First 1000 miles

[Micholas]

Hi guys, I'm new to IS250's but not new to the forum. I was an LPG LS430 owner for a number of years until the road Gods decided to take him away. I toyed with the idea of getting an GS460h but at the time I was looking they were all a bit worn and tired... So I settled on a one owner IS250 SE-L 2009 with 80K miles. Not much history but I'm putting that down to the previous owner being careless with his paperwork rather than it not being looked after. Do these cars have service books? I only have a handful of Lexus invoices. To tidy the car up I've had the headlights and the front two wheels refurbished. I've also put 4 new Goodyears on as the existing tyres were budgets, mixed treads and dated 2021. And I fitted a good second hand steering wheel as the original was a bit worn. I am planning to imminently carry out a full service inc sparks, gearbox and diff. 

So my impressions after the first 1000 miles. The car handles very well as I expected, it's not super fast but it's more than adequate for civilian driving like me. The engine does sound a bit tapety from the outside which I feel I may need to investigate. My LS430 was extremely quiet, and although from the inside the 250 is silent, if you're outside the car it's not as quiet as I would expect. Is this normal? I'm assuming this isn't the type of engine to have a bottom end go or something! The gearbox is also a bit clunky at times. When I'm at a junction and I pull off quickly it does hesitate before shooting off. I've heard the adaptations can need changing or adapting to your driving style and the car learns in time once the Battery has been discharged. 

I guess my only other qualm with the car is the economy, I remember in years gone by thinking 32mpg was quite efficient, but I guess in modern times with the extortionate price of fuel, it's not! I've been driving very carefully and my OBC is showing 34mpg but calculating in real time I'm getting 32.2mpg. This is working out at about a full tank in just over a week for me. I probably need to cut down on the miles!! But I do dread to think what economy I'd get if I drove it with my foot a bit more down around town. I can't be the only one noticing how quickly that fuel gauge goes down! 

Other than that I'm very impressed with the car, it's certainly aged well compared to a BMW E90, E60 etc. The shape is very modern and you'd be pushed to find these creature comforts in a modern base car. Just not quite sure if she's a keeper yet though! I like to keep cars for a good few years, but this might go after a year or two. I guess time will tell. 

 

 

 

[T man 545645]

Its strange how that wheel had worn so much, maybe the previous owner wore a lot of hand jewelry?

My 2006 IS250 has a traditional service book but there are not enough pages to stamp it after 17 years. 

[Micholas]

14 minutes ago, T man 545645 said:

Its strange how that wheel had worn so much, maybe the previous owner wore a lot of hand jewelry?

My 2006 IS250 has a traditional service book but there are not enough pages to stamp it after 17 years. 

Funnily enough when I was looking for a good used one, it was very hard to find one that didn't have that leather wear. I've not really seen that in other brands. After about 40 battered steering wheels I found one that was respectable for £60. 

[true blue]

Hi glad you are pleased with your new purchase I think the car stands up well if regularly maintained.I have had mine 11 years and I don't know what I would replace it with .The cars come with a book to stamp if you have some Lexus invoices they may be able to supply history or part history off their computer especially if you are considering spark plug change which is expensive but should have been done around 60000 miles so you may not need it.With regard to petrol consumption I achieve 32 in summer 27 in winter ,much better on long motorway runs ( 40 on French touring holiday .) The engine noise may be engine oil related I would replace the oil and filter ,I use shell fully synthetic never any problem .There is a lot of excellent information on here especially if you do your own maintaining with advice on rear callipers  which are a common problem .If you change the filter do not attempt to remove the housing without the correct tool Enjoy the car and any problems just ask

Dave

 

[Linas.P]

3 hours ago, Micholas said:

The engine does sound a bit tapety from the outside which I feel I may need to investigate. Is this normal?

I guess my only other qualm with the car is the economy, I remember in years gone by thinking 32mpg was quite efficient, but I guess in modern times with the extortionate price of fuel, it's not! I've been driving very carefully and my OBC is showing 34mpg but calculating in real time I'm getting 32.2mpg.

