Which? Magazine - July 2003

[UKPulse]

Yesterday morning the July issue of Which? Magazine dropped on to my doormat. Hmmm, "Car Security League"... well that's easy I thought to myself smugly. The IS200 has recently received a Car of the Year award for it's security features, so it's bound to top this list too. WRONG!

Ok let's see, they rate two areas of security -

Theft from a car How easy it is to break in and pinch stuff from the boot, seats or glovebox. They give two thirds of the score based on locks, type of glazing & alarm system, while the remainder is based on the protection of easily nicked parts (stereo, wheels, etc). Stereos that were difficult to remove or sell on got high marks.

So how did the IS200 do? It came 12th out of 22 with a score of just 4 out of 10!! Behind such cars as the BMW 3181 SE 4dr (which came top with 7/10) Saab 9-3, Jag X-Type, Mazda 6, Vectra 1.8LS, Nissan Primera... why even the Skoda Superb 1.8T Comfort beat it

Theft of the car Here they rated how easy it was to break in to the car and drive it away.

The IS200 fared better here, scoring 8 out of 10 but alongside nine other cars including the ubiquitous BMW 318i SE, Citroën C5, Renault Laguna 1.6 and Skoda Octavia 1.8 SLX 5dr

Well, that wiped the smug grin off my face Maybe Which? magazine are better at testing washing machines and steam irons? I'm sure I've read somewhere in WhatCar? that the IS was the first car to score a perfect 10 in their security tests!

At least the LS430 scored highest of all in the Luxury Cars section, scoring 8/10 in the "Theft From" test, and 9/10 in the "Theft Of" test, due mainly to it's laminated side windows. Perhaps we'll see laminated glass in the next version of the IS.....?

Signed,

"Sulky of Shoreham"

[TonyGoose]

Hadn't realised 'Which' did a magazine ...

Thought it was just a prize draw with a NO envelope

[UKPulse]

Hehe... you have a point. (To be honest, I don't know why I subscribed)

When they review hi-fi, they're at odds with the hi-fi mags, when they review computers, they're at odds with the computer mags, so I guess it's the same with cars. If you want a decent car review - read a car mag, if you want a toaster review - read Which? magazine.

It's a shame they don't go into any more detail as to why the Lexus IS only scores a rather feeble 4 out of 10. Think I'll email them and ask, and if they reply I'll post their response.

[PQuist]

I don't believe any word from "Which". I am thinking of buying a Rice cooker, maybe they can review that

[Matthew_McNally]

hmm - I'll add my voice to the doubting thomas's.

I am sure the IS has won awards for the security from "proper" security specialists.

Wasn't it the first car to score a 100% on <someones> test - which is basically whether a professional car thief can get into the vehicle in under 5 minutes?

[rusty]

Problem with reading a car magazine review to pick a car or a HiFi magazine to pick a Set of speakers is that there is always some sposorship pressure, even indirect, that will bias reports :shutit:

Which magzine is impartial as it has no sponsors (alledgedly). The problem with the which magazine reviews is that they use a weighting system which I am not sure is the best way to assess things as it creates bias in one area that the magazine thinks is important, but you may not. Change the weighting and the results would be completely different.

Just my view

[Fever]

I definitely wouldn't pay any attention to that! :)

Matt (Wildernes) posted on a thread a little while back, quoting a pro as saying that he would make a very long and messy job of getter into an IS200!!

[wildrnes]

it was matt mc nally

i would not want to steal his thunder ;)

[Matthew_McNally]

it was matt mc nally

i would not want to steal his thunder ;)

curry last night mate - you don't want anything to do with my thunder ;)

Fever - this was the car security thread you refer to.

And yes - a professional auto locksmith told me it would take him around 45 minutes to get into my IS - and that it would make a mess of the car

[wildrnes]

it was matt mc nally  

i would not want to steal his thunder ;)

curry last night mate - you don't want anything to do with my thunder ;)

Fever - this was the car security thread you refer to.

