Alexch1974

Hi Guys I have an IS300h F Sport with the Adaptive Variable Suspension which includes the Sports+ setting. When selected, this does have an effect on the suspension and firms it up (not much TBH) but provides flatter cornering and greater agility. I have to say that it still remains fairly compliant and comfortable for a sports setting. I have found that the more you push the car the better it gets! I have practically flung it around corners and the grip and cornering speeds are pretty impressive and yet comfortable all at the same time. A very good trade off all in all.

Road noise in all of the Lexus' I have had (4 over the past 15 years) have been very much subject to the road and the condition of the road you are driving on. The rest of the car is so quiet that the road noise is quite apparent and any change in the road surface is clearly heard. There are some lovely smooth surfaces which make the car almost silent to drive about in. That said, the GS was quieter than the current IS I have. I have also noticed that as the temperature increases the road noise reduces slightly, probably because rubber on the tyre has softened up a bit and more compliant on the road. In any event, its still a very quiet and relaxing quiet car when you want it to be. I have no complaints!

Hi Guys Ignoring the Poole area, I have not seen that many since I collected my car last November around Sussex/Surrey - probably around 6 or 7 in various places along the A27 & A3 where I drive quite a lot. The last one I saw was at the Arundel bypass last weekend on the A27 which was a '14 plate sparkling ultra blue F-Sport (lovely colour). I go to Poole a fair amount as well and I concur with TrevC that Poole must be selling loads as I always see about 3 or 4 over a weekend now.... mainly Premiers in sonic titanium and F-Sports in white.

Hi Brett I was at my dealership last week having my summer tyres put back on and I asked about the optional illuminated scuff plates. They explained that they come as a set of four but only the front two are illuminated. They quoted a fitted price of £400 Was not too surprised by the price bearing in min their ashtray costs nearly £40! But i'm not getting them anytime soon at that price! Mind you, i'm sure they would look nice if you decided to go for them.

I finally updated mine to version D of the software which you can now download from the My Lexus portal and install via USB stick. The system is definitely snappier and not as slow witted as it used to be and now I have no problems with it dropping my Bluetooth audio. It now also faultlessly connects to my messages/e-mails which previously sometimes required me to reconnect to the phone to get it to work. Finally, the live traffic seems to work better although the sat nav is now missing the secondary box on the right hand side of the screen at junctions. It used to display a close up for the forthcoming junction (Bit like the one that appears in the info screen on the dashboard) with a moving image but this appears to have disappeared. The junction detail in info screen on the dashboard version is still available but I don't always have it open (I have the F-Sport digital dash so it only appears if you slide the main dial across) so its easy to miss and so you can easily miss your junction or turning if its in a built up area. I have checked that I have exactly the same settings as I used to have just to make sure that I was not missing anything. Otherwise, its seems to be an improvement. Having said that, I have never been able to access the google search function and this is still blank now! Maybe version 'K' in 2 years time might have it all resolved! Finally - I always see pictures of the sat nav in 3D style in various adverts - but mine has only ever been 2D and I cannot see any options to change this - Am I missing something?

Hi Ian Nope, I think you got it all all there, you really do get all of that as part of the leather package that you simply would not know about as its not really stated anywhere obvious. I was chuffed to find out all the extra bits that are included I still think though that there are some options that you should still be able to specify on the F-Sport that you simply can't as they are only available on the Premier such as the blind spot monitor/lane assist and rear cross path detection as these would have been valuable to have. Strange that Lexus don't offer some form of low speed auto braking feature that even the VW golf has as standard nowadays.

Ian I agree that the Dark Rose interior is something rather special. I waited (rather impatiently I might add!) until I had seen one in the flesh before I placed my order. Whilst it was difficult to be patient, I am glad that it did as it looks stunning and really sets off the car and adds that extra dimension. The extra red stitching detailing makes all the difference as well. I'm one very happy bunny overall. Somehow, some of the photo's that I have seen, seem to show the leather looking quite a bright red when in reality, it is nothing like it. It almost borders on a maroon type red.

