Lexus IS300h MPG

Bif

Folks. I am seriously thinking of purchasing a Lexus IS300h hybrid but I am concerned about their real world MPG. A bit of research appears to show a huge divergence in claimed mpg, 32 to 56 mpg. Can anyone who has or had one detail their mpg and the type of driving they do. I drive 30000 kms a year approx. 16k on national routes, 8k short runs and 8k motorway. Any info would much appreciated. Thanks.

zilog_jones

Try searching for previous threads:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057804768
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057824257

Some fuel consumption figures here: https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/overview/26-Lexus/1322-IS300h.html?fueltype=2&sort=3&powerunit=2

Average there of 6.4 l/100km, or 44 MPG.

TBi says he's getting about 6.0 l/100km.

I know with my 2012 Prius there's significant increase in fuel consumption between driving 100 and 120 km/h (about 50 vs. 58 MPG), but I can't say if the same is true for the IS.

Bif

zilog_jones wrote: »

Try searching for previous threads:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057804768
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057824257

Some fuel consumption figures here: https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/overview/26-Lexus/1322-IS300h.html?fueltype=2&sort=3&powerunit=2

Average there of 6.4 l/100km, or 44 MPG.

TBi says he's getting about 6.0 l/100km.

I know with my 2012 Prius there's significant increase in fuel consumption between driving 100 and 120 km/h (about 50 vs. 58 MPG), but I can't say if the same is true for the IS.

Thanks for that...any more IS300h drivers out there? Looks like 45 to 50 mpg is readily achievable?

Matt Simis

My dad has one and think he averages 6.5 to 7l/100km in a most extra urban commute.

Shefwedfan

Bif wrote: »

Folks. I am seriously thinking of purchasing a Lexus IS300h hybrid but I am concerned about their real world MPG. A bit of research appears to show a huge divergence in claimed mpg, 32 to 56 mpg. Can anyone who has or had one detail their mpg and the type of driving they do. I drive 30000 kms a year approx. 16k on national routes, 8k short runs and 8k motorway. Any info would much appreciated. Thanks.

Edit Lexus is a beautiful car, are you buying to save or just buying because you prefer over other premium brands?

With a 50/50 average are you going to see any benefits versus a diesel?

You mentioned 8k motorway but of those 8k are they long motorway trips or short ones?

The 8k short runs, are they all around city?

Might be better to give some more information on your driving, for instance, I racked up 15k km very quickly on my eGolf but all of those are very short trips but it doesn't take long to add up....no idea how many km I put on other car.....

Ihackedboardz

During winter I average about 44-47 MPG, during the warmer summer months I'm averaging 50-55 MPG, that's a mix of short city driving & motor way runs.

Just to put that into context, I'm not lead footing it around like a boy racer but I'm doing a cough ahem "comfortable 120kmh" on the motorway when the conditions allow for it. I'm not trying to eke out fuel like a tree hugger either

all in all its the nicest, smoothest drive I've ever owned, I'd easily buy another one given the same option

Bif

Thanks for the replies. Please keep the info coming. Most of 30000 klm driving I do is National route driving at 100kph or so. My motorway driving tends to be long runs to Dublin and my local driving consists of 5 to 10 km journeys. Very little urban driving involved. My hope would be to average 45 to 50 mpg.

Casati

Bif wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Please keep the info coming. Most of 30000 klm driving I do is National route driving at 100kph or so. My motorway driving tends to be long runs to Dublin and my local driving consists of 5 to 10 km journeys. Very little urban driving involved. My hope would be to average 45 to 50 mpg.

Overall this is a matter of choice, your driving is perfect for diesel but if you like the Lexus and don’t like diesels then you’ll still have economical motoring and a nice car to be in for 30km p.a

Lockedout2

I don’t get any thing close to 50mpg.

Reset the clock after Christmas and had it at 6lt per 100k for a while but it has gone up to 7.4lt per 100 which is 38 mpg a lot of town driving.

The optimum speed seems to be 100kpm when the engine is running

zilog_jones

I can't imagine an equivalent-sized diesel would do any better in town driving. My '02 Peugeot 406 2.0 HDi struggled to do the same in winter months - granted it's older technology (still common-rail diesel) but a smaller, lighter car than something like an IS.

