Well after much mucking around (see several IS / GS posts on here for the past 12 months or so...)

I finally got my Lexus - an ex Demo GS450 SE-L in Black with grey interior.

I am delighted with the car and even more so with the service received while selecting and purchasing it.

Lots of praise to Alex at Edinburgh for giving me 2 hours of his time unannounced to drive an IS / GS300 / GS450 and particularly Paul at Cardiff for doing the deal and delivering the chosen car to me in Hull (complete with a 4am start for him).

With 1 solitary exception, all Lexus dealers and staff I dealt with were courteous, well informed and professional. I can honestly say it has been the most pleasant car buying experience I have had.

And the car is stunning - radar cruise is superb!

hi dalfruin, radar cruise! does that stop you hitting car in front

Congrats mate - radar cruise does indeed rock! I drove from Bristol to Reading the other day and never touched the pedals

[quote name='Rillo' post='393049' date='Nov 4 2006, 08:00 PM']Congrats mate - radar cruise does indeed rock! I drove from Bristol to Reading the other day and never touched the pedals [/quote]


That makes you a braver man than me!

It is brilliant on 3 lane motorways though, couldn't quite bring myself to trust it completely on the 2 lane stretches of the A1 though - too many white transits cutting in front of me...

[quote name='dalfruin' post='393042' date='Nov 4 2006, 07:08 PM']Well after much mucking around (see several IS / GS posts on here for the past 12 months or so...)

I finally got my Lexus - an ex Demo GS450 SE-L in Black with grey interior.

I am delighted with the car and even more so with the service received while selecting and purchasing it.

Lots of praise to Alex at Edinburgh for giving me 2 hours of his time unannounced to drive an IS / GS300 / GS450 and particularly Paul at Cardiff for doing the deal and delivering the chosen car to me in Hull (complete with a 4am start for him).

With 1 solitary exception, all Lexus dealers and staff I dealt with were courteous, well informed and professional. I can honestly say it has been the most pleasant car buying experience I have had.

And the car is stunning - radar cruise is superb![/quote]
Had mine since May this year.
Fast, quiet and around 30mpg.
Still can't make up my mind whether I preferred my LS430 (didn't really get on with the RX400h).
By the way, how did you get an ex-demo so quick, I thought the dealers had to keep them for six months?

bill

Ours is an ex-demo too. Not worked out how to turn on the radar cruise yet... better read the manual

[quote name='dalfruin' post='393051' date='Nov 4 2006, 08:08 PM'][quote name='Rillo' post='393049' date='Nov 4 2006, 08:00 PM']
Congrats mate - radar cruise does indeed rock! I drove from Bristol to Reading the other day and never touched the pedals [/quote]


That makes you a braver man than me!

It is brilliant on 3 lane motorways though, couldn't quite bring myself to trust it completely on the 2 lane stretches of the A1 though - too many white transits cutting in front of me...
[/quote]


if you really want to freak people out then switch radar cruise on and then put your feet up on the dashboard

Congratulations on the new car, how is the 450? Is there any lag when the engine cuts in and such?

[quote name='dalfruin' post='393051' date='Nov 4 2006, 08:08 PM']It is brilliant on 3 lane motorways though, couldn't quite bring myself to trust it completely on the 2 lane stretches of the A1 though - too many white transits cutting in front of me...[/quote]
Gotta agree about radar cruise, had a lot of fun with it on a test drive a while back - even when a moron pulled out right in front of me doing 40mph less than me on the M1, it slammed on the brakes instantly

[quote name='bill jarvis' post='393080' date='Nov 4 2006, 10:05 PM']By the way, how did you get an ex-demo so quick, I thought the dealers had to keep them for six months?[/quote]
They need to keep demos for 3 months, can sell anytime after

Coolio!
Feel much difference between the GS300?

D.


Oh, and get some pictures uploaded!

