Anthony B

It's done 44k miles, really nothing at all for a car of this quality. I've also signed up for a three-year service and MoT deal with Lexus Swindon, to save me worrying about dates and times. I've tried to upload a couple of photos but keep getting 'failed' messages. I'll keep trying.

Thanks for your threads of advice. I'll be keeping a close record and will no doubt post again in a year or so, with a winter and summer of data.

Well, I've taken the plunge and bought a 15-reg NX300h with an exceptionally high spec - head-up display, forward radar, sun roof, heated steering wheel, etc, etc; one careful lady owner (yes, really) and looked after by Lexus Swindon since new. It's a real find, immaculate, and being an SUV it's much easier of access than the IS. Lexus did apart-exchange deal for me, not a good as I'd naively hoped for but good enough. I'd be interested to learn what typical MPG other NX300h get. It's a heavier vehicle, albeit with the same engine as the IS, but I'm not going to get 50+ on a long run - or am I? , What's the best I'm going to get in a mix of highway and truly rural motoring (we're in the middle of Wiltshire).

Motorway quoted me £8670 a few minutes ago - I've had offers between 8300 and 8700 over the last few months. CarWow said £8535. The Lexus part-exchange page offered £8386. So all in the same ballpark. I could live with that kind of deal.

AT my age (80) depending upon price vs budget I'd go for a slightly older car with bells and whistles.

Thanks, Ken. Not familiar with the term 18MY - please enlighten me!

I plan to sell my IS300h - which I've enjoyed driving for four years - and acquire an NX300h (same engine but being SUV, higher, easier to get in and out, and more room for oldies like us). For budgetary reasons I'll buy second hand. (I might do a part-exchange deal with Lexus). I'd welcome tips on special NX300h issues to look out for. Are owners happy with their NXs?

I admit that it may have nothing to do with the diff, which is balancing torque between the rear wheels as intended. I think, as has been pointed out, it's down to my very hard rear tyres reacting, particularly when cold, to a sharp left or right turn. I'm content not to lose any more sleep over the matter. Just for interest I may try the experiment of lowering the tyre pressure and seeing what effect that has.

I admit I don't fully understand wha's going on but the idea seems to fit the observed phenomenon better than other ideas. But I've learned much from the posts in this series since the topic was first raised.

It is but a theory but it seems too fit the facts. If I'm a jerk it's not for want of deep thought!! I love the IS300h, which nicely fits my needs, my budget and my sense of excitement which has not atrophied entirely, even at 78. And I'm relieved to have sold my LS430, which was becoming expensive at 17 years old. This hybrid will see me through my motoring career, unless the government comes up with more pointless proscriptions.

I've been doing some careful testing and I'm now sure what the problem has been - for me at least. I had wondered why the problem had only begun to show itself these last few months, after a year of driving since I bought the car in June 2019. What has changed is that last Spring, needing new tyres for my MOT, I fitted a pair of run-flats on the rear wheels. Plus I always like to run my tyres pressurised at the top end, as I prefer a hard ride. I now realise that when cold and pulling a sharp curve the diff has trouble adjusting both wheels. I realise too that the jerk is at the rear, as Kermitpwee recognised in his first post. After warm-up during a good trial run the issue has gone away. How does that sound as a theory?

I'm nowhere near 30 - more like 5mph - if that - and on half- to full lock to get out of my parking area at the side of the house. Plus if I've reversed out, another full lock shortly thereafter. But nothing after warm-up. I'm pretty sure it's a tyre situation, rather than down to engine or drive mode, as it's more pronounced if the surface is wet or icy.

I have a similar experience with my IS300h when pulling away from standstill, but as I have to pull a hard left immediately after start I have always assumed it was a steering geometry issue, and therefore I have assumed the jolt originated from the front of the car. The garage have checked the steering alignment and found no problem, and are as puzzled as me. I'm going to check the car back into the garage, but any illumination from you experienced IS300h drivers would be helpful before I do so.

Thanks for all these points. In fact I do not have any warranty agreement - I bought the car second hand a year ago. My nearest Lexus dealership is Swindon, 36 miles away, so not a trip I choose to do more often than I have to. My local garage does a perfectly good MOT and service when I need them. The hybrid test would thus be a one-off, although if they offered a warranty deal as part of the package I'd take (subject to cost.)

I've had my IS330h for just over a year now and am well pleased with it. I've averaged in the high 40s (much of it slow around our country lanes) but with a best of 58.5 on a long run. Can't be bad - plus the low tax. I read somewhere of a test of the hybrid system which Lexus carry out for a fixed price (£58?) I have no record of whether, and if so when, this has ever been done on my car (registered 2013), and would welcome advice on having it done, how often, and so on. What are the symptoms that it might be necessary? Or is it just something one should have done every few years just in case...?

