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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/24/2019 in all areas

  1. Interesting question and one I weighed up heavily when I bought mine in August. I had a Mondeo st diesel, which did about 40mpg in the city. Desperately dull, never felt the urge to just get in it and just drive. For an extra £30 a month tax, I can drive something that makes me smile every time I start it. My fuel cost has doubled from about £80 a month to about £160. As for resale, I've been watching the prices on this forum since about 2014, and I'd say they've stabilised. You could probably buy one and pretty much get your money back a year later. I would say that the Lexus ISF is probably the most reliable V8 around. No rod bearing issues to deal with, no carbon build up to worry about, no head bolt issues. About the worst thing you may have to deal with is a water pump leak, which would have probably been addressed if you're looking at an 08 plate. V8s are a dying breed, I'd advise you to scratch the itch whilst they're still around and relatively affordable.
    6 points
  2. Well I bought my 2007 56 plate 400h at the beginning of April last year with 113k on the clock and it now has 129k on it so I've done a fair few miles in it. Reliability has been horrendous. In that time I have had the spring clip on the fuel filler cap come off, an exhaust heat shield come off and the rear ride height sensor snapped meaning no headlamp levelling. It has cost me £12 in repairs on a nearly 12 year old car which is outrageous!!! I remember thinking to myself the other day "Why didn't I just buy a German diesel of the same age so that I can have the pleasure of listening to the soundtrack of a Massey Ferguson every day whilst choking people to death and spending thousands in repairs?" Ah well I've bought the Lexus now so I guess I will just have to live with it 🤣
    5 points
  3. Sorry Vlad, not true. The UK grid currently consists of about 40% gas, 6% coal, 4% Solar, 14% wind, 21% Nuclear and 5% Biomass. The 2018 annual grid average was 217g CO2 per kWh. My Leaf drives, on an annualised average basis, about 4 miles per kWh (it's relatively inefficient for what it is - Teslas are typically 3-3.5 miles per kWh, Hyundai Ioniq and BMW i3 closer to 5 miles per kWh). That works out to 31g/km CO2 emission, compared to over 100 (in the real world, not euro fantasy figures) for any ICE vehicle, to say nothing of zero particulate or NOX emission in town (in other words, EVEN if an EV had the same emissions as an ICE vehicle, simply displacing them from city centres still has a huge benefit for the health of people in that city). Another consideration is that in 2013 the UK grid was at 474g/kWh - it is rapidly decarbonising. That means that a 5 year old EV now emits less than half the CO2/km that it did when new. A 5 year old ICE does not. Let's ask National Grid themselves, because they know better than us whether it's a problem: https://theenergyst.com/millions-electric-vehicles-sooner-predicted-no-sweat-says-national-grid/ Last of all, the far superior driving characteristics of EVs are something to relish. Controversial. Let's loop this back - WHY do people like 6 and 12 cylinder engines compared to 4? Let's think of adjectives that might be used to describe them - Smooth, refined, torquey, powerful. Electric motors are EVEN BETTER on all of those counts! Full torque, Instantly (no turbo lag or having to build revs). Huge power density. And no engine that relies on explosions hammering on a crankshaft to turn linear motion into circular motion can EVER be as smooth or quiet as an electric motor. Given the other discussions we've had about transmissions, consider the "transmission" of an EV - There's simply a reduction gear (typically about 9:1) that is permanently coupled to the motor. There are no clutches, no bands, no gears, no shifts, no solenoids, no fluid pumps or cooling loops. No being in the wrong gear or "rubber banding", no waiting for kickdown.
    4 points
  4. I think stupidity is overstating it somewhat Whilst I agree that an NA ES350 would not work here, it is the fact that they are taking something away when introducing the ES. Would it have been economical to bring an ES450h to the UK? Possibly not. But then it probably wasn't very viable when they produced the mk4 GS450h, but as I own one, I am very glad they did. So, while I am most likely in a very big minority, when it comes time to upgrade my GS an ES450h would have been high on the list.
    3 points
  5. Moscow phone-in radio presenter calls up hardy seasoned Siberian resident: "We hear it's really cold up there just now. Around minus 40!" "Are you sure?" says doubtful babooshka. "I'll go and check." She comes back after a few moments: "No, it's only minus 14." Radio presenter is puzzled. "Is it really only minus 14? The weather forecasters here were saying minus 40." Babooshka realises why the presenter is confused. "Oh you mean outside," she says.
    2 points
  6. Ops, I bought my 2012 RX450h in May 2018, when it was on 161,000 miles. Now it is on 168,000 and still going strong.
    2 points
  7. We dont need V8's, takeaways, Sky TV, foreign holidays etc. Make a decision based on how much you want the experience of driving and owning a V8. In my opinion, the cost of ownership isn't obscene and only represents a little indulgence in return for a wonderful thrill.
    2 points
  8. I agree with Shahpor's comment above. When it comes to replace my GS450h I would have preferred to buy another but that option has been taken away by Lexus in the UK. Lexus say they are not appealing to the mass market and yet they have removed one of the niche ranges from the UK - I do not know if that makes sense based upon their own principal of being a niche player not competing for volume with the likes of BMW.
    2 points
  9. Finest 1, you are quite right owning, an F car or similar makes no sense at all in today's world but they are among the last of the naturally aspirated V8's and the decision to buy one is usually made with heart not head. However ,the running costs of an ISF are not as bad as you think. I had an IS 250 and changed to an ISF intending to keep for a couple of years until I got fed up with the running costs. I ended up keeping it for 4.5 years. OK the car tax is expensive and more fuel will be used, but insurance was surprisingly cheap if you shop around. An 09 car could still be warrantied with Lexus for £795 for 2 years, exactly the same as for an IS250 and the prices do seem to be bottoming out as people realise that they are more affordable and reliable than the German equivalents. Tyres and brakes are more expensive than an IS250 but not that much more , ditto servicing. You need to drive one to "get it". My current GSF was purchased with heart not head ( and a little man maths related to a 30% discount on an 8 month old car with 300 miles on it) and I regularly ask myself why I am running a car like this where you cannot even use a fraction of the power and the local council wants to impose a blanket 20mph limit. But, it is a rare car, I have never seen another one on the road ,and every time I drive it, it makes me smile. The noise and the pull when you can open it up is worth every penny of the extra running costs. Might be your last chance to drive a dinosaur, the powers that be will have us all driving eco friendly electric pods before much longer, if they even allow us to drive. By the way an Aston will cost far, far more to run, and will spend more time in the workshop.
    2 points
  10. Although I have a 450h rather than a 400h, my experience chimes with yours. I do a lot of miles (between 1500 and 2000 a month) and my RX is perfect. Sure it’s a little thirstier than my previous car, but for it’s sheer bulk it’s very economical. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be when stuck in a traffic jam than sat in my sound-insulated, comfortable, silently gliding truck. Just buy a Lexus! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    2 points
  11. Looks like everyone is up for electric cars so there is no fumes or burning dinosaurs, people, where do you think electricity comes from? Especially in UK that has ONLY 1 (if I am not mistaken) nuclear power station and it is that old that can't provide enough energy for one shire! The rest of electricity either from Europe (France has quite a few Nuclear Stations) or from GAS burning, is it not naive to look forward to ONLY electricity? The grid will collapse! UK will need at least 20 years if not more to catch up with electricity demand if they want to stop BURNING other type of fuel.
    2 points
  12. Hi rr8178r Me and the wife where in a similar boat as you back in November.but we had a 2011 Lexus ct200 to part ex and had quite a few various Lexus's for many years previous anyway.i to was thinking on the lines of something more new like a juke and we test drove a diesel Qashqui.But the wife wanted to stay with lexus so we bought a 57 plate Rx400 with 89000miles on.in are eyes the Rx400 drives much better than a Quasqui.it all depends on what you are going to use it for as well.the wife uses the car the most and does the school run and using it back and for to work,always short journeys.its not going to be as economical as a juke/Qashqui we get around 260 miles to a tank but it's a different league to them as well,comfort/driving so fuel economy doesn't bother us.and like I said previously we may be slightly biased as we have had lexus before and they have always been 100% reliable but hope this helps
    2 points
  13. Sad Sadly you are probably right. Big Japanese cars with large petrol engines have a record of not selling very well in the UK even when big petrol engines were more popular. We've lost a number of 6 cylinder petrol models down the years. Legend and Camry spring to mind. I'm sure Nissan and Mazda had a 6 cylinder model on the market in the mid 90s too? So very few sold even though they were actually very decent cars. Its also interesting how even BMW are shoving 2 litre 4 pot turbo engines into their mid range engined 5 series. Sadly, whilst a number of us admire the qualities of the 6 cyl engine they are very much going to become a rare beast as the years progress.
    2 points
  14. Well the white stuff arrived overnight and I had to drive from Gloucester to Cirencester. Only a light dusting of snow over some ice. The grip from the Cross Climates was everything that had been reported. Fantastic. I kept the car in hybrid snow mode and everything was good including driving up the very steep Roborough Hill onto The Common. Across to Minchinhampton the road was lightly covered in snow and slush. Conditions much the same all the way to Cirencester. Very impressed with the RX especially as my average mpg showed as nearly 34mpg
    1 point
  15. Wow, you've either got a VERY heavy right foot or there's something wrong there - even the petrol RX300s aren't that heavy on fuel
    1 point
  16. Hi rr8178r If your budget is £6-7k and are prepared to travel a bit I think this one on ebay classified is a good one from what reads as a very decent dealer. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-57-LEXUS-RX-400H-3-3-SE-CVT-5D-AUTO-NAV/264112317681?hash=item3d7e5224f1:g:q6gAAOSwip5cAJex:rk:28:pf:0 good luck with your search.
