lordlen21

With an IS300h Exec I achieved 45mpg in winter and 50ish in summer (on the computer). I didn’t hang around either and didn’t drive it particularly gently. Now have an Audi 2.0 190 Quattro - need an estate - which achieves about 48mpg under the same driving conditions but sounds like a tractor and not as smooth, but is faster and more nimble. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s probably a good thing that text messages are not displayed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I moved from a 2013 F31 320i to an IS300h Exec (now have an Audi A4 tdi btw) and here’s my pros and cons: Pros Better quality interior. More relaxing drive. More luxurious and upmarket feel,even compared to my Audi. Very smooth around town. Much better standard audio system. Great dealers. Petrol engine so no need for Adblue (PITA) or feet covered in diesel. Very quiet at speed. Very reliable. My bmw broke down and had loads of trim issues and road noise was terrible. All I had on the Lexus was a buzzing cup holder. High quality paintwork. Sound insulating glass as standard. Very economical, averaged around 46mpg in mixed driving. Good standard kit : keyless entry, folding rear seats (Audi also have this), folding mirrors. Cons Expensive servicing. Felt a bit unstable at high speed (probably a good thing as it made me slow down on the motorway) Not enjoyable to drive on a country road.....just relaxing. The gearbox is not really connected directly to the wheels (eCVT) and doesn’t compare well to the 7 speed ZF auto that BMWs use. However, that does make the Lexus super smooth. Infotainment is way behind but tbh, that is probably a good thing as there’s too many distractions in modern cars. High depreciation and dealer pricing for used is way too high. Check the price against webuyanycar and you may be surprised as the premium is often 4K above the trade in price. I’ve looked at going back to an IS a couple of times as they’re very nice, compared to the BMW, and the foot brake is no problem I only used it twice in a journey due to the hill start assist. Reading the above list, looks like I’ll be looking at one again soon as diesel rattle is jarring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice car. I still lurk here after swapping my 2015 IS300h Exec for a an Audi A4. Still miss it but needed the estate. Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

I've sampled many satnav combos in my MY15 300h and settled on google maps nav, sometimes TomTom ( old subscription) both running from an iPhone 7s plus. Works very well as google maps sends the turn direction audio through the cars stereo, takes/receive calls ok and I can browse my music collection on the phone whether local or streamed through Apple Music using the cars contoller. Best sound quality is through the cable but works over Bluetooth too.

Thanks for the feedback, I may give the MY17 another look.

Yes, does seem a strange decision considering that my wife Polo comes with them as standard. Personally, I'd prefer the sensors above a camera. I agree, it seems the MY15 Exec was a great deal - hence why I chose it - and came with a lot of standard kit. I'm not getting a great offer on my current Exec and I estimate its going to be right on the GFV figure. Just had some quotes on a new Adv and the GFV is being set at £13k at the end of 36months based on 12k miles per year.

Thanks for the reply and I've been quoted around £40 more for the Adv and now doesn't come with front/rear parking sensors.

The PCP deal on my current MY15 IS300h Executive is coming to an end and I'm looking at a replacement. I've taken a look at the new model Exec but Lexus have deleted the parking sensors - which I quite like - and replaced the leather trim with fabric/Tahara. I appreciate that the safety kit has been added but quite reluctant to lose the sensors and leather trim on a new car. It seems the most comparable model to the MY15 Exec is the MY17 Advance but that's 2k more than the Exec. Has anyone any experience of the camera and Tahara trim? Any opinions will be welcome.

Hi Edwardo, This is how I eventually fixed the issue by using the 12v socket. You're right, the 12v socket is much better at charging phones anyhow. Adrian

Hi Ed, I've tried that already, it just switches back on automatically.

Hi, Does anyone use a Samsung S6 or S6 Edge with an IS300h? Each time I connect my phone to the USB port I get the Mirrorlink display on the phone - which can't be disabled - but Mirrorlink is not available on the media screen. This effectively shuts off thicken which is inconvenient if using the phone for Navigation. Thanks, Adrian.

Hi Dave, The Infotainment system is a little awkward at first but you get used to it, I wouldn't let it put you off; sound quality is brilliant - the standard system is as good as BMW's HK system - but the DAB is a bit weird and not as easy to use as the iDrive. I really like the 70s design, especially the volume dial which is all metal and just falls easily to hand. Bluetooth audio, especially on my version, is rubbish, so I just plug my iPhone 5s into the USB socket and sound quality is excellent, be wary of the BMW system, not all models have Bluetooth audio and some even need a custom cable (£40) which sends the iPhone audio over analogue which is also rubbish. The standard Satnav is on a par with BMWs "Business Nav" which is standard on the M-Sport but the premium nav has much better traffic avoidance and wide screen. TBH, i find the TomTom app to be the best satnav but the Lexus built in unit is ok. The phone system is not quite as good as BMWs but I'm probably running an older version and some people complain of poor quality. The fit/finish of the Lexus - as I've said before - is miles ahead of the BMW and feels more luxury; the nimbleness of the BMW however is far better, so it depends on how you drive as which car suits, the 320d is very quick. The Lexus "will" pick up speed, it just doesn't feel as taut and eager, the paddles are pointless but using the sport option does increase the urgency of the drivetrain and is quite addictive. I've found both dealers to be about the same and BMW tried hard to sort my road noise issues, which were, in the end just the large wheels and poor noise insulation. I did suffer an injector failure and BMW after sales service was impeccable; a hire car arrived the next day. Cruise control is not as intuitive on the Lexus - standard not radar - but I get very little opportunity to use it; the BMW, for example, allows you to set an actual speed, which is handy through roadworks, is a bit of guesswork in the IS300h and you can't see which was to push the lever without taking your eyes off the road and its bt=ot illuminated so unless you've remembered how it works, unusable in the dark. I tried the active sound thing and immediately turned it off! Just sounds daft as the simulated gear changes are muffled by the real engine note which doesn't match. I love my Lexus IS300h and wouldn't swap it for even the 330d BMW, it just seems to work extremely well on today's roads being quiet, refined, enough toys, great sound system and enough power for today's roads.

