Finally! A Review By Someone Who "gets" The Is300H

rayaans · March 31, 2015

http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-reviews/long-term-tests/lexus-300h-2015-long-term-review-0330962432

Its probably the long term approach which has helped this particular reviewer see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. He goes on to mention the fantastic economy, the brilliant interior (which he thinks is better than even the Jaguar XE) and how he has warmed up to the CVT which he rates above Merc's 7 speed auto :)

mr2lad · March 31, 2015

Really....... I've a is300h as a courtesy car and am not impressed at all....very basic and small and that's coming from a slim 5'8" person

Ps sorry is300h owners but this is just my personal opinion 😳

Macscrooge · March 31, 2015

Gosh - a review which actually seems to relate to my (24 hour) experience of the IS!

Oh, and re the previous comment - I am 6 foot 2 and found the IS very comfortable. It's definitely a car you sit 'in', unlike many other where it feels as if you're sitting 'on'.

Eire Lexus · March 31, 2015

Well and IS is smaller and more basic than your LS.. But it's supposed to be!! It's like comparing a Mini to a 3 series. Everyone entitled to their opinion.

IS200D · March 31, 2015

I had the is300h premier yesterday as a courtesy car and found my experience very similar to the reviewers. The seats are a little firm and the sat nav is more irritating than useful (somehow I managed to turn the navigation upsidedown, or is that an automatic annoying feature), but the car is quick enough for me and certainly very relaxing (particularly after a usually very stressful 50 mile cross central London return journey). The car seems to wrap itself around you when you get in, with everything in easy reach and loads of storage space. I got an average of 47mpg, which is pretty good for stop start driving, mixed with spurts of hard throttle pumping.

capese21 · March 31, 2015

Really....... I've a is300h as a courtesy car and am not impressed at

all....very basic and small and that's coming from a slim 5'8" person

I am 6ft and find my is300 Fsport very comfortable. It isnt a small car, its in the medium sector so not as big as an LS agreed!! When you say "basic" why do you think that? All is300`s are well equipped Can you elaborate? Are you sure your courtesy car wasn't a CT200?

Ed

rayaans · March 31, 2015

Really....... I've a is300h as a courtesy car and am not impressed at all....very basic and small and that's coming from a slim 5'8" person

Ps sorry is300h owners but this is just my personal opinion

Cant say I agree with that. Ive driven the F-Sport and it was far from basic - are you in an SE or something? LOL

TBH some of the buttons felt even more solid than in an LS as the switchgear in them is rather dated!

normski2 · March 31, 2015

http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-reviews/long-term-tests/lexus-300h-2015-long-term-review-0330962432

Its probably the long term approach which has helped this particular reviewer see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. He goes on to mention the fantastic economy, the brilliant interior (which he thinks is better than even the Jaguar XE) and how he has warmed up to the CVT which he rates above Merc's 7 speed auto :)

That's a pretty fair and well balanced critique in my opinion.

Graham....that's not really being fair, as you are coming from the standpoint of a LS600h...that is bound to be far more luxurious and roomy by comparison. But you are perfectly entitled to your opinion.

mr2lad · March 31, 2015

Sorry if I trod on anyone's toes.... Yes It maybe because I comparing to my LS,

It could be a standard model haven't done any research on IS300h but was gob smacked when I had to manually adjust seats 😁

I apologise if I've rattled anyone's cage with my opinion 😳

Unsure what model of 300 it is but has 17" wheels and parking sensors if that helps

rayaans · March 31, 2015

Sounds like an executive or luxury. The premier and f sport with full leather option have electric seats I think although you can spec it on the luxury too if I'm not mistaken

mr2lad · March 31, 2015

Full leather seats in car ...I know this because youngest spilt his drink on it within 2-3mins of getting in car so had to turn round and get cloth and leather cleaner before it soaked in and got sticky 😝

ganzoom · March 31, 2015

Really....... I've a is300h as a courtesy car and am not impressed at all....very basic and small and that's coming from a slim 5'8" person

Ps sorry is300h owners but this is just my personal opinion

Steer well clear of the BMW 3 series and the Audi A4....If your disappointed by the IS300H I would hate what you think of the more popular 'premium' German offerings in this class :)

rayaans · March 31, 2015

Full leather seats in car ...I know this because youngest spilt his drink on it within 2-3mins of getting in car so had to turn round and get cloth and leather cleaner before it soaked in and got sticky 😝

Must be the luxury without the electric seat option. TBF that version costs under £30k so it's to be expected.

