So I finally got around to test driving the IS 300H F Sport earlier this week after putting it off for a few months. While i'm in no immediate hurry to purchase a new car due to financial situation I have however got my heart set on the 300H F Sport when the time does come. I previously narrowed my car search down to either a Mercedes CLA, A3 saloon or another 3 series and of course the IS 300H F Sport and after test driving the IS it was an easy decision for me. The drive is so smooth and although almost all of the previous reviews I read said that the quietness of the engine is a bad thing i however consider it an absolute delight... (Then again i do currently drive an IS 220D lol). The interior kinda reminds me of the fun cockpit feel that i had in my Civic Type R and as i am extremely easily pleased and amused i think my favourite part was getting into the IS, turning the engine on and then having the steering wheel and seat engage into position.
Having never driven an automatic before i was a little apprehensive as to what to expect and again after reading the reviews (which i will now never do again because there all bull**** lol) I was pleasantly surprised with how responsive everything felt. I was even impressed with the acceleration and that was without even putting it into sports mode. I did obviously try Sports mode as well which is a hell of a lot of fun. I even enjoyed the artificial engine sound but i do expect that that novelty would wear off pretty quickly. I really wished i could of just kicked the Lexus sales rep out of the car and driven it home. Even my daughter was disappointed and looked at me in disgust when she had to get out and do a walk of shame back to my dingy pollen covered IS 220D haha. Really can't wait to clear abit of this stupid debt i have so then i can get into Debt again to purchase the 300H. Well worth it though.
I'm not going to be in any position to be getting a brand new one so will be looking to get an 13/14 year F Sport maybe towards the end of the year... I'm guessing that given Lexus' track record for reliability it would be perfectly possible to get one still in great condition? I've seen a couple that are up on Autotrader for around the 13/14K price range so i'm hoping i'll be able to grab a bargain closer the time.
With an older IS 300H around the 13/14 year range is there anything specific that i should be cautious of? Like any known issues to take into consideration?