its_a_doozy

I'll start off by saying the Police do a bloody hard job with great risk, and we are thankful that we have a Police force to turn to at times of need.

That said. You are so right about poor training and skill levels. There was once a time when to become a Policeman you had to be qualified from school or college, and be pretty smart. No, they'll take in all sorts, and give them poor training.

If they haven't got the people skills before they join they aren't likely to develope them once a copper. Anyway, I am sure the Lexus OC isnt here to put the world to rights, but we can try !

I tried the Snow Mode on my IS250 last night, and it didn't have the desired effect. The weather turned chilly, and we had some fog, but no snow. :P

THe last model to be released 2005 had closer gears that the older model. I know because Lexus tried to get me to trade my IS200 Sport 52 plate for an 05 model. This was before they admitted a new IS was being released !

Anyway the box was much closer than my IS200 Sport.

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it had the TRD short shifter, the gear ratios are the same

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OK, that is too technical for me now. I thought (wrongly) that close ratio was how close the travel was between gears, thus the newer Sport had closer gear shifts. Now that we are referring to the actual gear ratios, well that's another story, and I bow to your greater knowledge on that subject.

THe last model to be released 2005 had closer gears that the older model. I know because Lexus tried to get me to trade my IS200 Sport 52 plate for an 05 model. This was before they admitted a new IS was being released !

Anyway the box was much closer than my IS200 Sport.

Why add something that you don't need? Standard IS250 has no attena, and it would seem odd to stick one on for looks alone. Sorry if I am missing something.

Anyway, wouldn't want to try and copy a BMW style now would we?

The UK spec of the sport only states it is a sport on the rear door window quater lights. It has "sport" in grey writing.

The rear windows are a darker tint that the front and windscreen.

The spoiler is a snug fitting type on the rear bonnet. The sill plates are chrome, the foot penals are chrome drill effect, the gear know is silver, the dials have silver/grey edging.

Apart from those visible touches, the rear differential is slip diff, which is supposed to provide better handling round bends. The suspension is lowered to provide a stiffer ride and more sporty sleek look.

Engine in the sport is the same as the other models, so not really a true sport, more about the style than anything else. Supose it was easier to call it a sport instead of just listing the options (glass, spoiler, suspension, slip diff, chrome thingys etc..)

As a fairly new member, I have just stumbled across the Garage feature of this site, and it is great to see others vehicles and mods.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?act=Garage

I went to add my new car and see there is no section for IS250 models. When and who will add this to the site?

I played with this on my IS200 sport in real snow, and it makes a difference if one wheel has good traction and the other is on a slippery surface.

It control the traction control so that less power is delivered to the wheel with good traction so that the amount of spin or difference between the two wheels are minimised. This avoids the dragging effect that leads to a slide into the snow rather than staying in a straight line.

Best way to test it is by driving along a road which is clear of snow but has snow at the edges. Put one wheel in the snow and drive forward with and without Snow Mode on. You should witness the diffence :winky:

Went to dealers and guess what ? No rattle. Blasted things stopped and wouldn't return when I had the engineer in the car !!!

It is intermittant, so it is now booked in for a day after Xmas. Also mentioned that the 2nd gear (manual box) seems a bit rough to get engaged, feels lumpy and not a smooth movement. Lexus dealer stated that there had been several complaints like this and Lexus advised that its a bedding in thing. I have done 700+ miles.

They have noted it and are gathhering all buyers comments and any issues raised as it is such a new model, there are bound to teething glitches.

Work got in the way today, so couldn't honour my Lexus dealer appointment. Rattle still there. Have hit my dash very hard today to stop it and it worked. Needed to pickup customer from airport, didn't want this annoying rattle so had to get physical with car.

I felt like 1940's man, hitting the woman I love.

She tells be how to get places.

She heats my arse.

She calls my friends on phone.

She manages the enviroment.

She keeps me safe

Yet I hit her when she rattles. I am a monster !

Cops love a Lexus :P

Mine pretty much stay on my drive as I wrk from home most of the time. At 3am th eother morning I was awoken by noises in the street.

A police car was parked across my drive at an strange angle, further down the road was a Police van and several cops on foot running around. Later there was a dog van.

Several days later a neighbour taxi driver tells me the story.

Four proffessional car thieves had been targetting the street. A guy had looked out of his bedroom window to see someone casing a brand new BMW 7 series.

The Police were already in the area, and swooped in on his call.

Turns out four pro. car thieves where in the street planning to take top mark cars. Thankfully the cops caught all four. Thus the parking across my drive. One new Lexus saved from car crime.

A reminder to all to not only take your keys and fobs to bed with you, but to also have a solid weapon by your bed when the pros decide your car is the one they will be taking that night. They have to get the keys by whatever means possible.

Sleep well, but prepare for a rude awakening. Hit them hard if they do !!!

Nice pics of the shiny Lexus. Lets face it, it looks even better nice and shiny. I think Lexus shoud be paying you for presenting their products so well.

when i mean detailed - it means, a lengthy process of washes/polish and waxes to the external shell, wheel, interior that comes from the love of polishing black metallaic objects (ok detaillgin can apply to any object..)

