Ro1

I suppose there's not much chance of hearing a rattle in a 1 or 2 mile test drive unless it's very bad! A simple rattle is not enough of a reason to reject the car, so just record the defect at the time of sale and agree that it be fixed.

I'm collecting my new one tomorrow afternoon, so it will be interesting to see the dealer's face when I ask him to join me on a test drive first!

Nic, I think you'll probably find that mole worked in Lexus marketing, despite being a dealer like he claimed! I think there's a snowball's chance in hell of us seeing him here again!

Great pics! Thanks. Looking forward to getting mine (in red) on Thursday hopefully! You've put it up to the rest of the Irish contingent on LOC to post tons of pictures now! Did your neighbours think you had gone mad!? Enjoy & safe driving!

Do you use two whole tins at a time? Half a tin per wheel? How often do you clean the alloys after using it?

You're both correct. 3dB is double the power output; 10dB is approx double the perceived loudness.

After recommenations here, I bought Carlack and Carnauba wax. I used Carlack on the car today, but I didn't have time to apply the wax. I then made a 150 mile round-trip. I didn't apply Carlack to the roof today, and looking at the car when I got home this evening, the roof has a pretty good coating of dust (it looks like I drove it through a desert for the day) and the rest of the car is still shining brightly. Thumbs up!

What's the accesories brochure? I wasn't shown one of these on either of my trips to the showroom placing an order.

What is the exact functions of the paddles in the IS250 auto? I'm still waiting for my new car and had assumed the paddles changed the gears up and down. However, from reading the car manual posted in the US forum, it suggests the paddles are used to increase or decrease the range of gears available to the auto box. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Jamboo - how long did it take to apply the carlack and the wax? I'm thinking of ordering this for my new car.

I ordered 250 SE auto in slate (dark grey, or whatever the name is in different countries!!) & black leather. Anyone got an idea what lead times are in UK and other Irish dealers at present?

Living in Ireland, I ordered a 250 SE ("Executive" in Ire) ifrom my local Irish dealer n November and was promised a Feb delivery. Speaking to the dealer yesterday, he cannot now guarantee delivery before March, and even then not necessarily in the colour combination I want. Has anyone else in Ireland or UK had this experience? What are lead times like right now? I'm perfectly happy to switch dealer if anyone can make a recommendation. Tks.

Thanks for the tip! I've ordered the same colour car, but decided to go for the black leather interior. I know the beige is probably nicer, but do you think black leather will work with the slate exterior?

Two quick questions: - I don't have HIDs can can certainly see a use for them particularly on dark country roads, but I do find them very dazzling in oncoming cars. Are they legal? - What is the purpose of the ballast?

Ireland is obviously as wet as most of the UK, but our roads are not quite as good - less motororways for instance! I definitely agree that dark is better for the sports seats. What about all-leather seats - will the light colours also look tatty after 3 years? Nicnac - definitely try an auto on the test drive and be sure to find time to try it in both manual and automatic mode. It will be the best money you've ever spent, particularly if you spend time in Dublin traffic!

Nicnac, the cloth seats were perfectly okay and nicer than in most similar cars. The ones I saw were dark in colour. As it costs about eur 5k less, it's not a bad choice, but remember you won't get some of the other extras with the entry-level model. However, if you can, try to go for the automatic at least - I've never driven an auto as smooth as it. On the test drive, it was almost impossible to tell you had changed gear without looking at the RPM dial. The concensus for colour choice in leather on a dark slate car seems to be black rather than beige/cream? Anyone in favour of cream at all? Which looks better after three years?

The fabric was not too bad - silky/shiney on the outer parts. For anyone who didn't want to cough up for the SE spec (called 'Executive' here in Ireland), it wouldn't be a bad choice and significantly cheaper. Most cars in that class sold here (and even 5-series and E-class) are sold with basic spec becuase of the high tax on cars. I'm looking at a February delivery though for an order placed next week :-( Do you think black leather will be better in a dark car like the slate rather than beige?

I would like to buy a new IS250. Unfortunately the showrooms or stock areas don't have a good selection of colours available to view yet. The only colours I have seen the new IS250 in are black, silver and green, and only with cloth upholstery or black leather. Are the new paint colours similar to the GS range? I was thinking of slate or dark blue. Has anyone seen these colours yet in person or have some good pics? (However, I find it's difficult to tell from the pictures. For instance, the new green colour looks okay in pics, but I didn't like it when I saw it in the flesh!) For interior colour, is it better to choose black or beige leather? Which leather colour looks better over time? Thanks, Ro.