boe

I was bumming to find out it is offered in Europe but no the US.

eyeball

It doesn't have as much power as the 350 though, no?

hoosier1

The IS300h would be a great addition to the Lexus hybrid family, but Lexus must have concluded that US gasoline cost is low compared to Europe and other parts of the world, and buyers may choose the CT or ES. The ES300h is a great car, and we own one, but he IS has better handling and curb appeal.

boe

I used to hate the wooden steering wheels on the Lexus cars. I noticed in all the videos I've seen of the 300h they have a nice all leather steering wheel. Is that a European thing, an IS thing or the shape of things to come?

JDR76

Nice option, but I still would have bought a 350.

abcsoup

In the US at least, all 3IS models come with a leather steering wheel. The F-Sport models also have perforated leather from the 2-5 and 7-10 o'clock positions. The F-Sport wheel I have feels really great; the perforated texture is great, and I like how the wheel is sculpted. It's not circular all the way around but instead has these nice angles in all the right places.

abcsoup

Yeah, I would still have gotten the 350 too. The 300h is really a great choice though; just depends on what you want in your car.

I wonder how they would've priced it in comparison to the 250 and 350. I feel like they'd end up pricing it on-par or slightly more than the 350, which is what Lexus do with the ES models, although the ES350 has the lesser 3.5L engine. The 300h would also have put Lexus in an odd position regarding the 250, which would have much worse MPG and less total power.

In any case, the more options, the better!

DJP31

In the UK the 300h is the only option, and with the price of gas over here it's a brilliant car. It's no way as quick as your 350, and that's the price I may for 40+ mpg around town.

I have the F Sport and it handles really well and has more than enough power. the hybrid drivetrain is different, but the journos who seem to hate it don't do real life driving. I chose the 300h over an Audi S5, that was fantastically quick but would have been a complete waste of all that power with mpg in the teens around town to remind everyday what was under the hood! The refinement and customer service don't compare either.

yowps3

In Australia we have all the variants! IS250, IS300h and the most popular model the IS350

Fizzboy7

I think the hybrid should be compared to the IS250, not 350. The 250 is the one which gets the best mileage here in the U.S., so adding the hybrid would trump the 250. People would be getting it for the mpg's, not the performance. MPG's have been the US's song and dance when it comes to hybrids.

Yes, I would get one if offered. Lack of a sporty blue and hybrid in the US is a big turn off.

moose66

If the power output does not suffer, or even increases, count me in. The GS450h has treated me right thus far.

rayaans

Over here in the UK we get the IS250 and IS300h.

IS250 comes with 205 hp whereas the IS300h has a combined 223hp. However, it is also heavier but, due to the instant torque, the 300h is much more usable in everyday driving.

magne

In norway, as the only eu country, they do not offer the 250 at all.
This is due to the big difference in price tag between a thirsty big petrol enigne and a hybrid.
Where the hybrid starts at about 68000$ USD here, the 250 would start at over 100000$ USD if it were avalible. All due to taxes on emissons and enigine size.

However, if the price were the same, I don't think a lot of people would choose the 250 here due to the fuel consumption and high fuel prices.

In EU, none of the IS models are avalible with awd. If they had been, that would have been a big selling point in my country. Almost 50% of new cars sold are awd.

tel

I changed my 2011 ISF for the 300h F-Sport & only miss the thrill of starting up the ISF.The handling in normal driving is the same,the gas mileage is double & the performance betters the IS250-----perfect for the UK Tax Rules.(Annual Road Tax for the ISF £490,for the F-Sport Nil.
Tel

Im2bz2p345

I would have loved to see Lexus put out a IS350h (or if they want to call it an IS300h, I'm fine with that too!)

It would be a direct competitor with Infiniti - The only reason that I was even considering the Infiniti Q50S Hybrid was because of the performance to MPG ratio. The Q50S Hybrid RWD is quicker than the IS350 F-Sport RWD despite having less torque and weighing almost 400 lbs more! It also has more technology, is a little roomier, and gives WAY better gas mileage (28 CITY/34 HWY). That's even better than the IS250 can do! Of course you are paying roughly $9K more MSRP for all of this.

I personally feel the Lexus feels more luxurious (build quality is higher), handles better (suspension is way better & there is less body roll), and looks better (imho). It also cost way less - try comparing a fully loaded IS350 F-Sport RWD and a Q50S Hybrid RWD - there is quite a large price difference there.

Lexus would have a complete winner if it were to figure out a way to offer a hybrid IS350 F-Sport RWD while keeping the weight at around the current 3,600 lbs. Even if the hybrid trim could bring the HP up to 350 HP and the torque to roughly 300 lb/ft, you would most likely see 0-60 times in the upper 4's/low 5's with quarter mile in the upper 12 seconds/lower 13 seconds. Combine all of this performance with 28-30 CITY/34-36 HWY MPG and an MSRP in the ball park of $45-$46K, it would outsell any other car in the class guaranteed.

I've been waiting for a hybrid luxury 4 door car within this price range with the above performance & mpg specs. I'm sure they will be something within a few years, but alas the wait continues.

~ Im2bz2p345