dazzab69

Does the RX400h SE-L include the rear DVD entertainment pack as standard ? There's a bit of glitch on the UK Lex site around this. (Yes I know I should ask the dealer, but it gets them excited if they get a potential customer at the moment.)

Lexus launches the 2010 RX in L.A. Is it just me (and I am biased) but the new one isn't as good looking as the current RX ?

Has anyone else had to get their alloys replaced on the MkII RX300, mine are starting to look like my IS200's did. Was the dealer okay about changing them, or is a call to Lexus UK required ?

Has anyone taken an RX SE-L outside blighty and if so is there a switch on the swivelly headlights to save me the bother of sticking nasty bits of plastic on the headlights. P.S. I'm sure the answer to this is RTFM, but I'm too lazy !

Have a look at this: http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article...?article_id=391

Although they only have them in White

The boot liner is a good investment for keeping the boot clean.

Just bought one over the net from Hong Kong. $140USD including shipping. Harrier link

... was the usual anti-4x4 rubbish. The little car in question was ten years old and thus had no safety features. Besides which, if you go down the route of banning 4x4s (basically because the plebs and New Labour don't like being reminded that some people have done well in life and choose to drive a big car) because they aren't nice to little cars where do you draw the line ? Do you also ban buses, lorries, vans, Rolls Royce Phantoms, in fact anything bigger than a 2CV ? Why not ban all cars because they aren't nice to bikes, pedestrians, and rabbits. Rant over.

I can get 25 mpg on a motorway run from Essex to Swindon if I turn off the aircon and use the cruise control to stay legalish (80). As for the greenies screw em, doesn't matter what we do in this country because its the US who are killing the planet, so if you can't beat em join em ! The 4x4 haters are just jealous anyway.

Has anyone heard the strange woman shouting "Stansted Airport" when you drive up the M11 ? It's very odd, you get the nice dulcet female voice, then wham a rough essex accent shouts STANSTED AIRPORT at you.

What's the Sunderland interior ? It's not red and white stripes with black shorts is it ? :D

Go for the SE-L. Most SE owners claim the steel springs are better, but having lived with one for a month whilst mine had minor cosmetic work I can honestly say I don't agree with them. And the Levinson is soooo worth the extra money, it sounds great and next time some scrote cuts you up, just smile and remember that your stereo cost more than his car !

I'm another convert from IS to RX, but I do miss having a car I can throw around a country lane when I'm by myself (i.e. no family members on board). We bought the RX after Sprog II arrived because he didn't fit behind me (I'm unfeasibly large) without him losing a length of shin and I hated driving the wife's Scenic (plus being a Renault it very rarely works). The RX is great for families because it's huge, I think the whole design is a scaled down version of the US Marine Corps' helicopter landing ships, down to the big power door on the stern ! But this is exactly what you need, you will be amazed how such small creatures require such a massive amount of kit. Fuel consumption is between 20 and 25 mpg depending on traffic, how fast you drive and whether you love being chilled on route (aircon). It is a great way to travel when you have the family on board, you can waft around in your big comfy armchair ignoring the rest of the world ! Just can't do the hooligan thing which is why I'm now allowed to have an exec saloon to go with the RX (which the wife will have) instead of the awful aforementioned Scenic.

C-Class Merc cruise control already does this, you can set a max speed. I only know because I was err test driving one for a friend....

Aahha now we reach the crux of this issue. Our lovely non-car owning friends from Islington cheat with the accident figures, because like Iraq's WMD, they are sure that they know that speed is the cause of the accidents and as has been said they hate cars. Thus all sorts of accidents that are caused by other issues are lumped together in the speed catagory. I don't recall the exact figures, but I seem to remember that travelling too fast alone was the cause of about 15% of accidents and by far the biggest problem was driving without due care and attention.

If the story is true, it is very daft because with the launch of Lexus in Japan assuming all the models are available there, then there is no issue over LHD/RHD which the Germans always use as an excuse.

One point, I found the tyre pressures up on my new car (35PSI) and on the loaner, they should be 32PSI, I let both cars tyres down to the correct pressures and what a diference it made, asked the dealer about the setting , they said 35 was ok, IT'S NOT. ← I'll check that when it comes back, thanks for the tip. D

OK so after a few hundred miles, I think the loaner SE feels fine on most roads, particularly our nice new smooth A120. But I'm still getting back ache driving on rough motorways like the M25 and I'm still glad I went mad and plumped for the SE-L. One thing that is bugging me is that the loaner is much much better on fuel consumption, the engine sounds smoother and the transmission is much less shunty than mine. Mine has done about 5K miles and the loaner has done 28K, is this just because it's more run-in or does mine need some attention ?

I went to the Geneva motor show yesterday. Am I the only person who was HUGELY disappointed with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Maybe it was the truly awful banana yellow, but I though it just looked a bit ordinary compared to its big brother the DB9. In contrast, the rather similar Jag XK concept looked great apart from a few dodgy details. Did any other visitors notice the Brabus Mclaren Mercedes, what was all that about ? How many people will spend their £330K and then decide that the McMerc isn't quite fast enough ? Only F1 drivers come to mind. And to Lexus, the IS looks so much better in the metal than in photos and we may well become a two Lexus household. I also loved the LF-C which again looks awesome in the metal. Did anyone else notice the camera wing mirrors al-la Porsche 959 ? The whole origami influence that Lexus has mentioned really comes across when you see the cars for real. I guess photographs of origami don't look so great either.

I only test drove the SE-L (with air), and in a moment of madness bought that one rather than the more sensible SE. Mine is in for some minor cosmetic work after it ate a Metro which started a fight with it (long story) and I presently have an SE as a courtesy car. Yesterday I took it down to Gatwick on my way to the Geneva motor show and I ended up with back ache. It bounces and judders horrendously. No disrespect to the SE owners on here, but if they are all like that I don't know how you put up with it. Strangley most of the press reviews I've seen say go for the car with coils, but I can't understand how or why, other than the fact that its better value.

For what it's worth I like it. It's not as fussy as the new A4. Seriously thinking about becoming a two Lexus family ! Does anyone know if we will be allowed within touching distance or inside the cars at Geneva ? D

Hi Rex Like James Smith I went from 3.5 years in an IS to nearly a year in an RX. In that time I had one serious problem on the IS which was fixed in three days. It took Lexus Assist an hour to get a flat bed truck to my house to pick up the (undriveable (power steering pump failure)) car for repairs and another twenty mins for the courtesy car to arrive ! The Lexus experience really does make you think several times about buying another brand, so much so that I may bin plans for a Golf GTi as our second car and wait for the new IS> Rgds D

Problem solved chaps, DL are happy for me to use who I like and Lexus Ipswich will arrange my courtesy car and charge the third party's insurance. I wonder if they have LSs or SCs available . I don't see my 3rd party being a problem, she's a little old lady (with a very bent metro) who gave me genuine details (I checked).

Chaps I was involved in a bump with the RX yesterday, not much damage (destroyed the offending Metro though) but it will probably require a new bumper. I'm with those folks with the red telephone for Insurance and last time they repaired my IS, I was left with a Clio for two weeks while their dodgy backstreet garage sourced a rear bumper for a perfectly serviceable car. Therefore I want to get my car fixed through my Lexus dealer and have something much more driveable for the one to two days it will take to fix. The other party has admitted liability, so how does one go about making a claim from a third party's insurance company ? D