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So, having given my RX450h F-Sport to my dealer, I was given a complimentary Lexus IS300h Premier to drive around. This was a fully loaded vehicle with blind spot monitor, the 15 speaker Mark Levinson Surround Sound system and the blind spot detection (whereby the car alerts you when reversing out of a parking space if a vehicle is approaching.
First things first - the keys:
I particularly like it - its soft touch plastic, akin to the material found on the upper door panels on the IS. It felt nice and solid in the hand but its small enough to be unobtrusive. If you're like me, and you like keys then its certainly a nice key fob.
Now onto the looks -
IMO its a lovely looking vehicle. It look classy, especially in the Premier spec with the 18" wheels on. I prefer the F-Sport as I think it is the best looking car in this segment with a cohesive design language from front to back (unlike the new Jaguar XE which looks brilliant from the front and rather dull from the back).
Im especially fond of the side profile, it looks fast even when standing still and has a great coupe-esque look to it, one that simply trumps the new Mercedes C-Class (I think it looks like a Banana, no hate please) as well as the BMW 3 series which almost looks like any old car from the side. Now these are my opinions and I understand some of you may prefer the looks of either the Merc or the BMW so we can agree to disagree on that one if you prefer!
I particularly liked the finish on the wheels - they were rather shiny, almost chrome like but they do look quite good!
Paint finish (Arctic/Starfire pearl) was impeccable as is mostly the case with Lexus paint. No blemishes I could see bearing in mind this is a 6 month old demonstrator and no orange peel which is great if you're like me and hates wet sanding.
Now onto the interior:
No doubt about it - a lovely place to spend time. I'll talk about the seats first - superbly comfortable, no complaints in over 100 miles of driving and adjustability is great as they are full electric with lumbar support for the driver. They fit like a glove (im 6 ft 1) so I doubt most drivers would have a problem with it. In fact, they were so comfy, I didnt really want to get out.
The driving position is great too, no awkward offset pedals or steering wheel, they were both bang on centre which I liked.
The door panels were of good quality, a step above BMW and dare I say it Audi. It is clear though that the Merc C-class is the benchmark in this segment but thats not to say that the Lexus IS is bad quality as its not - everything closed with a solid thud (doors are bloody heavy) and everything felt as it should in a car costing this much.
The audio system was fine. The 15 speaker system excels in clarity but needs to be tweaked to get the best out of it. However, for an updated system with 800+W, it sounded worse than the 300W system in my RX which was slightly odd. I found that the sound quality was heavily dependent on the source and it tends to sound better if listening through the USB or through an IPOD rather than CD's. An issue I found was that the USB needs to be taken out and put back in every time you get in the car to ensure it is recognised, I dont know if this happens on all IS300h's or if a previous driver had done this (please let me know in the comments)
The temperature gauges are a nice feature. They're a talking point but not really any easier than buttons or *****. However, they were nice to touch
Onto the driving experience:
What can I say? Lexus has done a great job on this one. The handling was great on this particular Premier version, I can only imagine its better on an F-Sport. Turn in was crisp, it handled curves like a boss. You wouldn't be left wanting for handling, in fact, its a better handler than the 3 series (isnt it supposed to be the benchmark?) which in comparison feels a bit mushy. It certainly feels sportier than the C-class but handles about the same I reckon. Its miles ahead of the A4 but obviously, not totally fair as that's getting a refresh soon anyway. I cant comment on the Jaguar XE as I havent driven that one.
Steering was slightly numb but it was very accurate and pretty surreal. It felt pretty sensitive to every input and having driven Lexus for a long time, I can say its probably their best steering setup yet (apart from the LFA of course). Brakes were strong too but dust like mad. I washed the loaner (im crazy I know) and wheels were already dirty by the time I had gone to the supermarket and back.
Ok so the real talking point of this car - the hybrid powertrain. 2.5L inline four cylinder with electric motors - total system output, 223hp. 0-62mph 8.3s?!! What?! I was pretty disappointed when I read that.......
....but then I actually drove it. By no means does it feel slow or lethargic. Even in normal mode, the car goes pretty well and in-gear acceleration (aided by instant torque) was very enjoyable. Sport mode tightens the steering up a bit and improves throttle response while keeping revs slightly higher. It was a great car to drive, I thoroughly enjoyed it - certainly felt faster than the IS250 anyway and from a rolling start, it goes pretty well.
Don't be fooled by the 0-62mph time, It doesnt mean much when it comes to hybrids! I had the car almost exclusively in Sport mode (just because) and pretty much milked it. Result - 35mpg. I did however, see if I could get the 61 mpg claim. I failed but managed 56mpg in ECO mode with some dedication though! woohoo:
So that is my review of the IS300h, if you have any questions feel free to ask!
