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I’d highly recommend a Honda Jazz. Reliable, economical and amazingly spacious.

Apologies for the long post, but I have been dipping in and out of this thread for a while and since my app has stopped telling me the state of my battery I have been mulling over different methods of tracing efficiency. I used to track the predicted EV mileage and the car would regularly predict 50+ miles in the summer and 45+ in the winter following each full charge. In March my app, among losing various other functions, stopped reporting the battery charge state and so I sort of lost interest, however I then started to use the car to see what the predicted range was and compare to what I was actually getting. Over the summer, I would be presented with a predicted range of 50-55 miles in EV mode, however I would be lucky to get 40, and would regularly get 35-39 miles from a full charge. This started me thinking about what the predicted range should actually be. My journeys tend to be short (3-6 miles) and irregular, so the car is often having to heat/cool and I always have the AC on, I am not expecting the highest ranges. My displayed m/kWh was 3.1, even whilst using ECO mode. Looking at the profile of the car and the battery pack (18.1 kWh) with the car switching to HV mode at 30% made me re-evaluate how I looked at the range calculations. At 30% battery reserved for HV mode, my actual EV-only capacity is 12.67kWh. If I take the efficiency my car reported of 3.1 m/kWh my actual range should be 39.2 miles. This correlates to the distances I am actually seeing over my journeys on a single charge. Despite the reported 3.1 m/kWh it would always start with an EV range of 50+ miles and the gap between this and my prediction of 39 miles would shrink proportionally until switching to HV mode. Knowing that my journey profile isn’t the best, often enjoying the acceleration of the EV and having AC always on, I decided to reset everything, go on a long journey and see what I could get out of it. Starting at a full charge, reporting 54 miles range, I fixed to EV mode and set off on a mixture of urban and A roads sticking to the lower ECO range of the acceleration and driving in ECO mode. I needed to split across a couple of journeys, but the gap between them was minimal, so the cabin temp should be maintained. Overall I managed to travel 49.1 miles, with 3.8 m/kWh reported. When I returned home in HV mode, I recharged to full, putting in 13.54 kWh, which would have been 3.62 m/kWh, allowing for the battery below 30%, isn’t too far away from the 3.8 that the car reported. So where is the car getting its 54 mile range prediction from? If I assume it is the EV only range, and allowing for a small amount of re-gen from braking, I would guesstimate a total 13.5 kWh EV only capacity. In order to achieve the 54 miles, it would have to have an efficiency of 4 m/kWh. Not having gone through all 15 pages (so far) of this thread to see if this has been raised before, I would be interested for people to not only post what predicted mileage they are getting, but also the m/kWh number as well, as the car seems to report this more accurately than the predicted range. If you’ve made it this far, well done. Maybe if my app’s battery state page was working correctly rather than only showing the car as “charging” and the battery level at 50% I wouldn’t have gone down this rabbit hole. If anyone can see a flaw in my logic, please let me know as I am either looking at things wrong or I am using the car totally wrong 😄

I second this. We have this as a 2nd car and if it were the only car we had I am confident it would not leave us wanting for more. Its got oodles of space with its clever magic seats the engine is peppy enough (the 1.4 at least) and for basic transport its simply great!

Really? a bass player in a band showing up in a yaris? Come on Mincey THIS is what you need, add some rock and roll into it! https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309061610494?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery-option=on&make=Chrysler&model=300C&page=1&postcode=bt364rb&fromsra ( paint it matte black with a brush)

I’ll ‘third’ this. With the ‘magic seats’ from (about) 2005 onwards they’re superb on space and reliable as well. I can’t see one being a theft magnet either, unless there’s an eighty year-old car thief looking for a thrill… 😜

I've bought a car for my wife. She passed recently and she hates it, but it's a lovely car! A 21 year old Honda Civic 1.4L auto with 1 or 2 owners before me with the last owner being about 25 years in owndership. Him and his wife looked after it exceedingly well. Obviously being a Honda, it's full of rust and being so old there's various things that need doing. My question is, is there a place on Lexus Owners where we can start a non-Lexus car project thread. I usually like to sell my cars in a conditonbetter than how I bought em and docimenting the journey... well, it's nice. Thoughts or directions!? If so, where should I start such a topic)..

