Hello - New To Lexus And Considering An Is300H

[Steve44]

Hello all, I've lurked around this forum for a few months now, reading with interest people comments and views on the IS300h. Apologies for long post but....

I'm a company car man (30k per year or so) and currently drive a diesel Vauxhall Astra hatch. Its the top of the range Elite model with virtually all the options ticked and was at the time (3yrs ago) the best car I could get from the allowed list (restricted to any diesel vauxhall) for the money. Now my car is up for renewal and due to a promotion and salary increase etc, I can now choose from any manufacturer, any vehicle, as long as its a diesel or Hybrid.

My view with a company car is to get the best car i can get for the lowest possible outlay personally. I was looking at the typical BMW, Audi, Merc lists and had initially discounted Lexus, as the lease costs were very high in comparison, but my ears pricked up with I heard it was actually a 2.5l petrol and attracted very low tax and also 24ppm allowance to drive. So, some man maths later and I reckoned I can get into any IS, or even a GS300h SE or Lux and the lease cost would be no more than a spec'd up BMW/Audi etc, but with the better mileage allowance, it would effectively pay for itself! Bonus.

So, i dropped into Lexus Derby last weekend and after a long chat with their sales team, was offered the chance to back-to-back test drive for 24hrs a GS300h Lux and an IS300h Lux. I couldn't say no.

First the GS - it was a nearly new GS300H Luxury with ML sound option - grey/ivory leather. What a machine. First time driving a hybrid and first time in a long time with an auto, but after a handover, off I went, to use for 24hrs in my normal way. I drove it that evening to London down the M1. Actually I should say wafted to London, it was so comfortable and quiet. Good points, 12.3" screen, elec seats, so quiet and refined, all the tech worked great. Bad points, its a big car, can't fold the rr seats down because of Battery position, ML sound I thought was poor, no bass/all treble. Did I mention its a big car! Anyway on return I refilled it with fuel and worked out average, bearing in mind trip comp said 44.7mpg. It worked out at 48.6mpg brim to brim (255miles covered). Fantastic i thought, with little or no effort from me and not driving particularly economically.

Next the IS - an ex demo IS300h Lux, with Nav and elec leather in Grey/grey. Instantly I could feel that it is a smaller lighter car, it just felt so much more spritely compared to the GS. I had it for nearer 36hrs this time and drove it to Liverpool the next day and the difference is night and day, just so much quicker to react, flatter round corners, suspension a bit firmer and probably 95% of the refinement/quietness inside. Tried all the various modes and equipment inside. Good points - more sporty feeling, supportive seats, preferred the options to display info on the IS with split screen and 4" screen between clocks and I couldn't get it to fail, though it was slow to react in places, can fold rr seats, preferred std stereo sound too, has all same functionality, so ML is only amp/speakers which confirmed to me its an expensive add-on and very personal. Bad points - hard plastic where my left knee hits the console, appears only on F-Sport and Premier is it padded, storage space is a bit lacking in the cabin, cup holder position isnt great (I'm now knit picking!) I returned it again and worked out fuel economy over 275 miles this time and I reckon it was approx 46mpg. Caveat is this was an estimate as it wasn't full of fuel and I did more spirited driving :-)

So..... I'm now at the point where the sceptic in me which wondered if good mpg is possible, is exorcised. Both cars were returning better mpg than my diesel Astra. I enjoyed the drive in both, but especially the IS. And model for model, the IS gives so much more spec for the money than any german manufacturer. I now need to decide which IS model to get and the colour.

Financially, the IS300h Luxury with leather and Nav gives me what I need, but my gripe is about the knee pad on the center console. I can't really justify paying more for an F-sport or Premier to get a pad there. Could it be changed? How do others get on with it? Also, is my mpg representative of what others are getting? The F-sport/Premier with 18" wheels, does it suffer in ride comfort and mpg??

[DJP]

Welcome Steve and thanks for a great post. The new IS is aimed right at drivers like you, I suspect we will see many more posts like yours over time.

I think the mpg you experienced is about right too.

I would have a look at the F Sport before you discount it, it's a lot more than a knee pad you get. I agree about the cupholders, but as you say, picky.

Keep us updated!

