Long-term update: 2012 Lexus IS 300C gains some speed

If you recall, we first drove this Lexus IS 300C back when it was fresh off-the-boat, with only 20 km on the clock. We used it during that last Eid-Al-Adha to haul recently-alive fresh beef, but we were hesitant to push it too hard, considering it was not even broken in. So when we got it back again now, as a long-termer, with a four-figure number on the odometer, we were in a good position to compare its straight-line performance, before and after.

Back when we first drove it, it was November. The weather was warm, but it was still pleasant on the verge of winter, maybe about 30 degrees Celsius. With the mileage at 20 km, we did one acceleration run with the car. Even with traction control off, the car hardly had any wheelspin as we took off for the 0-100 kph run. We clocked in a time of 9 seconds flat.

Fast-forward to June, seven months later. The weather is generally hotter, but at the time of our test, we were experiencing those rare moments when it was rather pleasant for summer, maybe about 35 degrees Celsius just before sunset. So this second test was conducted on a hotter day than before. Now with 8,500 km on the odo, it is properly broken in, but there still was almost no wheelspin when we ran the 0-100 kph test, possibly because the wide tyres are too grippy for the engine to overcome. Still, we clocked a time of 8.1 seconds.

So there you have it. The difference between a fresh engine and a broken-in engine is massive. Even though hotter weather is generally detrimental to engine performance, we still clocked a better time this time around. Some say modern cars don’t need a break-in period any more due to better production tolerances and what not, but clearly, that is not always the case, if ever.

Original Mileage When Borrowed: 4,640 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 8,500 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 10.2 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0

Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Borrowed: Dhs 0

Read all 2012 Lexus IS 300C long-term updates