MeOfLeeds

Bob Mushroom On tenterhooks - well nearly. We need closure on this one... What's it to be???

What is it with all you guys that you constantly moan about the speed at which the 6th gear becomes useable. You have a mass produced vehicle (albeing well screwed together - well mine is) and, by definition it cannot be all things to all men. When I get the opportunity, I'll be delighted with the 6th gear ratio when I'm on the autobahn. I'm with Matus on this one. Get over it and move on! Next...

Another tuppence worth if I may... With regards to the cars having soul, sure the Lexus doesn't have the character of a Beemer. I've had a couple of BMW's and loved them, also had Toyota's and have to say the Toyota's were boring but incredibly capable. I'm sorry, but customer service does count, especially if something goes wrong. I had a right ding-dong with my local BMW dealer a few years ago when I had problems with cold starting which was eventually traced to a duff set of injectors. The workshop manager conceded it was a manufacturing fault but it took ages and a lot of letter writing to get it sorted - they eventually fixed the problem FOC - which they should have done in the first place. This episode left a sour taste for quite some time. A Lexus owning acquaintance has had a couple of minor niggles (alloy wheels being one) which Leeds Lexus have resolved without fuss - he's on his third Lexus and is very fussy about his cars. If you want a car purely for the driving experience then yep, no arguments, the Beemer is probably the one for you. Personally, I wanted a car that ensured I finished a long journey capable of being refreshed enough to conduct business and arrive home equally refreshed. Sure, I had to get the MM so I had satnav and bluetooth and it's a very expensive option, but IMO a worthwhile bolt-on. Getting MM was definitely worth the money just to see my 19 year nephews head nearly explode when he claimed the mega sound system in his mobile disco of a car was the loudest in Leeds and I demonstrated what the ML could do Am I biased? Sure I am, but I enjoy driving this car more than any of the other cars I've had.

Hi Bob Sorry about my mini rant, didn't really answer all your questions... MPG - I've had no problems, lousy stop/start urban commute but getting 35/36mpg. Gearing - Don't listen to all the moans on here, sure if you're coming from petrol to diesel it takes a little getting used to, but 6th is fine over 80-85ish (we were happy with 4 gears a few years ago). Wobby mirror - wrong gear = wobbly mirror. loud music = wobbly mirror. POI - When driving, you can hit the "mark" button on the sat nav and it stores its location (I've got a few speed cameras located on mine). I believe you can rename them but I've not got round to that. Colour/Interior - I wanted black with grey interior but ended up with black with beige interior. In the end I'm glad I got the beige leather as it makes the cabin light and airy. Even managed to get some cheap beige rubber mats to protect the carpet protectors (a bit Oirish I know) for over the "wet season".

Hi I've had my IS220D-SE for 3 months now - and still think it is a fabulous car - I pass lots of BMW's, Merc's and Audi's on my commute and I still feel smug cocooned in my well equipped and comfy Lexus. There are pro's and con's for all the usual suspects, but IMO the Lexus, whilst not necessarily getting 5-stars in every area, ticks enough boxes enough of the time to beat the others. Another facet that, whilst it didn't sway my opinion/choice but did confirm it, was the level of customer service I received when visiting the various showrooms: At the BMW garage my wife and I were ignored when trying to obtain details on a 320d and, when we did manage to draw someones attention they were snooty and pretty obnoxious. The Merc garage was worse, off hand and dismissive and didn't even send me the prices I'd requested despite a phone call to chase them up. They seem to forget that whilst I might be a 320d/C200 driver of today, I could be a 6-series/S-class driver of tomorrow. To be fair, the people at Audi were fine. Sorry about the customer service rant... The ML sound system is incredible (your rear view mirror certainly vibrates with Arcade Fire at high volume), plenty of go when required, soft leather, lots of toys and, yes prestige - all at a price that the others can't match. I believe Audi are doing a free upgrade to S-line as they are in run-out mode, the BMW is for estate agents/wide boys and the Merc is for old men/drug dealers. Get the Lexus, pocket the difference. Oh... and you'll be let out at junctions

Just done my first really long run. Leeds - Manchester - Portsmouth - Stansted - Leeds. Lots of fiddly bits in between around town etc., including a horrendous slog around the M25 and then driving like a lunatic on the M11 (where possible) to get a colleague to the airport on time to catch his flight and managed to get a smidgen over 41mpg. I'm a real A-B driver, don't like hanging around and pootling along at all, so I think that is pretty impressive. BTW, I've got the "orange glow" to warn me when I'm doing an indicated 85 and during my mad dash home I noticed it changes to red when you go over a (ahem) certain speed...

I've used a TomTom One - it was my first introduction to SatNav and I have to say for the money it is a seriously impressive bit of kit. A lot easier to master than the MM one in the Lexus (though obviously without the whistles and bells). The post-code programming is superb and, as opposed to the nannying Lexus one, you can reprogramme on the fly. Works straight out of the box.

My car is rattle free - had it a month and runs sweet as a nut... so don't worry.

1st post - be gentle with me... I've only had my IS220D a month and to be perfectly honest, I don't think the fuel economy is bad. A couple of relatively long runs from Leeds to the midlands and back but mostly short commutes. Currently achieving a running average of 39mpg. Not bad considering I've been experimenting with acceleration and not always being in the right gear (1st diesel I've run). By a strange coincidence, I also have a Ford Focus 1.6 (recently inherited by 'er indoors) which in three years of ownership and around 40k miles only ever achieved the Ford projected mpg when driven gently on the motorway. Looked at the 'usual suspects' before opting for the Lexus and have to say customer service/sales at the others was woeful compared to Lexus Leeds. Agree with the others - that letter is atrocious - a standard 'fob off' and badly written.