Wonderful choice - I drove the GS 300 and 450 back to back at the Openroad Event, and I was blown away by the sheer performance of the beast!!

Any you really can't tell when the motor is purring and when not, it's deceptive, no lag or anything...

It's amazing when you reverse for the first time too, it's totally milk float!!

PS - the GS300 ain't a bad car, but the minute you drive the 450, the 300 seems modest!

[quote name='dalfruin' post='393042' date='Nov 4 2006, 07:08 PM']Well after much mucking around (see several IS / GS posts on here for the past 12 months or so...)

I finally got my Lexus - an ex Demo GS450 SE-L in Black with grey interior.

I am delighted with the car and even more so with the service received while selecting and purchasing it.

Lots of praise to Alex at Edinburgh for giving me 2 hours of his time unannounced to drive an IS / GS300 / GS450 and particularly Paul at Cardiff for doing the deal and delivering the chosen car to me in Hull (complete with a 4am start for him).

With 1 solitary exception, all Lexus dealers and staff I dealt with were courteous, well informed and professional. I can honestly say it has been the most pleasant car buying experience I have had.

And the car is stunning - radar cruise is superb![/quote]
I too recently took delivery of a new Lexus
A Lexus GS450h S E L with Wood pack in Velvet Black with Sutherland interior.

Although I lve in Harrow in Middlesex I ordered the car through Lexus Exeter, as after extensive searching they were the only dealer who at the time (August) had a car with the colour spec etc I was after with reasonable delviery. In fact delivery was brought forward by a few weeks to the beginning of October.

I have up until this car been a Jaguar owner for the last ten years, my last car being the current shape XJ6, however for various reasons not least of all the fact that the XJ' is just too big, seemingly designed for the U.S market where size of car is not a problem, I started to look around for something a little smaller which would not sacrfice the features of my XJ, such as adaptive cruise control voice activation etc etc.
I have followed the Lexus range for a number of years as it offers many of the qualities that are found in Jaguars, and I particularly admired the styling and technology of the current model GS. After the introduction of the hybrid and after a lot of test drives I deserted the Jaguar brand and decided to go ahead.

My initial impressions of the car are very good, from past experience you realy need to read the handbook in detail to full yappreciate all the cars functions, and the Lexus is the same, in fact invariably there's always feature large or small that you didnt know the car could do!!!
Also with a very gentle right foot around town the economy is already proving very good at around upper twenties to low thrties mpg , and with a gentle throttle some quite high speeds on battery alone can be achieved I have seen almost 40 mph all be it on a slight downward slope. And off course being able to drive through central London with no congestion charge as a bonus. Although I would mention if stuck in very heavy traffic for a long period the battery will run down and then its back to petrol again, but as Lexus say the hybrid is primarily there for the performance side of things and not economy, needless to say, having tryed the performance on a test drive thats one department this model is certainly not lacking in!!! 0-60 in under six secs and still economy into 30 mpg from a large petrol car certainly puts it ahead of any of its rivals, to say nothing of the averall refinemnt.

Regretably a few quality issues have put a fly in the ointment, and I'm waiting to hear from Lexus GB about them.

Regards

Keith

Mine replaced a 01 / Y Mercedes C320 that I had owned since new.

The only reason I kept the Merc for so long was that I could not find anything that I really felt would be as special as it was when I got it.... I have now!

Car is extremely comfortable, exceptionally quick when nailed - only done it once but it really does feel that it could be Porsche fast in the mid range.

I've done 2 300 mile motorway runs - both averaged between 32 and 33 mpg. Around town it seems nigh on impossible to get the consumption beneath 30. These are displayed figures, I haven't worked it out manually yet.

I've found that the engine kicks in pretty much immediately when cold then goes off, I don't notice it at all and am using the little display beneath the speedo to show me what is providing the power.

I would agree with the poster who said that the 300 is not a bad car but the 450 blows it away. I drove them back to back and the 450 just felt "better" - steering feel is definitely different - their is a meatier feel to the 450.