    1 point
  17. There is though - a used LS460, a used new shape LS500h. Thin pickings and I can’t help but think with diesels being persona non grata that expanding the range with genuine petrol competitors along with the hybrids would be the way to go. It would cost next to nothing to offer the 350 rc and 350 Es here or even the new LS with the 3.0 twin turbo v6. They might grab a few conquest sales. Kia offer the 3.3 Stinger, Audi the S4. You do see these on the roads and Toyota/Lexus seem keen to ignore that part of the market despite having the cars and drive trains to match. It’s also time the electric motors in the 300h models could make more power to make the shortful of the engine up. They shouldn’t have canned the 200t, just priced it cheaper with a little more power. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  18. seems to me like relatively inconsequent issues for a 16 year old car Just tart it up a little so it looks ok and ......................... ENJOY Malc
    1 point
  19. And also a top of the range RX400 SE-L will still have more extras/toys than a newer top of the range Nissan also when Looking just check the the timing belt has been changed should have been changed at 100.000 miles or 10 years.just do it take the plunge and buy a rx400 you knows you want to. or we could all take a vote on it to help you decide 😂😂😂😂😂 ALL THOSE IN FAVOR RAISE A HAND 🤚 😂😂😂😂😂
    1 point
  20. Yes, the Lexus LC500 has very reasonable service costs compared to a DB9. I used to call mine the K-car as everything was priced in thousands. The paddle shift on the V8 Vantage isn't very good and the conventional auto in the DB9 was much more smooth and useful in the real world.
    1 point
  21. I have had dozens of cars both company chariots and my own during my mature driving years. Last year I decided that we needed to change the Honda CRV diesel manual for something similar size but automatic. Yes, getting to that time in life when there seems to be more traffic jams/queues/holdups.One of my customers has a RX400h which he was keen to show off and let me test drive – I was smitten with the performance delivery, quality, comfort and above all the technology. Looked for a used one, but still tested others like Volvo XC90 but that felt old fashioned and a bit agricultural. I found a RX400h at a Lexus dealer within my budget. (£7-8K, latest on Lexus web site is about £10k, but cheaper will come up occasionally) It was not perfect at 130k but drove superbly. As a pre owned approved it comes with 1 year Lexus warranty, I added a further 2 years. Now we are at 136K not a single issue and feel confident that any major problems are covered by the warranty. My first encounter with Lexus and have had great service from the supplying dealer and the car is fabulous all round. I would recommend trying to find one at Lexus or independent dealer with a decent warranty.
    1 point
  22. Nobody ever suggested to drop 300h from the market (unless you cannot properly read). Of course most people will choose 300h even if there are other options, I reckon ~70% will go for it anyway. The whole discussion here is however about the 30% who found themselves unhappy with sluggish power 300h the whole discussion here is around the 30% - except the non hybrids weren’t pulling in 30% of the sales they went even pulling in 10!!!!!! That’s my whole point the 300h of every model batted 2.0 t, 2.5v6 450h out of the park big time. It’s a shame about 450h but that was the GS- more 300h sold in 5 years than 450h did in 13 years over 2 model iterations. I’m not arguing the 450h is any anyway bad car far from it, but sales unfortunately not strong enough to engineer ES to take that Powertrain. snapshot 2018 244 GS 300h sold, 450h 46 85% in favour of 300h Is example over 2013 and 14 when 250 sold alongside 300h, fsport trim v6 170 sold, 300h 1342 94% sales went to hybrid Lexus are not wrong to not offer 450h never mind 350.v6
    1 point
  23. Ha, the disgrace. On that point, the ride height sensor...on reading posts on here it is an expensive part from Lexus but a lot of you have made your own or bought on eBay? Am I correct?
    1 point
  24. Buy a Lexus, you will not regret it. Buy another car and you will always think, what if! I bought RX450h 2012 in May 2012 with 161,000 and full Lexus main dealer SH. Not a single problem over £3 so far. Great car, solid, quiet and quick if you need it to be.
    1 point
  25. I had no doubt you would answer first, lol! :) I am 100% with you when you say that city centers will be having cleaner air if we all move to electric cars. The point I was trying to make is that by restricting ICE and moving to fully electrical cars will require government to step up and do something about the grid as to provide electricity to all these cars will require a lot of energy and as it stands I do not believe UK is ready for it. As you numbers suggests we get our electricity by burning 40% of gas, well, it will be much much more if the amount of electric cars will swap with ICE. Electric cars is the future and no doubt some of them are good to drive (never driven one yet) but government support is lagging behind now and it will be the case in a future.
