Praise indeed for the latest luxury Lexus
saloons costing three times as much.
Standard equipment in our top-of-the-range Premier version included: Drive Mode Select, Smart entry and start, dual-zone climate control with electrostatic temperature switches, leather upholstery, dark wood inlay, 60:40 split-folding rear seats, heated and ventilated front seats with eight way power adjustment and power driver’s seat lumbar adjustment, power steering column, Lexus Premium Navigation, a 15-speaker Mark Levinson surround sound system, rear-view camera and front and rear parking sensors.
Safety and handling are aided by the Lexus Safety System+ with pre-crash safety systems, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, sway warning, traffic sign recognition and speed limit alerts, automatic high beam, ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and brake assist, vehicle stability control, traction control, hill-start assist and blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert. So not much missing there, then.
With its angular styling that also takes some of its inspiration from the LFA supercar, the IS saloons stand out on the road and our 300h version has the ability to run on electric power alone around town - although you’ll struggle to get more than a couple of miles out of the batteries before it switches to the petrol engine.
The new IS uses an updated chassis, which is now more rigid and has a slightly firmer suspension, but the car is still a very comfortable place to be.
The 300h is the first full hybrid IS model (there is a petrol turbopowered IS 200t) and both versions are available with F Sport style and handling packages.
From the basic SE to our wellequipped Premier, engine choices are a 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid (the IS 300h) and a 2.0-litre turbo petrol (the IS 200t). There is no diesel engine, manual gearbox option or estate model.
It’s very quiet inside thanks to that hybrid powertrain, and wind noise is minimal on the motorway, but hit the throttle hard and things get a bit noisier as the CVT gearbox allows revs to race a little.
It is a quick car, despite the hybrid batteries adding quite a lot of weight (and slightly restricting boot space) with 0 to 62 coming up in 8.4 seconds and the ability to go on to a top speed of 125.
And an economical one too. I drove the 300h around for a week and it still had three-quarters of a tank left - which makes the Lexus claimed 60mpg plus combined figure look entirely plausible.
Any gripes? Well Lexus have stuck with their ageing infotainment system, which is controlled by a small mouse-like knob on the centre console that I found fiddly and sometimes downright frustrating.
Finally, the price for all this luxury starts from a quite reasonable shade over £30,000 for the SE up to £39,875 on the road for our Premier model.
More details at www.lexus.co.uk