Hi Dave, I came from a 2013 320i Sport to a 2015 is300h Exec and the cars are very different. The BMW is nippy - more so in 320d - and very light on its feet; whereas the Lexus doesn't like to be "rushed", it's more of a relaxed drive. The Lexus IS way more refined; I had issues with trim and road noise in the BMW and chopped it early as it drove me nuts! The stereo was woeful, the kit level poor and trim quality was not great. The Lexus, by contrast feels from a class above; whereas the BMW seems be like a large 1 series. I bought my Lexus on PCP in Aug 15 which I'd encourage as the APR is very low (2.7%) for a used car under a year old so worked out less per month than I was paying for the BMW. They're both good cars but in different ways, you tend to waft around in the Lexus in quiet comfort and get to love the quietness of the hybrid drivetrain, whereas the BMW is great at being hussled along on B roads but is not very relaxing, feeling a little noisy and unrefined. It comes down to what you want in a car but I'd encourage a 24 hour test drive in both. Bear in mind, you need to spend a lot more on the BMW to same the kit level and for me, the IS exec is great value for money. So in summary, I never really liked the BMW from the start but really enjoy Lexus.

Hi Nick,I echo what Rayaan said, you get used to it after a few weeks.

Mine was also coming loose and your tip works a treat.....thanks!

Thanks for all the replies, it's interesting that I'm not the only one. It's not down to perception as the my wife as also noticed cold air being blown into the cabin after about 30mins which causes me to increase the setting a couple of degrees just to keep warm. My BMWs didn't have this feature - did have a lot of others that greater though - you just set to 21 degrees and the auto function kept the cabin at the same temp. The Lexus seems to want to wake you up after 30mins by dropping the temp by 2-3 degrees when on Auto. Doesn't bother me too much as all cars have their quirks and the rest of the Lexus IS is such an improvement on my 2013 BMW 320i, that increasing the temp is not an issue.

Just wondered if anyone else has experienced the climate control going noticeably cooler after about 30 minutes. I normally have it set to 21 degrees but after a while it goes so cool I need to increase the temp to at least 23 to maintain the same temp.

Can anyone tell me what the little slot is for that sits just in front of the gear lever indicator on the centre console? I can't find any reference to it in the manuals. Looks a bit like it could hold an SD memory card.

I had the same experience in an A6. I must say that the IS300h cvt pretty responsive and that's after using the 8 speed ZF in latest 3 series.

Was that from Stockport by any chance? Did take a look at one but settled in a nearly new silver model from the same dealer.

Just thought I'd post an update after living with my IS300h for a month and 2k miles : I'll start with the negatives (not many tbh) as compared with my previous car (BMW 320i Sport F31 Touring Auto) : - The cruise control is a little old fashioned in that it doesn't display the current speed setting, or am I missing something? And then for the positives : The fuel economy is amazing, I'm getting about 51mpg on the computer but 600 miles on a tank costing around £70 is excellent. I'd be looking to fill up the BMW at 380 miles. The drivetrain is very smooth and getting used to the CVT/Hybrid setup and can't for the life of me have any idea why the motoring press see the CVT as a negative. Coming from the the excellent 8 speed ZF in the BMW this is a surprise. The overall feeling of the car is of a luxury car which is also a surprise as BMW seemed to be going in the other direction. For example, the car is very quiet at all speeds, the interior trim quality is of a very high standard, the seats are very comfortable, the soft touch plastics are everywhere. It just feels from a class above. The headlights are excellent, as you would expect from Xenons. The stereo is also very good and leagues ahead of the BMWs, both from a feature and quality standpoint. The overall size of the car is great being that little bit smaller than the BMW which is good for parking and general placing of the car on my local country roads. Overall I'm really enjoying the car, more so than my previous 2 BMWs and definitely a convert to petrol/hybrid technology.

Thought I'd provide an update after living with the IS300h for a weekend. Overall impressions are that the IS300h is in a class above the current 3 series in general quality of the interior, refinement and value for money e.g. the standard kit list is lengthy (Xenons, satnav, folding mirrors, heated seats, high quality sound system). The added bonus is the quietness of the drivetrain, especially at low speeds. I'm getting around 48mpg according to the trip computer which is impressive. Performance seems a little down on my BMW but not enough to really notice, anyway, tearing around in such a smooth driving car seems a little crass. I'd also heard good things about the dealers and Lexus Stockport certainly lived up to their reputation. Very pleased so far with the switch!

Thanks for the welcomes and positive comments. Picking up the wheels on Friday morning. Tbh the 3 series is a good car but just a little too noisy and unrefined, mainly due to the 18" run flats and poor sound insulation. Mine was a 320i which is fairly pokey and quite economical at around 35mpg in mixed driving. It doesn't come close in terms of luxury feel and refinement compared to the is300h though. Looking forward to some luxury motoring with an interesting drivetrain.

New to the forum as I've just signed on the dotted for a 5 month old used IS300h Executive with 3k on the clock after a 24hr test drive in a demonstrator. Initially I'd not really considered a Lexus coming from 3 BMWs and was wary of the reports on the CVT transmission especially after coming from an excellent 8 speed ZF in a 2013 3 series. The reports are rubbish, the transmission is smooth with the engine only audible under hard acceleration; what swung it for me was the quietness of the drive - after the racket generated by the run flats on the Beemer - and the general level of luxury not evident in the current 3 series.