Many of these posts are very interesting and good to read… Many have an interesting perspective, and include some facts, if they are provable. That I, and other members, were not aware of... It would be a very interesting post from John Williams (Roy of the Rovers). A very much missed member of this Forum. If he was still a member… And he added a post to this topic…? I do wonder what John would have said… As Linas said in his post when we learned the very sad news in March… John has always been the person who brought the sense of calmness and common sense into any discussion, was sincerely respected and will be greatly missed in the forum.

Hi Nicky, My current plan is to remove the engine, and install Large Li-Ion battery along with a ZombieVerter.

Not Japanese, and don’t shoot me, but…for a totally unremarkable and practical ‘gig’ car what about a Dacia Sandero? Old Renault tech, so all of the gremlins long since ironed out. My understanding is they’re robust because they’re simple - Dacia’s business model can’t soak up lots of warranty claims! For about £6k maximum you’d be looking at a 2018/19 car with 40-60k miles, as well as the approval of James May. 😆 I’ll get my coat…

As promised, freshly washed down and piccys of this dear old lady 32 years young on the Town Quay just outside my back gate Malc

Try Catalunia. plenty of space great roads/food/climate low prices and they seem to dislike governmental interference a bit ....

There you go Malc. I'd been changing the Iridium plugs at 60k or less on all my Subarus and mever really noticed any change or wear on the plugs (though I tried to justify and sell it to myself). Car Care Nut appears to agree with Scotty Kilmer and I definitely value CCN alot more for our cars. Other servicing is alot more vital... Really good thorough vid...

Portugal is a good choice. France is not. We lived in France for 20 years and the taxation/intrusion/bureaucracy/ spying on the public is way over the top. Portugal offered good tax relief but that is sadly finished. It is also a civilised country with generally peaceful habitants and beautiful countryside. The first thing that I noticed on returning to the UK was the smell of pollution and the severe overcrowding both on the roads and pedestrian life. Crowding makes people angry and there are certainly a lot of angry people out there in the UK. See you on the silver coast Linas.

Might I suggest we all repair to a chilled out quiet country location and ask Miss Marple to make us a delicious cup of tea and sit in the garden with the vicar to more thoughtfully contemplate the problem Malc

Not unusual as the dealer is getting your car ready so you're already able to see messages on the Lexus Link app coming through as they go through the process.

Maybe put a Mazda 2 on your list, not always that many around but good mpg and should be able to handle your load requirements

Whatever it is do make sure it's ULEZ friendly, just in case your vibrations slip over the border into Khan-Land!

He never said it was a rock band. He might be a bass player in a folk outfit…in which case an old Beetle would be fitting! ...turn up in a 300C with blacked out windows and people will think the guitar case is like Antonio Banderas in Desperado 😇 Depending on the venues that may indeed be wise!

Just be aware..... Be careful when selecting Sport mode, it will Rip your face off, and pull 5g round corners, and the Smoke from the Tyres will gum - up the Air con, enjoy 😀

I haven't tried that route yet. The current date of the charging status is 24th April 2024 so I was just going to wait until that date passed to see what happened. I am reluctant to create a new account as I will need to redo my big list of satnav destinations and all of the other settings. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and try it out.

I think they make the most sense in the ultra poverty spec - flat white paint, steel wheels with no trims, black plastic bumpers…

Theoretical sea level if all the ice melted would be 70m higher than now, so yes - London would be pretty much no more. However, that assumes no water in solid state anywhere on earth and it kind of ignores the fact that warmer atmosphere can hold more humidity in it, because the higher is temperature the higher is condensation point. Looking back at what happened last time when all the ice melted in the interglacial period (which are common occurrence), the water level was ~36 metres higher than now. Still most of Thames delta would be quite deep under water. But most importantly, again - this is what will happen, regardless if we cycle, walk or drive 9.2L V10 lifted pick-up trucks! Question is just how quickly. If our climate would continue heating up as it does not, meaning - no environmental action at all, then it is estimated to take ~5,000 years for all ice to melt. So we have quite a lot of time to move all the settlements inland.

