My First Day With Is300H..

[Gearoidmuar]

I got my new car today. Black S-line with add-on sat nav, rear sensors and one or two other add-ons. I'd wanted Sonic Titanium but they couldn't get in in time.
Car replaced a superb Honda Accord Diesel which I'd had from new for 9 and a half years and averaged about 44mpg. The only part I ever put in it was an accelerator sensor, just the other day. I did 112000km in it.
I chose the IS300h because of what I read of its Honda-like reliability and very high UK owner satisfaction. I live in Cork in Ireland.

I had taken it for a short test drive before I bought it.

Impressions:

1. Salesman, a top chap told me to read the instructions on the Satnav. Said it was complicated. Others had said the same. I worked it all out in about 10 minutes use myself without instructions. I thought that the data entry system with the wheel of letters was really slick. My car has the rotary wheel rather than the pad thing. I'm really pleased with that. I've used a Garmin for years and it wasn't the best.

2. Gearbox. I love it. There is a little lag before it picks up, as people say, but then there's plenty of poke. The hill-start is a new thing for me. Brilliant. I'd driven an automatic for a week once in Canada but not for years. I love this.

3. Seats very comfortable. Didn't get electric or heated ones as I had in the Honda.

4. Quiet. Honda about the same at motorway speeds but much noisier crawling etc.

5. MPG. On my first day about 50 miles or so, 43mpg. I'll learn to improve this.

6. The foot/handbrake. The pedal cannot be felt through my shoes or my wife's shoes. You just press down with your foot against the side of the well and it works it.

7. Entertainment system great. I've a USB memory stick plugged it and it works and I've several megabytes of music on my phone which the Bluetooth plays without problem.

8. The cruise control is better than the Honda's in that you can reset it. The Honda did have a trim for it so you could tweak it up and down, but if you braked, you had to set it again, the slow way. Lexus better.

9. I'd read a good bit of the instructions before getting the car. A help.

10. Am I glad I bought it? I think I chose really well!

[200h]

Hi Garry

welcome to the forum

you've made a wise choice and you wont regret it,the 300h is a great car to be in

and 1 thing for certain your honda days are over ,you will never go back.

lexus owners seem to be loyal to the brand and i'm sure you will be also.

[Gearoidmuar]

Thanks. I'm sure I have. 4 cars ago I had four Toyotas one after the other. The Lexus is just classier than them.

[200h]

what is the S-line ,when i see S-line i think of audi

[Goggy]

That sure is a stunning looking car. Enjoy. :D

[CJFM]

I'm another new Lexus owner. My 300h Premier in Sonic Titanium was picked up last Wednesday after three month wait. It succeeds a MB 320CDI Estate. Sunroof and advanced safety pack were extras.

First impressions are very favourable.

Such a quality ride over poorly maintained roads. Deceptively quick and responsive.

Radar cruise control a great safety addition.

I couldn't understand why the parking sensors weren't bleeping until I found I'd turned them off!

So glad I read the thousand pages of manual and sat nav book.

Not yet got over 40 mpg but I'm enjoying it too much!

[rayaans]

Black cars with silver wheels sure do look slick!

[Gearoidmuar]

Somebody asked what's S-line. It's the second one in the line-up. I could've got an free upgrade to the Sports one, but that has bigger wheels and these in Ireland where are roads are in general rougher than yours, would've given me a bumpier ride. No thanks, and anyway I'm not a petrolhead. I just like driving in comfort.

The car actually looks uncannily like the Honda Accord, which was also black, that it replaced.

The Honda had pluses. All leather, sunroof (A useless accessory IMO. Almost never used it), settable speed warning which I used all the time. A beep when I approached the speed limit), heated seats, electric seats. I know I could've got all of these, but I thought, too much at my age. I'm 65 and won't be doing huge mileage..

[ganzoom]

Our IS300H replaced a diesel Civic, personally I think there IS is serveral leagues above the Civic interms of refinement, but that is expected, our IS was nearly three times more expensive than our Civic to buy (both new).

Our is now nearly 12 months old, I've found the most impressive things about the IS is the the ride. It's really really well set-up, very little body role, good feedback, absorbs bumps well and is well damped. We'll be keeping ours for a long time, very happy with our decision to go for the IS over a XF/XE/C class :).

[DJP]

That is a lovely looking car, welcome to the club [emoji106] I reckon when you're not driving it you'll be washing it! [emoji3]

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[Eire Lexus]

Having had mine for almost 95,000km over 2 years also in Ireland it's been great. No rattles or issues, still drives like new. Same colour as mine but I think yours is the S-Design spec similar to UK SE spec. I've the Executive spec but there not a huge difference other than the leather. Your car looks great and it's a great choice enjoy. Good choice not getting the sport spec as those gloss black wheels look terrible!!