[Silver Arrow]

Nice write up. There is defo a difference between the IS and GS - one is more suited to wafting about, the other more sporty, and I also totally get what you mean about the GS being big....I still struggle with it 18 months on, even though it's millimterically identical to my old 5 series BMW - driving that through twisty roads was like threading a needle perfectly. With the GS (Lux) it's like threading a needle after a few whisky's...I can never accurately judge the corners and the number of times I catch the near side alloys against kerbs....You can place the IS where you want.

[Steve44]

SilverArrow - i thought it was just me taking bad with the GS and not being used to it having come from a family 5dr hatch. Comparing numbers with the IS, its only a couple of inches/30mm bigger in most directions, but it feels like an oil tanker trying to manoeuvre/park it. I had three attempts at my destination in London to park it and twice i got it into the space, but then didn't have enough room to actually get out of the car!

DJP - I hear what you're saying about the F-Sport, and I'm tempted to arrange another testdrive of one via the lease company. I like the looks of it, especially the dark rose interior (although the wife isn't very keen!) but struggling to justify the £90/mth extra (lease & tax) for an F-Sport with Nav and Leather over a Lux with Nav/Leather, especially as the Lux has free Nav at the moment.

Oh another question - do all IS come with wifi? The demo one I had had wifi which I tried to connect to a local Mcdonalds (couldn't work out how to do it and didn't have time to read manual) but appeared as if it could and thus download Google Streeview, traffic info updates, pictures etc. Is this a standard feature or part of the hotspot system i read about in the brochure?

[DJP]

Steve, I have the dark rose under sonic titanium and I think it looks fantastic. Somebody likened the colour to that of 'liquid metal', which is just right, and it changes depending on the lighting conditions. The dar rose, or red, in common parlance sits really well with it.

Very subjective of course, and TBH I haven't seen a bad looking one ( mind you, I've only seen 2 or 3 on the road)

Re the wifi, the hotspot is an optional extra, and not one I'd rush out for. I use the hotspot function on my Iphone and the car uses that data connection. I believe 'tethering' is the technical term. The street view thing is ok, gives you a view of what your destination is supposed to look like, of course it's not inch perfect and the view could be the wrong way etc.

The traffic update thingy, I think works through Bluetooth as well and is based on internet feeds showing heavy traffic and lane closures that sort of thing. Someone on here gave it it's proper name, but it does seem more upto date with what's happening on the road ahead. I think I read that Lexus was one of the first makes to use this new technology.

Go on, book that F sport for a test!

[Blisteringblue]

Hi Steve, exactly the same position here, company car driver 35k a year.

I've done the "anal" sums too, and also get the 24p a mile gov rate. I'm currently driving a Volvo V50 99g slug which while excellent for tax is just so darn DULLLLLLLLLLLLLL.

In my miraid of spreadsheets bottom line for me is that over 40mpg and I will pay less than I currently do for the Volvo, bizarrely the Volvo wasn't particularily cheap.

The only think that will scupper this plan is when our idiotic government realise this is a tax busting car and introduce a Hybrid rate like there is for LPG vehicles. However this is just me being pessimistic, but I'm sure it will likely happen at some point.

I've an SE on order though, I could have gone for the Lux but there wasn't much with it that justified the extra. Plus the SE is a little better on the emmisions.

[Steve44]

Blisteringblue - for me anything over about 35mpg (at current petrol prices) and the IS is effectively a free car. All i need do is put private mileage petrol in it. At 45mpg, my company would be paying me handsomely to drive it.

I have considered the potential implications of the government removing the 24ppm for hybrids, but for me that would only make it a similar cost to a diesel german-o-mobile anyway, so I'm not going to lose out really.

I discounted the SE, as the rr seats don't fold down and I need to have this option. The difference in cost is small to a Lux.

I've asked for an F-Sport for an extended test drive, just awaiting contact to arrange the date.

[Blisteringblue]

I know what you mean, my HR Director rang me to double check I really wanted this car, he "thought" it would cost me too much in fuel.

[IS 300h]

Hi

I am now well over 10K and have not yet had time to update the 5000 mile report I wrote a few months ago. I do have very similar thought process on the company car options. You are about right with 46 mpg however in the autumn I had around 48 and in freezing cold short days it dropped down too 42. However careful driving today gave 50.

