Anaplian

At the risk of thread-jacking there's a good Tesla P85D review here: http://arstechnica.co.uk/cars/2015/05/review-teslas-new-model-s-p85d-double-your-engines-double-your-fun/

Thanks for taking the time to do this Rayaans. My IS300h is still around 3 months away so I am vicariously experiencing it through others till mine arrives :-(

Cool. How long did you have to wait after ordering? I'm being quoted 12 weeks for my order :-( Ordered on 22/4/15, they just happened to have the spec that I wanted on the ship. Excellent! I toyed with the idea of asking them to check what was available immediately but decided against it in the end.

Cool. How long did you have to wait after ordering? I'm being quoted 12 weeks for my order :-(

So you want a SUV that's quick, economical, with plenty of gadgets....Keep an eye out on the Tesla for the model X details.. It wouldn't be cheap, probably start at £60K, but will be based on the Model S drivetrain. So basic spec will be: All wheel drive 250 mile range (on £8-10 of electricity at peak rate - Half that if charging via off-peak rates) 0-60 in around 5 seconds 8 year and UNLIMITED miles warranty on the drivetrain More gadget than an Apple store Memory seats + mirrors FREE use of Tesla supercharges for LIFE!! and Gull wing doors But apparently already a 20,000 waiting list, so you might be waiting a while, delivery due to start Sep-Oct this year (2015) :) http://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/modelx Wowser. Tesla are going to do to the car industry what Apple did to the mobile phone industry. Couple that with Tesla's plans for home batteries and Elon Musk looks more and more like our generation's Henry Ford.

Thanks Colin. That's good to know - though I'm sorry that you're finding the Exec uncomfortable.

I have now submitted my order - an IS300h Advance in Atlantic Blue with Ivory interior. I dithered for most of the week as the only feature in the Advance over the Executive which mattered to me was the driver's seat with adjustable lumbar support - my back is a bit dodgy. Unfortunately, the jump from Executive to Advance means that I have to make £100 monthly contribution over my base company car allowance. Ultimately, I could have bought some sort of lumbar support add-on but that would have irked me so I bit the bullet and ordered the Advance. Thanks again everyone for all the advice. The wait begins...

I've decided. I'm going for an IS300h Advance. I'm planning to order it on Monday. Am quite excited.

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)

OK, first up, big thanks for all the advice on this thread - really helpful. I had a test drive today. Here are my impressions: 1. A lot of fun to drive. I've never driven a rear-wheel drive car before and the grip and cornering were great. Barrelling round roundabouts in Milton Keynes I had to resist the urge to shout "Wheeee!". 2. The drivetrain is not as responsive as a pure ICE car - and this nudges the driver towards smoother driving. Sport mode is much more responsive but, I'm guessing, would trash fuel economy. 3. It's a much more 'normal' driving experience over driving a Prius. 4. The boot is 'OK' size-wise. I actually came home and put a large suitcase and a buggy in the boot and there was still some space. I calculated that the boot was 79% the size of my Passats - which is itself cavernous. 5. Gliding along in EV mode is a delight. My remaining misgivings are: 1. Am I prepared to spring £168 extra per month to get Adaptive Cruise - by the way I'm assuming that Adaptive Cruise will attempt to prevent me crashing by detecting an imminent collision and braking accordingly? 2. Can I really live with the boot space? My kids are 4 and 8. My youngest is pretty much out of the buggy stage so my boot requirements have actually dropped recently. I'll give this some thought. 3. For the same money as the IS300h Executive I can can get a new Passat Estate or a 3-series BMW which are automatic, have adaptive cruise, more storage and occupant space and are more fuel efficient. On the other hand they won't be as refined or as fun to drive (the Passat that is). Decisions, decisions.

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.

IS300h test drive is booked for Friday Currently trying to decide between the Executive and the Premier with the Advanced Safety Pack. I could get the Executive on my company car plan with no additional funding (well, only £13). The Premier + ASP would be £168 per month extra. The question I need to ask myself is are the extra safety options on the more expensive version worth the cost? The ML stereo and seats with lumbar support are also appealing and I do spend > 2 hours per day in my car. Man logic - can't be beat.

OP here. I went to a few car dealerships yesterday - Lexus, Audi, VW and Skoda. I realise that the Lexus brand's principal competitors are primarily Audi, BMW and Mercedes however said dealerships were convenient geographically. I was pretty unimpressed by the cabin of the Audi - it seems to have lost the stark but high-quality utilitarianism which I used to love about the brand. The new Passat was very good inside and seems to have got a lot better from the version which I drive. Surprisingly the Octavia was also relatively good. The deliniation of the interiors of Audi, VW and Skoda seems quite blurry and hard to define. So, what about the IS300h? It seemed to be higher quality than the A4. However, it felt quite dark and a little cramped. This may just be me being used to driving a bigger car. The boot also seemed quite small and interior rear legroom was not as good (obviously). At the moment I'm on the fence between a new Passat (2l diesel, DSG) and an IS300h. Both are in the same ballpark cost-wise. The Passat is roomier, has adaptive cruise control and is probably more fuel efficient. The IS300h is higher-quality, is probably more fun to drive, although it's similar fuel consumption wise to the Passat but is also a hybrid. Head says Passat, heart says IS300h. I've submitted an on-line request for a test drive of the Lexus. One question - is a Lexus dealer likely to be less helpful if he knows that I would be getting a company car? On the one hand it wouldn't be bought through the dealer, on the other hand it would be sensible for Lexus to incentivise its dealer network to promote non-dealer Lexus sales.

Safety features are being released on all models later in the year I think. Cool. That's good to know. Is that a rumour or something more solid?

I had assumed that I'd need to buy a second-hand car if I bought an IS300h. However, despite not being on the list it looks like I could get one as a company car. Yay. Unfortunately after having played with the configurator on the Lexus site it seems that I can't get adaptive cruise control (as part of Advanced Safety Pack) with getting the top model and then buying it as a 1500 quid option. I'm quite shocked tbh. Think that may be a deal breaker for me. Lexus are forcing buyers to pay over 10K over the base model to get *safety* features. That leaves a bad taste.