How can the same 2 cars be so different

[Mr Vlad]

Last year i bought an is300h premier premium. Initially I loved it but soon grew to loath it. I couldn't get to grips with the CVT. The ride was ruddy awful and a few niggles here and there. After 5 weeks of ownership I got rid.

That was a 14 plate. I now have a 64 plate premier premium and what a difference. The ride is sublime and the CVT is lovely  (mind you the car in between was an auto box so perhaps I got trained in to CVT). Even the Mark Levinson system is better than my last is300h. 

There are no niggles either except that I may have a Bluetooth issue but I'll post that separately. 

I'm chuffed with the fuel economy which I wasn't with my last one.

So how can 2 cars being the same car and spec be so different? 

I look forward to all replies.

[stevet]

Why did you get the same if you loathed it?


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[Mr Vlad]

Coz I always give things a 2nd chance and this car I have now I love it.

[stevet]

Makes you wonder how many changes they made since it was brought out. Good ending anyway [emoji106]


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[dutchie01]

35 minutes ago, stevet said:

Makes you wonder how many changes they made since it was brought out. Good ending anyway


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could be true Steve. My IS250 always had lots of things i did not really like/was irritated/thought could be better. After 4 yrs the dealer gave me a brandnew one when old one in service. And gone was the unrest in the chassis, gone were the weak defrosters, squeeky windscreenwipers, weak seat heaters. did it feel like a different car? Close, for sure it was an improved version.

shows car development does not stop after launch of a model! 

[rayaans]

I've driven every year of the IS300H from 2013-2017 now and noticed little difference between them.

In fact I though the cars earlier than 2014 were actually more responsive which I suspect is to do with the software change in 2013 to lower emissions and increase fuel economy

[Tel]

My experience is as follows.

A model is launched & for c. 6 months the Global Lexus Team monitor / rectify issues on the product line to resolve those teething issues then reduce the Team to enable the rare improvement e.g.the rear damper on the Mk1 300h. driveline in 2014

Like my Mk.2 ISF, launched in 2011, the entire drivetrain, including the width of the wheel footprint ,was lighter, more compliant & 3 seconds faster around Sema beating the M3.

There were a host of other changes to seats/dash etcetera that made it a different car. Sales rocketed in the States but here the 2008 Recession had been deep.

I got a cancelled Order that made a sweet deal.

My 2013  was good

My 2017 is excellent.

Tel

[Thackeray]

On 26/10/2017 at 5:43 PM, Mr Vlad said:

the CVT is lovely  (mind you the car in between was an auto box so perhaps I got trained in to CVT)

Interesting point. I'd often wondered if the car journalists who criticise the transmission were usually drivers of manual gearbox cars and weren't very familiar with driving automatics. I've had automatics for decades and didn't find much difference in the IS300h, except that the CVT is smoother. 

I've always found that driving an automatic needs a slightly different approach compared with manual gearboxes. With a manual, you're constantly doing a dance between the clutch and the accelerator, a lot of the time pressing one while releasing the other and vice versa. Double declutching requires even more pressing and releasing of both pedals. But my approach to driving automatics, including the IS300h, (and maybe I'm not typical) is first to press the accelerator to a point that gives me the acceleration I want. And then I keep the accelerator still as the gearbox shifts through the gears until I've reached the speed I want. Then I ease off on the accelerator to a point that will maintain the speed I want and then I keep it still again until I need to speed up or slow down. If you expect a lot of pressing and releasing of the accelerator like on a manual box, the results may be less than ideal.

With years of operating with this habit, driving the IS300h was no different. The only difference was that there was no sound of gearchanges and no lurching as the car shifted through the gears. ( I noticed earlier in the year how odd it looked as I was pulling away from lights alongside cars in the adjacent lane. Whereas the IS300h maintained a steady rate of acceleration, the cars alongside would edge ahead and then drop back as they changed gear; then edge ahead and then drop back; and so on. I decided I preferred the smooth approach without the gearchange jolting.)

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Thackeray said:

Interesting point. I'd often wondered if the car journalists who criticise the transmission were usually drivers of manual gearbox cars and weren't very familiar with driving automatics. I've had automatics for decades and didn't find much difference in the IS300h, except that the CVT is smoother. 

I've always found that driving an automatic needs a slightly different approach compared with manual gearboxes. With a manual, you're constantly doing a dance between the clutch and the accelerator, a lot of the time pressing one while releasing the other and vice versa. Double declutching requires even more pressing and releasing of both pedals. But my approach to driving automatics, including the IS300h, (and maybe I'm not typical) is first to press the accelerator to a point that gives me the acceleration I want. And then I keep the accelerator still as the gearbox shifts through the gears until I've reached the speed I want. Then I ease off on the accelerator to a point that will maintain the speed I want and then I keep it still again until I need to speed up or slow down. If you expect a lot of pressing and releasing of the accelerator like on a manual box, the results may be less than ideal.

With years of operating with this habit, driving the IS300h was no different. The only difference was that there was no sound of gearchanges and no lurching as the car shifted through the gears. ( I noticed earlier in the year how odd it looked as I was pulling away from lights alongside cars in the adjacent lane. Whereas the IS300h maintained a steady rate of acceleration, the cars alongside would edge ahead and then drop back as they changed gear; then edge ahead and then drop back; and so on. I decided I preferred the smooth approach without the gearchange jolting.)

I think that we have both had the same Driving Instructor,William.  :):):):):)

[Mr Vlad]

Hi William. Excellent post there pal. I drive mine lime you do. This was told me by the sales guy who had training from Lexus on how to drive CVH. 

I'm chuffed wirh it's economy too. Way better than my previous car (Ford Mondeo titanium x sport ecoboost ) but that did have tons of torque and 240hp but it's auto box was really very good. No knocks bangs or judders but silky smooth and quick gear changes But my is300h is smoother with its transmission and suprisingly not much slower when ahem flooring it lol (well you have to play with your new toys don't you lol)

[DanD]

Double declutching?!? - Wow.... does any one ever do this nowadays?

[michaelH]

I went from a 13 plate luxury premium nav to a 64premier with a lot fewer miles on the clock. I was never aware of any startling differences, beyond the fact that the newer one is much better equipped with a useful blind spot and rear monitoring system and better seats with more adjustment. The pioneer audio (?) on the old one seemed little inferior to the mark Levinson I have now. I wouldn’t call either  hi-fi, but hey, it’s only a car, and real hi-fi would cost serious extra money. 

I do however think the ride is marginally better, which is important because my wife has spinal injuries and travels badly. And it rides that little bit better despite having larger 18” wheels. But the difference is very subtle. 

Motoring journalists often seem to denounce the “noisy droning cvt box” while praising the clever device that provides synthetic engine sounds. I find that turning off the synthetic sound solves the synthetic droning problem.