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So in plain speaking that means a thorough clean Thanks :D

I haven't managed to find the time to get the bucket and sponge out yet, so my car is over 3 weeks dirty Shame on me, the Lexus Grime Buster Squad Police will be pulling ME over soon

Well done, but you have let the thread down a bit here old chap. Where are the X-Ray pictures of the wrist? :P :D

By the way what do you mean by having the car "highly detailed" ? Sorry not a motor head so not up to date with the terminology. :mat:

And all those with dirty wives should have a tick against there's !! :D

Just relieved he didn't breathalise you eh? :D

Joking aside - DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE THIS XMAS SEASON - it would be a shame to have spillage in your Lexus :P

Is it not possible to say a number using the voice control with the new MM pack.  For example can you not say "Dial 01234 567 890"?  I had a look at the US manual for the IS and I thought that this was possible.

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No you can't make voice calls like that. In fact to make any calls using the voice activation is an absolute pain and even my dealer suggested I not bother with is.

I obviously have given it a whirl and they were right, it is a waste of time. You have to say about 5 different things, and press the talk button about 3 or 4 times before the call is made. Faster to press the quick dial buttons on the screen.

Kurbing can only be blamed if your corrosion is on the outer edge of the rim. If the corrosion is elswhere, which it often is, then you should seek replacement from Lexus. Regardless of warranty you should insist on replacement due to this being a know design/manufacturing fault.

My replacement wheels for IS200 Sport 52 plate were replaced after 1.5 years from new. The new wheels had visibly more laquer on the alloy. When the car went back last month, it was clear that the wheels also had corrosion. The car is now 3 years old, out of warranty and on its second set of wheels. Lexus dealer will claim a set back from Lexus.

If Lexus dealer refuses to replace clearly corroded wheels due to this fault, then just threaten to take the matter to Lexus direct and also the media, and trading standard. The goods are not fit for purpose. I hope the new Lexus has learned the lessons of the old.

several test by myself have proven it the SatNav safety features are enabled when you start driving over s certain speed, approx 5mph. They re-enable at slower speeds of if you place the handbrake on.

So disabling the handbrake switch will not override the safety features. We are all keen to hear of the first system override, and I am sure it will come in the form of a CD-ROM and some secret button combos. :duh:

Can't say, as mine is new and I will not be rev'ing it for some time

I can say that when you drive it normally, you hear nothing from the engine and little from the pipes. When you push it a bit harder you hear the pipes.

Cars in the dealers tomorrow to see what the cause of the rattle is. For the last two days it hasn't made a sound, and I thought that typically when I get to the garage there will be nothing for them to hear. Yipeee!! today it came back on a short drive, so here's hoping it remains for tomorrow inspection.

Just to let you know I tried to click up the handbrake (manual box) whilst moving and the SatNav features remained disabled, and to add insult to injury the dash illuminated with two different "!" & (!) symbols indicating handbrake on and a loud beeping. So even if it did enable SatNav buttons (which it doesn't) the noise would kill you before you hit a tree. :P

We IS250 owners with SatNav need a code crack for the system to get past the nanny state safety features.

Can you not pull the hand brake up one click, works on some cars ;)

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Nope, needs to be all the way up. Might have to get busy under the car one weekend and see where the switch is. It may be a bit more smarter than that though and be based on the fact the wheels are moving, plus handbrake.....

Well, I seem to be in a minority, but I didn't like the IS250 that much....

Of course it's a good car, and if I was given one I'd be pleased.  But:

1. as noted above, the spec is inflexible - e.g. can't get heated seats on base model

2. it's very noisy due to tyre roar - one of my few criticisms of my IS200.  Even on some 30 mph roads it was loud and on the M11 I couldn't hear what the dealer was saying in the back.

3. I found the driving experience rather remote - the steering felt slightly detatched (although it handeled well) and the car felt rather big and heavy rather than nimble.

4. Torque has improved, but I was expecting more from the extra 500cc

In summary, I found the car a bit middle aged.

I'm very dissapointed as I've loved my IS200 to bits.

I'll probably get the Audi A4 with the 2.0T engine - preferrably the limited edition version with 217 BHP.

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I think the "tyre roar" or noise from the road is exagerated because the car is generally so quite in the cabin due to the soundproofing and lack of wind noise.

I bet if you put a gauge inside th cabin and measured the dB's you'd find the IS250 one of the quietest in its class.

Middle age? I think it's more mature than the old version, and this shows, because it is unlikely that boy racers are going to be buying copy cat IS250 rear light clusters for their pocket rockets. The old IS was a boy racer icon, and is that really a good thing? The only thing that made the old IS a little bit middleage was the fact that Alan Partridge (a ha!) had one. That was the biggest blow to most IS200 owners at the time. "Its a Japanese mercades, back of the net".

As for buying an Audi A4, what can I say :P