Considering an IS300H

muppet99 · August 13, 2022

Hello!

I am considering the purchase of an IS300H. My budget around £25k.

Also on the shortlist are the usual suspects (C class, A4 etc).

I have test driven an IS twice at Lexus Reading and the service so far has been great. Accomodating and prepared to tolerate my questions without issue. Same cannot be said for some of the German dealerships.

I currently drive an old Golf and want to upgrade to something decent with some unexpected spare funds. Previously mainly a BMW owner.

My problem (if that is what it is) is that in a lot of respects I prefer the infotainment in an Audi or Merc - it feels a lot more intuitive and less fiddly than that of the Lexus.

Like most my main draw to the Lexus is the reliability rep and the high quality materials used. That said I've never had any serious issues with any car I have owned in the past. I am quite meticulous in choosing a good car then find if one maintains it at or above manufacturer spec, and drive it with care then the odds will be stacked in your favour.

Would any previous BMW/Audi/Merc owners care to comment on their mid/long term ownership experience with an IS?

Is there a noticable difference between the Levinson audio and the stock audio?

Is the paint a noticably better quality on a Lexus?

With a budget of £25k would you pick a well specced higher mileage, or lower spec lower mileage? I am not too fussy about spec as even the base trim seems to be equipped with most of the goodies I would want (heated/ventilated seats, reverse cam) but could use blind spot assist.

Thanks guys.

Tim.

ikeja · August 13, 2022

From what I have read the IS infotainment system is not as good as other makes. However, I would not buy a car just for its infotainment system.

Colinb623 · August 13, 2022

Had an Audi sline A6 for 5 years and made the switch to an is300h Fsport at the beginning of this year .

Build quality wise , I'd have the Audi slightly ahead . My is300h is a fresh car and has some creaks from dash and slight wind noise from windows when at speed.

Reliability wise , the Lexus is street's ahead .the first 6 months of owning the audi broke my heart . Only for a good warranty with the dealer, I would have been out of pockets a huge amount. After all had been fixed , the audi was a great car . But as I said , I'd have more faith in the lexus .

Comfort , even though the audi was am sline with 20inch alloys and a hard suspension, I think it was a more comfortable car than the lexus .

Driving experience, the lexus to me is a very nice place to be .Long journeys are a delight and the fact that it's a smaller car than my old audi, means it's easier to park, manoeuvre etc.

Running costs , the lexus is a petrol, the audi was a diseal. Enough said . I went with the is300h as I only drive my car at the weekend, I have a company vechile for during the week . Service costs seem about the same aswell.

Overall I honestly think the is300h is a great buy for anyone seeking Reliability, comfort on long journeys and a good driving experience. Also there is literally thousands of Audis and BMW on the road these days . The lexus to me is a bit unique

cdmaskell · August 13, 2022

This is purely a personal opinion. Have you thought an ES 300h. I had an IS in 2015. Splendid and looks great. In 2019 I purchased my ES. It was far superior, suspension, noise, and fuel consumption. Remember the IS is no longer available in UK. I am on my 3rd ES and love it. If the size isn’t a problem, maybe worth a test drive. All the best in your purchase.

Linas.P · August 13, 2022

1 hour ago, muppet99 said:

Hello!

I am considering the purchase of an IS300H. My budget around £25k.

Also on the shortlist are the usual suspects (C class, A4 etc).

I have test driven an IS twice at Lexus Reading and the service so far has been great. Accomodating and prepared to tolerate my questions without issue. Same cannot be said for some of the German dealerships.

I currently drive an old Golf and want to upgrade to something decent with some unexpected spare funds. Previously mainly a BMW owner.

My problem (if that is what it is) is that in a lot of respects I prefer the infotainment in an Audi or Merc - it feels a lot more intuitive and less fiddly than that of the Lexus.

Like most my main draw to the Lexus is the reliability rep and the high quality materials used. That said I've never had any serious issues with any car I have owned in the past. I am quite meticulous in choosing a good car then find if one maintains it at or above manufacturer spec, and drive it with care then the odds will be stacked in your favour.