    1 point
  26. Over the past 30 months and 24000 miles, running costs (ex fuel) on my ISF have been 2 services, a set of brakes and 2 wiper blades. Depreciation - £2000. It hasn’t put a foot wrong. As someone has already said they are over engineered - mine has no squeaks, no rattles nothing. I’ve kept the car longer than I thought, and it’s only because I want to change its going, not because I need to change. fuel has averaged 20.2mpg, ok not the best, but dragged down a little as it’s used on the school run a couple of times a week where the consumption drops through the floor. I ran a new merc e350 diesel for 3 years, and 60000 miles - even though the fuel costs were half of the ISF, and I had free servicing, depreciation was £23000. Ruinous. Buy the right car, at the right price with the right history and because the depreciation is glacial, (there is still a demand for the right car) and as they are so reliable, cost per mile is cheaper than any of the other cars in the market sector.
    1 point
  27. I had ivic vaitech in my LS then last year replaced it with a grom V2...... Viatech box currently sat in garage, including import etc etc was around £350 and GROM V2 £500
    1 point
  28. fwiw - this was a p3222 error and down to a loose connection into the mg ecu. Inverter temps MG1 and MG2 were open/ground so showing 150C. R, J.
    1 point
  29. Thanks, took me a few triple checks before I pushed the brakes or turned on the lights again! All good though... If you get round to it, have fun!
    1 point
  30. But that's because they're just not necessary anymore. Leaving aside the move to electric (which I am very much looking forward to), the need for anything over 4 cylinders has basically vanished. My father once had a Jaguar XJ12 5.3, with 285 horsepower and 0-60 in 7.5 seconds. Later in life, he had a BMW 740iL 4.4 V8 with 286 horsepower and 0-60 in 7.2 seconds. Now, Volvo sell the S90 T6 with 320 horsepower and 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. It is a 2 litre 4 cylinder engine. No one really needs more than that, certainly not in any mass-market exec or family car. The use cases for more than that are distinctly limited to very high performance cars. The performance and size of the ES300h are in line with a BMW E38 735i V8. Apparently our expectations have moved significantly in 20 years. In 20 years time from now we'll be wondering how we all put up with the noise, smell, fumes and horrible driving characteristics of ICE vehicles, as we all drive EVs that will do 0-60 in 4s.
    1 point
  31. My god, must be the season for getting shot of your ISF. Two in a week. I’m keeping mine if anyone wants to tell me what a great idea that is! 🤓🤓
    1 point
  32. People just refuse to see the bigger picture. Without the Hybrid engine there would be no ES at all in the UK. Lexus is acting global with the states as its major market. Lexus global is rapidly turning into a manufacturer of suvs or crossovers in all sizes from XXL to XS. The ES is ( apart from the IS) the only sedan selling in numbers and for the US market very important. In the 20 years the ES exists they build over 2 million. The latest version is designed for the states ( 60k p.a.) and the hybrid version is expected to take only 15%. In Europe it is a different story mainly by heavy taxation that stears the market. In the UK it is still relatively mild i think but overhere in holland for instance an LC V8 is 50%!! more expensive than the hybrid version. I have no doubt that in most other EU countries this will be alike. Selling a V6 version will just be impossible. On top of that Lexus has rolled out their marketing hybridization story. All models available in hybrid. Lexus is niche and will remain niche. They have no interest in chasing the German top 3, dont have the capacity nor the strategy. They are aiming on a 10% y.o.y global growth and according to the new top guy want customers that specifically choose them as it fits their lifestyle. Lexus is opening airportlounges, have partnerships with top restaurants. For their cars they want polarized styling and sophistication. some people just dont seem to get that and keep specifying their own perfect lexus and then are deeply insulted that car is not available.
    1 point
  33. No... LS is definitely not for me. I want RC350, I always wanted 2 doors, but RC300h performance insults me...
    1 point
  34. Crossclimates are fantastic, and the smoothness of an electrified drivetrain makes it much easier to set off without breaking traction. My leaf on crossclimates is tenacious!
    1 point
  35. We can get a V6 saloon - the LS500h and a base spec might be a better option than a high ES. And the LS is exquisite. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  36. True Although if the only engine choice was the V6 then the last few pages might have looked a little different
    1 point
  37. That made me laugh, and Pete my wife suggested she thought she recodnised........ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM7HCwP7ly4
    1 point
  38. Thanks for that, I assumed that HID's would be flat but just checking as I think we've upset our Euro neighbours enough, best not to blind them as well!
    1 point
  39. I think you need to message LukasG rather than John (Old Trout) as he was the one with the original problem.
    1 point
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