UpSideDown

So, I got the chance to test drive a fully loaded non F-sport version of IS300h.

exterior:

The car was in new atomic silver paint. It has a brown\green\yellowish hue on it in the sun. Not my choice of color. Its a kind of an old man's color. I personally think it would have looked sharper in pearl white or obsidian black. The front bumper looks aggressive enough and suits well with the rest of the car. I think it looks better than the F-sport front which is a bit over done.

Interior:

the first thing that caught my attention when I got into the car is the thick steering wheel, with a lot of buttons on it, totally blocked the view of instrument cluster. The last one who drove the car didn't return the steering wheel back to center, it was a half turn to the left. I really couldn't see anything of the new instrument cluster from any angles. There are a lot of buttons on the steering wheel, in different shape and they are placed pretty close to each other which make it hard for me to know what is what and where to press what during the test drive. It took too much attention from the driving. It definitely takes some time to get use to it.

Once I started the car and turn the steering wheel back to center, I could see the redesigned instrument cluster. It looks pretty modern with a LCD information screen in between of the rev counter and speed counter. The whole instrument feels a bit smaller than the current IS and brightness is about average. A little bit hard to see what is going on when I look at it quickly during the drive.

The new seat is very comfortable and the creamy leather feels very soft and high quality. You sit lower in the new IS. The sitting position is about the same as in CT200h.

The quality of the center dash is the same as in the pre production car I test earlier. I couldn't tell the difference between them. It does give a plastic feeling which I don't really like. I quickly tested the new Mark Levinson stereo and to my surprise I feel its doesn't sound as good as the one in my last IS. Maybe it needs some twitches in the sound setting.And the volume is a bit low even when I turned it up to 30. Maybe the speaker will sounds better after awhile, I don't know.

The fot operated parking brake is still there. I think a electronic parking brake will suites the overall design of the car better. They should also change the old Toyota cruise control stalk while they at it.

I didn't play with the remote touch system so much, though its not much difference to the new GS or the RX. The multimedia screen could have been larger when it is now placed a bit away from the driver. The thick black screen surroundings make the screen looks smaller.

On the road:

Since the car doesn't not belong to the dealer and is not road registered, the sales woman has to follow on my test drive. Which I didn't enjoy so much. I felt she didn't enjoy it when I pushed the car. Also, she was totally quiet. If I don't talk she doesn't talk.

The new chassis is good. It absorbed bumps and imperfections of road better than the current IS. The ride is overall comfortable and quiet. The steering feels direct and little bit more weighty, but it also quite numb.

On the on ramp to the highway I stepped the pedal to the metal in sport mode. There is a noticeable delay in acceleration. The highway passing acceleration is ok, but it doesn't feel it pulls as strong as my 250. I can't feel that it got more horse power than the 250. The simulated gears work as expected, better to leave the gear stick in D and let the computer handle itself. Unless you want hear the synthetic engine sound goes up and down. On the way back I stepped on the gas hard in a left turn, the rear wheels spinns a bit while the car goes around the corner. The chassis feels well balanced.

Summary:

Overall, it's not a bad car. The luxury trim level suits it well. I would skip the F-Sport version as the car doesn't give you that sporty driving Lexus claimed. It would feel like its a sheep in a wolf's clothing. It's better suited for a 250. I'll have test drive that when I get the chance.

edit: The average fuel consumption during the test drive was 7,3L/100KM, which it about 30 US MPG?

rayaans

Good review. I have to disagree with the comments on the Mark Levinson though. I suspect the one in the car you drove was with the midrange, treble and bass all in the middle. I had time to play around with this and it definitely sounds better when you tweak it.

As for the acceleration, I think its an illusion. The car is meant to be faster than the IS250 but doesnt feel like it because of the CVT. Its the same with my RX450h, car is reasonably fast, I didnt realise how much until i had a little race with my friends Q7 3.0 tdi which has IMMENSE torque. He was winning at first, probably due to superior torque and quattro system but over 40mph the RX pulls like a train. The Q7 feels fast but its evidently not. CVT's are to blame I think

keyframe13

Europe always get the best engines. I would much prefer that over the 8 years old IS250 with terrible gas mileage and same performance as a hybrid.

