Potenza

I'm seriously considering the IS500 and trying to get all the info I can on the car. I'm curious what it does for highway fuel economy in Canada where our speeds are about 100-110kph with cruise set.

Hoping someone can answer the question

wthrman2

Hey fella Canadian - I saw your PM but thought I would write here in case others want to chime in. I know there a few Canadian drivers that use their IS 500 throughout the year but I am not one of them. Every situation will be different so using someone's numbers should never be a deciding factor in your assessment of a go/no go when it comes to this vehicle. I understand that when we want to buy something as expensive as this car, we don't want to make a mistake or have a nasty surprise so I fully understand the reason you are asking and that makes total sense but keep in mind that the numbers I will provide you, and those by others, could be totally different than anything you will see. Furthermore, and I know you will have heard this before and you will hear it here too, but if you are buying a V8, you shouldn't be worrying about the consumption as you have to expect it will be worse than your average car 9as with the cost of putting premium fuel). You get this car because you want to want to own one of the best V8 (not saying the best) there is in and in a sedan format that is very rare now especially when you consider that it is naturally aspirated.

So with all that stuff out of the way, and again, I only drive mine from spring to fall (April to early December on average), these are numbers I typically get:

1. For my day to day driving which is mostly in town and heading home which is about 10 min away from the city on a rural road with a speed limit of 80 km/h - My recurring fuel mileage is about 10.8 to 11.2 L/100 km
2. On pure highway condition driving about 120 km/h on somewhat flat conditions (minor rolling hills) - My recurring fuel mileage is about 8.5 L/100 km.

For what it's worth, I have had a 2015 IS 350 AWD, a 2017 IS 350 AWD, a 2019 RC 350 AWD and a 2021 IS 350 AWD and ALL of those vehicles were giving me fuel numbers that were not much better when comparing similar driving pattern:

1. For my day to day driving which was mostly in town and heading home which is about 10 min away from the city on a rural road with a speed limit of 80 km/h - My recurring fuel mileage was about 10.0 to 10.4 L/100 km
2. On pure highway condition driving about 120 km/h on somewhat flat conditions (minor rolling hills) - My recurring fuel mileage was about 8.2 L/100 km.

So you can see that the difference is negligible when comparing both the 350 versus the 500 - This is in part because the 350 AWD is just as heavy, if not a tad more because of the AWD and not as efficient because of the 6 Speed tranny versus the 8 speed on the RWD.

So I shared my numbers NOT to suggest that this is what you will be getting but to say that comparing the 350 versus the 500, all other things being equal (type of roads, same driver, same driving styles), the difference is barely a blip on the radar and if those small change in fuel consumption are a concern to you, then you really should not be getting the V8. Now keep in mind that the moment you will start driving hard, yeah, the numbers will change but you can't put a price tag on the fun and smile factor. You got to pay to play and life is short.

Hope this will help but maybe the other Canadian owners will chime in too

Potenza

Thanks for the very comprehensive answer! For the record, I'm not basing my decision on any single factor. More gathering all the information I can on the car to make the decision. I currently have a G70, which has been great for the past 4.5 years but lease end is coming soon. I may keep it or move to the IS500. The other cars in the segment are too similar to the G70 for me to consider. The IS500 is unique, just like the G70 was 5 years ago. Seems like the fuel requirements and mileage are very similar to the G70.

​​​​​​Appreciate the feedback

wthrman2

^^ No problem - Glad to be of assistance. As you know, no cars are perfect and the IS 500 is not the best at everything but I can assure you, when you look at the car OVERALL, you can't really go wrong with this one. It is unfortunate you live out away as I would give you a chance to try it out before having to commit to the car. What I would suggest, if you can, is try and find an IS 350 (2021+) with the adaptive suspension if you can and take one for a test drive. The 500 is really an IS 350 with a much more potent engine but the rest is not that different. The only issue in Canada will be the fact that you will be test driving an AWD versus a RWD and the a 6 speed vs 8 speed but it will help you get a sense of the steering feel, the way the car handles, the way the cockpit feels to you and such. It is not as ideal as test driving an IS 500 but coming from a different brand, it will give you the chance to see if you like the Lexus driving signature. I will say one thing however, that V8 is quite intoxicating so if you like the IS 350, you will LOVE the IS 500. But that being said, the seats (etc) may be deal breakers for you so try and find one if you can.

Now keeping the G70 is by far a wiser choice financially but no one knows what is the long term reliability of the Genesis although I had some Hyundai products in the past and had 0 issues despite owning them for 6 years. But that V8 will be reliable and may become something that some will be seeking when it is no longer produced. I mean Toyota?lexus is really downsizing their powerplant and using turbos and electric motors so the writing is on the wall for this one.

Thinks to keep in mind about the 500, many have complained about the way the transmission shifts - Either too slow or a bit jerky at low speed but personally, I never had an issue with it and the overall greatness of this car outweighs this situation IMO.

Best of luck and if you have any questions or wanna discuss further, either write here or send me a PM or we can even arrange a call if that is easier - Best of luck but I can tell you, I would be very surprised you wouldn't like this powertrain overall, especially if you know everything while going into it (that it is a relatively old engine/tranny but reliable as heck)

jororo

You’ll be sniffing 30 mpg if you can keep a highway trip under 70 mph. I averaged 65mph and 29mpg on my initial 450 mile drive back from picking up my ‘22 IS500. Would’ve topped 30 mpg had I not been dropping a couple gears every 5 minutes to vary the engine speed for proper break-in.

Things don’t get much worse if you go faster. On my last 290 mile day trip I averaged 26mpg but did the trip in under 3.5 hours. And that was with a number of high speed redline overtakings and about 30 miles of city driving.

AmbyBomb

I get maybe 500 to a tank. Based on when the Eco light comes on, 110 isn't this car's ideal cruising speed; 120 to 130 is.

macmaster

Gas mileage is pretty good on this V8. There are trucks and SUVs out there that still get 15 mpg and theyre nowhere near as fun to drive as this thing.

It helps though that my other car gets 45 mpg.

Bechtold

I thought Canadian vehicles were rated in Maple Syrup per Gallon (MPG) or Beaver Per Mile (BPM).

I had a rental car in Toronto (a rental Taurus) and I told my co-workers I was doing 130 and their eyes opened up before I dropped that it was kilometers not miles per hour part.

macmaster

you said beaver.

v33k

My first 3 tanks of 93

7.73KM/L 12.94L/100km
7.83KM/L 12.76L/100km
8.02KM/L 12.48L/100km

macmaster

Can you translate this into something we can actually understand? MPG? AMERICA BABY! WE THE BEST!

wthrman2

You should give a bit more context on those 3 fuel tanks - Mostly city? Mostly Highway? 50/50 slit? Hilly topography? Relatively flat?

Bechtold

Yes I did.

https://www.inchcalculator.com/conve...le-per-gallon/

Seems to be 18.2 to 18.9 MPG from his post.

arentz07

My mileage over 1,400 miles so far has averaged 19.0 MPG, or 12.4 l/100 km. I've done mostly city/back roads driving, but I've also been on a couple longer highway trips.

Answer

I'm basically averaging the same as my '18 350 with my 500.

Around 8.5 on the highway, and anywhere from 12 to 20 around city, depending on my mood!