Is300H As Family Car

[Anaplian]

Hi,

Would anyone like to comment on the IS300h as a practical family car? I have two kids and sometimes need to transport them along with luggage for a family of four. Would any owners with families care to share their experiences?

Cheers.

Anaplian.

[bluenose1940]

My kids are all in their forties now and so I don't have that problem anymore. However, what I would say is, I don't like driving around without a spare wheel and so I have purchased a spacesaver and obviously this takes up valuable space in the boot. When we go off to the caravan (regularly) I find that I have to load up part of the rear seat as the dog takes up one half of it.

If you're not put off by the thought of putting gunge in a punctured tyre (I am) then the boot is of a reasonable size without the spacesaver.

From a personal standpoint, If I were (many years) younger and had a family, I would not buy the IS300h.

I'm just glad that my kids are all grown up and so are the grandchildren, they no longer want to go out with nan and gramps and, this has put me in the marvellous position of being able to own and enjoy my car, and boy do I love it!

[Scoops]

There is plenty of room for the children. I have two younger ones but the car will carry four in total comfort. Remember however that saloons are simply not as practical as you average hatchback for cramming things in. The boot in the IS is big enough but it really depends how much you want to drag with you without having to put a top box on. Obviously the spare wheel thing may be a factor.

[bluenose1940]

Yep, absolutely right, there is plenty of room in the car, i have 5 adults in mine frequently without any bother at all. i couldn't carry all their bits and bobs aswell though!

As I said earlier, if I was much younger with a family, i would definitely go for an estate or a hatchback.

[MarksaCox]

Hi, I have 8 year old twins and we have enough room. Weekly shopping fits in the boot. We went to a caravan park in France last year although I did have a roof box. We had enough space for cases and all the required gear!

Few pics here.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[Anaplian]

Hi, I have 8 year old twins and we have enough room. Weekly shopping fits in the boot. We went to a caravan park in France last year although I did have a roof box. We had enough space for cases and all the required gear!

Few pics here.

ImageUploadedByLexus OC1429883783.828683.jpgImageUploadedByLexus OC1429883793.962095.jpgImageUploadedByLexus OC1429883805.080659.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Lexus OC

Cool, thanks for taking the time to post these pics. It's good to hear from someone with kids in the same general age range as mine (4 and 7)

[Rabbers]

If a "family car" is defined, independently of considerations of space and adaptability, as one capable of

withstanding a certain amount of abuse from its junior occupants, then the 300h does not IMO fit the bill.

I have always looked after every car I have ever owned, but none has ever inspired the same level of fastidious-

ness in me as does the 300h. The tiniest speck of dust or the merest suspicion of dirt somewhere in the cabin

makes me reach for one of the four special-purpose cloths (for glass, leather, plastics and screens) I keep close

to hand, these being additional to another set I keep in the boot for the car's exterior. The mere thought that the

car's occupants could ever include kids in age-groups up to and including late adolescence with the concomitant

risks of dirt and grime, solid or fluid, organic or otherwise, being deposited on any of the car's sleek and perfectly

sanitized surfaces is therefore wholly abhorrent to me. Not that I am particularly fond of most adult passengers

either, but this is not pertinent to the Topic under discussion.

[bluenose1940]

If a "family car" is defined, independently of considerations of space and adaptability, as one capable of

withstanding a certain amount of abuse from its junior occupants, then the 300h does not IMO fit the bill.

I have always looked after every car I have ever owned, but none has ever inspired the same level of fastidious-

ness in me as does the 300h. The tiniest speck of dust or the merest suspicion of dirt somewhere in the cabin

makes me reach for one of the four special-purpose cloths (for glass, leather, plastics and screens) I keep close

to hand, these being additional to another set I keep in the boot for the car's exterior. The mere thought that the

car's occupants could ever include kids in age-groups up to and including late adolescence with the concomitant

risks of dirt and grime, solid or fluid, organic or otherwise, being deposited on any of the car's sleek and perfectly

sanitized surfaces is therefore wholly abhorrent to me. Not that I am particularly fond of most adult passengers

either, but this is not pertinent to the Topic under discussion.

