ok as it says what annoys you I will start .....

 

Not being able to see the analogue clock fully it always seems to be turned slightly away from me 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hate the fact that the car raises enough interest in me that I join an owners forum..

A first..

A few things I never liked about my IS300h - 

1. Felt quite cramped in the drivers seat, almost like a small plane cockpit.

2. No rear wiper.

3. Heated seats only felt mildly warm - Lexus checked but said they were functioning as normal.

4. The boot whilst not that small, was an awkward shape. 

5. No spare wheel or storage for one (as far as I remember). There was a canister of tyre repair foam

- awful infotainment system (2016),

- lack of leg room while getting into a car so that the bottom of the steering wheel gets scratched often (steering column in the highest possible setting)

The way i had to twist in that tight space to access anything in the armrest storage, especially if it was far behind. 

8 hours ago, HPS13 said:

A few things I never liked about my IS300h - 

1. Felt quite cramped in the drivers seat, almost like a small plane cockpit.

2. No rear wiper.

3. Heated seats only felt mildly warm - Lexus checked but said they were functioning as normal.

4. The boot whilst not that small, was an awkward shape. 

5. No spare wheel or storage for one (as far as I remember). There was a canister of tyre repair foam

I'm 5' 6" and  in my month or so of ownership have moved from thinking 'the car wraps around' you to 'so this is how a formula 1 cockpit feels'

Not a turn off for me because at my size its enough room without feeling cramped. But how does anyone larger manage?

I'm following this with interest, as I'm viewing one tomorrow as an outside contender of a vehicle. 

 

I've currently got an IS250 and I'm hoping for more room to get in as a 6 footer and more comfortable seats for a longer journey!

Getting rid of it and the fact Lexus won’t bring the gen 4 to the uk 

58 minutes ago, JDM-Fiend said:

I'm following this with interest, as I'm viewing one tomorrow as an outside contender of a vehicle. 

 

I've currently got an IS250 and I'm hoping for more room to get in as a 6 footer and more comfortable seats for a longer journey!

To be fair, I've the seat height cranked up. Prob a case of the car being made for predominantly right hand driving market - and the space being given to our passanger side as a result. Was the case in my Audi. 

By far the cheap boot lid, embarrassing arms, and the whole Lada feel to it. 

No auto dimming option for the wing mirrors. Some new cars, especially the gestapo EVs, are hurtful to the eye. 

No door storage for the rear doors.

Convenience options are missing such as auto tilting wing mirrors on reverse. Many smallish things. 

And Lexus cars should only ever come fully loaded, maybe with very few extras like Mark Levinson or adaptive suspension, as extras.

But a night drive on a good road, and none of this matters, it’s harmony, and the cabin at night I just love.

55 minutes ago, DBIZO said:

By far the cheap boot lid, embarrassing arms, and the whole Lada feel to it. 

No auto dimming option for the wing mirrors. Some new cars, especially the gestapo EVs, are hurtful to the eye. 

No door storage for the rear doors.

Convenience options are missing such as auto tilting wing mirrors on reverse. Many smallish things. 

And Lexus cars should only ever come fully loaded, maybe with very few extras like Mark Levinson or adaptive suspension, as extras.

But a night drive on a good road, and none of this matters, it’s harmony, and the cabin at night I just love.

55 minutes ago, DBIZO said:

By far the cheap boot lid, embarrassing arms, and the whole Lada feel to it. 

No auto dimming option for the wing mirrors. Some new cars, especially the gestapo EVs, are hurtful to the eye. 

No door storage for the rear doors.xddip

Convenience options are missing such as auto tilting wing mrrors on reverse. Many smallish things.

And Lexus cars should 3only ever come fully loaded, maybe with very few extras like Mark Levinson or adaptive suspension, as extras.

But a night drive on a good road, and none of this matters, it’s harmony, and the cabin at night I just love.

Yeah, that boot lid is a shocker. I actually close it gently in public out of sheer embarrasment..

2 hours ago, PaulWhitt20 said:

Getting rid of it and the fact Lexus won’t bring the gen 4 to the uk 

Out of interest are you moving away from Lexus? I've had Lexus (as one of my cars) for past 15 years and will be leaving the brand at next vehicle change.  Would have stayed with them if they had offered Gen 4 in UK but ES RIDICULOUSLY big and I personally hate SUV's and the like so Lexus have nothing that I can buy. 

8 minutes ago, Juicedrinker said:

Out of interest are you moving away from Lexus? I've had Lexus (as one of my cars) for past 15 years and will be leaving the brand at next vehicle change.  Would have stayed with them if they had offered Gen 4 in UK but ES RIDICULOUSLY big and I personally hate SUV's and the like so Lexus have nothing that I can buy. 

You could import an IS from Japan. Even the 3.5l if you fancied a bit more power 😉

Here's a 2021 F-Sport 300h with 53,000 miles & Sunroof. Around £27-28k after all fees landed & registered here.

23 minutes ago, H3XME said:

You could import an IS from Japan. Even the 3.5l if you fancied a bit more power 😉

Here's a 2021 F-Sport 300h with 53,000 miles & Sunroof. Around £27-28k after all fees landed & registered here.

That is an absolutely stunning car!  Actually I work in the Export (and Import business) in Motorsport and do move cars in and out of Japan for clients so can get the shipping etc done at a great price through work so had thought about this BUT no one appears to be able to change the infotainment (and other areas) from Japanese to English so it would be an issue when it finally comes to resell it I believe(?).  Also the Lexus dealer that I use basically said they would not service or warranty it which is completely ludicrous. 

Not much to complain. Incredible car, I've owned it 4 years and don't want to exchange it.

