Is300H - Wanted To Love It But Not For Me

[JFB2]

Having received a letter from my local dealer with news of a 'great deal' on a new IS300h, I went to try one out today.

I really wanted to love this car, as my IS250 will soon be 5 years old. But the 300h isn't as good as my 250 so I won't be buying. The killer for me are the new front seats - just like those on a Beemer. Hard, low and narrow with tough hard leather. I had sciatica in my legs after just half an hour. Couldn't wait to get back into the wide, thickly padded, buttery soft semi-aniline seats in my old banger.

Besides the seats, which are a deal-breaker for me, I also think Lexus have got the pricing wrong. £37k+ for a car with the same equipment as my IS250 SE-I. Hmmmm. That doesn't even get you wood or alu inlays inside. Just black plastic.

BTW, the RX seems to be the only model with the "soft" seats. Perhaps I should snap one up before they upgrade it to German seats?

[Steve44]

Which model IS300h did you try? Compared to a BMW, I thought the seats in the Lexus were superb, fitted me like a glove and found a very comfortable position, very much the Stressless sofa seats we have in our lounge. I agree the BMW seats are rock hard in comparison.

[Roger Bill]

JFB2: I found myself in exactly the same position. In addition to the seats I also found the IS300h ride was too firm. Clearly this is a personal thing because so many others find no problem with either the seats or ride.

The option I'm now watching is the new Mercedes C Class W205 due for UK launch in June. It has an air suspension option which is said to provide a very comfortable ride but I haven't yet seen any comments about the seats. Surprisingly the price for a similar specification appears very competitive with Lexus. The main potential downside is my brother's 2010 Merc C Class needed a lot of warranty work whereas over the past 5 years my Lexus IS250SEI has been entirely trouble free.

I really like the reliability of Lexus and the excellent dealer service and I think the hybrid powertrain is great. Therefore, the Lexus RC300h might be an option. The seats look different but I guess if anything it'll be set up for a sportier (i.e. harder ride). Alternatively maybe I'll hang to my IS250 for another couple of years in the hope that Lexus upgrades the IS300h ride as they've done with the CT200.

[JFB2]

@Steve44 - the model was a 300h Luxury with leather and nav. Completely different to the last generation, as I said, particularly the new vinyl-style leather. I know that some people will love the tight-fitting bolsters etc. but the base cushion is far too hard for me. Not really like my nice and squidgy Stressless armchair to be honest.

@Roger Bill - yes, we're in exactly the same position: love my IS250 which is so cosseting. The new C-Class looks interesting, but I had a CLK several years ago that was unreliable in the extreme. Lots of garage visits, and a horrible dealership to boot.

Someone has suggested a 5-series with the "Comfort Seats". Apparently that's very nice. But would have to be second-hand...This whole car-buying thing is stressful.

[Roger Bill]

JFB2: Many thanks for sharing your experience with Merc. It's bad news to have the reliability problems confirmed. Fortunately for my brother the Merc dealer in Leicester looked after him well but my nearest dealers are Cambridge, Peterborough and Bedford which are all unknown quantities to me. I'll certainly test drive the new Merc and, if it's as good as it seems, I might take a chance next year once they've had time to fix any teething problems. Another alternative could be the new small Jaguar XE which is due out next year but, having had some experience with the Jag X Type, I'd again be concerned about reliability.

[JFB2]

JFB2: Many thanks for sharing your experience with Merc. It's bad news to have the reliability problems confirmed. Fortunately for my brother the Merc dealer in Leicester looked after him well but my nearest dealers are Cambridge, Peterborough and Bedford which are all unknown quantities to me. I'll certainly test drive the new Merc and, if it's as good as it seems, I might take a chance next year once they've had time to fix any teething problems. Another alternative could be the new small Jaguar XE which is due out next year but, having had some experience with the Jag X Type, I'd again be concerned about reliability.

I think you would be right to have reliability concerns about a Jag - my partner's XK had some hysterically funny electronic gremlins - funny for me because I wasn't trying to get them fixed. Like windows going up and down and up and down and up...and down. The dealer never could fix that car.

[rayaans]

Im not to sure I agree on your comment about the pricing. Firstly, are you sure it was £37k for a Luxury? No matter how hard I try, the maximum price I can get on the IS300h Luxury with Navigation, full leather, the optional 8 way powered/heated seats and metallic paint is £33,905.

Another point is, that you're comparing an IS250 to an IS300h which has a £3k premium on the IS250 Luxury which would come in at £32,900. That's before any discounts are applied.

[ColinBarber]

Im not to sure I agree on your comment about the pricing. Firstly, are you sure it was £37k for a Luxury? No matter how hard I try, the maximum price I can get on the IS300h Luxury with Navigation, full leather, the optional 8 way powered/heated seats and metallic paint is £33,905.

Sounds like you used the Lexus website to build a vehicle but didn't wait the required 5 mins. between selecting each option for the price to update :( You are missing the £2k Nav cost.

£31k base, £1.4k for leather, a further £900 to power/heat/cool the seats, £610 for some paint and £2k for a Sat Nav.

[Silver Arrow]

I too found the seats uncomfortable in the F Sport - they seemed to shove me in the back all the time and adjusting the Lumbar settings did nothing to really help - and it's a very personal thing. I think the "hard" ride accentuated the discomfort for me. May be I'm too used to the arm chairs in the GS now....which are superb and you can see where the 5 odd years in designing them has gone. Along with the wallowing tub suspension it's so comfy....

Also - I do sort of agree with the comments on the interior. It does look modern but there is too much hard black plastic, and I have to say the one I drove did have some creaks - incidentally something that drove me mad with the Gen2 IS....too many hard plastic joints expanding and contracting as the temperature changes.

Value for money is where Lexus does win. For £35k odd (after a chunkier discount) you do get a lot of car, but I would say that even though it's bigger, the GS is simply superb value for money in comparison, even as a company car. The GS300h seems really good - for the same money you could be driving a GS300h Luxury, which to be honest blows the IS away for comfort, Luxury and build quality. A couple of K's more and you could have the F Sport GS, which I think is awesome even more as I believe it has AVS and 4WS as standard...

[gtb5]

Harsher ride may be caused by run flat tire.

[Steve44]

No run flats on UK models. Harsher ride on F sport is down to sports suspension and sportier larger wheels and tyres. Luxury IS is softer. Never driven previous models so my comparison is to current competitors, Audi, BMW etc and I preferred Lexus. By the sounds of it I'm not sure I would like the previous version ride, too comfortable, not tight enough.

I agree GS is even more luxurious and cosseting, I tried a luxury GS300h, but I personally didn't get on with the "big car" feel and preferred the IS model dynamics.

[DJP]

I too like the sportier feel of the IS against the GS. having said that, the opportunity to use the sports set up is highly limited where I do most of my driving, around town and suburbia. I'm looking forward to seeing the RC....

[rayaans]

Im not to sure I agree on your comment about the pricing. Firstly, are you sure it was £37k for a Luxury? No matter how hard I try, the maximum price I can get on the IS300h Luxury with Navigation, full leather, the optional 8 way powered/heated seats and metallic paint is £33,905.

Sounds like you used the Lexus website to build a vehicle but didn't wait the required 5 mins. between selecting each option for the price to update :( You are missing the £2k Nav cost.

£31k base, £1.4k for leather, a further £900 to power/heat/cool the seats, £610 for some paint and £2k for a Sat Nav.

I used autoebid actually. And no £33905 was NOT the discounted price. Actually I just realised, isnt navigation free atm?

[Silver Arrow]

I too like the sportier feel of the IS against the GS. having said that, the opportunity to use the sports set up is highly limited where I do most of my driving, around town and suburbia. I'm looking forward to seeing the RC....

GS FSport has AVS so you can firm it up

[Ian J. Parsley]

I effectively paid *£31k* for that spec, after negotiation. As noted above, it's never above £34k!