I have to agree totally with these comments. They are precisely me. If you could hear my wifes comments when I am parking my car! I am so fussy, even to the point of moving it again if I think I need to. If I should ever be cajoled into going to the supermarket in my car, I always park as far away from the entrance as possible, much to my wife's annoyance. If I have to park amongst the many, then I always look for a space between other quality motors.

I always keep a bottle of Bird Dropping spray handy too, the seagulls round here enjoy Bomber Command status!

Rabbers, I would be interested to know what cloths you keep available.

[Sittingduck]

I have a 10 year old and a 18 year old .

According to there personal interior redesign of my 300H there seems to be plenty of room for there Mc Donalds wrappings and dropped fries / half chewed sweets and wrappers in the door close pockets / I pads and phones on charge constantly from the USB ports 2X wires hanging out the centre console /and some CD's from some Kanye West bloke ??? And plenty of room in the front passenger seat for a (YOU'RE GOING TO FAST SLOW DOWN) Person, A.K.A the boss lady.

Boot space is good for a couple big duffle bags and lots of other junk you drag along on a get away holiday for a week .

I'm going up Scotland for a holiday next month 800+ miles with all the gear and family , I'll get back to this post if it's still live and let you know how I get on

PS I love my IS 300H best Lexus i've had so far.... ....Does anyone know how to turn off the (YOU'RE GOING TO FAST SLOW DOWN) Lady ???...

[Rabbers]

If a "family car" is defined, independently of considerations of space and adaptability, as one capable of

withstanding a certain amount of abuse from its junior occupants, then the 300h does not IMO fit the bill.

I have always looked after every car I have ever owned, but none has ever inspired the same level of fastidious-

ness in me as does the 300h. The tiniest speck of dust or the merest suspicion of dirt somewhere in the cabin

makes me reach for one of the four special-purpose cloths (for glass, leather, plastics and screens) I keep close

to hand, these being additional to another set I keep in the boot for the car's exterior. The mere thought that the

car's occupants could ever include kids in age-groups up to and including late adolescence with the concomitant

risks of dirt and grime, solid or fluid, organic or otherwise, being deposited on any of the car's sleek and perfectly

sanitized surfaces is therefore wholly abhorrent to me. Not that I am particularly fond of most adult passengers

either, but this is not pertinent to the Topic under discussion.

I have to agree totally with these comments. They are precisely me. If you could hear my wifes comments when I am parking my car! I am so fussy, even to the point of moving it again if I think I need to. If I should ever be cajoled into going to the supermarket in my car, I always park as far away from the entrance as possible, much to my wife's annoyance. If I have to park amongst the many, then I always look for a space between other quality motors.

I always keep a bottle of Bird Dropping spray handy too, the seagulls round here enjoy Bomber Command status!

Rabbers, I would be interested to know what cloths you keep available.

Geoff:

There is nothing particularly noteworthy about my set of cloths. It consists of three high-quality microfibres in different colours and densities

of pile with the words "glass", "paintwork" and "dashboard" embroidered into them, to which I added a fourth suede-type one for the display

and instrument panel. Each is reserved for its own specific purpose and usually moistened with plain water or the 5% soapy solution I also

keep on hand in small cosmetics-size spray-bottles. I bought the cloths online some years ago from a German company called NIGRIN, and

they still rinse out like new.

I too always aim to park between two quality motors or, failing this, ones that are clean and dent- and scratch-free. The trouble is that when

I come back one or both seem as often as not to have been replaced by semi-wrecks that are inevitably parked too close. I also try to avoid

parking next to cars with baby-seats and fold-up prams, and am equally wary of vehicles with prominent door-protectors since I have noted

the tendency of owners to swing the doors open with little thought for neighbours not similarly endowed.

You have my sympathy with regard to seagull attacks knowing full well that you are talking serious kilotons. My own problem is with content

rather than volume, consisting, as it does, of a well-nourished local pigeon population which appears to eat gravel as a laxative supplement

to its normal diet. Once baked on to the paintwork, the droppings require a long soak or sterner treatment with e.g. Dodo Juice Born Slippy

in order to reduce the risk of a permanent scratch.

[baxlin]

Sounds like I'm not the only one who can't find a space in an empty car park!!!