Recomendation

is200 Newbie · April 12, 2017

I have the possibility of accepting a job - issue I have is the distance.

The daily commute will be 140 mile round trip compared with 10 at the moment !! ... a big difference.

I am considering it but it would mean me changing the car - don't want to as its been well looked after. If needs must I want to stay with the Lexus brand. I can keep mine at the moment but would look to reduce fuel costs. Have guestimated that fuel cost per month would be around £300 per month using existing car - would be all motorway (90% at least)

I want to stay petrol but unsure what the best option would be in upgrading to a newer model - Hybrid would I expect return the mpg I would look for but what model would best replicate the kit on an SE-L. Not looking for speed, just something similar and as reliable as the one I currently have.

Anyone got any suggestions - I have looked on Autotrader through whats available and the IS 300H 2.5 reports an mpg of average mpg 64.2. is that more or less accurate - like I say, the journey would be mostly motorway.

normski2 · April 12, 2017

Does the job give you a better income .... To the tune of £300 a month?

Needs a bit of careful thought this one. Do you want to be driving 140 miles per day? My son did similar for nearly a year........ he now has a job elsewhere. The daily mileage was taking its toll on him.

I'm going to ponder your dilemma whilst I watch a bunch of twits in Tuscany.

I will be amazed if 60 odd mpg in a is300 is realistic. I certainly did not get anywhere near that when I dem'd one. Think it was 43.

Linas.P · April 12, 2017

It is painful to say, but for such mileage you want a diesel car. I know I will be stuck to the cross and burned alive for this suggestion, but hybrids shine in exactly opposite conditions - that is start/stop city drive, maybe up to 60MPH. Around or over 70MPH they are not much more fuel efficient than petrol. Sorry, but being realistic and using national statistics, now average speed on motorways is 82MPH - you can ignore that knowing your own habits and if you certainly stick to the national limit. I cannot pretend that myself as I found this figure very accurate driving around UK and if somebody stated motorway driving - I will automatically consider that as 82MPH.

A quick calculation of mine over 220days x 140 miles = 30k miles annual (fuel costs - today's average petrol £1.19/ diesel £1.22):

IS250 ~70MPH motorway drive can achieve 44MPG, but more realistically ~38MPG and not much less at 82MPH ~36MPG. Annual fuel cost £2070 - 2170. Car cost ~£4000 + car depreciation ~£1000 = 3 years total ~ £11360 or £8360 if you sell the car.
IS300h ~70MPH will do just around 40MPG, it will do probably ~50 if you do 60mph, but at 80MPH it will be probably ~34-36MPG. Annual fuel cost £1677 - 2463. Car cost ~£10000, + car depreciation £3000 = 3 year total ~£16210 or £9210 if you sell the car.
IS220d ~70MPH will do ~55MPG and even at 82MPH will do the same, 6th gear is actually too high for 70MPH and actually more suited for 80MPH. Annual fuel cost £1537. Car cost ~£3000 + car depreciation ~£700 = 3 years total ~£8311 or £6011 if you sell the car.

I am not suggesting you to buy IS220d, it is by far not the best diesel, nor the best Lexus, there are many better diesel cars. I mentioned it just because you wanted to stay with Lexus and that is the only suitable car for your drive.

Don't make mistake and don't buy hybrid for purely motorway drive - that is not what these cars for and they are definitely not alternative for diesels. Diesels are still the king of high miles motorway, hybrids are kings of slow city driving - could be high miles as well, but must be speeds of 50MPH or less.

Malc · April 12, 2017

doing a 35k miles a year commute will certainly " up " your insurance premium hugely I would think......... and you might be exhausted too.

Good luck whatever, you won't have time to be posting on here methinks

Malc

is200 Newbie · April 12, 2017

Good points - was not aware that the hybrid was not good for efficient motorway driving (mpg wise)

Shahpor · April 12, 2017

40 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

It is painful to say, but for such mileage you want a diesel car.

IS220d ~70MPH will do ~55MPG and even at 82MPH will do the same, 6th gear is actually too high for 70MPH and actually more suited for 80MPH. Annual fuel cost £1537. Car cost ~£3000 + car depreciation ~£700 = 3 years total ~£8311 or £6011 if you sell the car.

Recommending a diesel?!? Go wash your mouth out

On a more serious note, I doubt an 220d will achieve 55mpg, regardless of how fast. At 80mph, I average around 35mpg. With more careful driving, I can manage around 40mpg per tank. I agree they are great for driving on the motorway with the strong mid range torque.

I will also echo what others have said about the commute. It has to be a very good opportunity to warrant such a move. One day a week I have to do a 120 mile round trip to London, and when I think about possibly doing that every day, I shudder. I think it would eventually drive me mad.