With the hybrids, you will get notably higher fuel consumption in winter as it uses the ICE for cabin heating. Partially blocking the grille should help, as the radiator doesn't need that much ventilation in these temperatures (I'm trying this right now with my Prius). The important thing is you want to block the radiator for the ICE and not the inverter (as you want to keep that cool) - I don't know the specific locations for the IS.

grogi

zilog_jones wrote: »

I can't imagine an equivalent-sized diesel would do any better in town driving. My '02 Peugeot 406 2.0 HDi struggled to do the same in winter months - granted it's older technology (still common-rail diesel) but a smaller, lighter car than something like an IS.

With the hybrids, you will get notably higher fuel consumption in winter as it uses the ICE for cabin heating.

The effect of winter might actually be visible in very intensive Stop-Start traffic, when the stop periods are long enough to drain all the heat from the cooling liquid when the engine is off. If the car is not stopped as much, there is minimal impact of heating on the economy.

Partially blocking the grille should help, as the radiator doesn't need that much ventilation in these temperatures (I'm trying this right now with my Prius). The important thing is you want to block the radiator for the ICE and not the inverter (as you want to keep that cool) - I don't know the specific locations for the IS.

If only we invented a device that disconnects radiator when the temperature of the cooling liquid is to low, so there is no heat loss there...

zilog_jones

grogi wrote: »

The effect of winter might actually be visible in very intensive Stop-Start traffic, when the stop periods are long enough to drain all the heat from the cooling liquid when the engine is off. If the car is not stopped as much, there is minimal impact of heating on the economy.

In hybrids there are additional conditions of low load or low-speed cruising where the ICE will also not be running (if no heat was required), so it's not just about being stopped.

If only we invented a device that disconnects radiator when the temperature of the cooling liquid is to low, so there is no heat loss there...

Yes, I know how the thermostat works, and during city driving the ICE in mine is usually below the threshold, but it still seems to help anyway. The grille is not completely isolated from the rest of the engine bay, and also at higher speed it probably reduces drag a bit too. The 4th gen Prius actually has an active grille shutter for both of those reasons.

Ihackedboardz

Hi Bif, if most of your driving is 100 km on national roads you'll easily get 45-50 MPG & a good bit more during the summer months.

Lockedout2, I find in these chilly days if your doing very short urban driving the car is cold & it'll be using the ICE a lot more then usual to warm the batteries etc so that's why you might be getting such poor MPG

scooby77

Honest John's Realmpg shows 48.5 mpg, with a range of 38.2 to 60mpg. I have found the average it to be fairly accurate with current and previous cars...sometimes getting slightly higher here (heavier traffic in UK?)

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/lexus/is-2013/300h

PaulKK

zilog_jones wrote: »

I can't imagine an equivalent-sized diesel would do any better in town driving. My '02 Peugeot 406 2.0 HDi struggled to do the same in winter months - granted it's older technology (still common-rail diesel) but a smaller, lighter car than something like an IS.

I have to disagree. No matter what way I drive my 2.0 diesel it never does less than 48mpg.

I'm considering one of these over an F30 320d but reading about people getting significantly less than 40mpg is a real worry. I wouldn't want to go below 45 at the worst.

When you read any Lexus forums regarding getting the mpg nearer 50 they suggest hypermiling techniques which in a diesel would easily net over 60mpg. I can achieve that in my current car with careful driving. Applying that kind of effort constantly to get 50 mpg would not appeal to me.

Not to mention the IS300h are thinner on the ground which reduces choice and they also seem to be generally more expensive.

Pipetool

I get on average 46 mpg. It's my second Lexus & is very comfortable & has all the bells & whistles. Seats hug you in & are soft leather. Excellent road holding & when I select sport mode everything goes into hyperdrive 😠overall thrilled I stuck with Lexus ðŸ‘

Casati

Pipetool wrote: »

I get on average 46 mpg. It's my second Lexus & is very comfortable & has all the bells & whistles. Seats hug you in & are soft leather. Excellent road holding & when I select sport mode everything goes into hyperdrive 😠overall thrilled I stuck with Lexus ðŸ‘

Not targeted at anybody but why do folks talk about mpg rather than l per 100?

grogi

Casati wrote: »

Not targeted at anybody but why do folks talk about mpg rather than l per 100?

Because tradition...

Bif

Casati wrote: »

Not targeted at anybody but why do folks talk about mpg rather than l per 100?

Coz we are old...

Bif

Pipetool wrote: »

I get on average 46 mpg. It's my second Lexus & is very comfortable & has all the bells & whistles. Seats hug you in & are soft leather. Excellent road holding & when I select sport mode everything goes into hyperdrive 😠overall thrilled I stuck with Lexus ðŸ‘

Cheers for that. Which model have you?

TBi

PaulKK wrote: »

I'm considering one of these over an F30 320d but reading about people getting significantly less than 40mpg is a real worry. I wouldn't want to go below 45 at the worst.

Is300h has higher consumption than a diesel. But I was in a diesel yesterday which had the dpf warning light come on. Possibly needs a clean, possibly an expensive replacement. It was nice knowing I’ll never have to worry about that.

I also don’t have to worry about the chain in my car either. I know numerous people who’ve had their bmw chain replaced at vast cost and one who’s chain snapped. I gladly pay pittance extra in petrol to remove all that worry.

zilog_jones

PaulKK wrote: »

I have to disagree. No matter what way I drive my 2.0 diesel it never does less than 48mpg.

I'm talking about low speed inner city driving, with heavy traffic in winter - in particular my experience in Cork where it's all hills and you often have to stop to let cars pass as the roads are so narrow (or drive up on the kerb!). I would often get as low as 35 MPG in my 406 in these conditions, whereas 50 MPG would be about the worst with the Prius (in hybrid mode, ignoring EV for this comparison as mine's the PHV).

Modern diesels will certainly do better at N-road/motorway driving, but I'm not so sure about the rest.

Pipetool

Mine is the executive model, really happy with it.

Bif

Pipetool wrote: »

Mine is the executive model, really happy with it.

Is the 46 mpg reading from the onboard computer or measuring brim to brim?

Casati

zilog_jones wrote: »

I'm talking about low speed inner city driving, with heavy traffic in winter - in particular my experience in Cork where it's all hills and you often have to stop to let cars pass as the roads are so narrow (or drive up on the kerb!). I would often get as low as 35 MPG in my 406 in these conditions, whereas 50 MPG would be about the worst with the Prius (in hybrid mode, ignoring EV for this comparison as mine's the PHV).

Modern diesels will certainly do better at N-road/motorway driving, but I'm not so sure about the rest.

Stop start does help with modern diesels being better than your 406 in this type of driving

Pipetool

Yes o/b computer. I'll have to brim it & see how accurate it is.

Bif

Pipetool wrote: »

Yes o/b computer. I'll have to brim it & see how accurate it is.

Thanks again

corks finest

Bif wrote: »

Thanks for that...any more IS300h drivers out there? Looks like 45 to 50 mpg is readily achievable?

all hybrids should achieve them figures, depends on your right foot, also conditions, v cold, hills etc,,,, im a hybrid driver for a few years, and have changed my driving style to achieve close on 55~60, honda insight hybrid

corks finest

Lockedout2 wrote: »

I don’t get any thing close to 50mpg.

Reset the clock after Christmas and had it at 6lt per 100k for a while but it has gone up to 7.4lt per 100 which is 38 mpg a lot of town driving.

The optimum speed seems to be 100kpm when the engine is running

winter kills the fuel consumption on all hybrids, cold, extra heater, etc

Deliberator

I just checked mine this evening. I think that I reset it around Xmas, and it is now showing 6.2l/100km, which is 45.6 MPG for my fellow 'old folk'. Since Xmas, I have been doing mostly commutes from the M50 into the centre of the city every day, with the odd local run to shops, taxiing kids, and the odd longer run at the weekend.

This is probably the highest consumption I have seen on this car. It is a 2015 model that I have owned for 10 months. Last Summer I saw 5.7l/100km (49.6 MPG). I was doing a lot of motorway mileage and more familiar with the car at that point. (You do end up driving economically, by default, without extra effort...)

I am biased, as this car is still a relatively new purchase for me, but this car ticked all the boxes for me -

Not diesel
A good size petrol engine
Low VRT
Low road tax
Good fuel economy
Good looking
Lovely to drive
Greener than the average car
Good brand / dealer service network

It's basically a higher spec, bigger engined, better looking Prius, using tried and tested technology.

IMO, for my wants/needs, I cannot currently think of another car that delivers as well on the above.

Bif wrote: »

real world MPG...detail their mpg and the type of driving they do...

Bif

Deliberator wrote: »

I just checked mine this evening. I think that I reset it around Xmas, and it is now showing 6.2l/100km, which is 45.6 MPG for my fellow 'old folk'. Since Xmas, I have been doing mostly commutes from the M50 into the centre of the city every day, with the odd local run to shops, taxiing kids, and the odd longer run at the weekend.