My lux is very comfortable and eats up the miles easily. A 2.5 litre auto with bags of pace at a low tax threshold, it is a company drivers dream! You will not regret it if you go for it.

[Alexch1974]

Hi

I have had my Silver F-Sport with dark rose leather for a few months now and have averaged around 47/48mpg without trying too hard. This is with winter tyres (18") which I have had from the time I collected the car. Winter tyres have a high rolling resistance and usually mean that they are less fuel efficient. I would therefore expect once I change back to my summer tyres and the temperature increases for the mpg to go into the 50's.

I would have to say the suspension on the F-Sport is firm but well damped and still very comfortable. If you would like more comfort, then you have the option of the Adaptive Variable Suspension on the F-Sport (not available on the other trim levels but you have to have the navigation system to be able to specify the AVS as they seem to be linked electronically) and this increases the ride comfort vs the standard F-Sport suspension. I have it mine and feel IMO it was worth it, especially on the pot hole strewn, speed bump laden and generally poorly surfaced roads that I have to regularly traverse. If however you regularly drive on nice smooth tarmac, you might not notice the difference!

So whilst I have the larger 18" wheels, I don't think it makes a huge difference to the fuel economy - I don't think you'll regret opting for an F-Sport! Make sure you get that test drive in!

[F Sport Marcus]

The BIK rates of the IS300h verses the German 2.0 TDi's will be much much closer together in a couple of years time - for sure the hybrid fuel rate is attractive now and we just have to hope this stays for a while, but just as diesel cars at their real inception were cost effective it's touch and go now (we all remember diesel being much cheaper than petrol!).

[Steve44]

F-Sport demo, from Toyota corporate fleet ordered for delivery on 17th Feb, for 3 days (going back on 20th). Looking forward to it

[DJP]

F-Sport demo, from Toyota corporate fleet ordered for delivery on 17th Feb, for 3 days (going back on 20th). Looking forward to it

Excellent, look forward to your findings.

[Steve44]

Now proud test driver of a White F-Sport IS300h, with Nav and Std Black interior. Just 69 miles on the clock.

Had it out for a quick blat round the area this afternoon, inital thoughts - suspension/ride is much firmer than a Luxury model, but not crashy or back breaking/teeth rattling, just much firmer. ASC seems much louder and growlier than the lux too. Reset trip and got 40mpg immediately, so looks like mpg isn't realy affected by bigger wheels etc. might check tyre pressures and see if they are a bit hard.

Loving the dials, the seats, the steering wheel and the small cushioned pad on the console at the left knee! Why didn't they put this on all the cars?

Just setup the Lexus Portal so will see if this works ok with my Galaxy S3 phone. have tried sending a trip to the car. I checked and it is on the B firmware for Nav, not the newest version, so hopefully not too many issues, it seems as slow witted and the same as the Lux model i had.

Off to the North West tomorrow for a few days, so will do 2-300 miles in it and see what its like.

[DJP]

I'll bet you don't want the Astra back!

Look forward to your thoughts.

[gtb5]

If rear seat space is needed and often then GS, or else IS the better considering the more nimble handling.

[Steve44]

Well, well, well - IS300H F-Sport in full Stormtrooper spec (White/black interior) test drive complete. 280 odd miles, about 43mpg. Not bad for a car with only 70 miles on the clock!

Thoughts and observations - ride is much firmer than the Luxury model, but not tooth rattling or back breaking. I checked tyre pressures and reduced them from over 40psi (delivery spec?), back to the handbook std 36psi and it was much better, much less fidgety on the motorway, and pretty comfortable overall.

There is more road noise than a Lux, but then the tyres etc are much wider and have smaller sidewalls, so not unexpected.

Biggest difference i find, is that Sport mode in the F-Sport changes the character of the car completely! In sport mode, with the ASC turned right up and using the paddles, its a beast. Throttle response is sharper than the Lux, ASC is even louder and growlier IMO, and generally I think the pickup and the car's propensity to use more petrol engine, more aggressively and hold lower gears longer just transforms the car. The mode dial really does give best of both worlds in the F-Sport compared to the Lux model. Eco-mode, turn off ASC and its a docile and comfortable cruiser. Sport mode with ASC and I had a ball!

