Northern Boys Luv Gravy

Sadly, under Ken's new rules, hybrid cars are no longer exempt from the charge unless their CO2 output is less than 120g/km. Hybrids like the GS450h or RX400h will pay £8 per day.

I drove a GS450h at The Taste of Lexus event at Slaley Hall. It did feel a big car after the IS, but otherwise inside it was similar - albeit I think the IS's instrument binnacle looks better. The main difference is the speed - it is so fecking fast!. It really does take off like a rocket. It is eerily quite when you turn it on and press the accelerator, although that only lasts a couple of seconds because above 5mph or so the engine kicks in and it sounds more normal.

It may be worth asking Hodson Toyoya (Silverlink) for a quote. I have had a number of Toyotas and they have always proved to be competive. I mentioned this when I asked about service costs when I was considering a purchase at Lexus Newcastle, it was quietly sugested that I get a quote from Hodsons and then challenge Lexus Newcastle for a price match. Update; I called Lexus Teesside and they quoted me £170 all in including fluids and VAT for a 10k service - 30% cheaper than Newcastle. I've booked it in there and cancelled with Newcastle.

Our new A3 2.0 TDi 170bhp Sportback is currently averaging 34.8 mpg - as soon as you try and use any of the available performance the figures just plummet.

I can't agree with this. For example a BMW 325i petrol has a CO2 output of 170 g/km compared to the equivelent Lexus IS250 manual of 231 g/km. Are you saying that swopping fabric for leather seats, upgrading the radio and one or other bits of frippery add 60g/km? I can't believe that. The reason BMWs emit less CO2 is because they have developed engines that produce less CO2 and put in the new stop/start technology that switches off the engine when stationary. Lexus can reduce the CO2 output of their cars - the new IS250 auto emits less than the old IS200, despite the bigger engine, and falls under the congestion charge limit of 225g/km - they just need to be a bit more clever with the new technology. Hybrids are good, but an expensive option compared to a simple stop/start system.

I've just had a quote from Newcastle for a 10k service of £240.00. I wonder if it would be worth phoning Teeside for a quote off them?

When the registration plate is run through the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system it will tell them whether or not the car is an automatic and what it should be paying in Congestion Charge. The only possible way out is to vote the numpty out of office - I can't understand why Londoners have put up with him for so long.

As soon as I saw Alan Partridge driving one I knew a Lexus was for me (seperated at birth).

Both mine have been black - as have all the others I have seen.

I didn't know they did a Sport auto - I can't find it on the website configurator or anywhere else - is this new? Performancewise, I can't see there being any difference so I guess it just comes down to the visual tweaks and if you like the fake suede seats (personally, give me leather everytime). I had a look at the new seat backs in the dealers at the weekend and they have replaced the hard pockets on the backs of the front seats with soft ones. It hasn't really given more legroom but it has made it a bit more comfortable if you are sat in the back and your knees brush the back of the seat in front. Other than that there are no real differences (unless you count the side by side boot and fuel release switches that is). If I were you I would wait 6 months or so and see what changes come in for 2009. Your car will only be 2 years old with plenty of warranty left and low mileage, so it will be attractive to a dealership to put on their lot and you should be able to drive a good deal (the new Audi A4 will be well on stream by then so Lexus may do better finance deals to make the IS more attractive or up the spec inside).

That's a really difficult question to answer. That part of the seat is always the first part to go and I've seen cars with fabric seats worn right through there. However, I would have thought that providing you are not rubbing against it with some force, wearing some sort of particularly abrasive clothing (jeans with stud detailing are major culprits) then it should not be a problem for a number of years. A bit of creasing may be expected - my advice would be to call in at you dealer and ask them to take a look at it and see what they think.

I'm not quite sure where you get your prices from but according to the US site the LS460 has a base price of $62,000. Add in the navigation, Mark Levinson,comfort package (basically UK spec) and delivery and the total is $72,000 before local taxes and dealer add ons. I've had a look on Lexus owners' sites in the US and that $72,000 seems about the norm before any haggling. The pound is historically high against the dollar so it is making everything appear cheaper at the moment. If you use a more reasonable exchange rate of $1.75 to the £ then the price of the car is £41,140 + VAT = £48,342. Still cheaper but not the huge difference that we first thought. Margins are lower in the US due to competition and economies of scale.

I'm not sure. There were 3 variants of the original IS: The AS200, which we got in Europe and had a 150bhp 6 cylinder in-line engine - the IS200. The RS200, which we didn't get in Europe and featured a 200bhp 4 cylinder engine. Instead we got the AS300, which was the 3 litre straight 6 and offered 210bhp in the IS300. There are RS versions about as people have imported them from Japan.

I get very sceptical of other peoples' mpg claims for diesels now. A colleague at work has a S-Type Jag 2.7 auto and despite most of his run to work being dual carriageway he never averages more than 35mpg. We've also had a number of 3.0Tdi Audis and none have got above 39mpg. I've seen it in the pub with evangelistic diesel owners trying to outdo each other with fuel consumption claims.

I was told yesterday by the dealer principle at Lexus Leicester that there will be a lower emiss is220 before the end of April and Lexus will have a hybrid in every model range before 2014 That's interesting - I wonder if they'll use the same sort of stop/start technology as on the new BMWs? I'd love it if they applied it to the petrols as well - I reckon you could be looking at an average mpg for IS250 auto of 35mpg, which for that type of car would be great.