UpSideDown

Yeah, it could be that. I didn't spend much time stationary in the car to play with the settings.

Off the line, 250 is faster than 300h. You have the official figures that confirms it. The 2nd and 3rd gear acceleration in 250 does feel stronger than the fearless CVT in 300h. When I stomped on the gas pedal in 300h in sport mode, I watched the rev slowly builds up. Sudden overtake on the highway was not as quick as my 250. The transmission feels a bit unwilling to do what I asked it for.

keyframe13

Does 300h has a Sport mode?

natnut

Were you driving in Normal or Sport mode? In the GS450h, Sport mode increases torque and acceleration over Normal/Eco mode.

keyframe13

Reason I'm asking is that second generation IS doesn't have a Sport mode. It has a S-mode that doesn nothing other than allows you to use the paddles which you can do anyway from D-mode on 2009 and up models.

tsopranoMB

of course all 2014's IS 250/350 have a SPORT mode, EVEN the IS300h....but only for Europe/Canada...I'm hoping we get it in the US as a 2015 model next year!

it's even standard on most models now, 2013 ES/GS/LS

keyframe13

Damn, that's sweet, US get's screwed again. Thanks for clarification sir.

UpSideDown

Of course. I had it on almost under entire test drive. The normal mode feels gutless.

UpSideDown

One interesting thing about the simulated gears is that if you use the paddles in D, it works like a top gear limiter just as current IS. But it does it without show you what actual gear it is in. In current IS you can show it with the mode switch. So it's pretty useless function in 300h. Flip the gear stick to the left to S mode then the gear matches what is showing on the info display in the middle.

rayaans

You say you havent test driven the new IS250 correct? Reason I am asking is, the 2nd GEN IS250 weighs in at a kerb weight of 1550kg. The 3rd gen IS250 weighs in at a maximum kerb weight of 1645kg. Then there is the IS300h which weighs in at a max kerb weight of 1720kg. Maybe the feeling of acceleration is cancelled out by extra mass on the IS300h? And in that case, if the IS250 3rd gen has also gained mass, it wont feel as strong as your 2nd gen IS250 anyway?

UpSideDown

Yes, the added weight does matter but I think it is the CVT that makes the car a little less interesting when you push it. If you just cruising around than it is fine, the ride is quiet and soft. Thats why I think the F-sport doesn't suit the 300h.

Edit
One thing that I wish Lexus to change on next update of the 300h is that, in sport mode the petrol engine should alway stays on. So there is always enough power when you step on it.

rayaans

But then that will reduce the efficiency which goes against the point of hybrids in the first place. I guess ill wait for an IS300h F Sport to arrive at the dealer and then test drive it thoroughly. It may be ok for what my wife needs it for and 220hp and torque from the engine + electric motors will be enough I think. My previous RX only had 201hp and took longer to hit 60mph than the IS300h but it was perfectly adequate.

Over here the IS300h is £10 a year tax, £35,000 to buy including the leather and has 60mpg. The IS250 is £280 a year, £32,000 to buy and has 32mpg. Because the car only gets driven 2000 miles a year, itll take a good 10 years to get the £3k difference back. Also, diesels are not an option for me. My wife's C220 cdi has had carbon build up, DPF filter problems and a blocked intercooler pipe. When I asked how it happened, they say its probably due to the car only getting driven very short distances! WTF!

Mr Bond

I guess we have to wait for the 2.0T to get a more sporty and more fun to drive car in Europe. IS 250 may be more fun than the IS 300h, but still , that engine is a crusier in every way. I really can´t see them use another than the 8 speed auto or som kind of "DSG" gearbox with 2.0T. And above all, a turbo is very easy to modify