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You won't be disappointed with an is250 trust me. I've only had mine a week and it's by far the best car I've ever owned. I love everything about it. it's soooo comfortable to drive. I actually think the in built sat nav is excellent . I've used it every day on different journeys and it works a treat. I love that posh ladies voice too lol. people say it's underpowered and it probably is for a 2.5 litre v6 engine. but it's far from a slow car. Don't believe the 8.4 seconds to hit 60. It's more like 7.4 seconds. I love my 250 se-I and so proud to own it. If I won the lottery I wouldn't swap my baby lexus.

@piasek, how can you criticise us owners that err on the side of caution by checking our brakes regularly? "Too much time on our hands" it's a couple hours work once a year for me with toilet and tea breaks. Hardly a time consuming job. And a Passat is not a Lexus, chalk and cheese.

Don't want to start a debate on the benefits of Warranties. Never been a believer in insurance policies. Have worked in, and know many people in the insurance sector and know their lifestyles, somebody's paying for that. Chances are that a wheel bearing is a wear and tear item anyway.

The postcode search isn't brilliant as it only allows you to use the first digit of the second half - for example: L12 1 which isn't great for narrowing things down. That said, I use mine all the time and have found it to be pretty good as long as you adjust where it's sending you by having google maps open on your phone at the same time to fine tune. It's vastly preferable to having something stuck on your windscreen though. I second what everyone else has said about reliability etc., it's a cut above most of the German alternatives in my opinion - especially modern Mercedes.

I have used a lot of leather cleaners and conditioners in my time, including some mentioned in this thread. The last brand of cleaner in a long line has been Dr Leather Wipes, which are supposed to clean the surface (which they do admirably, especially in the case of denim stains) without affecting the coating (which is a claim I am less sure about). But, then again, I wonder if a mild soapy solution applied with a bit of cotton-wool or a make-up remover pad does not yield exactly the same result but without the same nice new-leather smell that Dr Leather advertises along with others of its competitors. Personally I no longer proceed beyond the cleaning stage simply because creams, conditioners, foods etc., ultimately fail to deliver on their claims, at least demonstrably, and in the longer term they all inevitably leave some degree of undesirable sheen that was not present when the seats were new. This, I think, has less to do with unwelcome chemical additives (of which the worst is silicone, which is to be avoided like the plague) than with the cumulative effects of even the gentlest rubbing when the products are repeatedly applied. I have never seen a non-F Sport IS300h without length-wise creases in the outer bolsters, though I daresay there must be some snake-hipped owners out there who do not have the problem. The lengthening and deepening of the creases can be delayed somewhat by upwards massaging with the thumbs which has the effect of restoring some plumpness to the flattened foam, but to undertake this operation on a regular basis is clearly to risk neurosis.

I got dvd sat Nav updated with new dvd for £60 used it few times think it's quite good, obviously Tom Tom is lot easier to operate but takes bit time to get used to it like putting address bit fiddly plus Bluetooth connectivity is a bonus.

Junk is perhaps a tad strong. The Sat Nav isn't the best, but it is useable. The touchscreen is fine, but the interface itself looks a bit dated. I have used it for some different types of journey, and as long as you aren't trying to navigate London streets, it does ok. If you get a DVD based system, then a newer disc can be bought to update it. I updated mine from 2008 to 2015 for about £75. You get the ML audio with the nav. Also, lets not forget that you also get Bluetooth hand free phone calls as well. Unfortunately, the colour of the buttons cannot be changed. At least, not without considerable effort.

Usually I found Michelin tyres quiet, at least for some thousands of miles. But if someone finds GS noisy, may be he needs a flying carpet.

in the uk the prius is used as a taxi and they have intergallactic milage on them ,all toyota / lexus hybrids are related to the prius hybrids as this is where the technology was first used ,hybrids are more at home around town and this is where the taxi will use the battery alot more than the normal person in the street so dont have any concerns about the battery or other hybrid components they are all tried and tested.

I need to stop making comparisons between my stealth Lexus and my tool box full of bolts Volvo where I was getting 54mpg. On a plus point, I'm taking less pain killers as my headaches have more than halved.

I'm getting this sort of figure showing now. Tankful to tankful on the last fillip was 44.75 with an average over1800 miles of 43. 17 which is 2mpg better than my Mercedes E250 Amg sport cabriolet and 1 Mpg better than my 2013 Mercedes c220 Amg Sport Saloon which were both on the same Wheel sizes as My Lexus.