This is probably the highest consumption I have seen on this car. It is a 2015 model that I have owned for 10 months. Last Summer I saw 5.7l/100km (49.6 MPG). I was doing a lot of motorway mileage and more familiar with the car at that point. (You do end up driving economically, by default, without extra effort...)

I am biased, as this car is still a relatively new purchase for me, but this car ticked all the boxes for me -

Not diesel
A good size petrol engine
Low VRT
Low road tax
Good fuel economy
Good looking
Lovely to drive
Greener than the average car
Good brand / dealer service network

It's basically a higher spec, bigger engined, better looking Prius, using tried and tested technology.

IMO, I cannot currently think of another car that delivers as well on the above.

Cheers...I would add refinement to the attractions.

TBi

Bif wrote: »

Deliberator wrote: »

Cheers...I would add refinement to the attractions.

And reliablity!

jimmy G M

I am reading all these posts on the 300H with interest as I am strongly considering buying one in the summer.

Still doing research so my question is about the battery life and replacement cost in these hybrids.

Can the battery fail and if so is it a costly repair job? Is there a typical mileage level where this happens?

I heard a half baked story at work today from a colleague about battery failure in a new Prius and costing €6k to replace but covered under warranty as car was relatively new.

(OP apologies for jumping in on your thread)

grogi

jimmy G M wrote: »

Can the battery fail and if so is it a costly repair job? Is there a typical mileage level where this happens?

Yes, it can. Highly unlikely in our climate though.

With non-plugin hybrids like IS300h, the battery is never fully discharged nor fully charged. There is very little stress put on it and if it does not overheat (our "heatwaves" are not dangerous) it will outlive the rest of car.

jimmy G M

grogi wrote: »

Yes, it can. Highly unlikely in our climate though.

With non-plugin hybrids like IS300h, the battery is never fully discharged nor fully charged. There is very little stress put on it and if it does not overheat (our "heatwaves" are not dangerous) it will outlive the rest of car.

Ok that's reassuring, thank you v much

TBi

jimmy G M wrote: »

Ok that's reassuring, thank you v much

Also worth noting that usually only a portion of the battery goes bad. Toyota will say to replace the entire battery (Last I heard it’s about €2k) but you can replace the individual bad cells at much cheaper cost.

Also there are first gen prii from 1997 still running on their original battery.

jimmy G M

TBi wrote: »

Also worth noting that usually only a portion of the battery goes bad. Toyota will say to replace the entire battery (Last I heard it’s about €2k) but you can replace the individual bad cells at much cheaper cost.

Also there are first gen prii from 1997 still running on their original battery.

Cheers, thx for info.

zilog_jones

grogi wrote: »

With non-plugin hybrids like IS300h, the battery is never fully discharged nor fully charged.

This is the case for PHEVs too. On mine, "fully charged" is only 85% SOC, and once you go down to around 23% it will switch to hybrid mode where it operates like a normal Prius (maintaining around 20-30% SOC). I have not seen any significant degradation after 5.5 years.

jimmy G M

Are servicing costs on these machines expensive? Are there extra considerations with servicing over a standard petrol engine?

I assume it's a main dealer job to keep battery warranty?

zilog_jones

I assume it's the same with the IS300h but the other Toyota hybrids have no belts, no starter motor, no alternator, and the transmission (they claim) is maintenance-free - the only real maintenance to do with the engines are oil, plugs and filters. You can get the hybrid health check done independently of a service at a Toyota/Lexus dealer (think it's €55), but that's basically just a visual inspection and plugging it into a computer.

jimmy G M

jimmy G M wrote: »

Are servicing costs on these machines expensive? Are there extra considerations with servicing over a standard petrol engine?

I assume it's a main dealer job to keep battery warranty?

As said you're looking at oil, filters & plugs.
The timing chain is genuinely trouble free.
Even brakes won't wear as much due to regenerative tech.

I'm more or less decided on a 2nd hand is300h in early 2019 to do me for the following 7/10 years.

jimmy G M

Augeo wrote: »

I'm more or less decided on a 2nd hand is300h in early 2019 to do me for the following 7/10 years.

Same as. Hoping to buy a 4 year old one out of UK during the summer if all goes well.

bryaner

I'm getting 7.1l/100km at the moment, but it's new to me and a lot of test pilots over the last two weeks, I'd say 6.8/100km should be easy to get.

jimmy G M

jimmy G M wrote: »

Same as. Hoping to buy a 4 year old one out of UK during the summer if all goes well.

Didn't purchase yet . Early next year hopefully. Keeping an eye on sterling exchange rate as well - I expect this to weaken further?