 

First of all - congrats! That is great choice! It is indeed not the fastest, but perfectly adequate for everyday use and indeed aged great, everyone is surprised when the look at number plate realise it is nearly 20 year old car and asks "is this private plate or what"... they just can't believe mine is 55 plate. 

The 4GR-FSE (the one in your car) is direct injection engine and this is just how it sounds, "little bit like a diesel from outside"... this is totally normal and most importantly can't be heard from inside. Nothing to investigate there.

32MPG is decent... I am long term averaging ~28MPG (so let's call that mixed), the worst was closer to 22MPG, but it was on very high miles car with suspected issues with o2/lambda sensor (basically running rich). Otherwise for city it is like 26MPG, for motorway about 44MPG, but when being careful and not driving overly fast (say 70 MPH indicated ~66  MPH actual) it goes even as high as 50MPG. For 2.5L V6 without any fancy hybrid system it is very good.

I have never changed the diff oil, and I never had any issues with them.. had many IS250s, one done over 200k miles and nothing had ever been done with diff. Gearbox another matter... around 180k miles I started getting solenoid performance errors (related with ATF being dirty basically), so your car being lower miles I would recommend doing gearbox fluid change at least every 60k miles. 

Also big topic on these engines are oil burning, generally starts past 120k on cars witch had "extended" service intervals or irregular maintenance. Second issue is VVTi rattle, which also plagues higher mileage cars latter into the service cycle, basically once oil been in the car for over 6k miles. So in my experience it is best to change oil every 6k miles to keep it in best possible condition, these engines really likes fresh oil.

Apart of that these cars really don't have any major issues, just regular maintenance required, oil, filter, tyres, greasing brake callipers (as those then to get stuck if not cleaned/greased) and not much else. 

P.S. - set on new premium tyres is much appreciated from fellow motorist... I just can't understand how people put themselves and everyone around them at risk for few £ worth of rubber, the same rubber that is the only thing holding the car on the road... and drive on odd, differently worn and mixed tyres... should be illegal. Also Goodyear is great choice when it comes value for money, so it seems you know what you doing there. Keep it up!

 

[Micholas]

4 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

First of all - congrats! That is great choice! It is indeed not the fastest, but perfectly adequate for everyday use and indeed aged great, everyone is surprised when the look at number plate realise it is nearly 20 year old car and asks "is this private plate or what"... they just can't believe mine is 55 plate. 

The 4GR-FSE (the one in your car) is direct injection engine and this is just how it sounds, "little bit like a diesel from outside"... this is totally normal and most importantly can't be heard from inside. Nothing to investigate there.

32MPG is decent... I am long term averaging ~28MPG (so let's call that mixed), the worst was closer to 22MPG, but it was on very high miles car with suspected issues with o2/lambda sensor (basically running rich). Otherwise for city it is like 26MPG, for motorway about 44MPG, but when being careful and not driving overly fast (say 70 MPH indicated ~66  MPH actual) it goes even as high as 50MPG. For 2.5L V6 without any fancy hybrid system it is very good.

I have never changed the diff oil, and I never had any issues with them.. had many IS250s, one done over 200k miles and nothing had ever been done with diff. Gearbox another matter... around 180k miles I started getting solenoid performance errors (related with ATF being dirty basically), so your car being lower miles I would recommend doing gearbox fluid change at least every 60k miles. 

Also big topic on these engines are oil burning, generally starts past 120k on cars witch had "extended" service intervals or irregular maintenance. Second issue is VVTi rattle, which also plagues higher mileage cars latter into the service cycle, basically once oil been in the car for over 6k miles. So in my experience it is best to change oil every 6k miles to keep it in best possible condition, these engines really likes fresh oil.

Apart of that these cars really don't have any major issues, just regular maintenance required, oil, filter, tyres, greasing brake callipers (as those then to get stuck if not cleaned/greased) and not much else. 