Now, I'm more into Lexus so can you please tell me: - how reliable is this model? - the most reliable. Considering you coming from Accord at very least same reliability, but much more comfortable. - how's the navi system? updates from time to time? Is it touchscreen (as I couldn't see any buttons dedicated for navi), it can be replaced if you want? - Navi system is total junk, not worth having. - how's the sound system? Does it have build in subwoofer? - the standard system is best in class 13 speakers, if you want extra clarity get Mark Levinson system which has 14 speakers, literally no BMW, MB, Accord comes close to standard sound system in Lexus, let alone ML. - technically speaking, what kind of issues does this model have in particular? - No big issues (like IS220d), brakes are rather weak - especially front calipers, rotors anything worth mentioning is here: - any issues during time? If it's old, let's say about 100.000 miles, what should I expect in terms of problems? - no problems, 200k - no problems, 300k - no problems. otherwise standard stuff - waterpump 80k-120k, sparkplugs - 100k, chain - lifetime, ~8 years exhaust starts to rust depending of how the car was kept. One funny thing - rotors (especially front) are disposable, replace them almost at the same time as pads.. some guys replaced rotors after 30-40k. Early one had rubbish wheel pain, but if was refurbished no problem, in you price range 2009+ should have no problems either. - how about some tuning? I saw that it can be added a K&N CAI, which is good, but how about catback, manifold, etc? - not that kind of car, nothing is available, at least nothing which adds value, you can add CAI for 1% of performance. Few of reasonable upgrades - front brakes upgrades from IS350/GS350, F-Sport anti-roll bars (unless you get F-Sport).. except of that nothing worth upgrading it is limousine, not tuner. What's your opinion between Lexus IS250 vs H Accord 2.4 vs BMW 330i/325i ? - for the same equipment level BMW will be double the price, half of reliability. Cannot comment on Accord much, but Lexus is different class all together, much more refined and luxurious. Yet rare for its class - reliable and rather cheap to up-keep. That is my opinion after owning IS250 2012 F-sport, MB 350-4matic 2010 Elegance, IS250 2010 AWD, VW Passat CC 2.0T R-line 2012, BMW328xi 2010... and current IS250 SEL 2008.

That's a whole controversial topic actually. Although the conditioner won't reach the leather itself its been argued that it keeps the coating on top supple which is actually what you need to prevent cracks

Calipers seizing on the IS models (not sure of other models) is a known problem (both the Mk I and the Mk II's) - its not part of the service schedule undertaken by Lexus, it should be but it isn't and its a known problem so the first sign something is wrong is when the brakes have seized and you come to use them and theres nothing there when you try to stop (extreme case) Either way you are goosed. Its a disappointment Lexus did not take heed of the issue on the MK I IS's and resolved the problem when they released the Mk II's. If the dealer finds the problem in due course through a service then its a replacement part at a cost of £350+ whereas a bit of attention during the life of the part should see it last certainly for the life of the car if looked after at zero cost, just a bit of time to keep them working. It takes 10 minutes, at most to do each corner - not a big deal to secure peace of mind and its also a good opportunity to check the pads and other rubber boots etc in the wheel arch that are open to the weather. The only option for some owners is to put there cars into the dealer when there is an issue with them and take the hit on the cost of the replacement caliper - they will not replace individual components such as the pins, just the complete part which in the case of a seized caliper, would be the complete unit at a cost and if you consider 4, again an extreme case, seized calipers, that's a cost of over £1000 to replace for the sake of an hours work. I like to look after my cars and find out how parts like this works. Pads on mine were last changed 2 years ago on the front and still have quite a bit of meat on them - rears (both pads and shoes) more recently and I am pretty sure that the ratio of use between the front and back is different (shoes i am sure were original ones from the factory) If I had left the greasing of the pins to coincide with the changing of the pads etc then they certainly would have been seized by the time I came to do it ...so 6 months for me, a year at a push, is enough time before i will check to see if they are working as they should be and enough time to identify if there are any issues with them. However, I know there are issues with them and ignoring it would be both false economy and would be placing myself at risk. As it is, I don't know how long if left unchecked, it would take for them to seize but I am not about to find out. Its good advice for any owner of an IS to check them periodically as there are issues with them which most IS owners know about. In my opinion, problems with the brakes on cars should be on a recall until the issues are resolved as it puts risk into using the vehicle not only for the driver but other road users also but for what ever reason this is not the case for these cars? The manufacturers would soon resolve the issue if they were faced with all owners issuing them with failure reports on their brakes.

