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looks nice. Will take a bit of getting use to it. Economy will start to improve as you learn how to get the most out of a hybrid.

Thanks. Yeah, it's rather diffent to the IS. I like the comfortable, smooth, quiet ride :heart: I'm already finding myself seeing how I can drive so that the electric motors are used more. At first I was just giving it some welly to hear the V6 growl :hehe:

There are a couple of minor problems that I'm popping back to the dealers about on Saturday but they should be easy sorted.

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I would love to know how you are going on and what comparisons etc you are finding.

My 2007 IS was an absolute no no in the snow last year - apart from not being able to get out of my drive because its RWD - once on the main roads it spun all over the place and I felt particularily unsafe - hence the reason why I am thinking of a move to the RX.

I know the fuel economy wont be as good as I drive mainly short journeys - how are you finding the fuel economy?

Many Thanks

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I would love to know how you are going on and what comparisons etc you are finding.

My 2007 IS was an absolute no no in the snow last year - apart from not being able to get out of my drive because its RWD - once on the main roads it spun all over the place and I felt particularily unsafe - hence the reason why I am thinking of a move to the RX.

I know the fuel economy wont be as good as I drive mainly short journeys - how are you finding the fuel economy?

Many Thanks

In last years snow I had the same problem with my rear wheel drive BMW. All rear wheel drive cars are the same.

The solution was to buy some snow socks. These material socks stretch over the driving wheels and give you back the grip and traction.

They worked extremely well and for the few days of snow a year we get, a cheaper alternative to a 4x4.

Carl

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I would love to know how you are going on and what comparisons etc you are finding.

My 2007 IS was an absolute no no in the snow last year - apart from not being able to get out of my drive because its RWD - once on the main roads it spun all over the place and I felt particularily unsafe - hence the reason why I am thinking of a move to the RX.

I know the fuel economy wont be as good as I drive mainly short journeys - how are you finding the fuel economy?

Many Thanks

In last years snow I had the same problem with my rear wheel drive BMW. All rear wheel drive cars are the same.

The solution was to buy some snow socks. These material socks stretch over the driving wheels and give you back the grip and traction.

They worked extremely well and for the few days of snow a year we get, a cheaper alternative to a 4x4.

Carl

Another solution of course is a set of winter tyres, I bought a set for my wifes BMW 2 years ago, they are Nokian all year winter grade tyres, the difference it made in the snow was incredible, she even towed a collegue with a Range Rover out of the works car park this year, he was most annoyed but with sport tyres on he had no chance against a set of low temperature winter tyres even if he did have four wheel drive :P

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Hi

We took a holiday in our RX400h to Switzerland at the end of November into the beginning of December last year. If you remember that was when we had all that snow, not just here but right across the continent. The place we had rented was in a tiny village called Champoussin which is really a small ski resort right up in the mountains. After all that snow on the main roads on the way down we then had to reach the village up a typical narrow mountain road complete with hairpin bends, in the dark and in a blizzard. The road had been ploughed earlier but there was still about 5 inches of fresh snow laying on it and the last part of the road was down a 1 in 8 hill into the village. We did have a set of chains with us but it wasn't absolutely necessary to put them on until later in the week after another huge dump of more snow. Even then it was only really necessary to negotiate the 1 in 8 hill out of the village and back in. The RX coped admirably on just the normal tyres, if you took it gently, with the traction light only blinking on a few times. However, with the chains on the front wheels you just felt totally secure.

Just as an aside, in the snow before Christmas, our neighbour could not drive his Mercedes CL up the road in our estate(not much of a slope really) without getting stuck and having to resort to 5 people pushing. I went out later in the RX and you wouldn't have even known there was snow on the road. I even tried stopping where he got stuck as an experiment and just pulled away with no drama whatsoever! So that's Lexus 1 Mercedes 0!!!

JBP

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Dear all,

Thanks for the posts - Carl911 - you made me laugh - snow socks, much cheaper than changing to a 4x4!! :lol: - I have seen these on youtube etc and thought about them but they look pretty tricky to put on. I couldnt even move my IS 2 inches in the snow last year so according to the posts/videos I have seen this would have been a non starter. (plus I am still confused - if they go on the front tyres doesnt that give more traction and swing out the rear or would you put them on the rear tyres??)

BoxBrownie - another good idea - unfortunately I am a single female (no comments please)and wouldn't have been able to move the IS to put on winter tyres (I cannot change a tyre!! I have Lexus breakdown cover for that!!)and would have had to take the IS to a garage to have them fitted and then unfitted once the snow had disappeared.

JBPRX400H - thank you for the info, most informative.

I think what I am saying is that I need a really reliable vehicle to operate in the snow (I have a horse - and no I cant ride that instead!) without me having to fuss about with changing the tyres and putting on socks!! and will the RX do that? - by all accounts it will!! - have looked at some other options dare I say - Ford Kuga,Nissan Juke - but they seem cheap compared with the Lexus!! (Or I could always drive my Ford Iveco horsebox!!)

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Hi There, I too have owned an IS and it was a great car but useless in winter, Also had GS300 another great car but once again useless in winter(put that in to a hedge one year)Now the owner of an RX400h and must say what a superb car for all year round. Found myself just going out in snow last year because i could!! Could'nt fault it in snow felt really safe and with plenty of grip, would highly recommend an RX to any one.

Phil.

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Hi Phil

Thanks for that - my ex did say that I could "hire" a car if it snowed but his logic didnt work out that I would have to get somewhere to hire a something!!

Anyway will have had the IS for 2 and a half years so fancy a change - even if its the most expensive thing I ever do to combat the snow!! - I think its a good enough excuse anyway!!

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Hi, I'm just curious now you've had it for a while, any interesting comments?

I'm loving it and surprisingly not missing a manual gear box at all. It's more comfortable over all the speed bumps and potholes in Reading compared to my IS220d Sport. It's quieter, there's more space for passengers and luggage, the Mark Levinson stereo with the MM option is awesome, and the extra 100hp means even thought it's bigger it's faster in a straight line. The handling is obviously not up to an IS and I've not really had a chance to throw it around too much yet but it's good enough to live with so far given the sort of driving I'm doing.

Things I don't like: the warning beep on the auto boot open/close, and I think I'd prefer reversing sensors instead of a camera as they give better detection at the corners. Fortunately someone had the optional front sensors fitted. These aren't as good as the factory fit ones on my IS as they give false beeps when raining etc but you can switch them off and they're better than not having any!

All in all I don't miss my IS at all, except for the keyless entry which is bizarely missing on the RX. The RX is faster, bigger, more comfortable, more practical and has at least as good economy compared to the Sport version of the 220.

I know the fuel economy wont be as good as I drive mainly short journeys - how are you finding the fuel economy?

At the moment I have a contract that I can walk to so the car is only being used for taxi service for my children, shopping etc so just short drives around town. I'm getting about 26-28mpg for those sort of journeys which is about the same as my IS220d. The hybrid seems to take a mile or so to warm up before I can get it running on electric only. Certain journeys on flat, clear roads I can do 3-4 miles almost entirely on electric so I think if I was driving it around town for longer journeys I'd see a better average. The little long distance driving I've done was mid-30s.

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