I250 vs 300h

[Ratez]

Hi All,

New to the forum. The Lexus IS has always caught my attention and now at an attainable price second hand. I had initially wanted a BMW 3 series but heard good things about Lexus reliability.

I am tossing up between 2013 250 and 300h. Planning for the car to be weekend only so relatively little miles.

Dilemma: 300h is cheaper than 250 by around 5k NZD. There is a 300h F-Sport going for the same price as a 250 non F-Sport.

Q1) Which should I choose 250 or 300h, and what is the difference of F-Sport other than front grille? 

Q2) is the hybrid Battery high cost to maintain in the long run? Not sure if it is more worthwhile to fork out more for a 250.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Martin F]

I had exactly this dilemma before i bought my IS300h, but when i drove both back to back the decision was easy for me. 

There are no known issues with the hybrid drivetrain generally, but you're correct to worry that in many years to come the Battery may need to be replaced. The F-Sport has quite a few styling differences between the other models, including F-Sport wheels, LFA Inspired dash, sports seats, etc. 

Also you may want to consider if the IS300h has less road tax in your country compared to the IS250, due to lower CO2 emissions, because this can significantly contribute to lower running costs. 

 

 

[Ratez]

Thanks for your reply Martin.

 

Any idea how long a hybrid Battery lasts in terms of km?  The used 300h F-Sport is sitting at 67,000km.

No change to road tax in New Zealand for hybrid unfortunately.

[200h]

in the uk the prius is used as a taxi and they have intergallactic milage on them ,all toyota / lexus hybrids

are related to the prius hybrids as this is where the technology was first used ,hybrids are more at home

around town and this is where the taxi will use the Battery alot more than the normal person in the street

so dont have any concerns about the Battery or other hybrid components they are all tried and tested.

[Martin F]

To be honest how many people who get in a Prius Taxi would notice if the hybrid Battery was knackered and the car was constantly using it's petrol engine? 

Sorry Ratez i don't know the normal lifespan of the hybrid Battery, hopefully others who have been around on this, or maybe the Toyota forum, longer can proffer some advice. 

 

 

[ganzoom]

6 hours ago, Ratez said:

Thanks for your reply Martin.

 

Any idea how long a hybrid battery lasts in terms of km?  The used 300h F-Sport is sitting at 67,000km.

No change to road tax in New Zealand for hybrid unfortunately.

 

The Lexus hybrid tech is same as in the Prius, essentially 200k miles+ with no real impact on performance. There will be degradation but because the Battery only ever operates at around 50% charge levels the end user will simply not notice degradion till it's very very bad, essentially the Battery will/should last the life time of the car.

 

[ganzoom]

1 hour ago, Martin F said:

To be honest how many people who get in a Prius Taxi would notice if the hybrid battery was knackered and the car was constantly using it's petrol engine?

 

The traction Battery is essential to the Toyota/Lexus hybrid drive trains. A non functioning Battery will cause all kind of error messages and pretty horrific economy/performance. 

[doog442]

I've seen a few threads on here about hybrid Battery issues and although there are now Independents doing them cheap, its one of the reasons I went with the IS200t...non hybrid.

It probably doesn't matter for company car drivers / 3 year PCP ex changers but for anyone looking for a 'keeper' they will always have that doubt in their mind. 

[200h]

if a Battery starts to fail then you only have to replace the defective cells and not the whole Battery pack,

when your car is serviced at lexus they complete a hybrid Battery check and with the codes they retrieve

from your Battery it is then monitored so an early failed cell doen't let you down and can be replaced under warranty.

[Zotto]

Batteries are NOT a problem. You shoud test both and choose what you like more; if you like to hear the usual change of rpm at gear change go for 250, if you like silence and smoothness in acceleration, better fuel spare but a sound of fix rpm in acceleration go for Hybrid.

[doog442]

49 minutes ago, Zotto said:

Batteries are NOT a problem. 

Exactly what any Lexus or Toyota dealer will tell you unless you google code POA7F.

To me that's enough to avoid anything approaching a certain age that's out of main dealer warranty. 

[rayaans]

As stated already, the batteries are not an issue - there's quite a few Prius over 500k miles that have the original Battery on them. Its unlikely to go.

Lots of RX400h's now approaching 10 years old as well and very rare to have issues with the Battery itself. 

Even if the Battery fails, an error code will show up but the car will still run no problem.

[ganzoom]

12 hours ago, doog442 said:

Exactly what any Lexus or Toyota dealer will tell you unless you google code POA7F.

To me that's enough to avoid anything approaching a certain age that's out of main dealer warranty. 

Depending how your with a spanner even if you get a traction Battery fault all that likely needs to be done is to replace one cell. Having seen how easy it is to do I'm pretty sure if you can fit your own brake discs/pads you can probably manage it your self without ever going near a main dealer. I certainly would give it a good go. 

 

[DanD]

21 hours ago, doog442 said:

I've seen a few threads on here about hybrid battery issues and although there are now Independents doing them cheap, its one of the reasons I went with the IS200t...non hybrid.

It probably doesn't matter for company car drivers / 3 year PCP ex changers but for anyone looking for a 'keeper' they will always have that doubt in their mind. 

Really? - Where?

I am not aware of any hybrid Battery related issue, so if I have missed any, pray tell.

 

In response to the original poster, you should test drive both cars. They are very different and encourage different styles of driving. Apart from economy etc, the hybrid has a 4 cylinder engine and a CVT gearbox, whereas the 250 has a 6 cylinder engine and a conventional auto gearbox.