Today we picked up a new Audi A3 Sportback 2.0TDi (170bhp) Quattro (bit of a mouthful that) so it will be interesting to see what average fuel consumption that returns over the next 3 months or so. The power is similar to the Lexus 220d and although the A3 is a bit smaller and lighter I figure this advantage will be offset by the quattro set up. So far it's showing 26.3 mpg average - I'm sure that will improve.

It's OK to use mineral, semi-synth or full synthetic in the IS engine - Lexus designed it around mineral oils for alleged lower cost of ownership. The important factor is that the viscosity is correct for the driving conditions and that it has the right additives and detergents as specified. All synthetic oil does is give you longer service intervals but since the Lexus intervals are fixed at 10k that is not required.

I've had a couple of CVT Diesel Audis and they have given me some real "browntrouser" moments at roundabouts and junctions. You see the gap, press down on the right hand pedal and there is a l-o-n-g pause as it winds itself up to go. It's like one of those old fashioned steam ships where you ring down from the bridge for more speed and the stokers start shovelling on more coal while you stare at the iceberg looming down on you!

I wouldn't worry too much about a slight lip on the edge of your discs - if you run your finger around most cars' discs you will find the same. I sold my first IS250 Auto with 33k on the clock, it had new pads at 20k but the discs were still fine - and autos are traditionally harder on pads than manuals. I'd be extremely surprised if your needed new discs before 40k at least. There is a TSB regarding brake dust in the States. Some owners were complaining about excessive brake dust (although I must admit I've found my Lexus to be much the same as every other new car I've had recently in this respect), so Lexus agreed to fit harder pads to the vehicles of those who complained. Of course harder pads means reduced braking performance and increased wear on discs but you can't have it all ways. People complaining about brakes is a subject that has frequently come up in conversation with my missus who works for Audi Aftersales. She has people coming in complaining of excessive dust, squeaking, brake disc replacement costs etc. Basically, it comes down to new formulations of brake pad designed to cut out the use of asbestos in their manufacture. The extra dust and wear is a cost we have to pay for the health of her mechanics - it's also means that brake discs are now considered to be a consumable wear item rather than something you largely ignored until much higher mileages (the extra weight of modern vehicles and the higher amounts of braking energy to be dissapated probably adds to this problem as well - we all want to be able to brake a 2 tonne car from 80mph to 0 in about 40 feet!).

I would imagine the cost saving is minimal, normal reasons given are to reduce weight (marginal again) and give a bigger boot space. The main reason they do it for the IS is because the tyres are different widths front to back and also directional - so they could give you a full size spare but there is only a 1 in 4 chance that it would be the right one to replace the punctured one. You can put the space saver on any side, front or back, it's a get you home/to the tyre place stop gap only and as long as you don't go mad or speed above 50mph you'll not have any problems.

They won't be discontinuing the IS220D any time in the near future - they need it to attract company car drivers with the lower Benefit in Kind tax advantage. I also have been told there won't be an auto version of the diesel as there is no appropriate auto box to drop in and due to the fact that the IS220D only really sells in Europe and only a small percentage would choose an auto option, it's not considered commercially viable to develop one for the IS. It's a shame because I think it would be a great model to own. I think Lexus would like a hybrid option for every model they make and with newer battery technology on the way there is no reason why the IS shouldn't have the room, but maybe they will wait until the next generation IS comes out and then quietly phase out the diesel - even at Euro 5 compliancy they can't sell it in the US and and hybrid option would work better there.

Read it? I have it right here in my hand "Lexus - The Relentless Pursuit", by Chester Dawson. Lexus does not stand for Limited Export United States or Luxury Export United States - these are myths that have grown up around the name. The name Lexus was agreed in 1986 after a master list of 219 potential names was whittled down to 5 possibles (page 111 if you are following in the book). Those names were Alexis, Calibre, Chaparel, Vectre and Verone. The only one agreed on was Alexis - but the main argument against it was that it sounded too much like a name - particularly the woman from Dynasty. Anyway, after some doodling by a guy from project team, he scratched out the "A" and changed the "i" to a "u" and Lexus was born. To end the debate on what IS means you have to go to page 178 in the book where the reasoning behind the conversion of the Altezza to a Lexus model is discussed (see previous post). It means "International Sedan" and was first launched in Europe, followed by the US. Hope this helps.

Sorry, I don't quite understand that? The IS launched in Europe first (1999) before the US (2000) - and by the time the IS was launched over here Lexus had been trading in the UK since 1990. In fact, come to think of it, the IS was never developed as a Lexus product but as the Toyota Altezza and was rebadged to give European dealers something to compete with the BMW 3-series (I know I'm preaching to the converted here), followed by demand from US dealers' causing it to be launched there as the IS300. Plus it's not Intermediate in size - it's classed as a compact. I'm beginning to think Intelligent Sport is the right way to go.

Same as it does for the IS200 and 300 ..It is 'Intermediate Sedan', as the GS is 'Grand Sedan' and the LS is 'Luxury Sedan'. I'm sure you're right but I have read it as meaning "Intelligent Sport" somewhere - mind you I'm not sure what that means?? So does IS-F stand for: Intermediate Sedan - Fecking Fast?

If you open the front passenger door, where the end of the dashboard meets the door/A pillar, there is a key slot to turn off the front airbag.