Yesterday I woke to find I had a flat... seriously, I did, another in the same month. A great screw stuck sideways in the outer edge of the tyre, no patching up this time, new tyre needed. My mates are asking if I've upset anyone. This time it was that badly damaged that I couldn't inflate it long enough to get to the nearest tyre fitters and I haven't had time to get a space saver. A good friend helped me out and gave me a lift to work and took the wheel to Lexus. I now have 3 Yokohama's and 1 Bridgestone, ah well. Did I mention I get a lot of punctures? Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

same here an I know i keep banging on about this on other threads aswell but with this mode activated especially with M mode aswell which in your case will be S mode this car does fly like it has a turbo fitted to it on V power.. on my way to birmingham yesterday i bumped into a Subaru WRX RB270 estate which is known to pack 270bhp from its 2ltre turbo engine we where both on the fast lane, wanted to see if the IS300 can hang with it. ECT PWR was already activated as i now drive with it on all the time so i just flicked over to M mode dropped it to 3rd and hanged in there waiting..traffic in front cleared for us he was in front and floored it and i did the same and to my surprise the IS300 was keeping up with a 270bhp car which weighs less than it. ok the IS300 has 1 more litre and two more cylinders compared to the RB270 WRX but this car was turbo charged pumping 270bhp and i know when another driver has thier foot down and when they are just cruising and this dude had his foot down..obviously the road was clear so no other cars were put in danger but what i keep asking my self is how is the IS300 with only 210 bhp able to hung with some cars its not supposed to do if you go by the paper figures compared to that car... just out of curiosity i got home and checked the real weight of the RB270 estate and it weighs 1400kg which is a power-to-weight figure of 190bhp per tone ..IS300 only has 140bhp per tone which is a difference of 50bhp and that is a lot of horse power to make a difference . so again does Lexus intentionally lower thier cars power , torque and top speed figures on paper but the story becomes different in real world? or is thier engineering so good it does not need a lot of horse power to put its power down efffectively..as things like gearbox effeciency, airbox design, drag co-efficient and other factors contributes to a cars performance and not just a high BHP figure..e.g your IS250 auto is only down as 140mph top speed but go on you tube and you will see IS250's doing 161mph on the german autobhan with ease.

noby76, <... shift lever in D without ECT PWR activated is normal mode and should give good consumption as stated in the manual... > Ok good, that's crystal clear. <... but as you know .... .....most have found ECT PWR improving or being no different to normal mode with regards to fuel consumption including my self .... " Yes, I understand that too now. Thanks for the confirmation though. <...I am getting these results in conjuction with using higher octane fuel. Shell V power for that matter.> Yes, noted. I am a big fan of V-Power. I used it all the time in my last car, Golf GTI MkV. VW and various German tuning firms recommended. It used to fly, gave excellent mpg and ticked over like a sewing machine. <i think these results will boil down to how the driver is actually driving the car as everyone drives ....> Yes. I think this is an important point. I feel that it may have been overlooked by some of the others. <only way to test this is top up your as you normally on weekly fuel with high octane, reset your trip .... > I think I'll give this a try soon. I now have a good feeling that my mpg will improve with ECT PWR on. I went for a spin in the car this morning. ECT PWR on all the time. Fantastic. Different car. I have really missed the instant kick the GTI's turbo engine gave me. Now, I have no lag at all. Amazing. Feels just like the GTI Great. Had the same feeling as a test drive in a Subaru WRX STi a couple of years ago. Great feeling that makes the hairs on your neck stand on end! I can't see me ever going back to D without ECT PWR Argento

Yes you are right Argento shift lever in D without ECT PWR activated is normal mode and should give good consumption as stated in the manual but as you know some people like to experiment things and most have found ECT PWR improving or being no different to normal mode with regards to fuel consumption including my self but the difference is, it makes the car more fun to drive as its more responsive to the drivers commands but i must say I am getting these results in conjuction with using higher octane fuel. Shell V power for that matter. i think these results will boil down to how the driver is actually driving the car as everyone drives and steers slightly differently. only way to test this is top up your as you normally on weekly fuel with high octane, reset your trip computer and drive with ECT PWR activated for the week and make a note of roughly where the fuel guage level is sitting after the week against the miles travelled. then top up again with the same amount for the next coming week using normal unleaded, reset trip computer and turn ECT PWR off and drive the car as you did for the previous week. after the week make a not of the fuel guage level against the miles travelled and now compare the fuel level guage to that of the previous week guage and that will give you an answer as to which of the modes is more economical to the engine. obviously your weekly mileage should be consistent for both tests as mileage to work and back from mon - friday does not change for both.

noby76, ok thanks. I'm still reading and am still deeply interested in this. I'll search and find the inputs by 'Balance' again. <understanding these things do get complicated and a bit technical aswell so I wouldnt really try to understand it technically all you need to know .... > Of course you're right. But I'm one of those odd people who like to know a lot about a little. Most folks I know a little about a lot. Ha-ha This thread has made it much easier for me to understand what is said in the Owner's Manual re. Automatic Transmission p156 -162 I was reading this section again last night and noticed something interesting. The footnote on page 156 says "To improve fuel consumption and reduce noises (sic), set the shift lever in the D position for normal driving." They do not mention the status of ECT PWR So I'm assuming it is in "Normal mode" Do you agree thqt is what they mean? If so, these seems to contradict what the forums have been saying about ECT PWR giving better mpg ? My brain is beginning to hurt again ... :-) Argento