P.S. - set on new premium tyres is much appreciated from fellow motorist... I just can't understand how people put themselves and everyone around them at risk for few £ worth of rubber, the same rubber that is the only thing holding the car on the road... and drive on odd, differently worn and mixed tyres... should be illegal. Also Goodyear is great choice when it comes value for money, so it seems you know what you doing there. Keep it up!

 

Thanks @Linas.P great to hear that the noise is normal. This was one thing where I thought big end bearing shells might be going or something. Yes I always thought 32mpg was pretty good going, I just forgot how expensive it was since I've been using LPG! Interesting about the diff and gearbox oils. These are pretty easy and quick jobs so I'll just do them. I know a lot of Lexus owners don't like to disturb things in older auto gearboxes but I've never really bought in to that. With the tyres this is something I do every time I get a new car! You can tell a lot about a person by the tyres on their car 😀

[Linas.P]

54 minutes ago, Micholas said:

Thanks @Linas.P great to hear that the noise is normal. This was one thing where I thought big end bearing shells might be going or something. Yes I always thought 32mpg was pretty good going, I just forgot how expensive it was since I've been using LPG! Interesting about the diff and gearbox oils. These are pretty easy and quick jobs so I'll just do them. I know a lot of Lexus owners don't like to disturb things in older auto gearboxes but I've never really bought in to that. With the tyres this is something I do every time I get a new car! You can tell a lot about a person by the tyres on their car 😀

The theory is that once the auto box is past certain age/mileage and still going... it is better leave it at that. It is hard to tell when that is, but good range would be about 100k and then 60k miles after that (also depends on what sort of driving it as doing, but generally it is impossible to tell). However, if nothing was done until say 140k... then it is better not to risk it, as more often than not people start having issues after trying to do good for their cars. 

Agree on diff-oil - easy change, not much to it, but also they are just simple open diffs and as far as I know never fail, even without any maintenance. From all IS, only IS-F diffs fails, but that is 470 HP car with LSD, all other trims never fail... unless somebody does something stupid like drains diff oil and forgets to put it back, or puts wrong grade, or wrong amount.

As for tyres, I am 100% agree with you... before it was even "red flag" for me, if the car comes with 4 odd tyres, all different brands and different levels of wear... shows that person didn't care, or did not understood what matters and how to care for car. Sadly, in UK it is so common, that nowadays it is quite hard to judge... where I am from originally it is illegal (not only to have different size/type, but even just different brand tyres on same axle is instant MOT fail, even as much as having same tyres, but one new, one old could be deemed fail if the thread wear is significantly different) so much rarer occurrence. What strikes me most, that even on relatively new and very expensive cars... something costing like £60k one can find all sorts of chinesium fast-crash 3000 ditchfinders and I just can't understand how saving say £40 per 20k+ miles wear item makes any sense. That is before we even start calculating that premium tyre probably going to last twice as long, so possibly works out cheaper per mile than "budget" ones. 

[J Henderson]

5 hours ago, Micholas said:

The gearbox is also a bit clunky at times. When I'm at a junction and I pull off quickly it does hesitate before shooting off. I've heard the adaptations can need changing or adapting to your driving style and the car learns in time once the battery has been discharged.

If you haven't already, try using the PWR ECT SNOW switch in the PWR position. It sharpens up the throttle response and the gearbox will hang on to gears a bit longer before shifting up.

The effect on fuel economy will be marginal IMO. I leave the car in PWR mode all-year round, and always have done as I prefer the sharper throttle. My dashboard MPG reading is a constant 32.X, which is averaged out since the last time the Battery was disconnected, which was about 3 or 4 years ago.

Yes, the car should definitely have a service book. Its pretty thin and stored in the leather wallet, if you have it. Since you have the nav unit, your car would've originally come with 2 owners manuals, with one being solely for the multimedia system.

