Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $58,900
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): See text
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: 95 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 4.9
CO2 emissions (g/km): 113
Also consider: Audi A4 2.0 TDI (from $57,900); BMW 320d (from $60,900); Mercedes-Benz C 200 CDI (from $66,208); Volvo S60 D4 (from $55,490)
With its new-generation IS, Lexus has thrown down the (green) gauntlet to the established European players. Where Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo still look to diesel for frugality, Toyota’s prestige brand has delivered the IS 300h – h for hybrid.
Powered by a combination of 2.5-litre ‘Atkinson cycle’ four-pot and 650-volt synchronous electric motor, the IS 300h generates a combined 164kW (133kW in petrol-only form) while using 4.9L/100km of premium unleaded, placing it smack-bang in the middle of the above-listed competitors on fuel use. It’s also middle-of-the-road on price, at least in standard (and comprehensively-equipped) form. This includes satellite navigation, reversing camera, smart entry and start, eight airbags, tyre pressure monitoring and – impressively – seats which are both heated and ventilated.
Where Lexus has differentiated from its competition is in the option packages. While the Euros are well known for, ahem, ‘premium’ individual option prices and expensive ‘packages’, Lexus has tried to add value via their bundled ‘Enhancement Packs’. Three levels are available on IS 300h Luxury (the higher-grade F Sport, which starts at $67,900, gets two choices), starting at $3500 for Pack One, which delivers a Moonroof and front/rear parking sensors. The $10K Pack Two gains further with high-end Mark Levinson audio, lane departure warning and blind spot monitor, auto high beam headlights with LED headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, auto fold mirrors, electrochromatic rear vision mirror, electric rear sunshade, smart card key and memory for the driver’s seat. Finally, the $14K Pack Three gets a pre-collision safety system, adaptive cruise and rear seat side airbags.
Lexus has gone to great lengths to promote the IS’s increased amenity and interior space, claiming class-leading rear knee-room thanks to 50mm of the 70mm wheelbase extension being dedicated to rear seat room. That, along with a split-fold rear seat and boot capacity of 450 litres, thanks to run-flat tyres removing the need for a spare and the positioning of the battery pack under the boot’s floor, make the new IS more appealing to young families.
Outside the IS 300h carries over the Lexus corporate ‘spindle’ grille which has certainly divided opinion. Personally, I think it’s distinctive, helping the IS stand out from the crowd. Its smoothed shape also contributes to excellent aerodynamics, with a drag-coefficient of just 0.27 for the hybrid model. All in all, the exterior fit and finish on the tested vehicle was superb, let down only by a tacky-looking stretch of black plastic formed around the rear bumper.
The IS 300h Luxury on test was equipped with Enhancement Pack 3, offering every bell and whistle you could think of, except for an electronic handbrake. Yep, the new IS still relies on the foot-operated job; its only advantage is that it returns some space to the otherwise narrow centre console.
While on the subject of space, the new car may be an improvement on its predecessor but I still found head and knee room tight. Thankfully the seats were nicely supportive and the steering column could be electrically adjusted to arrive at a reasonable driving position.
The cockpit itself has familial Toyota links with its multi-level information layout and 4.2-inch control screen, which is no longer touch capable. Instead, it is controlled by ‘Lexus Remote Touch’; a curious, over-sensitive mouse/joystick hybrid mounted on the transmission tunnel. Oddly, the controls for the climate system are touch-sensitive and as counter-intuitive as the remote touch concept. There’s also a near-hidden control for ‘Active Sound Control’ (ASC), more of which later.
Thankfully the rest of the cockpit continued the sophisticated theme. The leather seats offered a rich scent, while both the steering wheel trim and silvery gearshift paddles (allowing ‘stepped’ control of the CVT) were beautifully tactile. It was just a pity that, despite improving, the rear seat accommodation still felt compromised, headroom in particular being an issue.
After the smooth silence of pulling away – especially in contrast to its diesel competition – the IS 300h made for a relaxing companion, proving comfortable and almost eerily quiet. Although noise levels increased when asking for heavy acceleration, the large-capacity four-pot provided its power without becoming thrashy.
As is common with predominantly petrol-powered hybrids, the availability of the electric drive was limited, the system often responding to driver inputs with ‘EV Mode Unavailable’ due to excessive speed or acceleration, often at very low throttle percentages. Driving in pure EV mode was best achieved at speeds below 40km/h and in (slowly) crawling traffic before the petrol engine returned to the fray.
On test the Lexus returned 6.3L/100km, over 20 per cent greater than claimed, through a mix of highway and city driving with minimal ‘pressing on’.
Dynamically the IS 300h was impressive given the added weight of the battery pack. It rode very well and steered to a reasonable standard, the variable weighting quite noticeable. The IS 300h cornered with some lean but it felt safe and tidy, if a little less responsive than a 3 Series BMW.
Switching to ‘Sport’ mode changed the econometer to a tachometer, the dials glowing red as the steering and throttle became more responsive. It was in this mode that the paddles made most sense, the CVT doing a fine impression of a responsive self-shifter. Sport also allowed the ASC to be utilised. Essentially a speaker which plays a ‘sporty’ engine note into the cabin, the ASC was a distraction best left alone, rising in sound and intensity at a pace completely at odds with the aural range of the actual engine.
After a week in the IS 300h, I came away more impressed than is perhaps reflected in this review. It gets very close to being class-leading in some fields, but has obvious room to improve further in other areas. As an alternative to European diesels, it is well worth considering.
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