One of my colleagues bought a Sandero - he had no choice at the time as nobody had any new cars (this was Covid time). He seemed to like it. It was finished in that awful Audi-style primer finish thought.

I get what you're saying LInas, but just don't agree with some it, or at least can see that there's another side to it. I think some of the anti climate change rhetoric comes from activists too. They may not glue themselves to roads, but infest social media with pseudo scientific reasons as to why it's all a sham. Like I said before, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. CO2 prevents the planet from dissipating heat, hence warming. How much excess CO2 there is, and how much we contribute to it may be up for debate, but we can only control the CO2 we produce, so that's all we can try and reduce. Sure, 20,000 years ago climate changed, ice melted, sea levels changed, and habitats were altered. However, 20,000 years ago we didn't have large populations living in permanent coastal dwellings. 20,000 years ago people could up sticks and move inland at little to no cost. 20,000 years ago people weren't affecting the environment to the extent we are now. The world has moved on, and in some ways we have the power to affect global changes (for better or worse), and in others we have the power to mitigate those changes, whether man made or natural. So what happened 20,000 years ago has little bearing on the world today. I still don't believe that quality of life wil be affected to the extent that you do, but the counter argument to that is that some of the quality of life improvements that we enjoy today have come at the cost of causing damage to our environment. As such, we're being asked to pursue a path that causes less damage, and explore ways in which that can be done whilst maintaining that quality of life. I have mixed views on the motoring aspect. On the one hand, like you, I don't want my driving to be made more difficult, more expensive or more restricted. That said, in this country at least, part of the problem is the sheer number of cars on the road. I'm inconvenienced far more by traffic levels than I ever am by speed restrictions, congestion zones and cycle lanes. The problem is that I can't rant about traffic volume in the same way, as the only way to deal with that is to put restrictions on driving, and encourage the use of alternatives, which then makes driving more difficult, which I don't want. Besides, whilst one may talk of the quality of life restrictions on drivers of older cars in cities, that ignores the quality of life of those affected by the pollution levels in those areas. There are plenty of people living in cities now, who neither want, nor need cars, and who feel their quality of life will be improved by a reduction. I'm not saying that one is right or wrong, just that sometimes one man's restriction can be another's freedom. So, let's say the climate scientists are right, and we destroy the environment to such an that we cause disaster. Some, like you, might say "so what", disasters are a natural part of the planet, but life goes on and the planet adapts and deals with it. Fair enough Equally though, let's say that what you say is right, and that we follow an an uneccessary path, at great cost and inconvenience, for no real gain. Well one could just as easily say "so what", we sufffer financial and economic disaster on a reasonably regular basis too, that severely impacts the quality of life of many people, and yet we survive those and carry on. It's true, we don't know everything with any degree of certainty. We can only try and make best guesses based on the available information. The areas of doubt leave gaps which the zealots on both sides can exploit to their own advantage. Most of those zealots ae probably well intentioned, no matter how well of ill informed they may be, and will continue to be exploited by those who have vested financial interests on either side of the argument. So, whether we do something, or do nothing, there will be winners and losers on either side. If you have the power to afffect change in the direction you'd liike things to go, then by all means do so. Otherwise one's best course is to try and predict which direction you think things might go, and do whatever you can to adapt to that environment. I actually like the argument in favour of moving to somewhere more condusive to one's own preferences, although Brexit haas somewhat hindered that. 20,000 years ago people didn't moan about the difficulties of where they lived, instead they either adapted to it, or upped sticks and moved elsewhere 🙂

Thanks to all who responded and sent private messages in response to this post. Happily, I picked up a 2011 USB last night, which I found to be surprisingly economical on the long drive home!

+1 for checking that the suspension puck removal has not been missed at PDI. It's quite rare but it does happen. I the ride issue is that noticeable it's as likely a reason as any.

Mine are 18" Bridgestone but not run flats and the ride is very good.

450H+ FSport with 20" Bridgestones is pretty smooth even on bad roads (with cracks) and sports mode is fine as well. Had a lift in a 3 series BMW recently which was terrible in comparison

I have one in ice ecru but with the light interior and I also have not seen one on the road at all.

