rayaans

I was soooo looking forward to getting a Mesa Red (Matador to you guys)on Rioja Red IS300h F Sport for the mrs. Then.............. the reviews came out .

Apparently it sucks. The drivetrain seems to be made for cruising rather than fun even though it is rated with more power than the IS250? Reviews also seem to say that its unresponsive and if running costs arent an issue, the IS250 is a better bet. We dont get the IS350 over here either . To be fair the 0-60 times are faster for the IS250 but the IS300h has more combined horsepower.

Ive driven the IS300h quite a while back in Budapest, it seemed fine but that was a pre production vehicle so dont know if somethings changed. Any views on this?

spwolf

same reviews say same thing about your RX450h... actually IS300h scores better in same media than RX450h.

:-)

So why would you read reviews and not use what you know about IS300h when you drove it? And tell us about how it drove? Production version is only better.

natnut

I echo Spywolf here :

why would you believe online reviews over your OWN personal test-drive?

You do know right that Euro reviewers have an irrational hatred of all things Lexus and hybrid and that the ONLY right car in their eyes is a turbo-diesel German car?

Just look at the reviews of the 4th Generation GS by the US reviewers vs the Euro reviews. If you went by the Euro reviews alone, you'd think that the 4GS was an understeering bland snoozemobile. US reviews on the other hand have lauded the GS as the best handling car in its segment, beating the BMW/Audi/MB handily with better turn-in/steering feel over the FWD-biased A6, more responsive chassis tuning over the overweight 5 series and all round better than the E-class

My advice : "Test Drives Are Free."

UpSideDown

I'd be interested to see what US reviewers opinion on IS300h or IS250. Most of the positive US reviews I've seen is about the IS350. The one we wanted and don't get in Europe. Same for GS, all the positive US reviews is about GS350. Can you show me some positive US reviews on IS250 and
GS250?

spwolf

You have GS450h... and GS250 you can ignore the engine part and Top Gear concluded that steering is not up to BMW standards, and that BMW handles better, while US mags pretty much all said opposite. Also, Lexus cabin is not up to German standards while US mags all say opposite.

And of course, you can read tests of ES300h and Camry Hybrid. All tests say they get incredible fuel mileage and that they are great engines, and complain about their chasis and interiors.

spwolf

heck, one UK mag said that IS handling is up to C class standards? What? lol.

UpSideDown

Here is a review on 450h from Fifth gear.


I think the hybrid drivetrain suits better in ES, GS, Camry, RX, Prius etc. The IS suppose to be a more sporty car. A hybrid drivetrain + CVT doesn't make IS sporty but a 350 engine with 8 speed from IS-F does. Sure the 300h will save your gas. But why buy a car that looks fast (especially with F-sport go fast look) but drive slow and sounds like a boat when you step on the gas pedal? I personally don't care much about Hybrid and ultra sonic blue paint. I want 350 and AWD option.

natnut

Conversely, here's a Euro reviewer who thinks the GS450h F-Sport is VERY VERY sporty :


Like I said, it seems that most Euro reviewers have a hidden agenda when they review Lexus and/or hybrids. Thankfully the above Irish reviewer seems to be more open minded.

UpSideDown

Well, that is a F-sport 450h with all the goodies like sport suspension, dynamic rear wheel steering etc. It suppose to drive more sportier than the regular version.

Bck to IS. If we got 350, the reviewers that disliked the 300h can say "If you want a more sportier drive experience, go for the 350 F-Sport with a 3,5l V6 that produce 300+ BHP and a transmission from IS-F". That would sound much better wouldn't it?

rayaans

I drove the IS300h on a track and felt response was fine. My RX450h definately feels faster though but the IS300h felt more nimble and playable. No IS250's to try with the new chassis though so will have to wait I guess.

Mr Bond

I guess there is a difference between what car enthusiasts wants and what really sells. First of all, Lexus IS is a pretty low selling modelrange, almost everything goes to CT or RX in Europe. Its obvious when you look at the pre-owned cars market, like 70% of the Lexuses are RX 400h/450h.

Anyway. In the real world Europeans buys almost exclusively cars like BMW 318d or 320d , or Audis 130-180 hp strong 2.0 Diesel. Of course there are some 335i buyers but that model maybe makes up to 2-3 % of the market.

And there, among the diesels, the IS 300h fits perfectly. It doesn`t matter how good the germans news diesles are, they still shake and makes this awful tractor sound, I have tested them all. With IS 300h you get into another world, in the world of a luxury car. The IS 300h may not be "fun" when you hit the accelerator, the IS maybe makes a boring sound when the engine hit max rpm. But are the diesels in any way better in that specific area or more "fun" to drive. No,of course not. European magazines will never admit that in public.

Whitigir

European Diesel brags about Torque as much as American muscle car lol....the one that really think Green = Toyota. Hybrids will be here for years to come

I love the IS300 h. I wish it had plug in ability with range more than 50 miles !

UpSideDown

Will try the IS300h as soon as my dealership get their own cars. They had a blue F-sport for test drive But since I didn't pre-book it, the list was full and the car wad gone after that day. One thing I noticed that how many old people were interested of it. I watched a very old man very slowly drove it away from the parking lot. Looks pretty funny I must say.

spwolf

IS sold very well in Europe for first 2-3 years... probably just like CT200h will unless they do big update soon.

rayaans

I drove a blue one in budapest. It was the opal blue, not the ultra blue. Really liked that colour but oh well. Let me tell you though, the car may not sound good when its at max rpm, but flick the sound generator switch and it sounds soooo much better. Its a gimmick, but who cares?!?!