Could this be the car to turn the tide back in favour of petrol?

Marty McFly

I know a lot of car manufacturers believe in the next decade the tide will turn back in favor of petrol models as they're cheaper to build and gradually manufacturers are finding ways to lower the emissions and improve fuel economy on petrol models.

Now I know this is a Hybird but still could be the turning point.

The Lexus IS300h




Meant to be capable of 60mpg and low emissions could it be the tide turning? Or will people still buy buy diesel just because it is ingrained in them at this stage?

Cee-Jay-Cee

If they were able to produce cars with similar capabilities for a price which is affordable to the masses then I could see a turn back towards petrol but unfortunately that car isn't going to break any sales records.

MuppetCheck

Any reviews seem to say no. It's a 4 cylinder petrol, there doesn't seem to be anything innovative or particularly new about it.

I do like the look of it however. A break from the sea of 3 series and a4s.

road_high

Waiting for the 1L Mondeo petrol myself

mickdw

MuppetCheck wrote: »

Any reviews seem to say no. It's a 4 cylinder petrol, there doesn't seem to be anything innovative or particularly new about it.

I do like the look of it however. A break from the sea of 3 series and a4s.

The hybrid power train as fitted is a fantastic thing. It's especially impressive in the gs 450h given the engine size and the silent and immediate torque on tap.
I'm not convinced on the mpg side of things. I waa thinking of buying a gs450h a few years back. Very very quick but unless you bring the hybrid mentality to driving it, it won't be efficient. I got 28 to 30 mpg out of an 08 450h driving across country and some sorry journeys over 2 days. That doesn't compete with the diesel Exec models such as 530d. Very very powerful though.
I know the very latest models are more efficient but I still don't believe it's an option for high mileage usage. I never went for a diesel so I'm all for something that puts petrol back in business although I am quite enjoying having my own pump at every service station I pull in too.

R.O.R

I've driven an IS300h, and can confidently say

NO

223bhp, yet still takes over 8 seconds to get to 60, but in reality it feels even slower.

Few k up on the one I drove and the average consumption was showing as 6.6, which isn't bad for something that has probably had mainly urban use, but not any better than a modern diesel would return.

Biggest gripe though, and it seems to be an issue with all the hybrids, ****ing CVT pile of ****e gearboxes.

Marty McFly

R.O.R wrote: »

I've driven an IS300h, and can confidently say

NO

223bhp, yet still takes over 8 seconds to get to 60, but in reality it feels even slower.

Few k up on the one I drove and the average consumption was showing as 6.6, which isn't bad for something that has probably had mainly urban use, but not any better than a modern diesel would return.

Biggest gripe though, and it seems to be an issue with all the hybrids, ****ing CVT pile of ****e gearboxes.

Yeh but lets remember your average Irish motorist isn't looking for 0-60 or power.

Most these days nearly always mention tax and fuel efficiency and on paper anyway this seems to do exactly that.

For me regardless of mpg and tax if I can afford petrol I will but most Irish people don't think that way.

R.O.R

Marty McFly wrote: »

Most these days nearly always mention tax and fuel efficiency and on paper anyway this seems to do exactly that.

Except for the god awful gearbox, it has no advantage over the new crop of diesels.

Volvo can get the 99g, 181hp, S60 to 60 in less than 7 seconds. Haven't driven the new engine, but the 163hp 5 cylinder version was a hoot to throw in to bends, and ride the wave of torque until braking for the next bend - all this despite the power coming from the wrong end of the car.

Stick the boot down in the IS and you get noise (not such a bad noise in fairness), and eventually it decides to speed up a bit. Still going to cost more to run than the diesel (due to higher fuel costs), for business customers (which would be a large target market), it's not just the 5c per litre cost of petrol over diesel, it's the 23% VAT that can't be reclaimed on fuel when filling the Lexus, as well.

mickdw

R.O.R wrote: »

Biggest gripe though, and it seems to be an issue with all the hybrids, ****ing CVT pile of ****e gearboxes.

Ya, they are a bit strange. I didnt particularly mind it in the gs I drove as It did what you would expect but it doesnt exactly make for a drivers car and it would certainly be better to leave out the manual option as that was just silly. You could literally do what you wished with the gear lever and it did practically nothing

BMJD

interesting article in WhatCar? magazine last week, IS300h tops the real world MPG test

Real-world MPG: executive cars that beat 55mpg

1. Lexus IS 300h – official 64.2mpg: True MPG 59.6mpg - See more at: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/real-world-mpg-executive-cars-beat-55mpg/1227764#sthash.J095100d.dpuf