Have you checked the tyre pressures - they are usually massively overinflated It shouldnt be running anything more than 36psi to be honest. Also check for transport pucks left in place

I've been waiting since September last year too but hopefully I should get it soon 😀

Hi Andy, The cable I was using I got it from Amazon, like you suggested try a different cable, so I used the oringal usb cable that came with the phone and "Bingo" I connected straight away to Android Auto. Thanks 👍

Ohhh please! People DO NOT USE halfrauds for MOT, you are 100% to be stitched-up, they will always try to fail you for profit. This is literally worst possible place to take your car for MOT. Halfrauds in particular is massive NO NO! I am sure kwikfrauds similar... Just rule of thumb - if you could find MOT centre that doesn't work on cars, then it is ideal, because they have no incentive to fail you, but you at least have to use centre that you trust to be honest with the repairs. Since when halfrauds and honest belongs in one sentence? I am glad you found the part you need, but to be fair you were kind of asking for trouble here. Don't want to repeat the stories about halfrauds for nth time, but the people there can't even tell the difference between front of the car and rear of the car (literally, they advised my front brakes, when the rear needed replacement). And even if we assume you want to find out whenever your car is safe to drive (which I advise shouldn't be done during the MOT), then halfrauds is still horrible place to do it, because they will miss genuine faults and point out something stupid like ball joint rubber. So I would not even trust them to if they say I have passed.

Yeah the quote includes the cam adjustment bolt, the locking nut and i'm sure the lady said a shim or plate? I can't remember but it was everything i would remove to replace the part. So it's much better to have them laying around and crack out the grinder rather than shout and throw spanners around for an hour. To be fair £130 i can't sniff at. It's coming from a reputable place unlike Ebay random Lithuania seller which dosn't include any nuts/bolts. Again thank you so much. I was going out of my mind trying to visualise and figure out what exactly i needed so you saved me a massive headache. I definitely owe you a drink if we ever meet at a show.

Just gave LDP a ring and they've got the part for £130 which includes shipping, VAT and all the bolts, nuts etc... Not bad at all considering the alternative is £90 and if i damage the bolt/nuts i'm back to waiting on parts. Thanks again for the help Steve.

Just rechecked and the red circled is correct, the blue one is the upper control arm Before you order from the USA the Lexus list price is showing at around £50.00 for the genuine part, maybe worth calling LPD first? Lexus part number is 48706-53020 Link Sub Assy, Toe Control, LH Just rechecked and the red circled one is the lower so correct if Halfrauds have described it correctly.

I’ve always understood that one of the reasons garages set themselves up as MOT stations is so that they can make some real money carrying out the remedial work. If Halfords ‘can’t find the part’ that they’ve just declared an MOT fail, I would question their competence to actually do the testing. And, perhaps, question the wisdom of going there in the first place. I appreciate that with a sixteen year old car, cost becomes a significant factor - and it sounds like you’re planning to do any repair work yourself. But would it now be better to find a recognised Lexus dealer - or a competent repair shop - to either do a retest and/or repair. Or at least to identify and supply the part, if it is actually needed? Note: Since writing this I see that Steve has provided the information that the OP needs to identify the part that Halfords has failed. So that just leaves me wondering why take your car to Halfords for an MOT in the first place?

i GOT MY CAR! Picked up my NX 450+ with Premium Pack yesterday, super pleased and a lovely drive home. So much technology on it, will take a bit of time to get up to speed. It came with one key, and the Owners Handbook. Second key and locking wheel bolts to follow. Technology wise, the following may be helpful https://youtu.be/B6S21RoEq2E

So the Car arrived at Cambridge on 6th but there was a sale event the whole week so couldnt get the car. i have now arranged the pickup for this Saturday!! Very excited for the the first Lexus! Cant wait to see it in flesh as i have never seen the car in this paint on the road.