[Gearoidmuar]

Consumption since I got it now up to 45mph. Haven't zeroed it. Ran it today on ECO. It appears to dampen the acceleration...
Does ECO make a difference to consumption or not? The car salesman thought not.

[ganzoom]

Eco mode makes more use of EV mode. I notice a 2-3 mpg difference on similar trips Eco versus normal.

[DJP]

In my experience it makes a slight difference but not worth the reduction in responsiveness. I believe it also impacts on the air con.

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[Gearoidmuar]

Thanks folks. This is a helpful forum.

[dutchie01]

i use the ECO setting in dense city traffic. it dampens acceleration like there is a cloud between my foot and the accelerator. you also run more on Battery power. going from traffic light to traffic jam this is the most relaxing way to drive for me.

and yes it is more economical .

however, when i arrive at a red light and am the first in line i ALWAYS switch to sport as i just love the push in the seat sudden acceleration of the electric motor. when reaching 70 km/h and looking in my mirror where the rest is i switch back to ECO, listen to classic DAB radio and move along in total silency. until the next red comes on.... haha

[rayaans]

Hate eco mode took the car out of it from the moment I tried it and never been back to it since

[Gearoidmuar]

What I most like in a car is smoothness. Having been driving the car for few days, I'd got used to the quiet. Got a taxi last night, a new Hyundai i40. The racket was noticeable. I wouldn't have noticed it a couple of weeks ago!

[DanD]

That's the thing about hybrids... once you have enjoyed the relative silence, comfortable seats and good quality audio... nothing else will do!

Enjoy your new car and welcome to the most friendly and useful owners club on the 'net!

[Gearoidmuar]

That's the thing about hybrids... once you have enjoyed the relative silence, comfortable seats and good quality audio... nothing else will do!

Enjoy your new car and welcome to the most friendly and useful owners club on the 'net!

I drove to Dublin on Sunday. 165m. Mostly motorway. 47.8mpg. Not bad on a cold day!

[ganzoom]

Ours is coming up to a year old soon and 7000 miles. No issues at all. Currently we are averaging 41 mpg, which given the cold weather, horrible traffic, and mainly trips < 10 miles is impressive. Our old diesel Civic use to return <35mpg in the same coditions, and the 335i about 20mpg :D

[Spacewagon52]

I am really warming to the IS 300h after reading members comments.

I get the impression that as you get older, "toys" are not as appealing or used as much when driving.

What could you do without?

My list would be:-

Headlight washers

Heated seats

Electric assisted boot opening (unless you are disabled)

Soft close doors (I like to hear the thud)

Electric seats

Sunroof (day)/ Moonroof (night)

Toys I do like or would like on a car:-

Cruise control with Radar distance control.

Good sound system

Electric folding mirrors

Electric windows (most cars have them now)

ABS and Traction Control

Air con/climate control - (no need for dual IMHO)

Please remember guys, my car is getting on in years and I am not up to date with the latest technology, so I have probably missed out a few things you might consider essentials.

[rayaans]

Couldnt do without heated seats especially on cars with leather! I also like a nice sound system but it doesnt have to be the ML although Id prefer it to be if I had a choice. Have the pioneer setup on the IS and its good.

Couldnt do without electric memory seats and memory door mirrors either now, I have a different setting for motorway and town driving, prefer a wider viewing angle on the motorway. Hence, no NX for me!

[DJP]

There was a time when my only absolutes were an auto gear box and air con. I miss the dipping mirrors but with the bigger tyres kerbing the NX is difficult to do so its not so bad. The power tailgate is great and the adaptive cruise control makes motorway driving much more restful.

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[DanD]

The more toys the better as far as I am concerned! - On the kids' list is heated rear seats and climate controls!

We have a Peugeot 208 as a second car and this has toys that Lexus could/should consider (based on my experience of various RX models, so may be available with the IS which is more recent:

- headlights that turn on as soon as the auto wipers switch from intermittent to constant

- audio with separate volume memory for each source (meaning that, when you switch from AUX to DAB radio, for instance, it remembers what the volume setting was the last time you listened to the DAB radio... this applies with all audio sources including telephone, CD, AUX, FM, DAB...)

- Ability to switch the head lights from the keyfob so you can light your path to the car, and customizable follow me home function (may be available on the IS but is not available on the RX at present... may have changed with the new model)

- passenger heated seats that switch themselves off if they have been left on but the seat are no longer occupied

- Modular boot with hooks and removable partitions

- sunglasses holders

' More modern satnav graphics

...