And there are lots of ex demos / Lexus GB cars available - when I was looking there were 39 on lexus.co.uk, go buy one, you'll love it!

[quote name='kns' post='393747' date='Nov 7 2006, 06:11 PM'][quote name='dalfruin' post='393042' date='Nov 4 2006, 07:08 PM']
Well after much mucking around (see several IS / GS posts on here for the past 12 months or so...)

I finally got my Lexus - an ex Demo GS450 SE-L in Black with grey interior.

I am delighted with the car and even more so with the service received while selecting and purchasing it.

Lots of praise to Alex at Edinburgh for giving me 2 hours of his time unannounced to drive an IS / GS300 / GS450 and particularly Paul at Cardiff for doing the deal and delivering the chosen car to me in Hull (complete with a 4am start for him).

With 1 solitary exception, all Lexus dealers and staff I dealt with were courteous, well informed and professional. I can honestly say it has been the most pleasant car buying experience I have had.

And the car is stunning - radar cruise is superb![/quote]
I too recently took delivery of a new Lexus
A Lexus GS450h S E L with Wood pack in Velvet Black with Sutherland interior.

Although I lve in Harrow in Middlesex I ordered the car through Lexus Exeter, as after extensive searching they were the only dealer who at the time (August) had a car with the colour spec etc I was after with reasonable delviery. In fact delivery was brought forward by a few weeks to the beginning of October.

I have up until this car been a Jaguar owner for the last ten years, my last car being the current shape XJ6, however for various reasons not least of all the fact that the XJ' is just too big, seemingly designed for the U.S market where size of car is not a problem, I started to look around for something a little smaller which would not sacrfice the features of my XJ, such as adaptive cruise control voice activation etc etc.
I have followed the Lexus range for a number of years as it offers many of the qualities that are found in Jaguars, and I particularly admired the styling and technology of the current model GS. After the introduction of the hybrid and after a lot of test drives I deserted the Jaguar brand and decided to go ahead.

My initial impressions of the car are very good, from past experience you realy need to read the handbook in detail to full yappreciate all the cars functions, and the Lexus is the same, in fact invariably there's always feature large or small that you didnt know the car could do!!!
Also with a very gentle right foot around town the economy is already proving very good at around upper twenties to low thrties mpg , and with a gentle throttle some quite high speeds on battery alone can be achieved I have seen almost 40 mph all be it on a slight downward slope. And off course being able to drive through central London with no congestion charge as a bonus. Although I would mention if stuck in very heavy traffic for a long period the battery will run down and then its back to petrol again, but as Lexus say the hybrid is primarily there for the performance side of things and not economy, needless to say, having tryed the performance on a test drive thats one department this model is certainly not lacking in!!! 0-60 in under six secs and still economy into 30 mpg from a large petrol car certainly puts it ahead of any of its rivals, to say nothing of the averall refinemnt.

Regretably a few quality issues have put a fly in the ointment, and I'm waiting to hear from Lexus GB about them.

Regards

Keith
[/quote]

Keith, you making any progress with Lexus GB since we chatted??

[quote name='Rillo' post='393887' date='Nov 8 2006, 01:07 PM'][quote name='kns' post='393747' date='Nov 7 2006, 06:11 PM']
[quote name='dalfruin' post='393042' date='Nov 4 2006, 07:08 PM']
Well after much mucking around (see several IS / GS posts on here for the past 12 months or so...)

I finally got my Lexus - an ex Demo GS450 SE-L in Black with grey interior.

I am delighted with the car and even more so with the service received while selecting and purchasing it.

Lots of praise to Alex at Edinburgh for giving me 2 hours of his time unannounced to drive an IS / GS300 / GS450 and particularly Paul at Cardiff for doing the deal and delivering the chosen car to me in Hull (complete with a 4am start for him).