Nice looking car, BTW 👍

[Micholas]

2 hours ago, Linas.P said:

As for tyres, I am 100% agree with you... before it was even "red flag" for me, if the car comes with 4 odd tyres, all different brands and different levels of wear... shows that person didn't care, or did not understood what matters and how to care for car. Sadly, in UK it is so common, that nowadays it is quite hard to judge... where I am from originally it is illegal (not only to have different size/type, but even just different brand tyres on same axle is instant MOT fail, even as much as having same tyres, but one new, one old could be deemed fail if the thread wear is significantly different) so much rarer occurrence. What strikes me most, that even on relatively new and very expensive cars... something costing like £60k one can find all sorts of chinesium fast-crash 3000 ditchfinders and I just can't understand how saving say £40 per 20k+ miles wear item makes any sense. That is before we even start calculating that premium tyre probably going to last twice as long, so possibly works out cheaper per mile than "budget" ones. 

I do find it crazy, but then I have a lot of friends who are not car enthusiasts who really don’t care about tyres. Not that they’re particularly cheap people, but they’re disinterested. So they won’t do anything until they’re told. They won’t service until it prompts them, they won’t change a tyre until it blows or is advised on a service/MOT, and then they’ll take whatever the tyre shop has in stock. Before you know it you’ve got 4 different brands and tread depths on every wheel. 

[Micholas]

1 hour ago, J Henderson said:

If you haven't already, try using the PWR ECT SNOW switch in the PWR position. It sharpens up the throttle response and the gearbox will hang on to gears a bit longer before shifting up.

The effect on fuel economy will be marginal IMO. I leave the car in PWR mode all-year round, and always have done as I prefer the sharper throttle. My dashboard MPG reading is a constant 32.X, which is averaged out since the last time the battery was disconnected, which was about 3 or 4 years ago.

Yes, the car should definitely have a service book. Its pretty thin and stored in the leather wallet, if you have it. Since you have the nav unit, your car would've originally come with 2 owners manuals, with one being solely for the multimedia system.

Nice looking car, BTW 👍

Interesting! I’ll give the PWR button a go in the morning.
I’ve got all the books, and there seems to be a lot of them! but couldn’t find the service book just about servicing lol.. I’ll probably buy a new one and start a fresh! Thanks pal 

[Micholas]

A brief update. I've kind of got one foot out the door with this car now. I think it's the fuel consumption more than anything. We relocated to the countryside a year or so ago, so we have to drive everywhere to do anything, and the fuel costs are getting a lot higher than what I'm used to. I'm getting to the stage where I'm turning down social events because I don't want to do nearly a quarter of a tank driving there and back 😪 (violins please). This week I filled up on Saturday night and said I will only use to drive it to work and back during the week, we're now at Friday and I've got just under a quarter left, which means I'll have to fill it up again on Sunday. You guys who do everything within a 10 mile radius are lucky boys!

Seems like such a great car if you want to put your foot down and not care, but unfortunately I'm scared to do it! So I drive like a grandad instead. I'm also now hesitant to spend the money that I had planned (rear wheel refurb etc.) as I don't see it as a keeper. 

My original plan was a for a phase 3 GS450h, but I just couldn't find one that wasn't tatty with low enough miles. Starting to think I should have held out for longer, even if it took a year. 

What's everyone's thoughts? Should I persevere with the IS or call it quits?

[H3XME]

Your MPGs will improve noticeably if you lose the standard 255 rear tyres. Absolutely no need for them. 225 or 235 on the back at most. It will also improve the drivability of the car. It's so dull with 255s. 

[J Henderson]

Unless the journeys you're doing are mostly urban stop/start stuff, a GS450h wouldn't be dramatically much better on fuel.

Comparing official combined average figures, the difference would be about 5-8mpg, which sounds quite sizable at first, but there's literally no difference at all when doing mostly motorway/A road journeys.

You would need to be looking at one of the newer 300h models (either IS or GS), or a CT200h to see significantly lower fuel bills.

