7
Hybrid version of third-gen Lexus IS has predictable strengths, but it’s too devoted to calmness and efficiency to really enjoy driving

What is it?

The car that completes the gradual hybridisation of the Lexus range. The new IS executive saloon becomes the final piece of the jigsaw. There now isn’t a model from the Japanese luxury brand that doesn’t come with at least the option of petrol-electric power. 

The firm’s flirtation with diesel is over. A few petrol-only models remain, but they’re dwindling in number. And so – 14 years and three generations into the life of the car that really launched Lexus as a fully fledged European premium automotive brand - ‘Hybrid Synergy Drive’ becomes the weapon that parent firm Toyota wields for a renewed assault on the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-class.

It’s a bid that should attract plenty of attention – albeit, says Lexus, perhaps only five thousand UK sales in a full year. Having added 75mm to the overall length of the IS saloon, and taken the usual painstaking approach to redesigning it from top to bottom, Lexus has developed an all-new hybrid powertrain for the IS saloon, which mates a 2.5-litre four-cylinder 178bhp Atkinson cycle petrol engine with a 141bhp electric motor, both feeding the rear wheels.

The IS300h’s petrol engine, like all of Toyota and Lexus’ hybrid motors, runs on the Atkinson combustion cycle for a high expansion ratio and increased efficiency. Fitted with a new fuel-injection system with injectors positioned both in the chamber and in the port, it also has exhaust gas recirculation for reduced operating temperature and high thermal efficiency. There are low-friction piston rings fitted, as well as a low-friction timing chain, low-friction valvegear, and an intelligent oil pump. It runs at a very high compression ratio of 13.0:1. Meanwhile, power for the 141bhp, 221lb ft, rear-mounted electric motor comes from a 230-volt, 192-cell Nickel-Metal-Hydride battery pack.

It's satisfying to find the IS300h free of many of the compromises we’ve seen in hybrid saloons before. In entry-level SE trim, it’s hardly any more expensive than a mid-spec 2.0-litre diesel Audi A4. No longer must owners stomach an unpalatable premium for the privilege of occasional zero-emissions running. The performance stats are competitive, too. The boot is all-but as large and usable as any rival’s. And then come the numbers to really lure you in: 99g/km of CO2 and 65.7mpg on the combined cycle. The former stands to save a company car driver three figures on his annual tax bill, even compared with an equivalent BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics, via Benefit in Kind liability at just 11 per cent.

Yet in spite of the headline-making efficiency it offers, the new IS300h isn’t a martyr to the cause. Apparently. “It’s a car to change your mind,” says Toyota head honcho Akio Toyoda - about hybrids and about Lexus.

Using new joining techniques and lightweight materials, the company says it’s added significantly to the torsional stiffness of the IS’s body-in-white without adding to its weight. Stiffer anti-roll bars make the car 20 per cent more roll-resistant at the front axle, while a new multi-link suspension set-up has added 15 per cent more grip at the rear. New steering and braking systems are alleged to bring quicker response, smoother control and greater feedback.

What's it like?

Given that billing, the IS300h is a vehicle of disappointingly few surprises. This is a car good at all of the things you’d expect a Lexus saloon to be good at. Much improved in many of the ways it needed to be improved, as well. But it’s that hybrid powertrain that’s at once hero and villain in the car; outstanding selling point and chief restricting factor all at the same time.

Back to top

Gallons of ink has been spent over the years in praise of Lexus’ interiors. The IS’s cabin certainly doesn’t let the side down the way it used to. The 85mm of additional legroom has turned a tight passenger compartment into a fairly roomy one that now only really lacks the second-row headroom to accommodate tall adults. The leathers of our test car were lavish and perfectly seamed, the fascia fittings soft-to-the-touch, attractive and, above all else, substantial. 

The driving position’s low enough, at last, with a steering wheel you can finally position just about where you want it. But the luxurious minutiae in here are the things that you really notice. The hefty, expensive feel of the switchgear, and the way the electric windows slow as they motor closed for a delicious softened thud. It seems the legendary plushness of the LS limousine may have finally filtered down to a mass-market price point in this car.

The limo theme continues once you move off. Noiseless on battery power and whisper quiet with the combustion engine running at low revs, the IS300h brings incredible refinement to an area of the market not accustomed to it. Superb though it is in other ways, a BMW 320d is not a quiet car. A Mercedes C220 CDI fully qualifies as clattery at times. By comparison, this Lexus seems as hushed as The Red October. And with Lexus’ optional ‘AVS’ dampers set to ‘normal’ – the comfortable setting – our F Sport test car rode very smoothly indeed, both at town speeds and on the motorway.

