My Quick Is300h Review

[noby76]

So I took my car in for cambelt change and was handed over keys to a new IS300h as curtosy car. first impressions of the car was it looked sporty with a slight aggressiveness look to it which drew attention during my drive.

Good points

Not sure which model this was but I am guessing it was the executive as it had the navigation and 17“ alloys. Sat in and thought this looks smart different powered it up and nothing happened. Dead silence engaged D foot brake off and car started moving but no engine sound thought that was cool. Driving around town it felt put together, sound system was good eve thought this was not the mark levinson. 23 degrees today so had to use AC which was fresh and ice cold. Also played with the cooling seats which was nice.

Didn’t really push it round the corners but it gave the impression it handles better than Gen 1 IS. On the open road in gear acceleration was quite impressive cruising at say 40 and floored it and 70 came quite quickly. And cruising at higher speed car still felt planted on the road without any wondering. Mpg was showing 38.4mpg for combined this included mainly town driving and brief open road blast thought was ok compared to my 23mpg V8.

Bad Points

The whole interior of the car felt more compact and for some strange reason, smaller compared to my Gen 1 IS300 can’t really explain it but my other confirmed the same as well she thought it was smaller inside checked the dimensions against the gen 1 IS and these are meant to be larger everywhere so not sure why it felt smaller. If am not mistaken the IS models are meant to be the sportiest Lexus’s but for some reason I did not get this.

It didn’t feel that sporty for a 2.5litre petrol I expected the engine to sound sweet when on song but all I got was an agricultural sound. I mean its better when compared to a diesel engine sound on full throttle but not for a sporty petrol. Do get me wrong I know its not 6 cylinder or V8 but I feel Lexus could have tuned the engine note better when sport mode is selected I don’t know maybe get it to play a fake V6 sound or something.

Not sure if lexus had dulled the throttle but sport mode was not that responsive at low speeds for a 2.5litre it should be reasonable but I didn’t feel it. Might be the fact it starts from batteries from a stop before engine kicks in that’s the impression I got. Boot space was ok I think it was slightly longer than gen 1 boot space but not larger.

Conclusion

The IS300h was meant to be a sporty car but I didn’t get that feeling . it felt too agricultural for me for some reason maybe if I came from driving diesel engines then 300h would be refined in my eyes. and if I had 30k to spend on a new car and had to choose between the 300h and 250 I would go for the IS250 instead worse mpg and higher road tax but I recon it would sound sporty be more fun so makes up for it.

But if I was asked to go hybrid for 30K then I personally will skip the 300h and go with an approved used Gen 3 GS450h would be my pick spend about 15k on a used one and 15k saved will go towards running it. More power when you need it top end and wont feel sluggish at lower acceleration due having more torque low down when compared to the 300h Don’t get me wrong not everyone wants to be Hamilton behind the wheel but with those aggressive and striking sporty looks I felt it should have been more fun to drive. that drivetrain and chasis can take more power than Lexus gave it i recon. The power is there and its delivered well mainly rolling acceleration but my IS300 was just more fun although the performance was no different to the 300h.

[ColinBarber]

You probably should have tested the F Sport model, I assume you didn't? The 300h isn't that sporty, it isn't what it is designed to be. Hopefully the 200t will be good, once Lexus finally kill of the 250. The IS350 is good, sadly not available in this country.

The Gen3 GS450h handling leaves a lot to be desired, straight-line performance however is great :)

[noby76]

i was under the impression the IS models are designed and marketed to be sporty models? i dont think the f-sport would have made any difference in terms of how it drove. i didnt think the model i had was a bad handler if anything i recon it handled better than my IS300 which had 18" and factory sport suspension. it was just the way it drove and delivered power i felt it was lacking something. it does shift when floored but never got me excited or on the edge. i think a faek sporty sound when in sport mode would have done the trick just to give the driver that idea i guess.

i do agree the Gen 3 might not handle like the IS but what you loose aroudn the corner you make up in straght line and the V6 engine will naturally make it sound more sporty. :)

[rayaans]

i was under the impression the IS models are designed and marketed to be sporty models? i dont think the f-sport would have made any difference in terms of how it drove. i didnt think the model i had was a bad handler if anything i recon it handled better than my IS300 which had 18" and factory sport suspension. it was just the way it drove and delivered power i felt it was lacking something. it does shift when floored but never got me excited or on the edge. i think a faek sporty sound when in sport mode would have done the trick just to give the driver that idea i guess.

i do agree the Gen 3 might not handle like the IS but what you loose aroudn the corner you make up in straght line and the V6 engine will naturally make it sound more sporty. :)

The IS300H doesn't have a conventional auto gearbox. Hence it feels different. It's supposed to be a luxury saloon that handles well and gets great mpg, the sporty versions dont make it here. That will change once the IS200T is out which has been testing in the USA.

Lexus have also trademarked IS300 and RC300 which means theres a new engine coming which may make it to the UK.

From a standstill, if you want maximum performance, you would need to brake torque it which starts the engine before take off in hybrids. Also known unofficially as the hybrid launch technique.

It's also worth knowing that the IS300H is quieter inside than all rivals. This gives an illusion of being slower than it actually is. The 300h will outrun a C250 CDI which, going by the figures, it shouldn't.

As for the throttle response, there is a built in delay system for all Lexus vehicles (and most modern cars nowadays). This is basically to stop unintended acceleration. You just have to adapt to it but automatics have the same thing going on now

The IS250 is an odd one. It sounds quite good and fast but it doesn't pull as hard through the mid range as the 300h. Again, it's gearbox is suited towards luxury driving too.

As for the GS, it goes hard in a straight line and is fairly competent but again, it's a CVT which isn't really very sporty. The only properly sporty vehicles in the Lexus line up at the moment is the RCF and the NX200t

Worth testing an F SPORT IS300H. As mentioned before, it's a night and day difference. It handles much better, has more grip and it's very very good. Perhaps you should have had the active sound control on? That pumps more sound into the cabin

[ganzoom]

The IS300h was meant to be a sporty car but I didn’t get that feeling.

The IS300H isn't meant to be a 'sporty' car, its suppose to compete with the likes of a 320D - Essentially these are rep-mobiles made to cruise up/down the M1 in comfort, with low running costs.

If you want a 'sporty' IS, you need to get hold of a IS350 - Which sadly isn't available in the UK.

[Zotto]

Have you tried is300h in SPORT mode? The response is quite different from lethargic ECO mode and also from NORMAL.

Or at least so it is on my GS 300h with same engine.

Of course, overall acceleration is not that of a GS 450h, but more than sufficient to move the car.