kwatt

Thanks guys, it's just some ramblings after using the car a bit as now I feel that I can actually comment with at least the confidence in my own opinion of the car based on experience. I have to say that reading through the likes of JC's comments of the IS I am a bit miffed as to what it is the press think about Lexus. It seems to me there's a vendetta against them or something. I mean after all, how dare they challenge the mighty Bavarians. But to me the Lexus is slightly different, especially the IS, as it's not being hailed as "the ultimate driving machine", it's being billed as a damned good car. Which it is IMO. Comments like, "it doesn't drive as well as the 3 series with all the traction control and stability stuff switched off" make my blood boil, why on Earth would anyone do that, the safety stuff is (believe it or not) there for a reason. Even when you do the jornos still admit that it is a marginal difference between them. I don't know many drivers that would hammer the best part of £30K or more so hard as to find the limits, especially with all the safety aids switched off. But of course the jornos don't care as, if they wrap one into a crash barrier they ain't really too fussed. A case of "don't try this at home children". I just love the car, I love the toys. I'm sitting in a queue of traffic on the M1 the other day in my nice little cocoon of luxury with the nice draft wafting my ***** and back, listening to an MP3 CD with fantastic clarity and looking at a few 5 and 3 series that floated by and I'm thinking, tough luck matey. As soon as the queue clears I'm back up to speed on radar and I've not missed a beat. After four hours in the car I got out almost as refreshed as when I got in it at first, I didn't even have a sweaty a$$ (not that that's a pleasant thought I realise, but the point is made) from sitting on leather for all that time. Had I gone for a German car I'd have had something akin to deck chairs as standard that use the hardest canvas known to mankind for the seating. Of course I could have leather, if I wanted to pay and extra £1000 or so and I could have heating in them for an extra few hundred again. The numb a$$ you get comes as standard at no extra cost. The other one that really winds me up is the multi-media pack. I keep seeing that it is referred to as being expensive. Yeah right. Have these dudes actually priced the same sort of system from our Germanic friends, ever? DVD satnav will almost universally add £2K to the ticket, then add the sound upgrade, usually another £500 or so, then another £400 or something for Bluetooth phone preparation and you still can't get a reversing camera or, in some cases, an IPOD connector. None I saw would play an MP3 DVD, or much of any DVD IIRC. The Germans make the Lexus MM system look positively like a bargain! Carry that theme on into ACC and auto as well. The lights I have as standard on my SEL would have cost circa £1500 on an Audi and, as they are an extra, they do bugger all for the resale value other then making the car easier to punt later. Which leads me on to another topic. Why is it that you have to choose the right extras on a German car? What's that about? And, whatever you seem to choose that's a "good choice sir" of colour and spec when you buy it it always seems to be, "oh if you'd specified....bla...bla...bla..." when you come to sell the car would be worth several thousand quid more. Not a rat race I want to get into when I'm gambling with my own hard earned cash thanks. But then the extras game with the Germans is only their way of being able to pay for the fancy showrooms as they make shedloads from them and, when sales get tough, they start adding them for "free". Uh huh. One of my mates suggested I looked at an M3, he said it went very fast. I said yes but you'd want to get where you were going fast as there's sod all to be doing in it. Anyway, where are you going to use that level of performance these days on the roadsthe way they are? You're often either stuck in traffic or toodling about playing spot the GATSO or "speed safety van" on the bridges of the great UK motorways whilst keeping one eye ahead to see where the next snarl up is. Oh, that's a good thing on the Lex MM system, I just love the little warning triangles that tell you where you're about to get held up. Doesn't stop you being held up, it's just cool that the car knows you will be before you actually are. Of course often you choose to ignore the warning as you know better, sometimes that works for you but often the car wins. As for the dealers, well I got mine from Lexus Glasgow and so far I can't complain one bit. I've experienced quite a few dealers over the years and my other half worked for Arnold Clark so I know the score. How well they will do in the longer term we'll have to wait and see when it comes service time, but thus far it's been a pleasure. K.

