To IS or not to IS

Beduffshirl · August 12, 2016

I've had a CT200H for 2 and and half years now from virtually new on PCP deal. (64 plate with the old aerial) I think it's Premium (leather seats and rear camera etc)

Been in to local dealer today and had a 30 min spin in an IS Sport. In that short time I didn't get too much of a feel but it didn't seem massively different (which is a good thing)

I was thinking of other options such as BMW 2 series coupe and Infititi Q30 but dealer is offering what looks like a pretty good deal to "upgrade" sooner rather than later with very small deposit

Things I spotted missing that I have on the CT are obviously the Leather seats which I'm not bothered about. Didn't reverse but I'm guessing there is no camera on that Spec.

Anything else I've missed and any tips? My driving is a 15 mile motorway journey twice and day and quite a bit of stop start through busy city centre on occasion totaling about a 1000 a month.

Is Sport a good value model with enough on or is it worth paying a little more.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

PaulWhitt20 · August 12, 2016

I moved from a 2013 CT advance to an IS six months ago. No regrets. The IS is a world above the CT. I went for the advance model which has reversing camera, satnav and leather. But it was an ex demonstrator so a bit cheaper than new. MPG is about 5 mpg less than the CT.

C Mclean · August 12, 2016

IS all the way, BMW's are modern equivalent of a Cortina or a Marina..

Ibur · August 12, 2016

Have you looked at the BMW 330e? The enemy on these boards I am sure ;-)

They come pretty well spec'd, comfortable to drive and offer the same sort of range as the is300h. Not sure how it works in the UK but in the ROI there are grants of 7k available off a new one.

ganzoom · August 13, 2016

The 330e is looking like a great hybrid. Real world EV range is 14 miles or so, much more than the IS which is less than a couple of miles. Given the choice today between a IS300h and 330e we would havd gone for the BMW.

Although the lack of range in the 330e shows up the fundamental flaws of a hybrid compared to a full Battery only EV. The 330e can only manage roughly 2 miles per kWh, where as my Leaf can achieve 4.5 miles per kWh in real world use.

rayaans · August 13, 2016

I would go for the advance model as it has the reversing camera and leather seats

wh05apk · August 14, 2016

On 13/08/2016 at 4:20 AM, ganzoom said:

The 330e is looking like a great hybrid. Real world EV range is 14 miles or so, much more than the IS which is less than a couple of miles. Given the choice today between a IS300h and 330e we would havd gone for the BMW.

Although the lack of range in the 330e shows up the fundamental flaws of a hybrid compared to a full battery only EV. The 330e can only manage roughly 2 miles per kWh, where as my Leaf can achieve 4.5 miles per kWh in real world use.

You can't really compare a 330e with an is, the is is not an electric car, it is a hybrid, with eV pOwer to boost refinement and mpg, the BMW is really just a compliance vehicle offering tax advantages but little real world economy benefits, as an example yesterday I did about 120 miles, and averaged about 50 mpg, the BMW would have given me about 15-20 miles "free" but ten would have been 40 mpg at best, so still would have used more petrol overall.The BMW only has anot advantage for short trips.

Beduffshirl · August 15, 2016

Thanks for the tips so far. I've had a good read of the forum over the weekend and have a question about the Premium Nav as to the Standard.

With the premium I have at the moment the POI are fantastic as I work with schools and it's so easy to type the name and town in and away I go. Is this the same on the standard.

Another thing that might persuade me that way is that SWMBO "likes" reversing cameras !!

In my CT I have to say I'm a fan of the mouse. In my short test drive the other day the controller seemed a bit harder to use. Is it just a case of getting used to it?

rayaans · August 15, 2016

8 hours ago, Beduffshirl said:

Thanks for the tips so far. I've had a good read of the forum over the weekend and have a question about the Premium Nav as to the Standard.

With the premium I have at the moment the POI are fantastic as I work with schools and it's so easy to type the name and town in and away I go. Is this the same on the standard.

Another thing that might persuade me that way is that SWMBO "likes" reversing cameras !!

In my CT I have to say I'm a fan of the mouse. In my short test drive the other day the controller seemed a bit harder to use. Is it just a case of getting used to it?

The Advance specification has the reversing camera.

The standard navigation is pretty much the same basic navigation unit - the only difference being connected services, 2 speakers and the reversing camera (but you get this on the Advance, not on the others though)

Beduffshirl · August 23, 2016

Quick update. Had an IS sport overnight Friday and got to drive in wet and dry. Lovely car. One thing I noticed straight away is having no back wiper but that isn't solely a Lexus thing. Does make missing a camera a pain though. Not the end of the world.

Then test drove an M2 Sport Cab' on Sunday and also looked at a 3 series. BMW have come out very expensive so they are a no go.

Have also had a look at Audi. Their New A3 Cab' is a lovely car, and new A4 is pretty smokey too. Price wise they are quite similar. Lots of new tech on both of them.

I'm hoping my local Lexus find me what I'm looking for as they are really good. If not though will be test driving Audi and see how that feels.

ganzoom · August 23, 2016

Recently our IS300H swallowed up all the luggage for a family trip with a 4 month old baby with no issues, and thanks to a road closure ended up having to do a 40 mile detour, arrived at midnight instead of 1030pm, but because the IS is so easy to drive didn't feel that tired at all!!

Also don't forget one of the biggest selling points of Lexus compared to all the other brands, reliability. Our IS300H feels like it'll go on forever and am sure it will. Where as when I owned a BMW every drive turned into listening out for strange noises or other signs of another imment brake down.

