17 Plate Sport Comparison to 63 Plate F-Sport

[rayaans]

Long story short, my car went in for its 2 day pampering and I was provided with a 17 plate IS300h Sport for the duration.

Im sure @Smithy2 wont mind me using his picture but this is the exact car provided:

Now, as its an IS, all the comparisons were made against the wife's 2013 IS300h F-Sport. 

First Impressions

The first thing handed to me were the keys! They're the same style as the wife's fob but what struck me first was how cheap they felt. It was hard plastic, the same stuff used for my RX key fob but it felt lighter and less substantial. The wife's key fob is soft touch plastic with a leather effect, similiar to what is used on the dash and IMO it feels and looks much better. I don't know when they changed the fob but if you guys could chime in that'd be great!

See the difference in material?:

 

Exterior

Looking at the car, the first thing that struck me is the colour. Its a bright shade, almost too bright for a Lexus, yet, with the distinct styling and black wheels/mirrors - it actually worked very well!

I still prefer the F-Sport bumper and grill but by the grill and bumper still looks aggressive

Having seen the protection pack in person, I still don't like the mud flaps from an aesthetic viewpoint. Having said that, from a practical perspective, they do keep the car cleaner in torrential rain!

Interior

This is where the main differences between the F-Sport and Sport lie. 

Firstly, no problems with quality or fit and finish. I have to say that the dark grey plastic feels and looks better than the shiny black plastic in my wife's car along with the stainless steel knobs. I also liked the piano black trim more than the F-Sport machined metal and I think the F-Sport would have looked nicer with that in.

I found the seats a bit difficult to get comfortable in compared to the F-Sport seats and they didn't have as much support. The materials used for the seat seemed hard wearing and the Tahara trim was as close to leather as possible.

I found the colour scheme appealing with the grey accents but was unsure about the headliner. It wasn't the same shade of grey and therefore I think it would have looked nicer in black!

Technology

I personally found the Sport a bit, well....... basic. It almost reminded me of a German car. No electric seats, no auto folding mirrors upon locking, no reversing camera (this was the biggest PITA as Im so used to the camera now!) 

However, I would say that the speedo is simpler and easier to read than the F-Sport one but it just doesn't have the same WOW factor.

Additionally, I couldnt get on with the auto wipers! They just did what they wanted to unlike mine and my wife's car where they are nigh on perfect. 

Driving

Abnormally, this is where the biggest differences lay. 

This particular car was way past its run in period but it felt constrained. It stayed in EV mode longer but this meant the car had to be driven in Sport mode all the time. I tried ECO and it was dreadful. My wife's car feels very different. In Sport mode its ballistic and sometimes too eager whereas in Normal it feels the same as the 17 plate in Sport! I understand there was some calibration done to these in 2014 but didn't realise it'd make a huge difference - well it certainly does!

The ride felt slightly more compliant than the F-Sport but not by much. However, the Sport had a lot more road noise than my wife's F-Sport - odd because they were on the same tyres! They also handled fairly similarly but the F-Sport had better steering IMO. 

Conclusion

All in all, an interesting experience. The 2013 and 2017 IS300h's drive completely differently, very odd IMO but shows how Lexus keep fine tuning these to customer requirements. I almost find my wife's IS too eager to go and throttle response a bit peaky. Perhaps customers commented on this and Lexus delivered. 

Additionally, in hindsight, the Sport cost somewhere in the region of £5k less than an F-Sport. If budget was an issue then its certainly worth considering as its huge value for money, especially compared to the competition and Im sure anyone who has one loves it...

.....just please don't get it in Fuji Red!

[DanD]

Very interesting, thanks Rayaan. I certainly was not expecting such differences between two cars with the same drivetrain. Power output and torque figures are the same, are they not?

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, DanD said:

Very interesting, thanks Rayaan. I certainly was not expecting such differences between two cars with the same drivetrain. Power output and torque figures are the same, are they not?

Yes, they are but upon closer inspection, the figures for CO2 and MPG are different for the 17 plate Sport and the 13 plate Premier (closest comparison due to wheels). 

I believe they toned the throttle response down and made it stay in EV longer at some point in 2014

[dazza IS300h]

Cant comment on your driving experience in the 2017 Sport, we just bought a new 2017 F-Sport with the new face lift in Fuji Red and absolutely love the colour, had loads of compliments on its looks too, think the grey wheels look better than the black in my opinion

 

[steveledzep]

Lovely looking motor Dazza........I too prefer the silver grey wheels.

[dazza IS300h]

27 minutes ago, steveledzep said:

Lovely looking motor Dazza........I too prefer the silver grey wheels.

Cheers Steveledzep 

[Smithy2]

On 5/19/2017 at 11:31 AM, rayaans said:

Long story short, my car went in for its 2 day pampering and I was provided with a 17 plate IS300h Sport for the duration.

Im sure @Smithy2 wont mind me using his picture but this is the exact car provided:

Now, as its an IS, all the comparisons were made against the wife's 2013 IS300h F-Sport. 

First Impressions

The first thing handed to me were the keys! They're the same style as the wife's fob but what struck me first was how cheap they felt. It was hard plastic, the same stuff used for my RX key fob but it felt lighter and less substantial. The wife's key fob is soft touch plastic with a leather effect, similiar to what is used on the dash and IMO it feels and looks much better. I don't know when they changed the fob but if you guys could chime in that'd be great!

