Has anyone moved to Lexus from BMW ?

[ganzoom]

1 hour ago, stevegant said:

The sat nav is an 'experience'.  In my honest opinion it's a bit 'Windows 95'. 

The graphics interface is rubbish and before a firmware update about 12 months ago really really laggy. Shame really because the functions are all there, just not displayed using resolutions/graphics we are now use too in 2018/19.

However the actual route planning works well, and when in use its fine.

Bluetooth connection is actually very good, displays Spotify album art, lets you skip/pause, and all connects very easily.

 

 

[stevegant]

26 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Do you really need/use a sat nav as many of us have them, and do not use them for 95% of the time we are in the car.

You raise a fair point.  What I tend to do it to set the Nav in conjunction with live traffic when I start my commute.  I have several options in terms of the route to work and any time I can save is useful !  In addition I often get sent to random places at short notice and it's useful to just pop in the post code.

[stevegant]

16 minutes ago, ganzoom said:

The graphics interface is rubbish and before a firmware update about 12 months ago really really laggy. Shame really because the functions are all there, just not displayed using resolutions/graphics we are now use too in 2018/19.

However the actual route planning works well, and when in use its fine.

Bluetooth connection is actually very good, displays Spotify album art, lets you skip/pause, and all connects very easily.

 

 

Thanks for the comment on Spotify - I'll test that on my way home.  I do have a pen drive with all my music on it but it's not recognised in the Lexus.  I believe that's because the USB stick need to be formatted in FAT32. 

[wharfhouse]

2 hours ago, stevegant said:

Thanks for the comment on Spotify - I'll test that on my way home.  I do have a pen drive with all my music on it but it's not recognised in the Lexus.  I believe that's because the USB stick need to be formatted in FAT32. 

Yes definitely needs to be FAT32 to be recognised and not NTFS...

[wharfhouse]

2 hours ago, stevegant said:

You raise a fair point.  What I tend to do it to set the Nav in conjunction with live traffic when I start my commute.  I have several options in terms of the route to work and any time I can save is useful !  In addition I often get sent to random places at short notice and it's useful to just pop in the post code.

I only have Standard nav (not Premier) and so the traffic updates are not as accurate and so I always do a quick check using Google maps on my phone to see what it's giving as the estimated travel time - sometimes it ties in with what the sat nav says and other times may differ a bit. However, in general the sat nav isn't too bad and other than a quick double check against Google I use it once on the move and the routings and ETAs tend to be reasonable. There has to come a time though when all car manufacturers give up on their own sat nav systems and simply connect to Google for navigation as that continues to get better and better all the time whereas for the car manufacturers progress is always way behind... 

[stevegant]

46 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

Yes definitely needs to be FAT32 to be recognised and not NTFS...

Thanks for confirming - I test with a spare pen drive later before the car goes back tomorrow.

[LexusIS300h]

Try using Waze for your SatNav if the in car one gives you the fits. It works well too played through the in car speakers

[Pink]

1 hour ago, LexusIS300h said:

Try using Waze for your SatNav if the in car one gives you the fits. It works well too played through the in car speakers

+1. Waze is just better than most when you need a nifty way thru snarled up city traffic in particular, where both the beemer and the Lexus sat navs have a tendency to stick to main routes. There’s a reason loads of cabbies use it. 

Also as mentioned above, Spotify works well in the 300h, full functionality, solid connection. 

[Martin F]

On 1 December 2018 at 7:03 PM, TBi said:

- Stupid touch controls for heating. Can't use them with a glove on and they beep loudly, not good when you have a sleeping child in the car.

Damn your auto AC issue must be really bad if you have to wear gloves in the car 

[st4]

+1. Waze is just better than most when you need a nifty way thru snarled up city traffic in particular, where both the beemer and the Lexus sat navs have a tendency to stick to main routes. There’s a reason loads of cabbies use it. 

Also as mentioned above, Spotify works well in the 300h, full functionality, solid connection. 

 

Strangely that’s why I prefer the factory navs which keep you on main routes rather than tread you down some narrow kamikaze route to save 2mins I’ll stick to main routes for as long as humanly possible.

 

My old tom Tom would pick the shortest, most awful routes imaginable to save barely 5 mins on a four hour journey

 

 

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

[wharfhouse]

Steve - did you come to any firm conclusions after your 3 days with the IS 300h as to your next car? 

[matt8]

53 minutes ago, st4 said:

My old tom Tom would pick the shortest, most awful routes imaginable to save barely 5 mins on a four hour journey

That's an old TomTom though.

Pink was talking about Waze which uses live data to make re-routing decisions. Waze and other connected mapping software is unlikely to choose a new route if the saving is so small.

[Pink]

52 minutes ago, matt8 said:

That's an old TomTom though.

Pink was talking about Waze which uses live data to make re-routing decisions. Waze and other connected mapping software is unlikely to choose a new route if the saving is so small.

Yes, exactly that. On the whole I’m happy with the factory nav for most of the time, but I’ll often use Waze for the last few miles, especially when the rush hour traffic is particularly bad. I use it for the last bit of my my journeys through both central London and middle of Birmingham. It can find great little shortcuts off the beaten track when rush hour traffic is snarled to a halt. It seems so much smarter and up to date with immediately traffic delays than either the BM or Lexus navs. 