Would any previous BMW/Audi/Merc owners care to comment on their mid/long term ownership experience with an IS?

Is there a noticable difference between the Levinson audio and the stock audio?

Is the paint a noticably better quality on a Lexus?

With a budget of £25k would you pick a well specced higher mileage, or lower spec lower mileage? I am not too fussy about spec as even the base trim seems to be equipped with most of the goodies I would want (heated/ventilated seats, reverse cam) but could use blind spot assist.

£25k is A LOT for IS300h, I would say it is bad time to buy the nicest and best example of IS300h (which is end of life model), because the best examples will be the ones to get most drastic depreciation. I assume you specifically looking at 2018+ facelift version which is well specced at that price. If you still want to spend that much, then perhaps better option is GS300h or even 450h, both of which are even better, but obviously larger (like BMW 5 series size). So I would say £15-18k could buy you very nice IS300h if you willing to shop around and wait for right car to become available.

Infotainment on IS pre-facelift is honestly quite horrible, slow, counter-intuitive controls etc. But nowadays you can get upgrade to wide-screen android unit (10.25") for £300 which looks like facelift but is actually better system all around, faster, easier to navigate, has android auto and apple car play etc. So that is really not an issue, but original units are quite bad in terms of interface.

The reliability is great, nothing to worry about and nothing to to go wrong. As long as it was maintained! mileage more or less don't matter, what matters is maintenance. When it comes to Lexus Reading make sure you have everything in writing with them (personal experience), they do sort of things, but only if you have agreed them in writing, otherwise condition of my cars was quite poor.

I owned few BMW/Mercs but mostly last gen, so my comparison is more with IS mk2, not mk3, but in principle BMW is usually faster and better handling car for comparable price, but less comfortable and less well equipped, MB is more comfortable, but rather poorly put together and handles poorly in comparison. Lexus obviously better built than both, more reliable, but it is slower.

There is massive difference between Standard and Premium, but small difference from Premium and Mark Levinson systems. Standard system is criminally bad, like literally unacceptably bad to be fitted to any car, but especially luxury car. Premium system is decent, nothing wrong with it and Mark Levinson is marginally better than Premium. Mark Levinson has more clarity Premium has more base and I would say more suitable for say pop-songs, Mark Levinson would really excel if you listening to orchestra from good source. In short they are both good, just avoid standard system like a plague.

Paint on Lexus isn't better quality, it could be argued it is worse quality. BMW/Audi simply has hard pain, Mercs medium to hard and Lexus has very soft paint. Very soft paint means it is easy to scratch and harder to get good finish when detailing. So it isn't bad paint, but it is easier to scratch and harder to maintain.

I would always go for higher miles and better spec. model, in particular F-Sport would be must for me if I would go for IS mk3, at least premium audio, leather - the rest of the option don't matter as F-sport has most toys anyway. Other trims not so important and none of them get's LF-A dials which is must in my opinion. But for the price you willing to pay, you should be able to get very best cars on sale. As well buying from dealer add very little value, so I would be quite happy to buy from independent dealers or even privately. After all Lexus warranty the cars up-to 100k miles/ 10 years as long as you service car with them. Again I would probably pick pre-facelift car for £10k less and not worry about depreciation for few years, even if it is going to depreciate will will be maybe £3k over 5 years, the facelift cars which are now 30k can easily lose 50% of their value in next 5 years, they are just massively overpriced for what they are. I guess the only benefit of getting facelift is LSS+, but is it worth paying £10k extra for that? I doubt it. But again if I go for facelift, I would get car with best spec, with highest mileage and for lowest price. You can get facelift F-Sport for ~£18k with 50-60k miles and still have 5 years/50k miles of warranty left, so really no need to spend £25k.

Randomizer · August 13, 2022

5 hours ago, Colinb623 said:

Had an Audi sline A6 for 5 years and made the switch to an is300h Fsport at the beginning of this year .