No probs mate :) am also learning my self as I dont fully understand it to be honest but I think Kurt on the forumn has some good points but same as the guy with name 'Balance' aswell they had a heated discussion at some point about normal mode being quicker than ECT-PWR mode but in a way i might disaggree with Kurt as I believe ECT-PWR mode sharpens things up a little with regards to trottle opening times, ignition timing mapping and other factors so there is no way ECT mode will record a slower shoot out time than normal mode but i might be wrong. i personally feel the difference in the whole cars behavior and engine/exhaust note when in ECT compared to normal mode. understanding these things do get complicated and a bit technical aswell so I wouldnt really try to understand it technically all you need to know is once this button is activated the car sharpens up and accelerates better when you plant the pedal :D . that button was put there for a reason. Simples

Not exactly sure to be honest but this is the way I understood it and someone correct me if I am wrong. I think what the ECT-PWR also does besides increasing the shift patterns to higher revs is it tries to think(Artificial Intelligence) or anticipate what the driver intends to do based on road conditions maybe by use of some suspension/tyre sensors, drivers intentions maybe based on how the driver is aggressively or calmly steering the car in conjunction with how far their pedal position is or how instantly they depress the pedal to either give them a comfortable ride/drive or a more aggressive/sporty drive. And by the document, this Artificial intelligence is only active in D mode with ECT-PWR active but cancels out or deactivates i.e stops thinking for the driver when S or in my case M mode is selected but the performance parameters/algorithms will still be locked in place S/M mode . Hence the driver has full control of the highest gear they want the car to stay in when S or M mode is selected e.g. when in S mode and 3rd is selected the car will shift from 1st to 2nd to 3rd by its self and hold at this gear until driver selects 4th gear by using the selectors and at a twisty corner the driver can then decide if 2nd gear will be best rather than the AI deciding 3rd gear for the same corner which means the AI is no longer thinking for the driver but the driver is now deciding which gear selections are best suited for the situation. The sudden acceleration control operates within 4th , 5th and 6th gear which I can understand it to be kick down will only happen when the car is in these gears but will not kick down from 2nd to 1st or from 3rd to 2nd gear. Well that’s my understanding from reading The sudden accelerator release control will hold in in the same gear when the driver suddenly takes the foot off which improves re-acceleration response once the pedal is reapplied sharply again. And this intelligence operates with 2nd to 5th gears. Sudden deceleration downshift control will operate similar to sudden acceleration but operates within 4th to 6th gears only. This probably explains why S/M mode is needed for corners or twisty driving because when in D mode with ECT-PWR active and one is approaching a bend with sudden deceleration, the lowest gear the transmission will downshift to will be 3rd as the operating gears for sudden deceleration intelligence are 4th, 5th and 6th but with S / M mode the driver can select 2nd in some cases for better traction and torque when powering out of the corner. This is my understanding from reading it but all might be wrong.

as already confirmed it sharpens the throttle opening response and delays up shifting to higher gears longer in other words it holds onto lower gears more than normal. which translates to making the car accelerate to desired speeds quickly. It has also been confirmed on the US forumns that ECT-PWR mode gives good mpg when used in town driving becuase the car does not take long to hit the desired 30 or 50mph town driving speeds and also reduces heat generated in the transmission box because Lexus transmissions uses a device or algorithm which makes them shift smoothly but this smooth shifting also translates to more transmission heat generated because that device/algorithm is working a bit harder to give the driver that smooth transition between gear shifts but once ect pwer is enable this mechanisim is deactivated hence you feel that free trottle response and harder gear changes/upshifts when this mode is activated. I might need to fish around for this US thread and post it up I personally have been using ECT-PWR mode now for about a month and car feels like how its meant to drive from day one a (Sport Sedan) consupmtion has improved a bit even more so when i use v power shell and engine note sounds sporting when this mode is also activated. it goes well too... i accidentally turned it off after using this mode continusly for about 3 weeks when i was polishing the interior of my car, started it up drove off and it felt like i had dropped an Anchor the car felt soo slugish and even hitting 50mph took a long time i thought i had a flat tire then looked at my dash and realised the ect-pwr light was off.. activated it again and felt like the weight has been taking of the car. was surprised how i got used to this mode and noticed the cars behavior(slugishness) when it was turned off. test it out by using it constantly for about 2 weeks then turn it off and see how the car responds. watch out when moving off from traffic though the throttle response it instant you need to be a bit careful without running into the guy ahead.