See the difference in material?:

 

Exterior

Looking at the car, the first thing that struck me is the colour. Its a bright shade, almost too bright for a Lexus, yet, with the distinct styling and black wheels/mirrors - it actually worked very well!

I still prefer the F-Sport bumper and grill but by the grill and bumper still looks aggressive

Having seen the protection pack in person, I still don't like the mud flaps from an aesthetic viewpoint. Having said that, from a practical perspective, they do keep the car cleaner in torrential rain!

Interior

This is where the main differences between the F-Sport and Sport lie. 

Firstly, no problems with quality or fit and finish. I have to say that the dark grey plastic feels and looks better than the shiny black plastic in my wife's car along with the stainless steel knobs. I also liked the piano black trim more than the F-Sport machined metal and I think the F-Sport would have looked nicer with that in.

I found the seats a bit difficult to get comfortable in compared to the F-Sport seats and they didn't have as much support. The materials used for the seat seemed hard wearing and the Tahara trim was as close to leather as possible.

I found the colour scheme appealing with the grey accents but was unsure about the headliner. It wasn't the same shade of grey and therefore I think it would have looked nicer in black!

Technology

I personally found the Sport a bit, well....... basic. It almost reminded me of a German car. No electric seats, no auto folding mirrors upon locking, no reversing camera (this was the biggest PITA as Im so used to the camera now!) 

However, I would say that the speedo is simpler and easier to read than the F-Sport one but it just doesn't have the same WOW factor.

Additionally, I couldnt get on with the auto wipers! They just did what they wanted to unlike mine and my wife's car where they are nigh on perfect. 

Driving

Abnormally, this is where the biggest differences lay. 

This particular car was way past its run in period but it felt constrained. It stayed in EV mode longer but this meant the car had to be driven in Sport mode all the time. I tried ECO and it was dreadful. My wife's car feels very different. In Sport mode its ballistic and sometimes too eager whereas in Normal it feels the same as the 17 plate in Sport! I understand there was some calibration done to these in 2014 but didn't realise it'd make a huge difference - well it certainly does!

The ride felt slightly more compliant than the F-Sport but not by much. However, the Sport had a lot more road noise than my wife's F-Sport - odd because they were on the same tyres! They also handled fairly similarly but the F-Sport had better steering IMO. 

Conclusion

All in all, an interesting experience. The 2013 and 2017 IS300h's drive completely differently, very odd IMO but shows how Lexus keep fine tuning these to customer requirements. I almost find my wife's IS too eager to go and throttle response a bit peaky. Perhaps customers commented on this and Lexus delivered. 

Additionally, in hindsight, the Sport cost somewhere in the region of £5k less than an F-Sport. If budget was an issue then its certainly worth considering as its huge value for money, especially compared to the competition and Im sure anyone who has one loves it...

.....just please don't get it in Fuji Red!

Welcome for the picture!  Incidentally I have had that particular car twice now whilst my ML head unit was getting sorted out.  On both occasions i was glad to get my F Sport back.  Didn't get along with the seats and as they are not electric they do not have the slide back comfort exit feature which i like and use. Secondly despite the rotary controller being quicker to use than the mouse control for input of address and changing stations, the DAB was terrible - hardly any stations to be found upon searching.  

However all in all the cars are very similar - the wheels look great and it was nice to get a comparable loan car, rather than an A Class merc when my old c class coupe went in for service! 

[rayaans]

24 minutes ago, Smithy2 said:

Welcome for the picture!  Incidentally I have had that particular car twice now whilst my ML head unit was getting sorted out.  On both occasions i was glad to get my F Sport back.  Didn't get along with the seats and as they are not electric they do not have the slide back comfort exit feature which i like and use. Secondly despite the rotary controller being quicker to use than the mouse control for input of address and changing stations, the DAB was terrible - hardly any stations to be found upon searching.  

However all in all the cars are very similar - the wheels look great and it was nice to get a comparable loan car, rather than an A Class merc when my old c class coupe went in for service! 

Well I can't say I got a comparable vehicle but hey, atleast it wasn't the CT that they seem to give away all the time!

Yes, didn't get on well with the rotary controller personally. Not sure about DAB as I didn't use it, brought along my own CD which I put in the car. 

And I agree regarding the seats - didn't find them as comfortable as the F-Sport seats and the easy entry/exit feature is very useful to get in and out of the car so that was a shame.

[Blisteringblue]

Interesting review, I pick up my Sport at the end of next month.  I've gone for solid black (refuse to pay for a colour for a company car) but I've only got an SE now, so I'm expecting a step up for me, not down?  I must admit I didn't test drive but coming from 16s to 18s I am expecting a different ride.

I am expecting a reversing camera though?  I thought it comes as standard? All face lift models bar the SE come with it?

[rayaans]

On 5/29/2017 at 7:34 PM, Blisteringblue said:

Interesting review, I pick up my Sport at the end of next month.  I've gone for solid black (refuse to pay for a colour for a company car) but I've only got an SE now, so I'm expecting a step up for me, not down?  I must admit I didn't test drive but coming from 16s to 18s I am expecting a different ride.

I am expecting a reversing camera though?  I thought it comes as standard? All face lift models bar the SE come with it?

I presume yours is a facelift model? In which case the spec has been changed so you would get the reversing camera but no parking sensors. 

The Sport that they gave me was a 17 plate but pre-facelift model.