Hi Si Whilst the AVS is constantly adapting to the road conditions, there are only two main options insofar at the suspension is concerned which is either 'Normal' or 'Sports S+' You have 'normal' suspension for Eco, Normal & Sports mode. The extra Sports S+ mode (which is only available in AVS equipped models) is the only one which changes the suspensions settings to sport suspension mode. So you can actually keep in it standard Sports mode and yet keep the 'normal' suspension settings for comfort. Having said that, Sport S+ mode is hardly what I call firm anyway! The only thing you can't have is Sports S+ suspension but with the standard/normal gearbox settings. This sounds a bit confusing but but let me know if you need any more information. Alex - now you've had your car a few months, how are you finding the AVS suspension? Is it worth the extra? I was one of those who has tested a F-Sport with std suspension and thought it was a bit firm, but not jarring, still very well damped. I had the tyre pressures brought down a bit which helped, but as I spend most of my time on motorway's, I'd appreciate a smoother ride overall, with the ability to "dial it up" if the mood takes me. The Lux model I tried was very good on the motorway, its bigger tyre sidewalls and non-sports suspension, soaking up any little imperfection. However, I do much prefer the style, and interior of the F-Sport. About to place an order and wondering if this could get me the best of both worlds. Hi Steve44 Having had the car now for a few months I can definitely say, that if your budget allows then, the AVS is definitely worth the investment. It makes an appreciable difference to the ride quality and therefore even in sport mode, its still extremely comfortable. After getting held up in some traffic last week making me extremely late, I plotted a cross country course to my destination, placed into Sports + mode and put my foot down. It the first time I have driven that hard across difficult terrain and yet the faster I went, the better it seemed to get! Yet at no stage did it feel that the ride was too hard. In fact if anything, it just got better and had great poise and comfort all rolled into one. It's one of the things I am very pleased that I was sensible enough to wait for and I feel the extra money is worth it. Whilst this is very subjective, I drive lots of different cars and can say that they have done a very good job of tuning the adaptive suspension for both handling and comfort. So in answer to your question, the F-Sport with the AVS really does give you the best of both worlds in my opinion. Go for it! A

I thought mine had a special function to turn on the engine whilst I was outside as well. I had moved my car to the garage to put some things into the boot and whilst moving stuff around and ironically using the key fob at the time, the engine sprang into life with all of the doors closed etc. Then I realised that I had not turned the ignition off! It had been sat there using the battery so it looked like the car was switched off. It was only when the battery got low enough that the engine came on to charge the battery etc. Heres hoping that we do indeed have a function to auto start the car as that would be great when its really cold

Yes, look forward to seeing the pictures too! I had considered the spoiler myself but having not seen one I did not want to spend the money in case it did not look the business. Enjoy your car, you will love it.

I might have misunderstood what you meant but its a difficult one to judge to be honest as whilst I have driven a the various trim levels including the standard F-Sport, it was in the dry during the summer. Having said that I felt that the F-Sport actually gave better mechanical grip that the other trim levels because it had F-Sport suspension which has been set up specifically for handling and so helped the car corner flatter than the standard set up. I was able to go 10-15% faster with the F-Sport than with the standard. If this is not what you meant and you referred to the stability control settings allowing for greater slippage for handling then again, I was not driving the car hard enough during the test drives to activate any of the systems to see if this was the case.

I would agree that we have had a mild winter so far but the winter tyres have been life saver for the few days that it was cold and icy. There was black ice on the road on my way to work and whilst I slid slightly, the tyres gripped and I went round the corner and was able to carry on. The 2 cars behind slid off the road and went down the ditch and created a bit of mess. Whilst it seemed an extravagance at the time - it saved me time, money and hassle of a painful claim that the two drivers behind me had to make.

Having looked through the manual myself - its always interesting to see what options ultimately there could be but as you say - there are often huge regional differences in what is available in your area. It seems in this country the options are somewhat defined by the trim level whereas in other countries you seem to be able to select 'packs' which can be added no matter what trim level you have but simply are not available here. Whilst I am extremely happy with my F-Sport , it would have been nice to have had the option of the LED headlights (Not in the UK), the automatic high beam, Blind Spot Monitor, Lane departure, automatic cruise control and rear traffic alert system (only available on the Premier). The heated steering wheel is great when you don't have gloves btw! My Dad's car (Jaguar) has it and its wonderful and was very useful last year when we had the snow. I guess if I wanted limitless options I should have gone for an Audi or BMW (and then paid thousands and thousands more in the process!)!

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!

I have finally seen my first IS300h on the A27 near Worthing on Saturday (other than my own). It was Dark metallic blue with an ivory leather interior and I think it was the Premier model because of the 18" alloys. Looked very clean & shiny (even the suspension was gleaming) so I am assuming it must have only been a few days old as the recent weather would have made it much dirtier than it was! Seeing as they have been out for 6 months now I would have expected to see more but they remain as rare as hen's teeth at the moment in and around the south. I regularly get Audi and BMW drivers slowing down to have a closer look at mine. Its nice to have the exclusivity but I don't imagine it will remain this way for too long!

Hi Dominik This is very interesting and it would be good to see what the outcome is as I would also be concerned if I was getting the vibrations that you mention. Ironically, I collected my car with winter tyres already fitted, so I have only experienced my vehicle with winter tyres. I have the IS300h F Sport variant and have never had the vibration at the speed and rpm that you mention (I am driving at this speed quite regularly on my commute to work). I also have adaptive variable suspension which may also make a difference and keep the vibrations out. I'll keep a much closer eye out for this now and let you know if I notice anything further. It will be interesting to see if there is difference once I put my summer tyres back on in the spring and whether the ride improves to what I consider to be already pretty good. A

No - you don't have it wrong DJP - There is no auto location system in Europe even though the very early original press releases stated that they would be included on all new IS models, The manuals do say '(where fitted)' so that they clearly have the choice to add it again at some later stage. It was one of the things that I questioned as when I was test driving the IS back in early summer - I asked about the auto location tyre pressure system and after a bit of detective work by the dealers, they said that the specification had changed slightly from the original press release and would now only be the alert system via the warning light. Alas - its just the humble tyre pressure alert system which means that you will have to manually check all 4 if you get the warning light - unless of course its fairly obvious which tyre is way below where it should be. Having said that - even the standard warning system has helped me in the past when I have had a puncture and allowed me to get it sorted before anything bad happened. Welcome to the club gtb5 btw!

I actually have a portable SSD drive connected via USB lead to the car with all of my music (45Gb) - WMA, MP3 and apple formats - the system recognised it straight away and plays all of them without any issues. The only thing I have found is that searching for the tracks you want can take some time - particularly when you have as much music as I do but its nice knowing that I have everything that I need on hand. CD's also sound very good btw - the ML system is superb IMO.

In my very first tank of fuel, I managed to get 550 miles before I had to put some more in - even then the range was saying I had another 15 miles or so. This is fairly impressive bearing in mind the following; 1) The car is brand new and not been run in at all - it was its very first tank of fuel. I know from experience of a GS450h that I had before, that the mpg gets even better over time. 2) Hybrids are slightly less efficient in colder weather as it takes the engine longer to warm up. The engine has to be certain temperature before the hybrid battery will take over and so the battery does not swap over quite as easily as it does in the summer months. 3) I have winter tyres on which are also great for grip for not so good for rolling resistance and therefore tend to reduce your mpg slightly 4) I'm not a slow driver and easily keep up with the traffic Therefore, next summer I will be expecting up to around 600 miles quite easily if not more. However, I have been a hybrid driver for 6 years, so am very used to the way they drive and generally how to get the best out of them. If its your first, then you'll find that your driving style will change slightly if you want to maximise the fuel efficiency of the hybrid system. Ironically, I found that driving at slightly higher speed on motorways, lifting off the throttle and then letting the car gently reduce in speed works best, or just a very light throttle will keep your mpg pretty good and will often have the EV mode kick in even at 75mph. I also agree that using the downhill inclines on the motorway work just as well as they do on your normal trips on A Roads. What I have also found is that now when I drive a 'normal' car, using the hybrid driving style, I can achieve very impressive mpg which usually exceeds what the manufacturers say it should. E.g. my Polo with a DSG gearbox is meant to get 47mpg on the combined cycle but I get between 52-55mpg all of the time.

Thanks! Yes - It's the F-Sport alloys - they look gorgeous but clearly not as easy to sort out if you kerb them! Mind you, the winter tyres I have on have very little rim protection and would likely have not helped with the situation - the standard tyres seem to have a larger lip and hence better overall alloy protection. Anyway, once I phone the insurers and get it sorted, I'll see if my own local Lexus dealer will be as accommodating as yours, especially if they have to send the wheel away - i'm sure they will be!

Hi DJP I have not scuffed an alloy wheel for over 10 years and yet I managed to scuff the same nearside front wheel as yours last Friday after just a few weeks of ownership as well, which is really quite annoying! I have the alloy wheel insurance which I will phone this week to sort out - how long did they have your alloy(s) for? I'm guessing it wont be sorted before Christmas at this stage? A

Hi DJP Assuming you cant see the interior and you are loking at the outside, then what you say is correvt, however, there is also the addition of 'hybrid' badges on the lower sills (both sides) on the rear part of the car just before the rear wheel arches as well. If you could see inside the interior gives away more clues because of the dashboard instruments having somewhere to indicate the status of the battery etc rather than just the rev counter. One final clue is the addition of the EV mode button by the mode selector which you don't get in the 250.

I have not seen any other F-Sports on the road at all yet even though I only work a few miles from the Lexus garage. Strangely, other than in pictures, I am yet to see one in Ultra Blue one either - there was not even one in the showroom in that colour. Ultra Blue was was my second choice but chose silver in the end as I did not want to get one without seeing it in the flesh first.

Hi David I was able to connect my Sony Xperia Z. I had to confirm on my phone, some on-screen prompts to confirm that I allow the system to access and read my messages the first time I set it up (I also had to check the tick box so that it remembered for next time - otherwise the phone will re-prompt you every time you switch the car on and it tries to connect) but other than that it works OK. It's not the fastest but it works and the reading out of the texts is helpful if you were waiting for one while you are driving and means you don't have to look at or use your phone which is the whole point. You are alerted to any new e-mails or texts on screen and can either select have them read or you can ignore them.

That's great news Carl that there is an update Having read the issues everyone seemed to be getting I was apprehensive as to what my experience would be once I collected my car last week. Whilst the system had a bit of a fit on one occasion it does seem to have been pretty seamless for me and I have tried almost everything. I have even been able to get my texts and e-mails without drama. Maybe I already have the update as my vehicle is recent? In any event if there is an update then I'll definitely get it sorted for my car as anything that makes the infotainment system more stable is definitely worth having. Let us all know what difference the update makes and what the version number is so that we can all check we have the latest update. Cheers!