Linas.P · April 12, 2017

I cannot argue with you so probably I have to take away my words - you have IS220d after all... but 35MPG doesn't sound right. My IS250 does more at 80MPH... I believe best was around 41MPG and that was probably average ~85MPH from London to Bath, when M4 was completely empty and I just set auto pilot and turned it off after 1.5 hours straight, but more often I get ~36-38MPG when there is some congestion in outside lane on M25, M1, M11, M2, M20 or M23 which I use most often.

Shahpor · April 12, 2017

Perhaps mine is a little on the low side. I actually plan to give my EGR valve a clean on Friday.

However, I will say that the car loses mpg pretty quickly over 70mph. At ~65mph, I get 40-45mpg.

Also, I rarely get a clear run on the M4 or M25 during my trips, so there is some slowing down and speeding up involved.

Linas.P · April 12, 2017

Well.. I assumed it on perfect conditions for comparative purposes. If there is slowing down and speeding up involved, that is what I stated next to IS250 - you can get ~40, but more likely 36MPG. I would edit my above post but I can't (for some reason).. so I guess here is updte:

IS220d ~70MPH will do ~45MPG. Annual fuel cost £1863. Car cost ~£3000 + car depreciation ~£700 = 3 years total ~£8589 or £6289 if you sell the car.

Anyway.. I believe the consensus is the same (I was reading it on IS300h forum as well). First of all is a consideration if job worth the commute. Fuel economy of the car will be negligible when comparing the cost of the vehicle itself - even in wildest comparison the difference between petrol/hybrid/diesel is ~£500 a year.. and that is not to the advantage of hybrid anyway. Based even on crude calculation buying used IS300h will work out much more expensive than just driving current IS250, because £6000 difference in value not only going to cover the difference in fuel consumption, but to be honest entire consumption of 3 years motoring, so non-upgrading=free fuel for 3 years.

Vintagesixtysix · April 13, 2017

I know you want us to talk cars..... so obviously you would have to add all the consumables, wear & tear plus a insurance increase to the amount you need the salary increase to cover.

I don't think any personal car leasing is going to be available or cost effective @35K miles pa.

Could you negotiate a company vehicle or contribution?

Just talking about the new role in my younger days I was offered an opportunity in the business I was working in to run the south west part of the company, I live in the midlands. So just over a hundred miles a morning before I started work & the trip home from wherever my day ended.

It was certainly easier in the spring summer months, those dark poor weather roadworks winter days are tough.

I did have the opportunity to stay away if I wanted (rarely did as had young family at the time & I've never found anything glamorous about business hotels).....I could also work from home on occasions & any H/O meetings were much closer.

So why did I do it for a year or so because it accelerated my experience, capability, network etc.

In the long game served me well.

I know you didn't ask for career counselling but it does feed back into the original question..... if the opportunity is worth it & you think you can hack the travel then maybe a vehicle you know well & trust is the best bet and the difference between diesel or petrol is probably only a couple of tanks a month. Whatever you pick Lexus or non Lexus you'll be 100k miles up three years on wherever you started so the newer the vehicle the bigger the hit...so older car used as a comfy reliable workhorse maybe the answer.

If new job gives a bit of extra dosh.... on top of travel expenses..... put it towards a new(er) Lexus maybe that you enjoy for non work travel! 👍

Hope helps.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

J Henderson · April 14, 2017

If an IS300h is a serious proposition then in terms of standard kit, I think Premier would be the closest trim level equivalent to SE-L. Also, I think somewhere in the 45-55MPG range might be a more realistic figure in terms of overall fuel economy.

I just spent the day with a brand-new IS300h loaner whilst my car was in for a service and MOT, and I averaged 48MPG with the driving mode set to normal. I did try Eco mode but immediately reverted back to normal as I hated the lethargic throttle response. I covered about 50 miles in total taking in a real mix of driving styles and roads and only had to put £5 worth of fuel in it before handing it back. I reckon 50+MPG ought to be achievable quite easily on a lengthy commute once you learn how to maximise the Hybrid system.

For what it's worth, I didn't think much of the IS300h the first time I drove one but I was more impressed on this occasion. The car I had today was an Executive trim facelift model which has some reasonable equipment as standard and actually felt like a nice place to be. Definitely felt a lot more refined and better built than the early base-model I drove previously. Until now I had almost written-off the idea of a 300h as a potential replacement for my car but now I'm more open to the idea.

dazed · April 14, 2017

On ‎12‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 8:52 PM, is200 Newbie said:

The daily commute will be 140 mile round trip compared with 10 at the moment !! ... a big difference.

