SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active list down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and search through the drop-down menu that appears.
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Pics by Motorpress
Posted: April 26, 2021
The numbers
Prices range from R841 300 to R916 900
Engine: Toyota 2AR-FSE 2494 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol
Power: 133 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 221 Nm between 4200 and 5400 rpm
Electric motor: Synchronous-pole, with permanent ceramic magnet, producing 105 kW and 300 Nm
Combined system power: 164 kW, torque not specified
0-100 km/h: 8.7 seconds
Top speed: 200 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.5 l/100 km
Tank: 66 litres
Turning circle: 10.4 metres
Ground clearance; 140 mm
Luggage: 450 litres
Standard tyres, EX and SE: 235/45R18. F-Sport: 265/35 R19 rear and 235/40R19 front, Bridgestone Potenza.
Puncture repair: Pump and aerosol kit
Warranty and maintenance: 7 years, 105 000 km with services annually or at 15 000 km intervals
Let’s bow our heads and be silent for a moment: The sporty Lexus IS sedans we knew and loved have passed on to that great Collectible Barn in the sky. Should you still possess a previous-generation 300 EX or 350 F-Sport, hang on to it or be prepared to downgrade to an SUV. Or spend more money on another kind of Lexus sedan.
The three-model range remains nominally the same with EX, SE and F-Sport trim grades. What has changed is that they are now all hybrid, sharing the same 2.5-litre naturally aspirated engine with single electric motor and the same electronically controlled cones-and-belt CVT.
This transmission works quite well, better than most older types, but we wish Lexus could have specified the new one, with its ring- and planetary gears, as fitted to less costly UX250s.
Moving on. According to its Wikipedia entry, IS received a major makeover for the 2021 model year. Updated styling includes larger bodywork, restyled headlamps and full-width taillamps, slightly updated dashboard, and a larger spindle grille design. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capabilities were added, as well as upgraded driver-assistance systems. The suspension was revised with wider tracks, new springs, lighter control arms and rear stabiliser bar, while the body was made more rigid.
The accent is on safety with all models offering LED headlamps with automatic levelling, rain-sensing wipers, nine airbags, cruise control, double wishbone front suspension with multilink at the back, ventilated disc brakes at both ends and self-dipping rearview mirror. Brakes are ABS with EBD, BA, vehicle stability control, vehicle dynamic integrated management, hill start assist and traction control.
Moving up to SE or F-Sport adds leather upholstery, automatic high beam control, pre-crash brake synchronisation with pedestrian- and cyclist detection, panoramic view for the reversing camera, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring with lane control (more on that later), rear cross traffic alert, ventilation and warming for the powered front seats and memory functions for the driver’s chair. The 10-speaker Lexus Premium sound system makes way for Mark Levinson HiFi with 17 speakers, and SE grade scores a tilt-and-slide moonroof.
F-Sport gains adaptive variable suspension with anti-squat, anti-dive and roll attitude control; unsprung mass vibration damping; an additional Sport Plus mode on the drive selector; active cornering assist and larger diameter wheels, wider at the rear, with lower profile tyres. What it needs now, in order to fully use those features, is as much power as the discontinued 350 F-Sport had.
The lane control feature, mentioned earlier, is a mixed blessing. Lexus decided to make it semi-compulsory, defaulting back on at every start-up, rather than elective as most other manufacturers do. If you are feeling well and wide awake, not in need of mothering, you press and hold a button on the steering wheel until the system switches off.
Forgetting to do so makes highway trips a nightmare with lane trace control jerking the car back onto an arbitrarily chosen line when least expected. It borders on dangerous, while all it would take to make us friends again is a simple software change.
Summing up, Lexus IS 300h models are smooth, comfy and sexy. They draw stares in supermarket parking lots and cool dudes ask to sit inside while having their pictures taken. They are lighter on fuel than other 2.5-litre cars and have loads of boot space. The seatback splits 60:40 to create more, and each section can be locked from behind as a security measure. Rear seat passengers may find accommodations a little more compact than expected, however.
These cars are also built and equipped to be extremely safe, but Lexus’ fabled IS sedan sportiness is history.
Test unit from Lexus SA press fleet
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.
If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles. And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8