We need to get you in a BMW 3 series SE lol, see what you think of that :P

daylight1 · April 11, 2015

Rayaans - great article, thanks for posting. It's good to see at least one reporter in the trade press being honest enough to admit that the Lexus hybrids really are very, very good. I've had my first for just over a year and can't see myself going back to all petrol or diesel. The only other option I think I'd consider is all electric, maybe the Tesla S - but at £70K+ I could buy two IS 300's for the price of one Tesla S so it may be a while before they come down in price enough to be a viable option.

rayaans · April 17, 2015

Rayaans - great article, thanks for posting. It's good to see at least one reporter in the trade press being honest enough to admit that the Lexus hybrids really are very, very good. I've had my first for just over a year and can't see myself going back to all petrol or diesel. The only other option I think I'd consider is all electric, maybe the Tesla S - but at £70K+ I could buy two IS 300's for the price of one Tesla S so it may be a while before they come down in price enough to be a viable option.

Guys it appears the reviewer has been reading this forum!

The review has been updated for month 4 :) Again, very balanced views. Worth a read.

http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-reviews/long-term-tests/lexus-300h-2015-long-term-review-0417962432

Something I also noticed. The reviewer wrote in the "Notebook" section towards the bottom of month 4 that the audio was cutting in and out due to the satnav instructions. I thought the IS couldnt do this?

ColinBarber · April 17, 2015

Something I also noticed. The reviewer wrote in the "Notebook" section towards the bottom of month 4 that the audio was cutting in and out due to the satnav instructions. I thought the IS couldnt do this?

Couldn't do voice directions? Yes it can do that, by the same woman that has been guiding all Lexus vehicles for the last 17 years.

capese21 · April 17, 2015

Couldn't do voice directions? Yes it can do that, by the same woman

that has been guiding all Lexus vehicles for the last 17 years.

It was referring to muting radio or music playback when the sat nav lady speaks. The consensus of opinion seems to be that the is300h cannot do that.

It is one of the very few niggles I have with my F-Sport.

Ed

ColinBarber · April 17, 2015

Ah, I see what you mean. In older Lexus vehicles the sat nav was wired into the driver speaker, after the amp, and when it spoke the main audio feed was cut off. In the current IS, with a more modern system, the nav voice is mixed with the audio feed.

It does then question how that reviewer managed to get audio muting. Maybe the standard Nav does mute?

rayaans · April 17, 2015

Couldn't do voice directions? Yes it can do that, by the same woman

that has been guiding all Lexus vehicles for the last 17 years.

It was referring to muting radio or music playback when the sat nav lady speaks. The consensus of opinion seems to be that the is300h cannot do that.

It is one of the very few niggles I have with my F-Sport.

Exactly, it said that the radio does cut in and out when sat nav lady instructs you

Ed

capese21 · April 17, 2015

Exactly, it said that the radio does cut in and out when sat nav lady instructs you

It doesn't on my F-Sport. I think in the test it was some sort of software issue as he had muted the sat nav which affected the ice sound.

rayaans · April 17, 2015

Exactly, it said that the radio does cut in and out when sat nav lady instructs you
It doesn't on my F-Sport. I think in the test it was some sort of software issue as he had muted the sat nav which affected the ice sound.

Might be new on 64 plate?

Steve44 · April 18, 2015

Reviewer is running an Exec model, with std Nav and rotary controller. We don't know which sw version though.

I run my Nav with the voice turned to 0 and the audio doesn't cut out.

rayaans · June 17, 2015

Another update to this long term review. Once again, very balanced views! bear in mind these guys are also running a plug in hybrid Audi A3 which is not all its supposed to be apparently

http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-reviews/long-term-tests/lexus-300h-2015-long-term-review-0615962432

ganzoom · June 19, 2015

Good review on the IS, but in regards to the e-tron. It shows why Plug-In Hybrids are just not a good idea. You don't get the full benefit of a Battery EV or an tradiational ICE setup, but instead have to lugg around lots of weight for both the EV drivetrain and the ICE set-up. This is not only bad for ecnomoy, but also eats into usuable car space.

Though the lack of rapid charging on trunk roads looks like it's finally going to be tackled, with Ecotricity and Tesla finally settling their differences. So instead of wasting money on court battles about land/potential charging location, the two can now start developing the EV charging infurstructure.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/18/tesla-ecotricity-motorway-superchargers/

Ian J. Parsley · July 28, 2015

Re the interior, I am so keen on the IS I could be on its sales team, but actually I think the interior is the weak link. So a review even more positive than I am! (To be clear, the interior is okay but I don't like the boring rows of random buttons - more thought should have gone into that. Audi does it best for me.)

On the sat-nav mute: I have my sat-nav voice volume set at zero. It is important to do that, rather than turn it off, if you want the on-dash guidance (unless recent updates have changed this).

By the way, reviewers often speak of a mysterious "drone" which I cannot fathom. Could it simply be they didn't turn the ASC off?