 

[Linas.P]

5 hours ago, J Henderson said:

You would need to be looking at one of the newer 300h models (either IS or GS), or a CT200h to see significantly lower fuel bills.

Even then biggest saving for all of them will be in the city, on motorway they are slightly better, but that is about it - slightly.

Sure - it also depends on the speed, if one can stay under 60MPH, they can achieve very good economy. But for example at my normal driving speed (80MPH) IS250 already does 44MPG... how much better will 300h be? At 80MPG it may actually be worse, or just about the same. Even at 70MPH... let say it does 48MPG... that is negligible difference. Yes... admittedly I do not consider anything apart of Premier and F-Sport even worth looking at... and with 18" wheels and 255 width in the rear they don't shine on fuel economy. Some poverty line "executive" with 225" all around maybe going to do 52MPG. Sure - that is better, but it is not day an night difference. 

12 hours ago, Micholas said:

unfortunately I'm scared to do it!

I am really surprised and just can't see the logic in it - fuel is such a minor expense. Tiny fraction compared to everything else.

Many cars require £1,000 just for basic repairs every year + servicing. Insurance costs arm and a leg... and it is fuel cost that you are afraid off? What sort of MPG car has to do not to be scary then? I don't know what is your annual mileage, but British average is now down to ~6,800, let's just say in country side you do much more - 10,000 miles. The difference between IS300h and IS250 just on fuel will be few 100s... per year! £376 to be precise... that is £31 a month... Is £31 really so much money that you are afraid to drive your car?!

It is not my money and I don't know your financial situation... and I am not making fun of you... but is it really that expensive to refuel it? What sort of MPG you getting, what sort of mileage you are doing? I just can't believe £31/month could make such difference.

Also what about road tax then, because say IS300h will be £400 cheaper to tax every year... and if £376 is big amount, then how comes taxing it doesn't take priority?

GS450h would not be much more economical, it is much more powerful and faster car... Maybe there are some circumstances... like city driving where it does better, but average will be the same and with potential to be much more... if you put foot down then it can be much more. More horsepower = more fuel burned, there is not way around it, hybrid helps, but it doesn't help that much.

I guess maybe it is a matter of perspective? I guess if you came to it from 2L diesel, then I can sort of see where you coming from... when you go from 680 miles per tank to 380 miles per tank it may feel "scary" at first... but since you came from LS430... I assume IS250 does better not worse? I sort of had that with RC200t, because in IS250 I used to go to seaside and back on half a tank ~240 miles. When I got RC200t, often I could not even make it back without refuelling... it was not so much the price that scared me, but the range was just limiting factor... and secondly the issue for me was that performance didn't reflect the consumption... if it was 5L V8 car where you press accelerator and it puts smile on your face, then maybe 18MPG is acceptable. But for car that was basically just normal car, not much faster than IS250 and which felt actually slower (due to turbo lag) it just didn't make sense. Because burning fuel could be fun, if you get V8 growl, pops bangs and all the rest from exhaust, then it is much like shooting £1000 fireworks into the sky during new years!

Just really can't see how coming from LS430 to IS250, it is the fuel consumption that is the main issue? Or was your expectations that it will be extremely economical? Or is it maybe price per litter that gives you that effect (as I assume LPG looks cheaper when filling)?

I may be wrong, but in short I believe this will be some sort of subjective feeling, like "reverse-placebo"... something has changes and it gives an impression that car is very thirsty... either that it has smaller tank and therefore range, or perhaps unit price of petrol vs. LPG, or maybe simply as you said - you moved out and now driving a lot more, so whereas previously tank would last a month, now you need to refill every week. But otherwise - IS250 is certainly big saving over LS430 in that aspect, so it is just surprising to hear that out of all things, this is the thing that concerns you... would it be lack of V8... I would totally understand... or perhaps smoothness and quietness of LS. But fuel consumption?!