Couple of other observations generally.

1) I assume you only get auto folding mirrors with elec memory seats? My car only had std seats and had manual elec folding mirrors.

2) I created a portal account, added the car to it, got my phone (Galaxy S3) to use Bluetooth tethering, saw live traffic and 3d models of various buildings in Liverpool. I tried to send a route to the car from the portal account, but couldn't work out how you actually selected it in the car.

3) Voice control is pathetic and unintuitive. Also, if your playing music it appears to continue in the background, system doesn't pause it, unlike if a phone call comes in or a traffic announcement over the radio.

4) Sat Nav doesn't appear to have lane guidance on motorway junctions etc, unlike my Astra. Or I couldn't find how you enabled it. It also doesn't mute or turn down the music volume when the announcements happen. It even seems to continue announcements during phone calls, untill i worked out a way to disable it.

5) Sat Nav - I had toll road's option enabled, and it appears it preferred this so much, it tried to route me from Stoke to Liverpool, via Ellesmere, Wirral and through the Walasey tunnel, despite it being 1hr longer. I disabled toll roads and it picked up the motorway route immediately.

Now, decisions, decisions - what colour and leather or no leather.

[Kiedee]

F- sport pearlesent white with the standard black interior....... But I might be a bit biased

[DJP]

Steve, great review and bang on with many of the points you make. It is 3 cars rolled into one, a frugal potter around town, a luxury waft around, or beast for us boys to throw around the corners - and the ASC makes the experience a bit of a giggle. I'm not even sure it works when in "normal" mode.

The voice control is poor, the nav talks over the music (it didn't on 2nd gen maybe complaints - a bit like it didn't hav speed camera warnings, now it does and you can't turn them off!). The folding mirrors also dip on reverse which IMO helps prevent kerbing those fab wheels. Not sure if the non auto dip.

To retrieve the destination you select destination, memory, external points and then it will connect over 3g/4g/wifi and download to the car. Works perfectly for me.

The nav does have lane guidance, if by that you mean voice guidance to keep left/keep right with a little graphic on the screen showing the lanes.

Very interesting comment about the tolls. I enabled that (along with ferry boats etc) and I think it tried to send me on a daft route. I must confess I am still a tad wary of it, more so than on my 2nd gen as it has had a couple of funny moments.

Did you move the dial across using the button on the steering wheel? Lots of little extra's there to compliment the main nav screen. I especially like the mini nav that kicks in when you are approaching a turn.

As far as colour, I've only seen a couple on the road in 6 months, and both of them were a rather ordinary greyish colour. The F Sport Blue seems popular, and my Sonic T on Dark Rose leather gets loads of compliments. TBH I'm not sure there is a bad colour.

And leather, just go for it.

Keep us posted!

[Ian J. Parsley]

I've struggled to retrieve destinations, tbh - I have it in again on Wednesday to try to fix this.

Not the end of the world though. The three cars in one point is very well made. Definitely go for it!

[Steve44]

DJP - the std mirrors didn't dip on reverse, needs the fully auto mirrors for this. cheers for the tip on the send to car routes.

The ASC I found works in normal mode, but only really when you are in the power bit of the eco/charge/power meter dial. So really you are thrashing the car at this point. Whereas, in Sport mode, it is on all the time, regardless of speed or rev's. I know what you mean about having a giggle! It was exceptionally easy to get to silly mph figures.

I did have a play with the various dial options too, noticed that the F-Sport gets a few extras, such as a user selectable speed warning (flashes amber and red next to the mph value in the dial), and user selectable rev counter flashing (turns rev counter red at selected rpm)! Gimicks I know, but the child in me enjoyed them.

I've seen a fair few IS300h models on the roads, quite a few white, couple grey, couple black, 1 red. All different models - SE, F-Sport, Lux My wife is not a fan of the dark Rose interior, she thinks it will be like a boudiour! Me I'm torn between Mesa Red with Black leather, or Mercury Grey with Dark Rose. I'm going towards Grey/Rose, but don't tell the wife! LOL

[rayaans]

DJP - the std mirrors didn't dip on reverse, needs the fully auto mirrors for this. cheers for the tip on the send to car routes.