With 1 solitary exception, all Lexus dealers and staff I dealt with were courteous, well informed and professional. I can honestly say it has been the most pleasant car buying experience I have had.

And the car is stunning - radar cruise is superb![/quote]
I too recently took delivery of a new Lexus
A Lexus GS450h S E L with Wood pack in Velvet Black with Sutherland interior.

Although I lve in Harrow in Middlesex I ordered the car through Lexus Exeter, as after extensive searching they were the only dealer who at the time (August) had a car with the colour spec etc I was after with reasonable delviery. In fact delivery was brought forward by a few weeks to the beginning of October.

I have up until this car been a Jaguar owner for the last ten years, my last car being the current shape XJ6, however for various reasons not least of all the fact that the XJ' is just too big, seemingly designed for the U.S market where size of car is not a problem, I started to look around for something a little smaller which would not sacrfice the features of my XJ, such as adaptive cruise control voice activation etc etc.
I have followed the Lexus range for a number of years as it offers many of the qualities that are found in Jaguars, and I particularly admired the styling and technology of the current model GS. After the introduction of the hybrid and after a lot of test drives I deserted the Jaguar brand and decided to go ahead.

My initial impressions of the car are very good, from past experience you realy need to read the handbook in detail to full yappreciate all the cars functions, and the Lexus is the same, in fact invariably there's always feature large or small that you didnt know the car could do!!!
Also with a very gentle right foot around town the economy is already proving very good at around upper twenties to low thrties mpg , and with a gentle throttle some quite high speeds on battery alone can be achieved I have seen almost 40 mph all be it on a slight downward slope. And off course being able to drive through central London with no congestion charge as a bonus. Although I would mention if stuck in very heavy traffic for a long period the battery will run down and then its back to petrol again, but as Lexus say the hybrid is primarily there for the performance side of things and not economy, needless to say, having tryed the performance on a test drive thats one department this model is certainly not lacking in!!! 0-60 in under six secs and still economy into 30 mpg from a large petrol car certainly puts it ahead of any of its rivals, to say nothing of the averall refinemnt.

Regretably a few quality issues have put a fly in the ointment, and I'm waiting to hear from Lexus GB about them.

Regards

Keith
[/quote]

Keith, you making any progress with Lexus GB since we chatted??
[/quote]
Hello mate,

No news yet, they are having a meeting at Lexus GB on Thursday, and they will come back to me following that.
I will off course let you know the results

Regards
Keith

[quote name='Rillo' post='393194' date='Nov 5 2006, 02:38 PM'][quote name='dalfruin' post='393051' date='Nov 4 2006, 08:08 PM']
[quote name='Rillo' post='393049' date='Nov 4 2006, 08:00 PM']
Congrats mate - radar cruise does indeed rock! I drove from Bristol to Reading the other day and never touched the pedals [/quote]


That makes you a braver man than me!

It is brilliant on 3 lane motorways though, couldn't quite bring myself to trust it completely on the 2 lane stretches of the A1 though - too many white transits cutting in front of me...
[/quote]


if you really want to freak people out then switch radar cruise on and then put your feet up on the dashboard
[/quote]
Ahj....that was YOU was it!!!!???

er, no comment

[quote name='Rillo' post='394173' date='Nov 9 2006, 05:00 PM']er, no comment [/quote]
I could tell by the Black and white shirt....SUCH a giveaway! (Plus the permanent downcast face on a Sat/Sunday after the match!)
OOOOH! Low blow!

[quote name='Chris Skelton' post='394249' date='Nov 9 2006, 09:23 PM'][quote name='Rillo' post='394173' date='Nov 9 2006, 05:00 PM']
er, no comment [/quote]
I could tell by the Black and white shirt....SUCH a giveaway! (Plus the permanent downcast face on a Sat/Sunday after the match!)
OOOOH! Low blow!
[/quote]


yeah and if you smelled smoke it was just me burning my season ticket