The car does luxury and economy – a shade under 50mpg on our real-world test route - much more successfully than handling entertainment. Still, you can appreciate the strides made by Lexus to add bite to the dynamic mix. There’s crispness to the steering when you turn in to a corner, and more grip, feedback and poise as you sweep through the bend than the last IS could conjure. On directional precision and balance, the car seems a match for a C-class, and more than a match for an Audi A4. But between that handling and ultimate dynamic satisfaction sits a powertrain ill-equipped to keep up.

The E-CVT’s manual mode, which should lock up when engaged to give you closer control of your speed, spends more time slipping than anything else. Compared to a good auto’ box it’s unresponsive and distinctly discouraging when you’re in the mood to tap into the IS’s performance reserves. I’m sure it must be delivered somewhere amongst all the revving and slurring, but you never really feel like you’re getting all of the available 220bhp of  ‘system horsepower’ from the IS300h – even with your right foot flat to the floor.

Back to top

Should I buy one?

This car’s glaring lack of sporting involvement remains a key problem from a Lexus hybrid, because it robs the IS of a dimension of dynamic appeal that’s vividly available in its competitors.

To give it its due, it comes up short almost nowhere else, and for its immaculate cabin, remarkable refinement and improved handling, deserves much greater success than any IS to date. 

But – just as the last generation car did when it was launched, before a diesel option was added – the Lexus IS will need a more rounded low-emissions powertrain to be taken seriously by most buyers in the compact executive market. And that’s not something it’s likely to get until greater diversity comes to Toyota’s hybrid technology offering.

Lexus IS300H F Sport

Price £33,495; 0-62mph 8.3sec; Top speed 125mph; Economy 60.1mpg; CO2 109g/km; Kerb weight 1620kg; Engine type, cc 4cyls, 2494cc, petrol; with hybrid assist; Installation Front, longitudinal, RWD; Power 220bhp at 6000rpm; Torque 163lb ft (IC), 221lb ft (w/electric motor); Gearbox E-CVT

 

Matt Saunders

Matt Saunders Autocar
Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce PhantomTesla RoadsterAriel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren SennaRenault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.

Join the debate

Comments
34
Add a comment…
Doobie 4 October 2014

IS300h vs competition

I have owned (not leased) a Jaguar x-type, BMW 3 series (08 plate), and 5-series (61 plate) and Now I have a IS300h F-sport (63 plate) so I hope I can speak from German vs Lexus experience.

The Lexus is amazing and you need to drive it. I was German through and through but I have defected because I let my head rule for once. Funny thing is that your heart will soon follow. If you are a 'boy racer' the beemer is for you but if you are lie me and you want ultimate comfort, toys and luxury, the Lexus is a winner on all counts. The hybrid drive is seamless and it is quiet but I feel it is refined, not soulless. My is300h is no slouch either, drop it into sport mode and its responsive and fun. Drop it into ECO after a 'play' and it is sedate and my wife loves it. We feel special in it and not lost in the beemer crowd anymore, everyone who sees it and has a ride thinks its something special. I personally do not find any fault in the CVT transmission but then again I don't flog any of my cars to death. The CVT can be heard at high revs but if you are overtaking don't you want to hear your engine working and want it to make you smile? Its not different here.

As an ex-BMW owner I am getting annoyed at these reviews stating the Lexus has no soul and looks ugly. I think too many journalists are welded to BMW, Audi and Merc.

My advice is to take a test drive in a is300h and you will not regret it.

Another point is the lovely Lexus experience at the dealer. Not pushy, but very engaging. I liked that a lot and we also have a service plan at just over £30 per month for our car. No worries, lots of enjoyment.

Take the plunge and ditch the over hyped German's people. Go on, you know it makes sense!

Shellfish823 21 October 2013

Lexus IS300H

My Bmw 320 ED was up for change and i am Mr BMW so when the Lexus appeared on the list of options i treated it with zero enthusiasm but as i was passing the Lexus dealers on my way to choose which colour my new 3 series would be i spotted an IS 300h on the forecourt and liked it s looks so i thought well as im here i might as well take it out for a test drive ,and i can say i havnt driven a more refined smooth and comfortable car its interior is fantastic it feels like every component would last for 100 years Its performance is deceptive because its deliverd so smoothly without fuss and noise you think your not traveling on the contary its acceleration is identical to the Beamer. Well within a day i had ordered the Lexus and i would agree its not as sporty in feel but i loved it and its £73.00 / month cheaper to have as a company car i can put the money to one side and buy a motorbike for my fix of Thrills instead

nikpearson 29 May 2013

AVS availability on IS 300h

For those confused about the availability of AVS:

As Matt confirmed, a late decision was made to offer AVS as an option on F Sport models in the UK. This was after feedback from some early driving events that were conducted. 

Nik Pearson

Press Relations Manager, Lexus GB.