gangzoom Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 (edited) So have just spent the last 24hrs driving the Lexus IS300H as a replacement for our diesel Civic, I thought I share my views on it, in particular the hybrid drivetrian. I have to say I had my doubts about a car that shares it's roots with something alike a Prius. IS300H vs our BMW 335i as a 'sports saloon': There is no contest. The IS300H with the hybrid engine/CVT gear box combination is just not designed for any kind of 'enthusiastic driving', and despite putting out 220bhp feels slow, laggy, and under full acceleration makes awful noise. The car also comes with 'active noise control' basically fake exhaust noise, it's worse than even the real noise at full load, lucky you can turn it off. When thrashed the hybrid drive train is also pretty un-economical. It's a shame because the actual car handles well. IS300H vs our Civic diesel as a 'family run around': The hybrid drive train/cvt box is so smooth and noise free at town traffic it makes the diesel engine in the civic feel like something from the industrial revolution. Over a day of driving covering some 70 miles, including my little bit of 'spirited' driving we averaged 50 mpg. In urban stand still traffic some of the mpg readings it was reporting was frankly astounding, it's the only car I've driven that's returns higher mpg numbers the worse the traffic!!! I know some diesels can achieve that, but not in the same smooth, rattle free style. The full EV mode where you can hit 30mph on battery alone is amazing, and a real head turner. Our car will also be doing mainly a daily 3-4 mile commute so that's a good recipe for DPF issues on any diesel. As a luxury family car it's a pretty compiling package, we were so impressed have ordered a brand new one So in summary the hybrid unit in the IS300H makes for a great luxury family car. You can really tell Toyota have spent nearly a decade perfecting the hybrid technology. But it's unlikely I'll be replacing the 335i with any kind of hybrid, however a full EV car like a Tesla is whole different matter, and am 100% sure full EV is the future of motoring. The crunch point for us was when we went to the Jag show room I was surprised to find another Lexus glide in under EV power, and when a £70k diesel XJ pulled in a few minutes later with its engine rattling away it made me realise just how much more refined and pleasant the hybrid/EV experience is compared to even the best diesels. At that point both me and my wife pretty much agreed there was no point in us even going to look at the Mer C class in the showroom down the road. Edited November 16, 2014 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Nice one, Gang, look forward to seeing it when you take delivery, drop us a call when you have it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyheinz Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Congrats mate! Looks lovely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veeg33 Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Congrats on your new purchase! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Nice one, Gang, look forward to seeing it when you take delivery, drop us a call when you have it... Lol will do, I don't like the rear diffuser, already looking for alternatives from the US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I think they're really nice cars. Love the tail lights and the way the speedo slides around electronically. The temp controls are a neat trick as well The only criticism I had was it lacked road presence. I think it's cos the rear wheels sit so far inside the arches. But that's just me I didn't even mind the fake exhaust noise What colour combo did you go for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) Just dropped the car off at the dealers, to be honest if it had a bit more shove I would be tempted to PX the 335 for one. Was already to order metallic black with cream interior, but now we really like the titanium on the demo car....it's a hard life been faced with such choices Edited November 16, 2014 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 My choice woulda been celestial black with red interior 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 My choice woulda been celestial black with red interior I would go for the light blue and ivory on the sport body kit....but that's really just making it look like the lemans blue and oyster interior of my 335i ....decision up to my wife, and at the best of times she's a abit indecisive at times about colour combinations!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) Last 2 days finally got the paper work for the car order done, gone for top spec with advanced safety kit, so not cheap even with 15% discount, and due to rare colour/spec will be a factory order, so delivery not till March!! Last night whilst just chatting she mentions she will miss driving the 335i which she apparently calls the 'zoom zoom machine', and her only complaint about the Lexus is that it doesn't zoom everywhere like the 335i does when she accelerates. This is after I told her the 335i is costing £1.3/mile to run, more than double the running costs of the Lexus, even taking in the massive new car deprecation of the Lexus!!! Ahhh!!!!....She tells me this after we just order a £35k car which we are buying primarily for its economy....I knew I should have made her test drive a supercharged 3.0 V6 supercharged Jaguar XF petrol Edited December 6, 2014 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryjackson Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 My dad has one of these. Brilliant cars and bloody quick too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Nice one mate, I've seen a few of the new IS's kickin' about in that kinda grey/brown tint and with the right wheels I think they look fantastic. Good choice! Much better looking than most saloons. I like the XF, Merc are a bit... bulbus with their new designs and BMW's 3 series is just miles behind and lookn old now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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