Build quality wise , I'd have the Audi slightly ahead . My is300h is a fresh car and has some creaks from dash and slight wind noise from windows when at speed.

Reliability wise , the Lexus is street's ahead .the first 6 months of owning the audi broke my heart . Only for a good warranty with the dealer, I would have been out of pockets a huge amount. After all had been fixed , the audi was a great car . But as I said , I'd have more faith in the lexus .

Comfort , even though the audi was am sline with 20inch alloys and a hard suspension, I think it was a more comfortable car than the lexus .

Driving experience, the lexus to me is a very nice place to be .Long journeys are a delight and the fact that it's a smaller car than my old audi, means it's easier to park, manoeuvre etc.

Running costs , the lexus is a petrol, the audi was a diseal. Enough said . I went with the is300h as I only drive my car at the weekend, I have a company vechile for during the week . Service costs seem about the same aswell.

Overall I honestly think the is300h is a great buy for anyone seeking Reliability, comfort on long journeys and a good driving experience. Also there is literally thousands of Audis and BMW on the road these days . The lexus to me is a bit unique

I think it's bit unfair to compare IS to A6 since they are different segment. IS is comparable to A4, C-class and BMW 3-series, ES and GS is more comparable to A6. At least A4 and 3-series are not so refined/comfortable(though a lot more sportier) to drive than IS. The base models are crap on Germans, you need to buy a lot more to get comparable quality and equipment on those cars.

Linas.P · August 13, 2022

51 minutes ago, Randomizer said:

I think it's bit unfair to compare IS to A6 since they are different segment.

Indeed, A6 would be equivalent to GS which is more luxurious, better built and more comfortable car.

As well it is true that base Audi, BMW and MB are really really basic, to be honest same is true with base IS. However, what is different is that when you get to F-Sport or Premier IS comes almost fully loaded with very few options even possible, whereas on German cars it is still possible to drop another £15k for basic things. Like for example even something so basic like folding and electric rear view mirrors are optional.

westo3 · August 13, 2022

I and the same budget as you three years ago, set my heart on an IS300 but had a test drive of a GS300 as well. I must have had about six test drives back to back and could not get away from the fact that the GS drove and felt so much better even though I wanted a slightly smaller car and one where the back seats folded! Now I have no regrets buying the GS.

Linas.P · August 13, 2022

That is indeed a compromise. GS is really step above IS in all possible ways, but handling, GS450h as well offers fast car which is truly lacking in IS range in UK. But... folding seats are massive when it comes to practicality. I had RC with folding seats and I was able to fit 2 full size bikes in it and pretty much any size luggage ever needed, not something you can do in GS, if back seats are not folding then it really limits practicality. And GS isn't as well handling car as IS, it is less "sporty", but more comfortable. It is important what you actually need from the car, if you don't need folding seats and you are ok with larger car then GS is better car.

muppet99 · August 13, 2022

Guys I'm really grateful for the time taken to reply. Much food for thought. It's probably not a great idea to spend £25k on an IS. I'm not keen on the looks of a GS (superficial but somewhat important to me) and an ES can't be had for £25k or less, it seems. More thinking to do but again grateful for the information thus far.

Linas.P · August 13, 2022

7 minutes ago, muppet99 said:

Guys I'm really grateful for the time taken to reply. Much food for thought. It's probably not a great idea to spend £25k on an IS. I'm not keen on the looks of a GS (superficial but somewhat important to me) and an ES can't be had for £25k or less, it seems. More thinking to do but again grateful for the information thus far.

ES as well worse materials and build quality than both GS and IS and worse "drivers car" being FWD. It is certainly nice Toyota, but not replacement for GS.

If you just compare IS to BMW, MB, Audi, then it is indeed more special and higher trims are better equipped and more special place to be in e.g. basic BMW 3-Series is really drab and basic inside, IS still feels a little bit more special. But it is not like magical car. Likewise you will get 90% there for £15k, so why spend £25k for last 10%.