[Micholas]

27 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

I may be wrong, but in short I believe this will be some sort of subjective feeling, like "reverse-placebo"... something has changes and it gives an impression that car is very thirsty... either that it has smaller tank and therefore range, or perhaps unit price of petrol vs. LPG, or maybe simply as you said - you moved out and now driving a lot more, so whereas previously tank would last a month, now you need to refill every week. But otherwise - IS250 is certainly big saving over LS430 in that aspect, so it is just surprising to hear that out of all things, this is the thing that concerns you... would it be lack of V8... I would totally understand... or perhaps smoothness and quietness of LS. But fuel consumption?!

Okay there’s a lot for me to digest here 😃

So the LS430 was an LPG conversion and cost me 70-90p per litre depending on where I fuelled. So even though it only did 25ish mpg (the same as using unleaded). It was cheap driving. A few years before this I had a 5 series which I was getting 30ish MPG, but we’re talking 2019 maybe. And I remember the 65 litre tank lasting me a while. I mean it’s all incomparable because I’m not in London anymore so my driving is different and fuel was cheaper then.

I went into this IS250 thinking 32mpg, that’s not too bad. It’s not like a 20mpg 7 series.. but I guess it kind of irks me to spend £80 a week on petrol and still be conservative about my driving. If i actually drove it like I should and when I should I’d be doing a tank every 5 days. 

For reference, I’m not doing city driving or  motorway. I’m in between doing most of my journey at around 35-40 mph on A-roads, and averaging 31.26mpg (my calculation, not through the cluster).

In a nutshell.. I know this car isn’t a gas guzzler like an Subaru Impreza or a V12. Just not sure if it’s right for the amount of miles I do a week (approx 380-400). 

I’m asking for feedback because I might be stuck in my LPG dreamland, and actually this is what everyone’s paying and doing, I’ve just been spoilt. 

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, Micholas said:

Okay there’s a lot for me to digest here 😃

So the LS430 was an LPG conversion and cost me 70-90p per litre depending on where I fuelled. So even though it only did 25ish mpg (the same as using unleaded). It was cheap driving. A few years before this I had a 5 series which I was getting 30ish MPG, but we’re talking 2019 maybe. And I remember the 65 litre tank lasting me a while. I mean it’s all incomparable because I’m not in London anymore so my driving is different and fuel was cheaper then.

I went into this IS250 thinking 32mpg, that’s not too bad. It’s not like a 20mpg 7 series.. but I guess it kind of irks me to spend £80 a week on petrol and still be conservative about my driving. If i actually drove it like I should and when I should I’d be doing a tank every 5 days. 

For reference, I’m not doing city driving or  motorway. I’m in between doing most of my journey at around 35-40 mph on A-roads, and averaging 31.26mpg (my calculation, not through the cluster).

In a nutshell.. I know this car isn’t a gas guzzler like an Subaru Impreza or a V12. Just not sure if it’s right for the amount of miles I do a week (approx 380-400). 

I’m asking for feedback because I might be stuck in my LPG dreamland, and actually this is what everyone’s paying and doing, I’ve just been spoilt. 

I think the part you quoted was the only important part of my post, so well done for ignoring the rest of the padding!

That is basically what I am saying... You never needed to put full tank of petrol per week, hence it feels "wrong", but that is what everyone is doing.

At one point you had LPG and presumably small tank as well, so it was like £25 once in a while. However, if you had to do as much driving in LS430, then you would hate to fill the gas tank every other day even more, or would have to drive more on petrol at which point it would not be 32MPG, it would be 25MPG (probably even less).

30MPG BMW when the fuel was cheap and you drove a little, but at same mileage you would have same issue.

And now you have 30MPG Lexus, but you drive a lot, 400 miles a week is a lot. 

That said based on your driving, hybrid would be perfect for you, at such speeds (up-to 60MPH), you probably will do 50MPG in IS300h. It is only 60MPH+ where they start to suffer a little bit. And A-Roads are also good, because of regen braking etc. Basically, what wastes fuel is really not accelerating, it is braking that literally converts momentum into wasted heat, so when you can capture it in hybrid system it feels in the economy.

