The second Lexus in the IS series we have had a look at – and thus far, this one would be our favourite and yes, we ARE red-blooded drivers…
There are some who might have thought a driving a Lexus hybrid vehicle is like going to the best steak restaurant in town, claiming you’re a vegetarian and demanding a salad. Not so.
In keeping with the metaphor, driving the IS300h, you’d be going to the best steak restaurant in town and ordering the leanest Wagyu beef: you want the best and you want it sustainably.
When Lexus first started getting into hybrid vehicles, there was a little cynicism; Lexus as a luxury sports brand was strange enough, (though later proven to be valid) but ‘diluting it’ with hybrid tech?
Actually, this was the mark of the ignorant; the Lexus hybrid of the time; the GS450h, was an absolute powerhouse of a performance vehicle and so sophisticated in terms of its refinement, it should have received an award.
Well, that award may well go to the 2021 Lexus IS300h. And it would be a deserving winner.
There are of course a number of IS300 variants, but it is the 300h with the slightly smaller 2.5-litre engine boosted with electric motor and battery pack which takes pride of place in our book.
The IS300h, in particular, encapsulates everything a Lexus sedan should be: it’s luxurious, sporty, environmentally conscious, good looking, engaging to drive, has excellent accommodations for occupants and cargo, is incredibly safe and well equipped for comfort while being beautifully engineered.
Hmm, the perfect car then? Well, it likely as not won’t suit everyone, but it will suit many who thought Lexus was an unaffordable brand.
The hybrids in the IS range, being self-chargers, won’t qualify for Auntie Jacinda’s Clean Car rebate, but of all the self-charging vehicles NZ Company Vehicle has driven, the IS300h is the one where a rebate is probably not a critical reward of ownership.
If not, then what is the critical reward of ownership? Driver satisfaction of course, that almost intangible sense of every element of the car coming together in just the right way, and Lexus is the brand that comes closest to this with the IS300h.
This is a driver’s car, inasmuch as it is so brilliant in its suspension set-up.
Rolling through city and suburban streets is a serene experience, but out on the open road, you can give the petrol/electric combination a work-out and see the genius of Lexus design engineering in the chassis dynamics of the car.
A lot of folks tend to bang on about ‘chassis dynamics’ but I prefer to keep it simple. If a car stays ‘flat’ under high-speed cornering, that’s good chassis dynamics.
If the car moves a little to improve your cornering and your inner child now thinks he/she is a proper racing driver, that’s ‘great’ chassis dynamics – and this is precisely what the IS300h has.
Personally, I believe Lexus has done an outstanding job with the 2021 IS series. Exemplary road manners through outstanding chassis dynamics is a part of the package, but not the only part.
As mentioned in an earlier review of the IS300, analysing the elements of what makes a Lexus so good is kind of contrary to what Lexus designers/engineers wanted.
I believe they were driving for overall excellence and with the IS300h – a car so well designed, I can’t point to any one element and say ‘’this is the X-factor’’ – Lexus has certainly delivered; presenting a car which reflects everything the brand stands for – in every respect.
Specifications:
BODY TYPE 4 door luxury sedan
DRIVE Rear wheel/ 8 speed auto
ENGINE TYPE 4-cylinder, in-line petrol with nickel metal hydride battery
ENGINE CAPACITY 2494cc
MAX POWER 164kW
MAX TORQUE 380Nm
L/100KM (COMBINED) 5.1
CO2 EMISSIONS 116 g/km
LOAD CAPACITY 450 litres
ANCAP RATING 5 Star
PRICE $85,800