Thanks again to all who've shared their wisdom and experience. That's what forums are for. In fact I know from my slowly improving technique that I can get excellent consumption figures - yesterday, for example, in a 28-mile round trip around Salisbury Plain, lots of bends and mildish gradients - I logged 49mpg, my best yet for a short trip. I've taken to driving with the 'Trip Information' screen on the display, having of course updated the Past Record screen at the start - I liike the minute-by-minute view of how I'm doing. And I can't help but compare my current figures with the corresponding data from my lovely 4.3 litre V-8 LS430, which reached the end of its life a year ago, a wonderful car to own and drive, but you can see where I'm coming from there. A

Many thanks to everyone who posted these useful hints and tips. I see that my experience is in line with those of others, so I'm content. I never believed those ridiculous peak consumption figures quoted (and even repeated in a recent road test video of a model identical to mine.) Without a doubt one has to get used to driving a hybrid, and I'm still learning. As it happens we're off to Scotland in early May, so I'll keep a note of the data and post it here in due course. Thanks again Anthony

I've had my 2013 IS300h for 8 months or so, and am learning to like it. It is the right car for me and I'll hang on to it for several years - unless the government comes up with any more harebrained schemes to penalise me. However I'm not getting the kind of fuel consumption figures that I keep hearing quoted. I run in ECO mode all the time, and use EV when the situation allows me to, but am consistently reaching no better than the upper-40s mpg. Admittedly we live in a rural area of Wiltshire, so lots of accelerating and braking around the lanes, but even so... My best figure was during a prolonged motorway stretch last year which delivered 58.4mpg. Am I missing something?

Lots of useful info in this discussion following my first post. I've posted a photo of my 13-reg 300h, for which I paid £12250, which I judged a fair price. It's a Luxury version (whatever that may imply, and clearly from earlier posts the spec can vary widely) - but it has reversing camera and cruise control, although not adaptive (which I mistrust anyway.) Leather heated seats, etc etc. The only thing I miss from my LS430 is the driver's seat position memory (an odd item to exclude from a luxury spec, but there you are.) I'm managing regularly to achieve better than 50 mpg by careful driving technique - select cruise early, no blipping the throttle, careful braking, etc. I reckon I'm set for the next 5 years, by which (optimistically) the car will have paid for itself and at 82 I'll be in a rest home.

Absolutely not. I amazed myself by the speed of my adjustment to the loss of my 430, and when looking forward rather than back I'd already decided to find another Lexus (do most Lexus drivers stay with the marque?). I considered the CT300 but the spec wasn't right for me - I needed a saloon big enough to cope with long journeys without stress as well as saving money in local running around. The Swindon Lexus dealers gave me a test drive in the latest IS300h and it made my mouth water. So here I am - paying only 10 quid a year to the Chancellor, and I already know that by careful driving I can achieve 50+ mpg - thus literally halving my fuel bill. Barring major mishaps the car will pay for itself in 5 years. The ride is great, and though I miss some of the tweaks in my 430 - the steering wheel retracting to make egress easier, the self-closing doors - on the whole I'm content with my new experience. AFB

Having been a member of the LS430 club for five years and having had to say farewell to that car I've now bought an IS 300h, reg no ND13 ZHR. I'm the third owner and the car has done 72720 miles. I shall rejoice in the £10 a year road tax and a fuel bill less than half of the 430 bill. I do no more than 9000 miles a year these days but I intend them to be enjoyable in driving terms. I'd be glad to learn what other users think of the 300h and what - if any - problems might arise. AFB

Thanks to everyone for these replies. I'd also like your general views on for example driver and passenger comfort, the rear sets, etc. Is this a car for long distance comfortable driving from Wiltshire to Scotland or the South of France? My 430 was just that, of course, and although I'm now looking for lower cost of ownership I still want to feel 'at home' in the car. A

I've had to bid farewell to my lovely 16-year old LS430 after 5 years of brilliant and enjoyable motoring (failed MOT on rear suspension and not worth paying to fix.) I want hybrid and I want to stick with Lexus. My budget is close to £12k. I'm now looking at an offer of an IS 300 2.5 Luxury E-CVT from a private seller, 73000 on the clock, at £12250. Would someone please educate me as to the E-CVT bit, and where this particular car stands in the IS option range. I equally happy to buy a pre-owned car from a dealer, but this one seems OK to my mind. Anthony B