Have just returned from the first service on my NX450h+ Asked about the 'new' Lexus Link + app [still using the old one].........was advised to wait for maybe 6/8 weeks as they [Lexus ] are having teething issues in relation to the recognition of all the different models. So........will wait a little longer before making the leap !!

ohhh man you deluded... I am ashamed for you quite honestly... No repairing that thought - when ruzzian propaganda destroys the brain it is terminal. Quite sad that reasonable discussion is not possible with people like this. Population in my country dropped by 50% in WW2, highest per capita decline of any country during WW2. More importantly majority of people didn't die from war, they died from being sent into Siberia and or simply executed for being educated, or owning land, or business... that was enough to be sentenced to death or exile... and death. From people exiled 88% died, that is more than in nazi extermination camps (85%). So I am just going to ignore the fact you simply are not educated in history and you didn't know that ruzzians killed more people in the peace time than nazis killed in the WW2, including 6 million Ukrainians in Holodomor, which is about the same number as people who died in Holocaust. Oh an by the way - in the west (including UK) it is widely accepted that WW2 was started by nazis invading Poland, except that is NOT true. WW2 started when nazis and soviets invaded Poland TOGETHER! Tell me which part of this statement is not true - certain molotov and ribbentrop agreed to divide Eastern Europe, as nazis were invading Poland, soviets were invading westwards via Baltics and they met somewhere in the middle of the Poland. Ohhh and just for good measure soviets summary executed 22,000 Polish officers, just because... So you never dare again defending the soviets. And what is ruzzian republic? They are just soviets by different name. They had all the chances given to them to change, but they proven once again in 1994, 1999 (Chechnya), 2008 (Georgia) and 2014, 2022 (Ukraine)... that they are good old animals and soviets. These are just facts... ruzzia is imperialist state with the goal of restoring ruzzian empire. Who said that? putka himself. What missile? one of thousands of ruzzians missile that hitting Ukrainian cities everyday. Anyone who dies in territory of Ukraine since 2014 from actions of fighting are the fault of ruzzians. Sure - Ukrainian missiles will kill some people in counter-offensive, it is war zone, but all those deaths without exception are fault of ruzzia. It is like saying - we shouldn't have done D-Day, because that killed some French civilians... ohhh yes it did, collateral damage is just part of war, but responsibility is for those who started the war. The rest of your post is filled with propaganda directly from kremlin. Minsk II agreement cannot be implemented because ruzzia continuously violated it, in agreement it stated that Ukraine should have control of the boarder as long as it allows self-governance of Donetsk and Luhansk (sort of Federalisation), but ruzzia never allowed Ukraine to take back control of the boarders, just pumped the eastern part of Ukraine with weapons and mercenaries... who said that? putka himself said that in 2022, confirming that all "little green man" were ruzzian regulars and mercenaries. So don't you dare saying it is western propaganda (which by the way exists), because this is what putka bragged about himself. As well Minsk II said that heavy weapons should be moved away from the front line and ruzzia continued shelling Ukraine all the time. Regarding "killing of ruzzian speakers in eastern Ukraine", this is very common and easily debunked lie. OHCHR/OSCE stats (which is independent international body reporting to UN security Council, so including ruzzia, was observing casefire under Minsk II) proves that quite easily - 38 People total have died in 2021 on both sides, majority from mines, or unexploded ordinance. So your argument is self-defeating, because you saying ruzzia wanted to protect people of Donbas, so they have launched all out war which killed tens of thousands of people, instead of simply leaving the occupied territories?! How does that make sense?! So they have occupied part of other country and that occupation led to low intensity conflict which lead to deaths, it is still ruzzian fault regardless. US engineered regime change is idiotic claim - even if we accept that there was some interference in Maidan in 2014 (which is conspiracy at best), you still cannot deny that Ukraine had not ONE, but TWO completely free and independent elections recognised worldwide (including ruzzia) where they have elected their government. So this argument could be somewhat used for month or two in 2014, but it becomes completely invalid by the end of 2014. It is certainly no longer an excuse in 2022. "Whataboutism" fallacy doesn't work either. Sure you can criticise US policy in Iraq or Libya. Fine. I am not big fan of it either, but that gives NO RIGHT for ruzzia to invade anyone. Two wrongs doesn't make one right. Sure - maybe you can say US are hypocrites for criticizing ruzzia if you want, but that still don't make any difference in the invasion. It is 100% ruzzians fault and it is criminal at every level. Saying that this is somehow "russiaphobia" is like saying that that British people had "germanphobia" in WW2. I don't think it is true, even if lines are sometimes blurred, one thing is to hate certain nationality and completely different is objectively hate regime controlling the country and call out their war crimes and crimes against humanity. I am sure people hated nazis (don't you?), but that does not mean they had "germanphobia". Going forward - I just set certain somebody as "ignored" and hopefully we can get back to the topic. Please...

