Lexus IS300h F Sport review The new IS marks a dramatic fresh start from front to back. Borrowing cues from Lexus" stirringly fabulous LF-CC concept car, the "spindle" grille and the lightning flash of the LED lights on the IS's nose will make its front end as distinctive and purposeful a sight in anybody's rear-view mirror as Jaguar's XF saloon. "Coming right at you," it seems to say. A strong line sweeps up from deep sills to the tail-lights to stress the resolve of the profile. This, the F Sport model, looks even sharper than other IS models, with its aggressively sculpted bumpers and racy-looking front grille mesh. Like BMW's 3-series, earlier IS models were short of space in the back seats but the new car gains more than an inch and a half of leg room, allowing me - a far from compact six-footer - to set the driver's seat for myself and then sit comfortably in the back. The combination of a 2.5-litre 16-valve petrol engine with a 141bhp electric motor gives this hybrid-powered IS decent overtaking power; and double wishbone suspension at the front and multi-link suspension at the rear make it a relaxing, secure pleasure to drive quickly on country roads. Some people are unsettled by the seamlessness of the Toyota/Lexus continuous variable transmission system and long for gears; but I felt it made a subtle, almost musical connection with the F Sport's rear-wheel-drive set up. The Ultra Blue metallic paint job that the McLaren boy admired so much was a £610 extra - as were its luxurious leather seats at £1,400 and its exceptionally bungling satnav system at a throat-clutching £1,995. Otherwise - as is usual with Lexus - a wealth of equipment is included in the standard price for the car. No extra charge for the 7in multimedia screen, the DAB digital tuner, the rear-view cameras or the sporty steering wheel. There's a refreshing straightforwardness in this pricing approach. Would that it extended to Lexus" claims for fuel economy. In three days normal driving, without pushing hard or breaking speed limits, my average was only two-thirds of the figure they fatuously promote. This industry-wide nonsense about fuel consumption amounts to a fraud on the public. It's time it stopped. Lexus IS300h F Sport Price: £33,495 Price as tested: £37,500 Power: 178bhp (petrol engine); 141bhp (electric motor) Acceleration: 0-60 mph in 8.3sec Top speed: 125mph Fuel economy: 60.1mpg (EU Combined), 42.1mpg (as tested) CO2 emissions: 109g/km