The ASC I found works in normal mode, but only really when you are in the power bit of the eco/charge/power meter dial. So really you are thrashing the car at this point. Whereas, in Sport mode, it is on all the time, regardless of speed or rev's. I know what you mean about having a giggle! It was exceptionally easy to get to silly mph figures.

I did have a play with the various dial options too, noticed that the F-Sport gets a few extras, such as a user selectable speed warning (flashes amber and red next to the mph value in the dial), and user selectable rev counter flashing (turns rev counter red at selected rpm)! Gimicks I know, but the child in me enjoyed them.

I've seen a fair few IS300h models on the roads, quite a few white, couple grey, couple black, 1 red. All different models - SE, F-Sport, Lux My wife is not a fan of the dark Rose interior, she thinks it will be like a boudiour! Me I'm torn between Mesa Red with Black leather, or Mercury Grey with Dark Rose. I'm going towards Grey/Rose, but don't tell the wife! LOL

Why not Mesa red with red interior - Go on be a bit different!

[gt03raf]

Well, well, well - IS300H F-Sport in full Stormtrooper spec (White/black interior) test drive complete. 280 odd miles, about 43mpg. Not bad for a car with only 70 miles on the clock!

Thoughts and observations - ride is much firmer than the Luxury model, but not tooth rattling or back breaking. I checked tyre pressures and reduced them from over 40psi (delivery spec?), back to the handbook std 36psi and it was much better, much less fidgety on the motorway, and pretty comfortable overall.

There is more road noise than a Lux, but then the tyres etc are much wider and have smaller sidewalls, so not unexpected.

Biggest difference i find, is that Sport mode in the F-Sport changes the character of the car completely! In sport mode, with the ASC turned right up and using the paddles, its a beast. Throttle response is sharper than the Lux, ASC is even louder and growlier IMO, and generally I think the pickup and the car's propensity to use more petrol engine, more aggressively and hold lower gears longer just transforms the car. The mode dial really does give best of both worlds in the F-Sport compared to the Lux model. Eco-mode, turn off ASC and its a docile and comfortable cruiser. Sport mode with ASC and I had a ball!

Couple of other observations generally.

1) I assume you only get auto folding mirrors with elec memory seats? My car only had std seats and had manual elec folding mirrors.

2) I created a portal account, added the car to it, got my phone (Galaxy S3) to use bluetooth tethering, saw live traffic and 3d models of various buildings in Liverpool. I tried to send a route to the car from the portal account, but couldn't work out how you actually selected it in the car.

3) Voice control is pathetic and unintuitive. Also, if your playing music it appears to continue in the background, system doesn't pause it, unlike if a phone call comes in or a traffic announcement over the radio.

4) Sat Nav doesn't appear to have lane guidance on motorway junctions etc, unlike my Astra. Or I couldn't find how you enabled it. It also doesn't mute or turn down the music volume when the announcements happen. It even seems to continue announcements during phone calls, untill i worked out a way to disable it.

5) Sat Nav - I had toll road's option enabled, and it appears it preferred this so much, it tried to route me from Stoke to Liverpool, via Ellesmere, Wirral and through the Walasey tunnel, despite it being 1hr longer. I disabled toll roads and it picked up the motorway route immediately.

Now, decisions, decisions - what colour and leather or no leather.

Another vote for F-sport white and standard.. but then again i might be biased too..

[Steve44]

The Stormtrooper look, does look good, but within 100yds its filthy and the mileage I do it would be permanently dirty.

Red on Red is a bit too red! Was thinking superman colours (fsport blue and rose) would be different, but a bit loud.

[DJP]

Sonic Titanium on dark rose. Silver and red leather in the real world. Except it really doesn't look like boring silver ever. Whatever the lighting conditions it takes on a different hue, I think the best description I've heard is 'liquid metal'. The leather is quite dark too, some photos can make it look a lot brighter than it actually is. More like a burgundy colour.

It hides the dirt reasonably well too, but there's no denying once it has been washed and those wheels are clean, boy it's a head turner.

Needless to say I'm biased.

Tough decision, must be keeping you awake at night|