Okay I had a Honda Accord CDTi on an 05 plate and, with some amusement it has to be said as I didn't want to upset anyone, read the comment from a previous poster about water coming in the window or was it th edoor when you opened it? I forgoet. But I digress, as before that I had two of the new "*****" Meganes and the Mrs has a CRV. Here's the bad news, they all get water in them when you smoke (if you smoke) and have the window open and they all get a little water in when you open the door. That's the price you pay for modern aerodynamics I guess. Anyway I got my new IS 250 auto with the multi-media and ACC on it. Black with black interior if you're remotely interested and I got it the second week of September. Interestingly (Maybe) I didnt' go to see the Beemer, too common and a bit dull IMO. Apart from which you're labelled by driving one as a t**t. Mercedes, I'm not old enough to have one as I haven't quite gotten to 50 yet and, let's face it, the C Class is as dull as dishwater. In fact dishwater looks more interesting IMO. Audi A4, nice car, shame about the dash. I mean, what happened? Did they run out of ideas when they got around to doing the inside? It's horrid, it looks like a Vauxhall (sorry Audi, but it just does) in other words a big hunk of black plastic. And with all the above alternatives there's the price. To get the same spec level on any of them I'd have been looking at to at least be paying £6K more. Not good, especially when they're just dull, boring and common. So I didnt' bother going to see the Merc or Beemer after I saw the IS. From the Honda there's a marked improvement. It so happens I've had to do some miles this past week or so, testing you understand. :D So I've covered some 2000+ miles already and I fail to see what anyone's moaning about, the IS is an outstanding car in so many ways, I now read with a large pinch of salt a lot of what the press has said about the new IS. I also think that they've picked up on things so minor it's as if they were looking for things to fail it on... you know, like it's too comfy, yeah right. Or how about the one about the minor controls aren't illuminated.. what the boot and filler release? Really, what planet are these people on? But I wanted an auto and I wanted ACC and, most importantly with the time I spend in the car, I wanted IPOD connectivity at least, the fact that I can whack in MP3 CDs is just a fantastic bonus. I get decent MPG considering what the car is and I'll have to spend a lot of time there to offset the extra cost of a similar specc'd German diesel auto. It's comfy, secure and feels very nice. What one of the press was on about saying it was "twitchy" on the motorway I haven't a clue. But here's the thing... after 2000 miles in a week or so I still *WANT* to drive the car. I think that's as good a recommendation as you can get. Am I worried that I didn't drive the Beemer, nope. Do I care that Beemer drivers somehow think that they are superior? Nope. I can be smug about it and just know better. K.

Like most cars I've driven in the past ten years the best advice if you have to drive in snow is simply, buy snow chains like those sensible Swedes. K.

I don't have the time to fight it, but I'm very interested in the option to have the lights go off after a certain period. Dark drive, not nice in nasty weather and a feature I liked on an old Megane, they called it "See Me Home Headlights". All I need after that is a way to switch "nanny" moded off on the nav system. K.

Glad I got the petrol auto with MM now! :D Didn't fancy the Beemer anyways, too common. ;) K.

I'm supposed to get an IS 250 SE-L MM/ACC on Friday... IF DVLA get their act together and sort out my plate first, if not then Monday I hope. I hope Monday as I have a 400 mile trip on Tuesday. ;) K.

I ordered in late May a Black SEL Auto MM and probably won't see it until mid/late September. I'm sincerely hoping it's worth the wait. ;) K.

Having used Tom Tom's, Alpine single slot and now the Honda satnav systems I'd have to agree with several of the posters here, integrated satnav is superior. Far superior. It knows where you are much better, tracks where you are far better, gives more accurate information because of that and the best bit is that you don't have unplug stuff and cart it with you when you get out the car. Okay, it's not as cheap, but I doubt I'd buy a car now without intergrated satnav. I've not yet had the pleasure of the Lexus system, but I will in September and I pretty much expect it to be on a par or better than the Honda touchscreen one that I have in my Accord presently for actual guidance, it whoops the Honda's a$$ on features. Interestingly, when shopping about for a car, I looked at the obvious German marques (dull IMO) and they offer DVD satnav only for the best part of £2K, by the time you add the features on the Lexus system if you can get them, the figure rises to over £3K on many. This makes the Lexus £2700 actually pretty good value for money, you struggle to even buy an aftermarket Alpine system that does what the Lexus one does for that money. All things in perspective and I reckon it's well worth the money, even if it does seem a large lump up front and it's not a cobbled together solution. K.