Make sure you do the maths first. Obviously, the extra fuel isn't going to be the only financial cost.

If you do go ahead my advice would be to buy low mileage 3 year old vehicles. Diesels would make the most sense, but failing that don't spend too much time looking at hybrids - you won't necessarily save the extra purchase price in reduced petrol costs if you're mostly cruising at 70mph.

Whatever you do, don't buy new. The deprecation will crucify you.

is200 Newbie · April 14, 2017

All good points - thanks

I would rather keep the car I have to be honest and after sitting down and working out the figures, they don't make sense to move jobs - was being a bit too ambitious although don't mind the drive as the job would only need to be done for a year then I could look to retire or take a part time job.

I don't know a lot about the hybrid system but after all the comments and doing some research, predominately on this site then the car would not really be suitable - I just thought it would be before I done a bit of digging.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions - it was usefull

toffee_pie · April 16, 2017

On 4/12/2017 at 8:52 PM, is200 Newbie said:

I have the possibility of accepting a job - issue I have is the distance.

The daily commute will be 140 mile round trip compared with 10 at the moment !! ... a big difference.

I am considering it but it would mean me changing the car - don't want to as its been well looked after. If needs must I want to stay with the Lexus brand. I can keep mine at the moment but would look to reduce fuel costs. Have guestimated that fuel cost per month would be around £300 per month using existing car - would be all motorway (90% at least)

I want to stay petrol but unsure what the best option would be in upgrading to a newer model - Hybrid would I expect return the mpg I would look for but what model would best replicate the kit on an SE-L. Not looking for speed, just something similar and as reliable as the one I currently have.

Anyone got any suggestions - I have looked on Autotrader through whats available and the IS 300H 2.5 reports an mpg of average mpg 64.2. is that more or less accurate - like I say, the journey would be mostly motorway.

140 miles each way, no thanks.

Driving in the UK for me is nothing short of a painful nightmare.

Appaling roads, terrible drivers, road works, speed cameras....

Texas · April 16, 2017

OP stated "140 mile round trip" so I read this as 70 miles each way?

Paul m.

NemesisUK · April 16, 2017

Would conversion to LPG be an economic proposition?

Linas.P · April 16, 2017

It is impossible to convert IS250 to LPG... or it would not be economical. Well discussed topic - last thread was locked with conclusion that there are no good way of installing LPG on 4GR-FSE.

toffee_pie · April 16, 2017

3 hours ago, Texas said:

OP stated "140 mile round trip" so I read this as 70 miles each way?

Paul m.

my bad..

70 is not too bad but still would say no myself.!

Linas.P · April 16, 2017

It really depends on the job and on the road. I am sure that my 15 mile drive in London which takes 45-60 minutes is much worse than 70 miles and probably same 45-60 minutes on some winding A road in Wales

NemesisUK · April 17, 2017

I used to have a 30 miles drive to Oxford every day, took 30-40 mins. Must say I found it a great way to switch off from work on the way home and even good on the way in to mentally prepare for my work day. Not sure I'd like to routinely do a longer (time-wise) journey. The commute was done in a diesel Merc and a very nice place to sit it was too!

Unless the new job pays significantly better to compensate for the increased petrol costs, I'd say a diesel is going to be a better proposition unless the roads were relatively slow/congested in which case the hybrid with e-CVT would win, certainly on refinement and possibly on mpg. If the roads are higher speeds the hybrid will struggle to better the diesel on mpg

Ala Larj · April 26, 2017

On 12/04/2017 at 10:48 PM, Shahpor said:

Recommending a diesel?!? Go wash your mouth out

On a more serious note, I doubt an 220d will achieve 55mpg, regardless of how fast. At 80mph, I average around 35mpg. With more careful driving, I can manage around 40mpg per tank. I agree they are great for driving on the motorway with the strong mid range torque.

I will also echo what others have said about the commute. It has to be a very good opportunity to warrant such a move. One day a week I have to do a 120 mile round trip to London, and when I think about possibly doing that every day, I shudder. I think it would eventually drive me mad.

Have just got rid of my IS220d and the overall average over 101,000 miles was 38.7 mpg (according to the car). Have just bought a GS300h with 38k on the clock with an average of 42.2. Went for a long weekend in Belgium over Easter in it, did about 700 miles(mainly motorway - or whatever they call them in Belgium) and the average over two tanks of fuel was 45.6. Best I've seen so far was just over 50mpg on a tank but that was as boring as hell! I think the IS300h has basically the same engine and it's a bit lighter. I do agree though that if you do plenty of town miles the electric motor and engine cutting out when stationary really improves the mpg.