Nice write up! Seeing as how we Americans don't have the 300h, I was interested in what you had to say about the engine. 8.3s is slow, but I'm guessing it felt faster because of the instant torque you mentioned? With 223hp, that's more powerful than the 204hp of the 250. I haven't looked up 0-60 for the 250...but I thought it was less than 8s.
Nice write up! Seeing as how we Americans don't have the 300h, I was interested in what you had to say about the engine. 8.3s is slow, but I'm guessing it felt faster because of the instant torque you mentioned? With 223hp, that's more powerful than the 204hp of the 250. I haven't looked up 0-60 for the 250...but I thought it was less than 8s.
The step off is pretty tardy in the IS300h. The way to get a good launch is to brake torque it at the lights. Did it yesterday with traction control off and it went off the line like a bat out of hell! When they test UK cars, they just mash the throttle which probably explains the slow-ish time. The IS250 is 8.1s here.
What the IS250 doesn't have is the in-gear acceleration of the IS300h. Even in Normal mode, press the throttle to the floor and you'll travel from 30-60mph in an instant! In Sport mode, its even better . Its a lot of fun actually and the CVT doesn't distract from the experience.
Also, in the UK reviews, it mentions some kind of CVT drone, I had no experience of this and I can only imagine you get it when doing 0-100mph test runs at full throttle.
Originally Posted by FPerform
Wish they had this in the States, would of gotten it.
Yes, its a great balance between performance and fuel economy. I managed a good 56mpg reading but it took too much effort. In reality, id expect about 45mpg if I was driving like I normally would, but the handling in the IS sort of eggs you for more, which explains my somewhat naughty behaviour behind the wheel.
Originally Posted by JDR76
Great review and pictures, thanks for sharing. Especially fun to read about versions we don't get here in the states.
My IS350 is the same color as your loaner, with the same wheels. I love the combination!
Its a great combination - it looks classy yet sporty. My wife is buying an IS, she wanted the Premier version to compare to the F-Sport and she's settled on the F-Sport as its slightly cheaper and we dont really need the BSM and ML, and blind spot detection.
Assuming the IS300h was priced more like the ES/ESh premium vs the RX/RXh/GS/GSh premium, it would likely do very well in the States.
Hilarious
Are you telling me that key fob ^ is 'soft', and we get this hard plastic ****?!?! v
Yes I'm sure the key fob was slightly squidgy unlike my RXh fob which is like a rock.
I think the IS300h would do very well in the US if available. lts only £3k higher than an IS250 so I'd expect it to be $3k there too but it's quicker when rolling, more effortless to drI've due to instant torque and gets good fuel economy, not to mention the tax is cheaper here by £260 a year which adds up if keeping the car for long
The IS made me into a hooligan, ran through a 30mph road at 60mph and took a turn so hard that the back end kicked out lol.
My wife's eye has been on the IS for a while but due to the economic issues in the UK the house market is not too good so our second home wasn't selling. However, we have made a deal with a nice couple, it's going through atm so an IS300h F SPORT should be with us by July.
As for the 4RX, it's coming next year so that's on the wishlist for myself. I have put a deposit down but been sent a ridiculous invoice which may/may not be true. Full specs on the 4RX should be with me in July too so we'll see which options are available
Yes I'm sure the key fob was slightly squidgy unlike my RXh fob which is like a rock.
I think the IS300h would do very well in the US if available. lts only £3k higher than an IS250 so I'd expect it to be $3k there too but it's quicker when rolling, more effortless to drI've due to instant torque and gets good fuel economy, not to mention the tax is cheaper here by £260 a year which adds up if keeping the car for long
The IS made me into a hooligan, ran through a 30mph road at 60mph and took a turn so hard that the back end kicked out lol.
My wife's eye has been on the IS for a while but due to the economic issues in the UK the house market is not too good so our second home wasn't selling. However, we have made a deal with a nice couple, it's going through atm so an IS300h F SPORT should be with us by July.
As for the 4RX, it's coming next year so that's on the wishlist for myself. I have put a deposit down but been sent a ridiculous invoice which may/may not be true. Full specs on the 4RX should be with me in July too so we'll see which options are available
I haven't seen the Euro spec RX key but if it's like the U.S. Spec one it is hard plastic but it's smooth unlike the current rough plastic key on the IS, ES, NX, RC and GS (all US).
Congrats, I look forward to your choice of ISh and ownership review
It's true the RX in some trims will now be over $60k+ for the Ultra Luxury package with panoramic roof. I don't have much more info on that trim other than its coming
Thanks for this very well written review! My dad may consider an IS300h soon so that's nice information
Glad you liked it, thanks!
The IS300H is a great vehicle, useable, everyday power with great fuel economy especially considering it has a 2.5l engine albeit a 4 cylinder. Just to add, hardly any engine noise makes it into the cabin unless you floor it.
Also, active sound control is really really bad! I just kept it off
05-28-15, 09:08 AM
My In-depth Review of the IS300h
I was pretty disappointed when I read that....... 
