A small review of the IS300h.
07-09-13, 04:59 PM
#46
Since I borrowed a test car from the dealership, I din't push any limits with the car.
But I did test how it was to drive a bit aggresive, like I drive my subaru normally.
I also got the rev counter to keep steady at about 6000rpm, and I tried some corners fast.
Through the corners, the car felt very heavy when driving agressive. It felt a bit nervous and even tho the back end never did let go, it felt like it was about to when pushing the car.
My subau feels like it is supposed to thrown around corners.
In the lexus it kind of felt a bit wrong to drive like this. It never felt like the car was ment to driven in an aggresive way.
To me the lexus feels like a decent powered luxury sedan, that is ment to be fast but not agressive.
It behaves very comfortable on twisting roads. But as soon as you drive it agressive on twisting roads, it feels like it wasen't ment to do that. Sort of like when you drive a big mercedes or any SUV aggresive around narrow roads.
Even tho the car was stable and didn't lean over a lot, it still didn't give me the confidence to give more throttle around the corners.
This is where the weight is really felt. Even tho the susension is good, and car is powerful. The weight makes the car feel to heavy to drive it aggresive.
Maybe the 250\350 feels better because of less weight.
But I never bought the IS because of it's handling, sportiness or power.
Then I could just have kept my subaru.
I bought the lexus because it is a comfortable ride with good build quality and low cost in both fuel consumption and maintenance. Also it can tow a small trailer (750kg) and the seats fold down so you can carry something long.
My subaru can't do anything listed above, other than to tow a trailer.
So if you expect the IS to be some sort of sportcar, the 300h will dissapoint. But if you want it to be a quick but cheap running comfortable luxury sedan, it will absulutly please
But I did test how it was to drive a bit aggresive, like I drive my subaru normally.
I also got the rev counter to keep steady at about 6000rpm, and I tried some corners fast.
Through the corners, the car felt very heavy when driving agressive. It felt a bit nervous and even tho the back end never did let go, it felt like it was about to when pushing the car.
My subau feels like it is supposed to thrown around corners.
In the lexus it kind of felt a bit wrong to drive like this. It never felt like the car was ment to driven in an aggresive way.
To me the lexus feels like a decent powered luxury sedan, that is ment to be fast but not agressive.
It behaves very comfortable on twisting roads. But as soon as you drive it agressive on twisting roads, it feels like it wasen't ment to do that. Sort of like when you drive a big mercedes or any SUV aggresive around narrow roads.
Even tho the car was stable and didn't lean over a lot, it still didn't give me the confidence to give more throttle around the corners.
This is where the weight is really felt. Even tho the susension is good, and car is powerful. The weight makes the car feel to heavy to drive it aggresive.
Maybe the 250\350 feels better because of less weight.
But I never bought the IS because of it's handling, sportiness or power.
Then I could just have kept my subaru.
I bought the lexus because it is a comfortable ride with good build quality and low cost in both fuel consumption and maintenance. Also it can tow a small trailer (750kg) and the seats fold down so you can carry something long.
My subaru can't do anything listed above, other than to tow a trailer.
So if you expect the IS to be some sort of sportcar, the 300h will dissapoint. But if you want it to be a quick but cheap running comfortable luxury sedan, it will absulutly please
rest of it has nothing to do with hybrid but with IS.... several articles that tested both 250 and 300h commented how 300h was more planted due to 50/50 weight distribution.
So it is all about the feel and i really dont understand how can they make it feel better without killing the mpg... I man Porsche does it in their car, where hybrid acts basically as a turbo only and not for saving gas, but would you like that in your 300h? I dont think so, everyone would complain about high consumption then :-)
07-10-13, 03:17 AM
#47
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
only "real" problem when it comes to hybrids is that they dont hold rpm's like normal cars do in corners, due to CVT... they could - like in sport+ mode, but then you would get mpg like you got - 12l/100km.
rest of it has nothing to do with hybrid but with IS.... several articles that tested both 250 and 300h commented how 300h was more planted due to 50/50 weight distribution.
So it is all about the feel and i really dont understand how can they make it feel better without killing the mpg... I man Porsche does it in their car, where hybrid acts basically as a turbo only and not for saving gas, but would you like that in your 300h? I dont think so, everyone would complain about high consumption then :-)
rest of it has nothing to do with hybrid but with IS.... several articles that tested both 250 and 300h commented how 300h was more planted due to 50/50 weight distribution.
So it is all about the feel and i really dont understand how can they make it feel better without killing the mpg... I man Porsche does it in their car, where hybrid acts basically as a turbo only and not for saving gas, but would you like that in your 300h? I dont think so, everyone would complain about high consumption then :-)
In the eco mode, you can drive the porsche as cheap as a toyota yaris hybrid, and in sport mode it uses all the power combined to deliver the maximum driving experience.