Few complaints:

- Otherwise premium interior but that nasty cheap plastic rim around the center console. What were they thinking?

- Infotaiment is a (bad) joke

- Performance: I kind of goes nicely but the torque ends too soon and there is a long dead spot on the performance after the electric boost ends and it wait the revs to rice up to the optimal range. With conditional gear box it would be much more fun.

- Driveability in slippery conditions, it looses feel almost completely in snowy or slippery conditions. It also stucks easily in snow.

- Boot is prone to freeze in cold temperatures but I guess thats typical problem in Sedans anyway

4 hours ago, Juicedrinker said:

That is an absolutely stunning car!  Actually I work in the Export (and Import business) in Motorsport and do move cars in and out of Japan for clients so can get the shipping etc done at a great price through work so had thought about this BUT no one appears to be able to change the infotainment (and other areas) from Japanese to English so it would be an issue when it finally comes to resell it I believe(?).  Also the Lexus dealer that I use basically said they would not service or warranty it which is completely ludicrous. 

That sounds good! 

As for servicing, that is not true, at least not when it comes to my local Steven Eagell Lexus. I had my 2014 Mark X GR (3.5L naturally aspirated) delivered last year. It's a Toyota, but underneath it's just a 6" stretched IS platform. Suspension & engine components are the same. It's got a full service history from Japan, but just for peace of mind I had a "Full Service+" (inc. spark plugs) done at my local Lexus dealership without any problems. Toyota dealer, who is right next door to Lexus, actually didn't wanna do it, because it's more of a Lexus than Toyota underneath.

Warranty is correct, they wouldn't cover it, but in my case, it was already 10 years old at that point, any recalls etc would've been done back in Japan. It was on 39,000 miles when I took delivery of the car and I've done 6k since September and I love it so far.

If you do your proper checks before getting the car over here, I wouldn't be afraid of buying another imports. Already had a few in the past.

16 minutes ago, H3XME said:

That sounds good! 

As for servicing, that is not true, at least not when it comes to my local Steven Eagell Lexus. I had my 2014 Mark X GR (3.5L naturally aspirated) delivered last year. It's a Toyota, but underneath it's just a 6" stretched IS platform. Suspension & engine components are the same. It's got a full service history from Japan, but just for peace of mind I had a "Full Service+" (inc. spark plugs) done at my local Lexus dealership without any problems. Toyota dealer, who is right next door to Lexus, actually didn't wanna do it, because it's more of a Lexus than Toyota underneath.

Warranty is correct, they wouldn't cover it, but in my case, it was already 10 years old at that point, any recalls etc would've been done back in Japan. It was on 39,000 miles when I took delivery of the car and I've done 6k since September and I love it so far.

If you do your proper checks before getting the car over here, I wouldn't be afraid of buying another imports. Already had a few in the past.

Thats really good to learn, I guess its just the dealer that I use who are being 'funny' about it possibly so they can try and get out of anything they do not want to do etc.

To be honest though I could easily get serviced at reputable independents I know although the hybrid system would have to be done by a Lexus dealer if they will.  Also good point about recalls, I would be looking at Gen 4 only and that has not been out a long time so may have recalls still however that being said if I did it in a year or two then a 4 year old one should have had any recalls completed at that point.  If sold from Tokyo I could most likely get one of my Japanese clients to check it over for me. 

How do you get on with the infotainment etc being in Japanese?  

Begs the question - why have all you guys owned, or continue to own, an IS 300h?  Why wasn't this post entitled "What do you love about the IS 300h"?  Lets have a little more positivity guys😉

9 hours ago, antiskeptic said:

I'm 5' 6" and  in my month or so of ownership have moved from thinking 'the car wraps around' you to 'so this is how a formula 1 cockpit feels'

Not a turn off for me because at my size its enough room without feeling cramped. But how does anyone larger manage?

I’m 6ft.3 and have no problem. Regarding seat comfort both my wife and I find it excellent …curious  as we’re considerably different in build ( she’s “rounder” than I am).

Might be all rear wheel drives but shortcut through a narrow single vehicle back road, mean occasional left wheel forays on to soft ground. Getting away from a standstill was really worriesome - had to rock the car using rev/drive to get it shifted onto some fresh grass. Oh dear...

Might sound strange, but for me, the Is has too many seats and doors! 🥰

No real gripes here. Great car. Bought mine when it was 2 years old and had done 40k miles. Now over 10 years old and done 158k miles. Keeping it for 8 years and over 100k miles says it all. One of the best cars I've owned. When I bought it I planned to change it for a new IS after a few years when the new model came out, but as discussed Lexus UK decided not to bring it over here - so I have simply kept what I have and intend to run it now until it's not economical. Lexus would probably have had two new IS car sales from me over the last 8 years - as it is they've had none! 

3 hours ago, reeac said:

I’m 6ft.3 and have no problem. Regarding seat comfort both my wife and I find it excellent …curious  as we’re considerably different in build ( she’s “rounder” than I am).

Random question - long torso or long legged? I mean you, if it wasn't clear 😂 

2 hours ago, Juicedrinker said:

How do you get on with the infotainment etc being in Japanese?  

Well in my case the HVAC system is independent to the head unit so the only thing that’s talking to the car is steering wheel buttons. Not a whole lot of settings or elaborate computers in mine. FM / Bluetooth is in English anyway so no issues for me. Sat nav I wouldn’t use even it worked so really no issues for me. And the IS id use the same way so infotainment isn’t really a factor for me personally

52 minutes ago, JDM-Fiend said:

Random question - long torso or long legged? I mean you, if it wasn't clear 😂 

Long legged.