[BigChange]

Maybe  the buy decision has already been made but as a long term ex-BMW driver the only real complaint (small 'c') I have is that the boot space is small and depth not good.  Its a struggle to pack the kitchen sink when we go away.  Compensated for by the comfortable, long distance ride and no backache. 

My granddaughter always remarks on the quiet ride.  Out of the mouths of babes....!.  And if you need some oomph, flooring the pedal so that it depresses the 'button'  below it gives a good overtaking kick.    

[stevegant]

On 12/8/2018 at 6:04 PM, wharfhouse said:

Steve - did you come to any firm conclusions after your 3 days with the IS 300h as to your next car? 

Well, I'm still mulling things over.  I did actually really  enjoy my time with the Lexus and it was the first time i'd driven anything other than a Diesel for many years.  Aside from the infotainment system being a little 'different' to what I've been used to I was quite impressed with the car as a whole.  As a tall chap (6' 6") the seats were immensely comfortable and the standard lumbar support was brill.  I was also amazed with what comes as standard kit in the F-Sport Plus - i'd never experienced things like active cruise control and the blind spot warning in the mirrors as I'm too tight to order these normally on a company car.  I have a 3 day test drive next week of a 5 series petrol and then it has to be decision time.  The question for me will be is the £100 a month saving going to sway me towards the Lexus - it will be a close call !   

[royoftherovers]

4 minutes ago, stevegant said:

Well, I'm still mulling things over.  I did actually really  enjoy my time with the Lexus and it was the first time i'd driven anything other than a Diesel for many years.  Aside from the infotainment system being a little 'different' to what I've been used to I was quite impressed with the car as a whole.  As a tall chap (6' 6") the seats were immensely comfortable and the standard lumbar support was brill.  I was also amazed with what comes as standard kit in the F-Sport Plus - i'd never experienced things like active cruise control and the blind spot warning in the mirrors as I'm too tight to order these normally on a company car.  I have a 3 day test drive next week of a 5 series petrol and then it has to be decision time.  The question for me will be is the £100 a month saving going to sway me towards the Lexus - it will be a close call !   

£100 per month over three years is £3600 saving. Not to be sniffed at !

[Silversalmon]

On 12/8/2018 at 5:36 PM, st4 said:

 

Strangely that’s why I prefer the factory navs which keep you on main routes rather than tread you down some narrow kamikaze route to save 2mins I’ll stick to main routes for as long as humanly possible.

 

My old tom Tom would pick the shortest, most awful routes imaginable to save barely 5 mins on a four hour journey

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have to agree with you there, using google maps and th like introduce some seriously odd shortcuts, invariably over lots of traffic calmed streets in an urban environment. 

 

[stevegant]

2 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

£100 per month over three years is £3600 saving. Not to be sniffed at !

Indeed.....and given the company car tax situation (Benefit in kind), the gap between the Lexus and a 5 Series will continue to grow ! 

[wharfhouse]

6 hours ago, stevegant said:

Well, I'm still mulling things over.  I did actually really  enjoy my time with the Lexus and it was the first time i'd driven anything other than a Diesel for many years.  Aside from the infotainment system being a little 'different' to what I've been used to I was quite impressed with the car as a whole.  As a tall chap (6' 6") the seats were immensely comfortable and the standard lumbar support was brill.  I was also amazed with what comes as standard kit in the F-Sport Plus - i'd never experienced things like active cruise control and the blind spot warning in the mirrors as I'm too tight to order these normally on a company car.  I have a 3 day test drive next week of a 5 series petrol and then it has to be decision time.  The question for me will be is the £100 a month saving going to sway me towards the Lexus - it will be a close call !   

It will be interesting for you to have a back to back comparison with the BMW 5 series given that is in effect a class higher (the IS I would compare to a 3 series normally). I had an E39 528i which to this day was the best car I have ever owned - but I now put the IS 300h up there with it - although 20 years apart in age they actually share many of the same attributes IMHO and that was what attracted me to the IS 300h when I had my 24 hour test drive. Do let us know how you get on after your time with the 5 series. 

[talaipwros]

On 12/11/2018 at 5:39 PM, stevegant said:

Well, I'm still mulling things over.  I did actually really  enjoy my time with the Lexus and it was the first time i'd driven anything other than a Diesel for many years.  Aside from the infotainment system being a little 'different' to what I've been used to I was quite impressed with the car as a whole.  As a tall chap (6' 6") the seats were immensely comfortable and the standard lumbar support was brill.  I was also amazed with what comes as standard kit in the F-Sport Plus - i'd never experienced things like active cruise control and the blind spot warning in the mirrors as I'm too tight to order these normally on a company car.  I have a 3 day test drive next week of a 5 series petrol and then it has to be decision time.  The question for me will be is the £100 a month saving going to sway me towards the Lexus - it will be a close call !   

what about the gs300h while still on the market? they are a world apart

 

Comparison between IS and 5er is unfair for the IS in my view