Scarlet Pimpernell

It's not just the CO2 or the economy - the drive needs to be good too - the gearing and final drive is questionable in the original non-Sport ISD, even the gearchange is pretty average for a luxury car. Then there is a complete lack of choice - no Auto, just one engine... That really is where Audi, BMW and Mercedes have it licked. Auto's, different displacements, same displacements with differing outputs, 4 pots, 6 pots. It's all there....And whilst Audi does use some VW units, they are bloomin' brilliant engines - all developed so that they can sit in either camp comfortably. You have to be brave to say that about the Lexus/Toyota 177 Diesel unit which is only average and can only compete on NOX, which is now so marginal. I'm glad that Lexus is doing this, I just hope it's not another half hearted attempt....without a low Co2 engine, Lexus could be a dead duck in europe as the Hyb's are all premium price......even the Hybrid GS can't really compete for sheer driveability compared to the 535d and when it comes to petrol engines - the new Audi 3.0 TFSI looks awesome...sheer performance and relativtively low Co2. Just check out the figures.

Sounds like the Avensis D4D Engine...isn't that sold as a 150bhp, but actually 148bhp?

Full of yanks who go on and on about their nearly BMW550is that they managed to get like for $30k....and yes quite boring... Had I gone for the IS250 Auto, I might still have been a Lexus owner...and I find this forum to be incredibly good.... There aren't really any Lexus's that take my fancy. The closest one to my heart is the GS450h, but the size of the boot is a no-no and I wouldn't bee seen dead with a roof box...

I'd wait a year and buy the IS-F - they'll be going for £35k or less by then. Some are already as low as £42k at the dealers before you start to wave the cheque book at the salesman's nose... I reckon it'd cost at least £3-5k just in body bits before you even think about that custom paint job and wheels, so anything like £5-7k minimum, then there's the interior,etc. if you want the full jobby. You're talking £000's and 000's.... Not really worth it IMHO, unless you can pick up an Accident damaged IS250 and do it yourself...or decide that your 3 year old IS is mechanically so good that rather than forking out £10-20k on a replacement, you just do it up.... PS - bogger all that - spend £30k and get the M5

I'm not sold on it at all. Haven't actually seen any on the road either, though Toyota state that all manufactured have already been sold. Makes you wonder why there are quite a few in the showrooms then ... I think it looks "tall" too, and a quick glimpse of the front almost at times makes you think it's the LS 460... Toyota's legendary reliability will mean it will sell... Nothing beats the new Honda Accord though...in that bracket it is simply outstanding already - and with that, the Mondeo and the Insignia all vying for sales, the Avensis has a job on it's hands.... Will need to drive the new Avensis to be sure...

Why has no one mentioned the "engine rattle on start up" needing potentially a top end re-build?

...and larfing....but then he's been doing that for ages

Yes, and No!! Basically, if I recall, as you walk up to the car the puddle lights come on, but you can't open the door unless you're within 3 feet or so of the front door. My kids used to run up to the car (faster than me, obviously) and yank at the handle whilst I walked up to it, and nothing would happen until I was "almost there", but the puddle lights would have lit from approx 6-10 feet. I have a feeling that the boot hadn't been closed. There is a button inside the glove box to stop you opening the boot from the outside, key or no key.

I would say light metallics...Brechin Slate is really good, as is the Caspain Sky Even the Mesa Red is as dark as you can go (I know - I had one), and with the softness of the paint the whitish undercoat comes through every small stone chip or scratch, making the darker colours really dreadful after a few 000's miles... The lustre of the dark paint is really good, and has serious showroom appeal, but to live with the darker colours is a nightmare....in the real world every bit of muck or scratch shows up like Cindy Crawfords mole

Honda Clarity - that is the future - and others are also developing Hydrogen fuel cell... Toyota seem to be going headlong down one route - other manufacturers are going down multiple routes in parallel...meanwhile the Lexus petrol engines are standing still and becoming very un-attractive from an emissions and economy perspective. I know on here we know how good the IS250 Auto is overall, but everyone else has overtaken it now with higher displacement, more power to the wheels and better economy... Time to wakey wakey me thinks....

I'm surprised at this - the boot in the current IS is already tiny, I wonder where the batteries and motor will go... Having said that, Tesla have managed to get 6400 laptop batteries and a motor in a small sports car the size of an Elise (admittedly without a combustion engine) so with Li-batteries anything is possible. Also - why have they tweaked the best looking compact exec and made it look like something made from Plastic, over designed and almost Korean looking In fact it looks almost like the Clarity from the front...

You get enough spam at home and on yer email - the last place you want to see it is on a forum Back on topic - almost 100 votes - many thanks to all those who have taken the time

My 220d was within 1% when comparing brim to brim with the OBC. My Beemer's OBC Over-reads by 4% consistently. I need to recalibrate it (which you can DIY on a Beemer). Also, it's not helpful when people keep saying that you can never hit the government figures. The simple fact is that you can if your car is setup like the one they tested - i.e. perfect, but you have to drive in a way that is optimum for fuel economy and not performance. I can in the Beemer, and exceed the figures easily, as I could in My Audi. In the Lexus I could "sort of" initially (between 5000 and 7500ish miles) and then I couldn't after that... OT - By the way - spell checker now works on adding replies. How novel...Interestingly, the word Lexus isn't in the dic'n'harry on PC...may be 'cos it's Google Chrome that I'm using. Oh dear, even the word Google isn't there!!!

Ditto - I only really miss the rear camera, but it is an option (dealer fit) on BMW's if you have Professional nav (don't know about Business Nav). Also, get the HiFi sound - it's worth it. Thye standard BMW speakers are pants even though they have sub's under the front seats... The Lexus Satnav was better at routing logically, the BMW prof seems slightly better in terms of features and much better in terms voice commands. The idrive is a doddle to use once you've gotten the hang of it, and you don't really miss the touch screen... The new iDrive on the 2009 3 series seems almost identical to the Audi MMI....which is brilliant!!