In short yes - you just drive a lot more now than you used to drive + fuel is more expensive than it used to be + you are using petrol now and you feeling that at the pump. That is just the reality we are living in.

It also works in reverse, I remember driving to work in London 4 days a week, later 3 days, but still it was decent mileage, I was doing like 12,000 miles a year... then covid hit... and I remember basically looking at V8s and thinking .... "shaite with my current mileage of like 1000 miles a year, I could not care less even if the car did 10 MPG!" That is literally what my mate did - during covid he got himself classic SEC560... it wasn't an issue that it was doing like 12MPG, 16MPG in a good day.... but covid ended and now he drives 2L Diesel Jaguar F-Pace.

I also have unusual mileage recently, long story, but basically I need to drive from London to Birmingham (actually past Birmingham)... like once a week. It is something like 185 miles one way... and in GS300 my range is ~400miles on motorway (~34MPG), so it is full tank to go there and back. And it does suck, but I know this is not my normal drive and if I had to regularly do it, then I would not drive GS300. I probably can increase that MPG somewhat... if I could bother to replace exhaust (it has few small holes and as result car runs little bit rich) and maybe put better tyres on it, it could probably do 38MPG (but this is pure motorway, best case scenario). However, I have different perspective on that... now I am driving in comfortable, luxurious, air conditioned car, listening to my music, it smells nice etc. and I get there in 2.5h... what is my alternative... cramped stinky train, which get's cancelled every other day? And that would take me 3 hours... and as it is isn't in Birmingham I probably would still need to pay £20 for uber... and I also need to bring some tools with me... and train ticket is like £100 now (I guess it is possible to get it cheaper if booking in advance and taking some antisocial hours trip). So the way I see it - putting £80 worth of petrol per trip saves me 2 hours at least and like £160. As such it is not "expense", it is "saving". Sure - different car could get me there for £65, maybe even £50, but realistically that is marginal difference. I am already saving like 75% compared to alternative and I travel in much more comfort. Could different car save me 85% - yes... but that different car would also cost probably £15,000.

So yeah - all things considered, hybrid would work extremely well for your type of driving, a 300h variety. 450h would not be that much more efficient. Admittedly - diesel will also work, but that means not-Lexus. In other hand - I could not get used to IS300h, when I see open road in front of me, I do like to go for it... and there is no go in 300h... and the sound it makes is really disappointing. So I rather pay few £ more and have an option of enjoying the drive.  

 

[H3XME]

On 10/4/2024 at 10:15 PM, Linas.P said:

(80MPH) IS250 already does 44MPG... how much better will 300h be? At 80MPG it may actually be worse, or just about the same. Even at 70MPH... let say it does 48MPG... that is negligible difference. Yes... admittedly I do not consider anything apart of Premier and F-Sport even worth looking at... and with 18" wheels and 255 width in the rear they don't shine on fuel economy.

My dad just picked up a 2019 IS300h F-Sport a week ago. He gets ~40mpg on his 3mile journey to work. On the motorway at 75mph he was getting ~61mpg with standard 255s.. It's honestly a lot more than I thought it would be able to achieve. I already told him to put 235s on the back of it when it's time to do the tyres, it should improve it a bit more.

[Linas.P]

35 minutes ago, H3XME said:

On the motorway at 75mph he was getting ~61mpg with standard 255s.

That is interesting - I was never able to achieve that much, even when trying, even on 17" 225 tyres on Executive (maybe Luxury trim). The highest I have seen was 55MPG@70MPH, but even then momentary. Whole few 100 miles trip was closer to 51MPG. I wonder what is the secret to that... just converting to L/100km for my sanity that is equivalent to 4.63L/100km which is pretty impressive for hybrid.

To be fair I generally tend to dismiss partial figures like that, because they are not representative, but if car would be able to achieve 61MPG for whole tank, brim to brim, then it would be mighty impressive.