It is possible to do something similar with the eco and sport+ mode in the lexus, so the fuel consumption only would be high in sport mode, but the problem becomes the weight and suspension.
I don't think it is possible to make the lexus feel like a sportcar, without killing all the comfort.
Then you would have to equip the car with some sort of electric dampers that was super stiff in sport+ mode, and soft in normal\eco mode. Maybe combined with active rear steering that only worked in sport mode.
An interresting thought, but the car would pretty most cost the same as the porsche hybrid
So I'm still satisfied with the IS, because I see it as luxury sedan with good gas milage and power, not a sportscar.
I think the solution if you want a car that is both sporty and comfortable would be to buy two cars
07-10-13, 05:15 AM
#50
07-10-13, 05:56 AM
#51
But in any case - driving GS450h is similar to IS300h - so all this in the video above is the same, you just go faster due to all the power.... but in the corners your rpm's will drop, same as above.
so "only" benefit when it comes to "sporty" driving is that you are a lot faster in the straight line.
07-10-13, 06:26 AM
#52
yeah, GS450h has "too high" CO2 rating due to V6...
But in any case - driving GS450h is similar to IS300h - so all this in the video above is the same, you just go faster due to all the power.... but in the corners your rpm's will drop, same as above.
so "only" benefit when it comes to "sporty" driving is that you are a lot faster in the straight line.
But in any case - driving GS450h is similar to IS300h - so all this in the video above is the same, you just go faster due to all the power.... but in the corners your rpm's will drop, same as above.
so "only" benefit when it comes to "sporty" driving is that you are a lot faster in the straight line.
The CO2 for GS450h is 149g. Thats not bad.I read somewhere that the 3IS in Japan has rear wheel steering? That should help the car go around the coner better.
07-10-13, 07:53 AM
#53
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Then the jap version just needs shocks with both super soft and super stiff settings.
The CVT box should be possible to programme with a new software.
Just a thought, but if you make a new software that makes the cvt keep high rpm through corners, and only make this setting avalible when you drive it in sport+ mode with manual gear shift on the cvt box by using the handles and manual mode on the cvt, this could actually work.
Also with some programming and software changes, you could make the hybrid system behave like a KERS system in sport+ mode.
Now someone just needs to makes an intelligent set of shocks, and incorporate them into the cars computer system
Hopefully some skilled software car geek has overheard this conversation
The CVT box should be possible to programme with a new software.
Just a thought, but if you make a new software that makes the cvt keep high rpm through corners, and only make this setting avalible when you drive it in sport+ mode with manual gear shift on the cvt box by using the handles and manual mode on the cvt, this could actually work.
Also with some programming and software changes, you could make the hybrid system behave like a KERS system in sport+ mode.
Now someone just needs to makes an intelligent set of shocks, and incorporate them into the cars computer system
Hopefully some skilled software car geek has overheard this conversation
07-10-13, 09:40 AM
#54
Pole Position
Speaking about the GS450h F-Sport, I know that this is an advertisement but the GS450h was able to do power oversteer and break free the rear end on this track. If I'm not wrong, the GS450h F-Sport comes with rear steering as standard in Europe :
07-10-13, 10:03 AM
#55
Then the jap version just needs shocks with both super soft and super stiff settings.
The CVT box should be possible to programme with a new software.
Just a thought, but if you make a new software that makes the cvt keep high rpm through corners, and only make this setting avalible when you drive it in sport+ mode with manual gear shift on the cvt box by using the handles and manual mode on the cvt, this could actually work.
Also with some programming and software changes, you could make the hybrid system behave like a KERS system in sport+ mode.
Now someone just needs to makes an intelligent set of shocks, and incorporate them into the cars computer system
Hopefully some skilled software car geek has overheard this conversation
The CVT box should be possible to programme with a new software.
Just a thought, but if you make a new software that makes the cvt keep high rpm through corners, and only make this setting avalible when you drive it in sport+ mode with manual gear shift on the cvt box by using the handles and manual mode on the cvt, this could actually work.
Also with some programming and software changes, you could make the hybrid system behave like a KERS system in sport+ mode.
Now someone just needs to makes an intelligent set of shocks, and incorporate them into the cars computer system
Hopefully some skilled software car geek has overheard this conversation
07-10-13, 11:18 AM
#56
GS450h is lower than high powered diesels.
as low as 137g I think... BUT here, that is 17.5% extra tax... :-)
Thats €10k extra in taxes for top model.
Problem with having extra Sport++ mode is that fuel economy will suck **** and nobody will use it but mags who will then claim that it gets 20l/100km fuel efficiency :-)))
On my 3GS 350, there was Sport mode that made the difference... it "freed" the car... it was like you unchain the monster... but how many times did I use it? 4-5 times in 3 years.
07-10-13, 04:44 PM
#57
The car was equipped with Bridestone turanza tires. MAde some road noice, but over all a very quiet car.