Beduffshirl · August 25, 2016

I think we are 95% def on an IS but which one.

Test drove the Sport and it was nice. Would love F Sport but would also like Leather seats and premium Nav (mainly for reversing camera).

Price shows can't have them all - which would you go for if you had to compromise?

Local dealer has F sport with everything on it in the showroom and it's soooo tempting but the pennys wont' stretch that far.

I wasn't a great fan of the trim inside the Sport - maybe it was just the colouring.

(If I try and spec up what I want on the internet it's impossible too??)

RichyRich · August 25, 2016

1 hour ago, Beduffshirl said:

I think we are 95% def on an IS but which one.

Test drove the Sport and it was nice. Would love F Sport but would also like Leather seats and premium Nav (mainly for reversing camera).

Price shows can't have them all - which would you go for if you had to compromise?

Local dealer has F sport with everything on it in the showroom and it's soooo tempting but the pennys wont' stretch that far.

I wasn't a great fan of the trim inside the Sport - maybe it was just the colouring.

(If I try and spec up what I want on the internet it's impossible too??)

Not been in a Sport but went straight for the F-Sport. a relative is hopefully buying a used Luxury model at the weekend so will see how that compares in the flesh.

rayaans · August 26, 2016

On 25/08/2016 at 9:48 AM, Beduffshirl said:

I think we are 95% def on an IS but which one.

Test drove the Sport and it was nice. Would love F Sport but would also like Leather seats and premium Nav (mainly for reversing camera).

Price shows can't have them all - which would you go for if you had to compromise?

Local dealer has F sport with everything on it in the showroom and it's soooo tempting but the pennys wont' stretch that far.

I wasn't a great fan of the trim inside the Sport - maybe it was just the colouring.

(If I try and spec up what I want on the internet it's impossible too??)

Go advance spec, I believe it has the leather seats and reversing camera but not the premium nav! Its a good compromise!

On a side note, have you thought of going through a broker like Broadspeed and then getting PCP on an IS300h F-Sport specified to your liking from the supplying dealer? They have like £5k off or something on these!

PaulWhitt20 · August 26, 2016

I got the advance spec.

Nice leather heated/cooled seats, standard sat nav and reversing camera.

But I am not a fan of the f sport, harder suspension, f sport instruments etc. Rather have comfort than sporty looks.

RichyRich · August 31, 2016

On 26/08/2016 at 6:38 PM, PaulWhitt20 said:

I got the advance spec.

Nice leather heated/cooled seats, standard sat nav and reversing camera.

But I am not a fan of the f sport, harder suspension, f sport instruments etc. Rather have comfort than sporty looks.

I love my F-Sport because of the instrument panel, wheels and ride, seats and grill but I do appreciate it's personal preference at the end of the day. F-Sport suspension is firm but would argue it's still very comfortable over potholes more so than the CT Advance I had on loan before my IS arrived. I helped a relative buy a used Luxury model and felt the seats just didn't do it for me but he is more than happy.

olliesgrandad · November 13, 2016

I do 36000 miles a year and have owned a new shape mini, mercedes c220 amg sport and a mercedes e 250 cabriolet in the past 2 years. The quality of the Lexus is in a different league to the German cars. My e250 cabriolet was fully loaded and new was just over£47000 and yet the leather was poorly trimmed with cloth visible at the edges and like bmw an interior quality leather. Both marque's dealerships were lacking in customer service. I am so far over the moon with my Lexus.

DanD · November 15, 2016

Are you in a rush to change? - A face-lifted model is due out soon and there may be some good deals to be had on "old" stock...

222Ant · December 6, 2016

Any idea when facelift model comes out?

Sent from my iPad using Lexus OC

Funkyboy · December 6, 2016

On 12 August 2016 at 7:39 PM, Beduffshirl said:

I've had a CT200H for 2 and and half years now from virtually new on PCP deal. (64 plate with the old aerial) I think it's Premium (leather seats and rear camera etc)

Been in to local dealer today and had a 30 min spin in an IS Sport. In that short time I didn't get too much of a feel but it didn't seem massively different (which is a good thing)

I was thinking of other options such as BMW 2 series coupe and Infititi Q30 but dealer is offering what looks like a pretty good deal to "upgrade" sooner rather than later with very small deposit

Things I spotted missing that I have on the CT are obviously the Leather seats which I'm not bothered about. Didn't reverse but I'm guessing there is no camera on that Spec.

Anything else I've missed and any tips? My driving is a 15 mile motorway journey twice and day and quite a bit of stop start through busy city centre on occasion totaling about a 1000 a month.

Is Sport a good value model with enough on or is it worth paying a little more.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Wouldn't the cheapest option be to keep the ct? It's not really the deposit to change its the total amount you'll owe over the length of term that important. If your happy with your current car why not keep it especially if you've had it from new and know all its history.

Beduffshirl · December 7, 2016

A few months down the line and that certainly is an option !!

Also quite liking the look now of the new Mazda 3 Fastback and pricing on that is very good.

Going to look more closely over Christmas as 3 months and counting now till I need to make up my mind

doog442 · December 7, 2016

I like the look of the Mazda 3 but having owned a Mazda 6 and a Mazda 2 I can categorically say they are not a patch on Lexus in any way, shape or form. They look good I agree but that's where it ends.

I guess it's nice to update your car, you mention a 2 series BMW..the Coupe is gorgeous, blows the CT out of the window in every department, get a 5 year service pack and a decent finance deal and away you go.

I find BMW sales and service to be excellent. If you want a 'keeper' stay with Lexus but hell you only live once !