Lexus's compact sports sedan, on sale since 1998 (first marketed in Japan as the Toyota Altezza); the third and current generation dates from 2013, and most markets have offered it as the IS300h hybrid. Suits a compact luxury sedan buyer who wants Japanese reliability and retained value as an alternative to the 3 Series and C-Class, and will pay a full premium price. The model earned 5 stars in the crash rating and was named best in its category; the IS300h hybrid claims about 22 km/L but has measured around 12-13 km/L in real-world tests.