Had two issues with the car that I noticed on the test drive.
The radar guided cruise control lost track of cars in front in sharp turns and acclerated towards them, but braked hard when "re detecting" the car in front after the turn.
Yeah the DRCC does the same on mine if the curve is too sharp (there's one highway where it's a 70km/h curve and it's something like 120° [or 60° to the right]). On normal high speed curves, it'll keep the radar lock.
07-11-13, 02:38 AM
#58
The fuel consumtion is not shoot to the roof either. I'm average around 8L/100KM right now half tank through and the average speed on my 20km trip is 80-85km/h. Not bad.
Last edited by UpSideDown; 07-11-13 at 02:53 AM.
09-07-13, 07:17 PM
#59
I ended up purchasing another IS250 a while ago.
I did test the IS300h on business in the UK, but it is a case of horses for courses.
If you are into fuel economy, and fold down rear seats, then buy the IS300h.
If you want silky smooth power delivery, and a truly smooth ride with no bump thump from the run flat tires, then buy the 250.
The hybrid idles like a six, and drives around town like a six, perhaps better bottom end torque too.
However, once the gas pedal is floored, the four cylinder engine rears its head, with less instant response, less power, and coarse revs.
Also, because the hybrid has the battery placed in the spare tire compartment, in place of a spare tire, the hybrid must use run flats - which have a knobby ride.
In its current 2.5L 4 cylinder hybrid form overseas, I would NOT recommend Lexus waste their time importing the IS300h to the USA.
IMO, this four pot hybrid won't sell in the US.
I would recommend that 4 cylinder hybrids be prohibited from the IS range, and that it was replace by either a 2.5L V6 hybrid, or even Lexus 3.0L V6 hybrid, with the battery placed in the same location as the GS450h, and the use of a full size spare tire, and conventional non-run flat tires for a superior ride.
Only then could the hybid, or hypothetical IS350h, or hypothetical IS400h be imported to the US.
Americans like a slick engine and a plush ride; or maybe they don't necessarily like, but I do.
I personally chose the 250 over the 350, because the 250 is adequate around town, and spins smoothly and quietly.
I found that the 350 was mainly top end torque; normally a 3.5 is much gruntier down low, and the 350 was noticeably coarser and louder to rev, so I personally gave the 350 a miss.
The 3.5 seems to be much quicker and quieter in the 4GS.
Horses for courses really.
Just depends what is most important to the buyer.
They are all good models, but in different ways...
I did test the IS300h on business in the UK, but it is a case of horses for courses.
If you are into fuel economy, and fold down rear seats, then buy the IS300h.
If you want silky smooth power delivery, and a truly smooth ride with no bump thump from the run flat tires, then buy the 250.
The hybrid idles like a six, and drives around town like a six, perhaps better bottom end torque too.
However, once the gas pedal is floored, the four cylinder engine rears its head, with less instant response, less power, and coarse revs.
Also, because the hybrid has the battery placed in the spare tire compartment, in place of a spare tire, the hybrid must use run flats - which have a knobby ride.
In its current 2.5L 4 cylinder hybrid form overseas, I would NOT recommend Lexus waste their time importing the IS300h to the USA.
IMO, this four pot hybrid won't sell in the US.
I would recommend that 4 cylinder hybrids be prohibited from the IS range, and that it was replace by either a 2.5L V6 hybrid, or even Lexus 3.0L V6 hybrid, with the battery placed in the same location as the GS450h, and the use of a full size spare tire, and conventional non-run flat tires for a superior ride.
Only then could the hybid, or hypothetical IS350h, or hypothetical IS400h be imported to the US.
Americans like a slick engine and a plush ride; or maybe they don't necessarily like, but I do.
I personally chose the 250 over the 350, because the 250 is adequate around town, and spins smoothly and quietly.
I found that the 350 was mainly top end torque; normally a 3.5 is much gruntier down low, and the 350 was noticeably coarser and louder to rev, so I personally gave the 350 a miss.
The 3.5 seems to be much quicker and quieter in the 4GS.
Horses for courses really.
Just depends what is most important to the buyer.
They are all good models, but in different ways...
Last edited by peteharvey; 09-07-13 at 07:54 PM.
09-07-13, 10:21 PM
#60
I've been driving my 300h for about 150km now, and i think it's like an underpowerd GS450h. Quick enough, but lacks about 100hp for that realy powerful ride. Comming from an Audi turbo i don't think the 300h is slow in response, The thing is not to drive it i "D". If you want to race, put the gearbox i "S" and use the paddle shifters.
Also, it is possible to turn off EV-mode completly (settings on the big screen). Haven't tried it yet, but i expect it to force the petrol engine to stay turned on. That should help the response a bit.
Also, it is possible to turn off EV-mode completly (settings on the big screen). Haven't tried it yet, but i expect it to force the petrol engine to stay turned on. That should help the response a bit.