Bounce75 · August 13, 2022

I purchased an IS300h about 18 months ago for a similar price that you are talking about, it was 3 month old with 6 miles on the clock.

I have loved every minute of owning & driving it & intend to keep it for quite a while.I went for the comfort package with protection pack & it has everything I want on a car.

The stereo sounds good to me, but I only listen to Virgin radio on DAB.I am getting between 50 & 60 mpg, but again I am not a speed freak.😀

I would say go & test drive one & make up your own mind, I came from a Volvo.

stecko · August 15, 2022

I was watching the market for at least 6 months. There is no chance to find low mileage facelift Is300h premier/takumi for £15-18k. Nice examples are priced ~£25k. I now this is a lot for IS but in this crazy times there is no other option. ES300h is close to £30k and is fwd. Gs450h facelift model £30k. I'm talking about cars from main dealer with good start package( warranty, fresh service, brakedown cover etc). I was after gs450h but at the end I bought premier is300h. Nice, comfortable car, more practical than gs (folding seats).

muppet99 · August 15, 2022

@Stecko thanks for reply... which car did you drive previously, and how much did you pay for your IS?

stecko · August 15, 2022

I had volvo s60 d5 and lexus rx350.

My is sonic titanium with lovely shine wheels. As a package from lexus I have : fresh refurb wheels, new michelin tyres, fresh 6yrs/60000k miles service, fresh mot, a year warranty, a year breakdown cover. I paid £24995 (minus trade my old car which they offered me reasonable price) Car is from november 2017.

I now is a lot but £££ but at least there is some "welcome package"

Kelvin1950 · August 17, 2022

I bought my IS about 15 months ago from Reading Lexus. It’s bee in for a service & MOT and their service is good. Love the car, the infotainment system is a PITA! You’ll get the hang of it eventually, took me about 3 weeks.

Bootleg · August 24, 2022

Hi. I followed the same path from a VW Golf 3 years ago, via test drives of the usual German suspects, until my brother who has run a RX450H for 12+ years suggested I try Lexus. The RX was not my preference, but the IS300H caught my eye so I had one for a 24 hour test. The customer service I experienced from Lexus Bristol was way above what the unhelpful Audi/BMW/Merc showrooms were giving (in all honesty, it was virtually zero). Been running a Premium IS300H happily ever since. I will point out that the auxiliary Battery can be a gotcha if you don't run your car for a while. Plenty on here about that, especially during the pandemic.

ThomasLexus94 · August 30, 2022

Hey there,

Late to the convo, I went from a series of BMWs (1,3 coupe and Z4) and the Lexus cars are typically smoother to drive and have better spec. (especially if you go for a premium or Takumi model). The IS 300h doesn't drive as well as a BMW 3 and it does feel tinnier compared to the 3 German cars when you close the door. Merc C class is plastic fantastic and I don't think its worth your money.
The Lexus is reliable but it can be very expensive to service (as there aren't many specialists and the dealerships are £400-800 depending on service interval). My BMWs were all serviced under £400 (various mileages).

My mum had a 2018 A4 SE tdi that was well built, quiet but it was a manual and had very little spec (no heated seats or leather). She went into a 2019 IS 300h premium the following year.

In short the IS has decent spec vs typical Germans, hybrid powertrain that is quite efficient and good customer service. The cons would be limited/ no engine options, a noisier cabin and tighter rear legroom (& the infotainment as mentioned is a learning curve)

I hope this helps.

HoofHearted · August 31, 2022

Not sure if you’re still on the fence but got a used IS300h f sport recently and I’m over the moon with it.

the amount of people that comment on it and how sharp it looks is unreal. Inside it certainly doesn’t feel like a used car. Very refined and luxurious. Can run it on 30 quid a week and the road tax is a tenner for the year.

had an IS250 before hand and while I miss the noise of the v6 and the six speed gearbox the IS300h isn’t sluggish itself.

hope you get sorted and if you’ve got any questions ping me a message.