after reading those 3 articles, you would think hybrids fall apart when you turn them on... pretty scary for people who never have driven one.

 

Yup. Looks like ****.

 

if you want performance and great fuel economy, you should look at something like BMW 330d\335d. There you have it.

 

Oh yeah, so if you drive short trips, you have to have a diesel regen every 10000 miles because the diesel particulate filter is clogged up? Diesels also sound crap and the power comes in huge lumps which makes driving them pretty boring. How do I know? My wifes Merc is diesel

 

I would never drive a diesel premium car. It's just wrong, no matter how much the euro snob journalists pretend to like them.

 

I thought the 2.5HSD was great in the Camry Hybrid I test drove. It didn't feel super sporty in the traditional sense, but it was damn quick and very efficient.

 

wait, you are trying to tell me it didnt fall apart when you press gas?

MIRACLE!

:-)))

I know its good.. i have driven many hybrids... it seems like European journalists like to hate them to the point of exaggerating minor flaws to make it sound so bad that nobody will buy it.

IS300h should be nicer experience than Camry Hybrid too... more weight, but 20hp more as well, more insulated engine and more natural revs as well as fake gears.

 

Yes. My other car is a BMW. Drove Camry hybrid and was impressed.

 

Another mediocre review...is this why they are not offering the IS 300Hybrid in the US?

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc..._pictures.html

 

How much of a fuel economy penalty would it cause to stick with a traditional 8 speed vs. a CVT for the hybrid?

 

German mags regulary test German hybrids with 7-8 speed DSG's/ATs and found that Toyota/Lexus is much better overall. About 30% better consumption, and much smoother operations.

If we compare IS300h and ES300h, IS300h is only BETTER when it comes to hybrid system... then you look at magazines in Europe and magazines in US writing about it, there is huge difference in perception.

There is nothing wrong with 300h at all.

 

"indeed the hybrid IS proved to be sometimes worryingly lacking in overtaking urge. "

"According to the admittedly unscientific method of resetting the trip meter we recorded just 31mpg for a combination of 80mph motorway cruise and traffic-filled country roads. If that translates into ‘real world’ figures then buyers are going to be disappointed."

That doesn't sounds so good.

 

makes you wonder if US journalists driving ES300h and getting 39-40 mpg are driving completely different car/engine... while in fact, IS300h gets better mpg than ES300h.

 

Maybe they didn't drive it like a hybrid. Every time I drive a CT, RX or a Prius hybrid I get a lot worse mpg than the officially figures, because I drive them like a normal car. My drive style haven't been adapted for hybrid driving. But the new IS shouldn't be driven like a Prius since Lexus claimed it to be a "sporty" car, it should be driven like a sporty car. If driving the 300h normally and get about the same mpg as a 250 then whats the point?

 

there is no way to get same mpg in 250 and 300h, if you drive them the same, it will probably be 30-50% difference in mpg.