Battery Range

[Mossbourne]

I am considering purchasing a Lexus IS 300H.

A large proportion of my mileage is urban driving within a 20 mile range with plenty of stop starts and 30mph speed limits.

Will the car mainly run on Battery power with this type of driving?

I also make a 280 mile journey to visit family which is mainly motorway.

My current car is a petrol BMW 1 series which obtains around 44 mpg on long journeys and around 36mpg around town. I don't drive with a heavy right foot.

How does a Lexus compare with this mileage?

 

 

 

 

[PaulWhitt20]

With that sort of driving you should get 45 to 50 mpg around town. Similar on the motorway unless you cruise at 80 mph, in which case it will drop significantly (its a 2.5 liter engine carrying a big Battery in the boot). The Battery will only do about 1 mile before becoming discharged and is not used at speeds over 40 mph, but if you are slowing down to stop in traffic this will charge the Battery up again. That is the whole point of a hybrid, you recover energy to the Battery when slowing down and use it again to start up. My average is 46.6 mpg over 15000 miles.

All mpg figures are real world not on board computer which is about 5 mpg optimistic.

 

[Farqui]

Maurice / @Mossbourne, you don't say what Beemer you currently own so I selected a random 1 series petrol from Honest John for comparison;

116i

official 50.4–52.3 mpg

real 38.4 mpg

300h

official 61.4–67.3 mpg

real 48.7 mpg

The Lexus Hybrid is a neat bit of kit being self contained recharging on the move.

Don't confuse a Lexus with a full on electric vehicle that mostly runs on electrickery.

Have you test driven a IS 300h at all?

[MONTIMAR]

Hybrid MPG is very dependant on your driving style and profile. I do very little motorway running or short runs and I have averaged a measured 55 MPG over 2000 miles.

I use EV mode for car parks ECO for town driving. Normal for out of town and Sports for quick passing and hills. The on board computer often shows 60 MPG plus but only after about 10 miles into my trip so it's not that good for short runs but better than my last petrol only car, a Merc C Class which would return less than 40 MPG under any conditions.

[rayaans]

6 hours ago, Mossbourne said:

I am considering purchasing a Lexus IS 300H.

A large proportion of my mileage is urban driving within a 20 mile range with plenty of stop starts and 30mph speed limits.

Will the car mainly run on battery power with this type of driving?

I also make a 280 mile journey to visit family which is mainly motorway.

My current car is a petrol BMW 1 series which obtains around 44 mpg on long journeys and around 36mpg around town. I don't drive with a heavy right foot.

How does a Lexus compare with this mileage?

 

Honestly, I hate these type of debates simply because its so difficult to tell. Some cars get closer to their MPG than other cars, every driver drives differently and heck, the wind speed changes day to day! You say you don't drive with a heavy foot but again, one man's lead foot is another mans feather. 

Only one way to find out, take one for an extended test drive and found out yourself.

Additionally, with the cost of depreciation being so high, how much does it really matter if the car even did 70mpg - I don't think very much, but it sure is a good way of getting customers to justify getting a new car.

"I bought a new car and its getting 2MPG more than my last one, sorry forgot to mention that the depreciation is £3k higher per year!"

[PaulWhitt20]

That's when man maths comes into play.

[chris_fletcher]

over 24000 miles I returned 46.6mpg average, car reading, which was ~5% higher than actual. Highest I ever saw was 50mpg mostly 50-70mph on motorway from Mirfield West Yorks to Birmingham recently on a hot day when I went to swap the IS300H for an gen 4 RX450H F Sport. My commute is 16 miles A road about 60/40 split but traffic is usually stop start on the A road and often pretty slow on the section of M62 I drive one. The same journey is showing as 39.6mpg on the RX. You need to be aware though that cold weather lowers the mpg so you have to accept a cold/hot weather split in your fuel consumptionsomewhere between 5 and 10% lower for me

For me the IS300H was a brillaint car and way ahead of the 1 series BMW (which my son had for a while) and so IMHO a no brainer of a swap. Once you learn to drive the hybrid way I am sure you will exceed the BMW mpg but in any event you will have a mucher nicer car

[ganzoom]

21 hours ago, Mossbourne said:

I am considering purchasing a Lexus IS 300H.

A large proportion of my mileage is urban driving within a 20 mile range with plenty of stop starts and 30mph speed limits.

Will the car mainly run on battery power with this type of driving?

Short and truthful answer is NO!!

The IS300H is not a plug-in hybrid, the battery/hybrid system is designed compensate for the inherent lack of torque due the Atkinson cycle - Wikipedia used by the combustion unit inorder to improve efficiency.

The cars that can do 20-30 miles on a charge using EV power along are plug-in hybrids, so things like the BMW 330e, or even the Prius Prime.

No one actually knows the usable electrical energy stored in the very small batteries of the IS300H, I would guess it's around 1-1.5kWh max.

The BMW 330e has 5.7kWh usable, and Prime around 6.5kWh usable, with both you could manage nearly 10-20 miles without having to engage the combustion engine provided you charge up the Battery at home every night. In those situations your be looking at mpg figures close 3 digits.  

Currently Lexus don't offer any plug-in hybrids, and there are non on the horizon.

 

[NemesisUK]

I can get approximately 1.5 miles max at 25-30mph on EV only, when the ICE is warm.

[Britprius]

6 hours ago, ganzoom said:

Short and truthful answer is NO!!

The IS300H is not a plug-in hybrid, the battery/hybrid system is designed compensate for the inherent lack of torque due the Atkinson cycle - Wikipedia used by the combustion unit inorder to improve efficiency.

The cars that can do 20-30 miles on a charge using EV power along are plug-in hybrids, so things like the BMW 330e, or even the Prius Prime.

