Lexus Rental in Kuala Lumpur

The IS300 F Sport is a 2.0-litre turbo four with 241 bhp and an eight-speed automatic, five seats, four doors. On paper it is unremarkable. In practice it is the line that goes out to people who have to sit in Federal Highway traffic for an hour each way and want that hour to be as painless as possible.

Lexus builds for isolation and it shows. Cabin noise is low, the ride absorbs the patched tarmac around Jalan Duta and the Kerinchi link better than a firmly-sprung German equivalent, and the switchgear is straightforward enough that nobody needs a tutorial at handover. For a client who is being driven, not driving, that matters.

It is a common corporate booking for exactly that reason: presentable at a client's car park, low-key, not flashy, and cheap enough at RM880 that a week-long visitor programme does not look extravagant on the expense report. We also see it booked by Japanese and Korean business visitors who simply want the brand they know.

Fuel is the quiet advantage. Expect around 8 to 9 litres per 100 km mixed, which is better than the 330i or the C300 for a similar experience, and it takes RON 97 without complaint. Over a month that difference adds up to a tank or two.

Size is ordinary saloon — it fits any car park in the Klang Valley, boot takes three or four cases, rear seats are fine for two adults. There is nothing exotic to warn you about, which is precisely the point of this car. If you want something with more presence for the same sort of money, the Audi A5 at RM800 is the trade: better looking, two fewer doors, a harder ride.

It is also one of the easier cars to hand over quickly. There is nothing about the IS300 that needs a ten-minute briefing, which is useful when we are delivering to a hotel porch at KLCC or to an office loading bay between meetings. Keys, licence check, and you are away.