Sazabi2001

Well, other than an old 911 that too slow to lose traction, I've never driven any other car that has 'sportiness' in it. All cars I used to have was just some diesel car with small engine.

That sounds fair. Well, I certainly don't hope there is a problem in rear suspension, since it is a pretty new car. It is not bad traction, just not as good as I wished. It is the most expensive car I ever own, maybe I just need to get used of it.

If modern 911, that's true. For old 911, especially those torsion-bar one, traction is only available in straight line.

Hi Everyone. I got my IS300h about half years now, I love almost everything about this car. But there is still a small problem, the rear wheel always tends to lose grip / traction. It gets worst if it is in a turn slightly uphill or downhill with a little bit of wet, even in eco-mode I have to press the accelerator gently. Some said it's about the tyres, so I change all 4 wheels to Yokohama AD-08R, that should be the one of the best grip tyre. It's better now but still slides. Some said it was the common problem for RWD, but I had a vintage 911 still better than the IS300h in terms of grip. 225 tyre dose not seem small size for 220bhp car, and I don't think it should need a bigger tyre. ==== Anyway, I was told that Toyota build all their car for drifting, I should live with it.

I never watched any car program until I bought a 87’ 911, and then I started watching TopGear. I agree TopGear is quite stupid but still funny.. in a way. What I think is, if I watched TopGear first I may never end-up buying a Porsche 911, it will reduce my level of intelligent to a point that I don't like sport car anymore.

'Passenger-side protection lacking in small overlap crashes - IIHS New' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72caLypmKCA It seems that Toyota only reinforced the driver side structure, but not the passenger side. I hope it only happen in RAV4, not Lexus.

Since I learn engine combustion in my degree.. I think diesel engine is more technological complex and advanced than petrol engine, also more efficiency in terms of combustion, and more refined in terms of mechanical design. But for the luxurious, it is a different story.

I know I'm a bit late for this post, but 2 months ago I did carefully think about BMW 520D (not 320D, but close I guess) and IS300h. the BMW is lighter, even 520D is lighter than IS300h, and BMW seems to have more aluminum parts in suspension arms, so I guess handling is better. Also a 'real' gearing transmission from BMW gives you better sport performance than CVT transmission anyway. Though my poor driving skill never tell any different during test drive. For fuel economy, I think BMW can have optional 8-speed auto, which better over-drive gearing for high-way fuel efficiency, plus the nature of diesel engine, Toyota hybrid can't simply beat them. === But at the end I chose IS300h, main reason was reliability (I hope). One thing (btw, not 100% sure) I know about the Toyota hybrid drive, especially the 3rd generation hybrid system, is that it does not have any mechanical friction part in the transmission. No clutch, no locking up, no fluid-coupling and no torque converter . It seems the new hybrid box use 2-MGs (Motor-Generator) to provide magnetic force instead of mechanical friction, so this is the reason why it feel 'slow' and artificial. But since there is no mechanical friction, there should be no wear and no heat generated, the transmission theoretically lasts much longer. Also the Atkinson cycle engine is long stroke thing for efficiency but not power-weight ratio, it means it is a bigger piece of metal with less power.. Which should last longer as well.

Sorry about the confusion, I got the answer from the dealer anyway. It seems like they have labeled everything in their shop with 'sport suspension', and my insurance company looked into the car information and asked me whether I have modified the suspension.

My wife need to drive the car as well, since the size difference between me and my wife means every now and then we need to change the seat position. So I think powered driver side seat would be handy. Other than this, I don't think I need any more luxury, and I can't afford 2k GBP more just because of the seat. Plus, a pair of used seat should be around 500GBP I guess.

I been into the GT86 seat and I do agree that it is one of the best. And it doesn't look too strange for IS-300h interior style as well.

Hi: I just looked into the IS manual, it do seem like more complicated than I thought. The air-bag thing seems to need a computer to reset it. I guess, I need to give up. the price difference between Executive and F-sport was too great for me, plus I don't think I need 19' wheel, F-sport grill and all other stuffs that worth thousands of pounds. In fact I waited 2~3 months for a low-mileage / low spec IS300h to show up in the local dealer, and I simply don't have the money to buy a better one. Anyways, thanks for the advice.

Hi Mike: Thank you for the respond, I'll spend some time on the rules. Also the car is now still in the dealer, so I'll post some picture as soon as I pick it up.

No, it is a 2014 model. I can't afford a brand new one this time. But maybe next one.

Hi: I'm about to get a second hand 2014 IS300h 'executive' from the Lexus dealer. Being an 'executive' which I understand it is a relative low trim package, that's OK for me. But I'd like to have some better front seats, the original seats come with the car is manual adjustment, and I wish to have electric seats. So, is that possible, or easy to do, if I go to buy some IS electric seat on ebay and swap them. Also I saw the BRZ / GT86 seats are great, will they go into the IS too? ====== Another question is about the 'Sport suspension'. The car in the dealer described as: F Sport Aluminium Effect Trim Sports Suspension Since I can clearly see it is not a F-sport and I'm not paying a F-sport price for it, so the trim is just some shiny plastic which is fine. But the question is the 'Sports Suspension', I don't feel like it is a F-sport adjustable suspension, and I don't see any official suspension package except the F-sport adjustable suspension. Since the car is from the official Lexus dealer I think (or I hope) it should not be some after market modifications. Plus everything in the car is quite original and low spec, and it doesn't seem like it has been modified. Anyway, is there a 'Sports Suspension' in the Lexus package rather than the 'F-sport adjustable suspension'?

Hi everyone. Finally I decided to part with German cars and move on to Japanese car, and I'm about to get a IS300h. The car is now still in the dealer, but, if everything goes smoothly, I'll get it next weekend. It is my first time to drive and own a Japanese car, first time to a hybrid car and also first time to a front engine - rear wheel drive car. I hope it will be a nice experience.