You've actually overshot your service interval by 3000 miles...the fact that it needs a service every 10k does not mean 10k, 20k, 30k and so on. It's 10k from the last service!! In asnwer to your question, just buy the parts (filters etc) from your local lexus shop and take it to a good Indy...keep all your receipts!!

According to the government figures, the Extra urban is 53.3 - for the new 2009 model which is 1 mpg or so more than the original IS220d...I only ever managed to get higher than 50 MPG in my IS by doing this - resetting the Ave MPG readout at 50mph in 5th, using cruise and staying at that speed for a few miles...even a slight gradient made it plummet to mid 30's on the histogram. Even then it only worked when it was newer, towards the end it gave 42, on a rolling start! Hopefully the newer IS is sorted....but what's the gearing and engine response like on the IS220d 2009?

the published figures are a government guideline and not part of any contract. As Steve says- they are a guideline from tests performed in a lab environment...FWIW, mine was almost identical toyours, and I rarely break any speed limits....and even then it is by accident and I come straight back down... Having said that, take a look here: LINKY It shows that you can actually beat the government figures for Extra Urban if your car performs like it should...and no matter what anyone says and tries to scare people, the best diesels are made by BMW (choose carefully), Audi and Honda.

Aido - you're spot on. I went to the US a few months ago and drove an Acura TL 3.2, I was amazed at how japanese it looked and felt, but how well it drove. It was 4 years old, 65000 miles on the clock, but really felt crisp and new...and I would seriously hope that Honda do follow Nissan's Infinity and bring the Acura here (unless they go bust first!!)... The new Accord is a very good car, and I would not dismiss it if I wanted a Jap car.. Back on topic - Mick77, many of us worked really hard with our dealers, and got no where - inspite of several remaps and new bits and pices, the economy only got worse with miles (at least on mine it did). I went from high 40's when the car had 5000-7500 miles to mid 30's when it had 20k on the clock...the only thing mine never had changed (AFAIK) was the EGR. I had it from new and followed a strict running in regime etc, always garaged, polished/detailed in fanatic style and non-Supermarket fuels...made no difference...and the oil consumption wasn't too clever either...some months it wouldn't take a drop, others it would gulp a litre or 2 every thousand miles...

LIkewise JFB2 - the problem is that there are some cars which owners are happy with. Many Lexus owners who have had the IS Gen1 will be, because it was hardly known for economy, so anything over 30 mpg is a bonus. But byou have to ask why people buy a diesel. It's for largely 2 reasons - economy/environment and company car tax...you have to ask whether the IS220d is economical enough, clean enough, tax efficient enough or whether it's enough of a "Lexus" to justify it... People also have to ask the question whether the VFM that the IS220d gives is in those area's or kit. Just take a look at the spec of a new Honda Accord top of the range diesel, and see how it compares. Most IS220d would be surprised at how good a car the new shape Accord actually is (if they would be unbiased enough to credit it), and what you get for the money! Most will say it's not a luxury marque...but forget all of that and seriously take a look...just look at how good the engine is...not power or performance, but refinement and economy and turn of speed... I've never been terribly loyal to a brand of car, and that's why I give the alternative view. Of late I've stopped doing that here...largely 'cos I've been too busy on the other forums...and I got banned on here for apparently gloating...I came back today and am not surprised that the same old types of threads are doing the rounds...

GaryC - feel it for you - it was for these exact reasons I left the marque, and probably wouldn't buy another. I think ultimately that there are some cars out there (mine being one) which will take some sorting to make them right. Friday afternoon cars and all that...

Mine had wonderfull, deep rich bass from the rears..

I went for the Sony Alpha K100 when it was launched over 3 years ago, and it has been superb. If I knew then what I know now I would have gone for a Nikon (D80 or D200) as all mags in any newsagents and books are loaded with "how to's". I think any of th D seris will be fine, but a good D200 would be just as good ig you can get one. The senors are interesting. A CMOS (as in the D90 or Sony A700) will capture light very well (and better than CCD) in daylight conditions. In the dark though, you could get some noise as CMOS are prone to picking up too much of that. However, the newer ones have good noise filtering and CMOS is now becoming the norm for anything beyond 14mp. The higher the MP does not man better pictures - even a good 6mp D70/Canon 350d (rebel XTi in the states) will take exceptional pictures - it's just if you want to use the software to crop and enlarge, then the higher the mp the better. You really can't go wong with the D90, 80 or a good 70s - even a 2nd hand one to get use to it. All the mags and books are centred on Nikon and Canon, and you can get loads of spares, lenses, flashes etc for next to nothing if you shop aound. Make sure you get a good flash and omnibounce - they are a must!! You'll find that the standard flash on the camera is rubbish, and that without bouncing or filtering the light you'll see shiny foreheads :o at close range and in rooms. But by bouncing the flash you'll get a much more natural softened light. Amazon do some great books too!!! Good luck!!

That hack didn't work on mine when I had it - mine was a March 2006 (Build Dec 05)

Which is true...the 3 series appears to be prone to premature turbo failure...which is why I wouldn't buy the 320d or any model with those swirl flaps (mine doesn't have them)...petrol Beemers are fine...

Is your car under manufacturers warranty? Most batterys even from Halfords come with at least 2 years warranty, so I would go back...as I reckon batteries should last at least 5 years...try it...Lexus Customer Service and all that being #1, they really should at least try and help... Do you do a lot of short journeys? Isn't there an "indicator" on the battery itself?