And yes - a professional auto locksmith told me it would take him around 45 minutes to get into my IS - and that it would make a mess of the car

mmmm thunder

which? reviews are odd

i have always thought they were right out there,

things that were obviously better than others often get a bad review

i saw a mountain bike review where a £600 bike was beaten by a £150 bike cos of its value not taking into account the £150 bike would fall apart, handle like a pig etc

i dont kno

mind you i dont work for which? so ....

[TonyGoose]

And yes - a professional auto locksmith told me it would take him around 45 minutes to get into my IS - and that it would make a mess of the car

Then i suggest you call the RAC instead.

A couple of (not very) special tools and NO damage ...

When you know how, it's not actually that difficult :winky:

[Fever]

Oooops ....sorry Matt and Matt I was so sure that Matt posted that!!

Matt thats the thread I was on about! I knew that a Matt had written that!

But I was sure it wasn't Mat!

Neil

[stevenage_saint]

I have just read the review and noticed they don't tell you exactly how the tested the security. A brick through a window? a locksmith?

The review seems odd as they tell you they constantly publish the New Car Security Rating http://www.ncsr.co.uk/

on here the IS200 gets 5 for theft off (top marks) and 4 for Theft From

which is the same as the Bavarian Muppet Wagon and the A4 and Theft From is higher than Nissan. Would love to know then how the which weighting works as the insurence compannies say the Lexus has good security

[Parthiban]

i am quite happy with the security of the IS, and so are the insurance companies (hence the low ins group), but it is possible that those other cars are more secure simply because they are all much newer so may have raised the game slightly

this is similar to crash tests, where a few years ago a 4 star car, is now a 2 star car

i'm sure the new IS will be back at the top of the league though :winky:

[Monster-Mat]

the security on the IS is fantastic, after the car decided that i wasnt going to attend Gaydon i had to resort to breaking the drivers window.......

ohhhhh how much fun i had, after turning 3 housebricks to cat litter, snapping a wheel brace, i ended up hitting the glass at least 12 times with a Lump hammer......it eventually shattered.

and a nice cool drive to Gaydon began..after hoovering out the entire car

[huggy]

i would be interested to know-if they used alocksmith,was the car locked or deadlocked??

[sesha]

If you want a decent car review - read a car mag, if you want a toaster review - read Which? magazine.

Two car magazines whose reviews are considered reliable give 3 stars ( what car) and 5 stars (parkers) for the IS 200. Its understandable to have a difference of 1 star between reveiws but a difference of 2 stars does make one wonder whether you should give much importance to these.

[UKPulse]

I agree, and I believe the WhatCar "Car of the Year 2003" award that the IS got for it's security, more than I believe Which? magazine. The problem is that Which? magazine is published by the Consumers Association, and they give the impression that they're a reputable bunch of guys who know what they're doing :duh:

The result is that a lot of (less well informed) people will read it, and believe that the Lexus IS is far less secure than it actually is. Should that bother me? Well probably not. Still, I'd be interested to learn why Which? rated it so poorly while their sister publication rated it so highly

[sorted avensis]

I was at a local car security spot yesterday and was talking alarm systems to him,i told him what i wanted and he said fine i can do that for you and it is a great system but then he told me a story about a cossie.

Basically 2 people nicked a tow truck hooked it up to the cossie(which had a wheel clamp and a steering lock)at 8.30 in the morning in full of the public and nicked it,alarm blaring and sparks from the wheel clamp,nobody questioned it so they got away.Shame undercover police was tailing them so thats why they got nicked.But had they not been tailing them they would have got away with it.

Pause for thought methinks.

[imi]

Just reading the Sun Paper On-line and come accross this story :

" New cars 'easy to steal' "

NEW cars are not always more theft-proof than older ones, experts claim.

The Kia Rio, Fiat Doblo and the Hyundai Matrix were not as secure as equivalent older cars in tests by the Consumers’ Associaton’s Which? magazine.

Testers managed to break into the boot of the Rio in just 10 seconds.

And they got into the main part of the Rio, the Matrix and the Doblo in less than 30 seconds.

But the testers praised the Lexus LS 430 for foiling break-in attempts “better than any car we’ve ever tested”.

They also failed to get into the Ford Fusion, Mazda 6, Saab 9-3 and Seat Ibiza. :winky: