The latest generation Lexus IS has been given a really hard task: take on the Germans and win. Obviously, no car can be really good at everything, and some have to be really good at one thing and forget all about all the other stuff.
The IS 300h really has received a some strong criticism from British car magazines. All of them criticize it for the lack of performance, but Whatcar seems to have figured out a little bit of what this motor is all about, and that is company car sales.
Obviously, since it's a hybrid, it can't take on the BMW 320d in terms of performance. But it is probably a better choice as a company car since standard trim is generous and it only emits 99 grams per kilometer.
On balance, the idea of a company car driver wanting to go anywhere near 100 miles per hour or doing 0 to 60 sprints is rather ludicrous, so the IS 300h can't possibly be measured in those terms.
Another thing we'd like to point out is that the IS 300h costs less than GBP30,000, while the BMW 320d ED with an automatic is GBP31,360.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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