a GS300H, purely for the space and nothing else.

The hybrid system is fantastic. You have to change driving style. The best approach is to adopt a relaxed, progressive but purposeful style, feeding power in steadily and riding the significant torque of the electric motor. Overtaking can be done with impressive thrust by pushing the accelerator past the kickdown switch, at which point you get a shove in the back.

Most of the time, the ECVT gearbox drives like an old 3 speed torque converter auto. So acceleration is linear and effortless. If you come into it with that mindset, you'll love it.

What it doesn't do is provide sporting driving in the style of modern German cars. So no diesel shove, 9 speed gearboxes with lightning fast gearchanges or playing tunes on the paddle shift.

 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Steve. What are you actually looking for in a 3rd gen IS? What kind do of driving will you be doing? Will your journeys be short or long? 

If your journeys are going to be long ones then bear in mind that when on the motorway or A roads you'll be using the engine in the 300h. The Battery range in the 300h is very limited. The most I ever got was 7 miles and that was trying to eek out as much electric travel as possible. 

Max speed in electric is no more than 45mph but at that speed distance will be about 4 miles.

You state you drove the 200t. Nice car but I'd assume it'd cost more to run over a year.

Test drive a few 300h's to get a feel for it. They are a superb car and I miss my previous one.

[Steve vialls]

I do about 30-35 miles everyday to and from work, in this journey I do atleast 10 miles on fast roads including a motorway, I’m not really bothered about fuel economy just would like something that is nice and comfortable to drive. I used to have a gen 2 is250 so definitely would like another Lexus, I thought I would ask about the is300h as I wanted to no abit more information on them first before I looked at one 

[Zotto]

33 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

 then bear in mind that when on the motorway or A roads you'll be using the engine in the 300h. The battery range in the 300h is very limited. The most I ever got was 7 miles

😲 In motorways and A roads electric engine still helps when necessary, as it' s impossible that you drive all the time without difference of altitude and braking with further acceleration:

give a look at monitor with energy fluxes and you will notice Battery charging and discharging.  Battery range is NOT important itself, Battery is just an energy buffer; another matter if you have a PHEV where you charge Battery with a AC cord to discharge it without using fuel for some more miles. 

[Jayw13702]

In order to understand how the Toyota and Lexus system works you have to almost forget that it is a form of electric vehicle.

The motor supports the engine, therefore reducing the load on the engine and decreasing the fuel consumption, the engine supports the motor/battery by being able to recharge the batteries whilst on the move.

Yes, the vehicle is able to run standalone EV but for a very short distance, around town it has excellent fuel economy because of the fact that the engine is not being used 100% of the time.
On a longer run using motorways and fast a roads the engine is being supported by the motor, and because the motor isn’t running at full load this means with some careful driving you can get some very good mpg figures.

I’ve always seen these hybrids as a way of improving your urban fuel consumption and getting almost diesel like fuel consumption on a long run but without having to get involved with diesels and turbodiesels.

Around town I can average 45-49 mpg without any effort at all, drive it like miss daisy and 50-55mpg is very achieveable.
On a run of say 400-600 miles at 75 mph with a couple of adults and the A/C on I can regularly see 55mph and higher





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[jevestobs]

The clue is in the name of the system - Hybrid Synergy Drive. The two power sources, electric motor and engine, work in harmony to move the vehicle along as efficiently as possible. Your contribution is to drive with the right style to allow the system to perform at its best. This means things like:

1. Getting up to speed reasonably quickly then backing off the accelerator and reapplying with enough pressure to maintain speed

2. Coasting where possible, reducing unnecessary acceleration

3. Allowing long braking distances and using light brake pressure

4. Using cruise where possible

All of this helps the system generate as much electricity as possible, keeping the use of the internal combustion engine to a minimum.

The goal is not to see how far you can go in EV mode in one shot, it’s to extend the number of times the car runs in EV mode to as many occasions as possible during a journey. 

 

[Zotto]

1 hour ago, jevestobs said:

 

4. Using cruise where possible

Not so sure about this point, better asking a constant power keeping a steady  right foot with power gauge just a bit over mid ECO position.

But it could be boring 😁.

 

 

[Mr Vlad]

Steve many folk on here have catagorically stated the mk3 IS is so much better than the mk2.

The is300h is a sublime drive for such a size of car. You'll want to increase your commute a few more miles because you enjoy the car that much. Try the premier /premium model. You won't regret it.