Comparison Is 250 - 300H F Sport

[dutchie01]

I have now driven 6000km with my 300H and do know the car inside out. I sometimes compare it with my previous 250 which i drove for 4 years and 140.000 km. I wonder if there are any members out there that also owned a 250 and now drive a 300H? what are your experiences/thoughts?

I loved the 250 to bits. when comparing it with the 300H you do notice it is a generation old and overall the 300 is a better car but in some aspects the 250 was closer to the real lexus experience than the 300H will ever be.

The 250 was more refined and utterly silent. the creamy six cylinder petrol was noiseless and without any vibrations at all. The six speed auto did shift without any hickups vibration or noise and driving off from standstill was limousine like, an uniterrupted movement that increased in force all very refined and Lexus Like. I also feel the cabin of the 250 was more isolated, more silent. Less windnoise, doors that shut like a bankvault. The doors on the 300 have a different feel, are thinner, lighter, more like "other cars". the soundsystem was way better than the 300 which disappoints.

Mind you i think that overall the 300H is the better car, better package, brakes, consumption, styling etc but it seems that Lexus has abandoned the number one unique selling point - the peerless refinement, the number one position in Noise Vibration Harshness - that was so convincingly there as an overall experience in all parts of the 250 from the doors to the glovebox.

I do realise the drivetrain of the 300H is by nature not so refined as it lacks 2 cylinders but the noise and enginevibrations just dont seem as damped as on the 250. On top of that my car suffered from the dreaded drivetrain vibtations as described on this forum. It is now repaired by the dealer but Hey.. this on a Lexus?

I do think the 300 is the better car by far but i sometimes feel the 250 was more refined, more Lexus.

What are your thoughts?