No one actually knows the usable electrical energy stored in the very small batteries of the IS300H, I would guess it's around 1-1.5kWh max.

The BMW 330e has 5.7kWh usable, and Prime around 6.5kWh usable, with both you could manage nearly 10-20 miles without having to engage the combustion engine provided you charge up the battery at home every night. In those situations your be looking at mpg figures close 3 digits.  

Currently Lexus don't offer any plug-in hybrids, and there are non on the horizon.

 

The hybrid system was designed to improve economy initially in the Prius 1.5ltr that returns a remarkable 60 mpg. Although it is true the electric motors do compensate for a lack of torque on the smaller engine Toyota/Lexus range ie those with engines at and below 1.8ltr. There is no lack of torque with the 3ltr plus engines. 

John

[ganzoom]

2 hours ago, Britprius said:

The hybrid system was designed to improve economy initially in the Prius 1.5ltr that returns a remarkable 60 mpg. Although it is true the electric motors do compensate for a lack of torque on the smaller engine Toyota/Lexus range ie those with engines at and below 1.8ltr. There is no lack of torque with the 3ltr plus engines. 

John

The 3L hybrid engines aren't exactly economical, about the same as a fuel injected turbo. I struggled to see 30mpg from a loaner 450h RX.

Whilst a full EV drivetrain will deliver more torque and achieve far more efficiency.

The hybrid tech Toyota developed was good for its time, but the competition have caught up and now moved on. 

If you want a decent powered hybrid SUV and aren't ready for full EV, the Volvo XC 90 hybrid is simply a better hybrid than the RX.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/review/quick-twin-test-lexus-rx450h-vs-volvo-xc90-t8#5

[Britprius]

I have the GS450H, and have regular tank refills giving 41 mpg. This is all rural country single track road driven spiritedly. I think that qualifies as economical in a car that weighs 2 tons with a 3.5ltr  petrol engine with a 0 to 60 time in the low 5's.

John.  

[rayaans]

45 minutes ago, ganzoom said:

The 3L hybrid engines aren't exactly economical, about the same as a fuel injected turbo. I struggled to see 30mpg from a loaner 450h RX.

Whilst a full EV drivetrain will deliver more torque and achieve far more efficiency.

The hybrid tech Toyota developed was good for its time, but the competition have caught up and now moved on. 

If you want a decent powered hybrid SUV and aren't ready for full EV, the Volvo XC 90 hybrid is simply a better hybrid than the RX.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/review/quick-twin-test-lexus-rx450h-vs-volvo-xc90-t8#5

How long did you have the car for? 

I've been getting 34mpg and others have got more on the 4th generation RX. Even so, for a 3.5l NA engine, its hardly bad for something weighing 2.1 tonnes.

The XC90 hybrid system may be better in terms of outright performance but look at the price of the thing. It also suffers from poor refinement when the 2.0l engine is awake.

The RX has plenty of power and the mid-range acceleration is nearly as fast as an RC-F

[Ian J. Parsley]

Anyway... the question related to an IS...

 

I *think* the question you are posing is will you get a significant period on electric power only? Probably not. 

You do not, in general, get to use electric power only from start-up; you need to have been driving the car for a while before the potential to use electric power only (for just over a mile at under 30mph) becomes possible. 

What you will get is a very fine, refined and comfortable petrol car which you will be able to run for the price of a diesel. 

[Tel]

In heavy traffic, in Sport Mode the car glides in silence for c. 8-10 miles which makes me feel good as the cars all around me cough & splutter noxious fumes.

Never driven economically,

yet average mpg over the last 4 years is c.45 mpg in the UK & 55 mpg on the Continent which is twice the rate of my ISF.

Swift & Refined & a tenner for Road Tax   ----- doesn't get much better.

Tel

 

[NemesisUK]

One can 'force' the car into EV mode from a cold start, as long as one presses the EV button before the ICE starts up, usually within 5 sec of the system start.

From experience the range is very limited, perhaps a couple of hundred metres before the car cancels EV mode automatically. Just far enough for me to sneak off when on an early start 😉

[ganzoom]

6 hours ago, Ian J. Parsley said:

What you will get is a very fine, refined and comfortable petrol car which you will be able to run for the price of a diesel. 

100% ture but if the OP only has a daily commute of 20 miles, and could charge their plug in hybrid at home, they will see significantly better mpg than any diesel.

Electricity is simply so much cheaper than petrol/diesel. 

 

[Ian J. Parsley]

Clearly if you're doing regular 20 mile commutes and you don't want to pay for fuel, you need an electric car not a (non-plug-in) hybrid.

[Mikeyb999]

11 hours ago, Ian J. Parsley said:

Clearly if you're doing regular 20 mile commutes and you don't want to pay for fuel, you need an electric car not a (non-plug-in) hybrid.

I agree that a full EV would be the best answer, but something like an Audi A3 etron or kia Optima PHEV would also fit the bill

[rayaans]

12 hours ago, Ian J. Parsley said:

Clearly if you're doing regular 20 mile commutes and you don't want to pay for fuel, you need an electric car not a (non-plug-in) hybrid.

If you read the original post the OP makes regular 280 mile trips which a reasonably priced Electric car won't do unless stopping for charging.

Therefore a plug in would be the only option here if MPG is the absolute thing you want

[Ian J. Parsley]

Which is why I think he should go ahead and buy the IS :)

[Mossbourne]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I have a much better understanding of how a hybrid car works.

I have test driven one and really liked it.

I have come close to buying a Lexus on several occasions from the IS200 and the IS250 but changed my mind due to cost. There are some well priced 12 month old IS300h on the Lexus website.

i also noticed that Lexus always come tops when it comes to reliability and dealers. I don't have the confidence in the long term reliability of my BMW 1 series.