And second serious concern is that in democratic society we even needed persuasion from US (or whom ever) to do that right thing... as if somehow hospitals and civilians being deliberately targeted and bombed was by itself not persuasive enough to take that step. I agree with you - even single putkins defender seems like one too many, I just fail to see how people can justify it... and to be fair when pressed they usually confess they are not honest with themselves e.g. they start by saying that they think "West/US made mistakes and maybe provoked ruzzists", but when countered with comparison with nazis and massive mistake of appeasement policy throughout 30's that led into WW2 and identical mistake we made since 2014, then they suddenly switch to argument that they are simply afraid of nukes... which is fine, I think there is reason to be afraid, but then don't defend the actions of deranged fascists dictator, or create cover story and excuses for his action. Simply say "I am too weak and too afraid and I rather see all war crimes known in humanity to be unleashed on Ukraine, than I would stand a risk of nukes being used". I guess this is developing to another thread...

On a serious note it always concerns me if there is just one person in a democratic society who appears to paint Putin and his actions as anything other than what they are, criminal. No one (the EU) should need any persuasion from the US, or anyoneelse, to get aligned with sanctions against such action just because it is the right thing to do ! THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Sometimes there is such a thing.

Thanks Phil, I won't lose heart at all. Another thing the Pareto principle has taught me is that the most successful strategy is to put most of my energies into changing the things I have the power to change, and adapting as quickly as possible to those I can't.

I am glad you have different opinion... but who isn't "selfish", is lion selfish to to hunt down gazelle? does amoeba selfish to eat other single cell organisms? What I am saying we are here to survive - AT ANY COST NECESARY. Our whole existence is kind of accident (unless we delve into conspiracy theories). Now if we look at humans as form of life obviously we are disruptive, BUT to be honest anything we can do to this planet would be considered rather mild in geologic terms. So again I think even if we have impact on climate change, then reducing it is just a hygiene factor, we don't want to live around our own rubbish in principle. But then this kind of explains why I am so indifferent if humans go extinct, because I myself consider us as destructive and rather dangerous (or at least capable of being dangerous). That said - I am not too sure warming is in line with human population, it think this could be quite objectively disproved, consider below (the glaciation/interglaciation cycles, which as well corresponds to average temperatures of current ice age): Obviously, this requires zooming in quite significantly to put human population in perspective... I have overlaid last 10,000 years of human population below: Note that ~120,000 ago it was hotter despite there being absolutely no fossil fuel use and hardly any humans at all! As well human population basically exploded since ~1800, yet there is barely any noticeable increase in temperatures! In fact temperatures have slightly decreased since ~10,000 ago and end of last glaciation period of 20,000-12,000 years can't be in any way related to human activity, unless again we subscribe to some conspiracy theory about there being ancient high tech civilization or aliens.

Do it. DO IT! Life’s too short etc. My personal preference would be a lighter metallic exterior colour with red interior, or a tan interior (accepting not available on the ES based on comments here) but think of it this way…how many black interiors have you had? The fact you’ve even asked the question tells me you’re ready to take the plunge and have something different!

Welcome Chris. Good choice of colour. Here’s mine in it’s natural habitat 😉

wind and especially rain is also a factor - pulling litres of water off the road with every rotation of a wheel with a big wide tyres can make a noticeable difference.

Sorry I can’t provide a link but I think these came from Amazon a year or so ago , I seem to remember the brand was something like Black night.They have worked faultlessly and I’ve had a number of complements on the look and brightness.

Hi Ken Glad to hear you are back driving again and glad to hear your operation went well. Now you can enjoy the remainder sunny weather driving with the top down. Sorry to have to say it but that is the ugliest reverse camera mirror I have ever seen. I can't believe a Lexus dealer would subscribe to having a system like that fitted to what is a beautiful cockpit. It is possible for the image to appear on the sat nav screen and I am sur within the £500 you mentioned. Keep posting and let us know how you get on with your new toy! Anthony