Valkirk

Ahh was it a 2011 model IS-F you tested then?

Many thanks for the reply David,

Must admit the one thing that impressed me about the IS-F is decent running costs (Not compared to the IS 250 of course but in comparing it to something like C63 AMG) which would also fall into the "dream cars" category.

Servicing is only slightly above that of the IS supposedly (approx £100 more than 250 according to dealer) guess the parts would be more though. Reading reviews on the web people say 30MPG is easy on run, it's very gentle on tyres (19,000 miles on set) but they are indeed expensive (£230 per corner)

How did you find the suspension on UK roads? Was it still able to cruise comfortably?

Hi All,

Also posted this in the IS-F forums as would like to get views from both group owners.

Been debating between these two cars. For very little price difference between a new 250 Advance you can get an IS-F; the car will be a daily driver but only do about 4-5k miles a year.

Looking for some thoughts, comments on which to go for and why? At the moment I'm stuck with the typical thing of heart says IS-F and head IS 250, about half the insurance cost, half the Road Tax and better fuel etc. Prob be about £1-1.5k cheaper each year for the 250 (But I guess the depreciation on the 250 will more than make up for that extra cost)

Given their rarity haven't been able to test the IS-F yet but I haven't seen a single bad review really.

I guessing either of them are going to be useless once temps drop unless I fork out for a set of winter tyres.

Have your cars been reliable? Any issues or problems that would put you off owning another? Anyone got a baby seat in the back?

Moving from an Mercedes SLK 350 and have always liked fun cars. Other car is an RX and been so impressed with Lexus service (Croydon) really want next car to be another Lexus.

Thanks,

Matt

It's only for replacing a seal on the brake master cylinder so hopefully they should still be able to get to it without too much difficulty.

http://www.lexus.co.uk/about/news-and-events/2010/brake-master-cylinder-and-fuel-pump-recall.aspx

Without knowing what the price is for what spec, mileage etc it would be impossible to say if £300 is good or not. But less than Parkers and I reckon you have already got your "Deal"

Hmm, 1 owner is good however I would be wary of any owner that has ended up with 3 different makes of tyres on their car...

You can't; don't believe there is any aux in for RX300. The only way you could do it is with a Iphone radio transmitter: http://store.apple.com/uk/product/TX255ZM/A?cid=AOS-EMEA-SHOP-GoogleBase-UK

lots of cheaper models as well so just look for reviews: http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/3592664/Belkin-TuneCast-II-Mobile-FM-Transmitter-For-iPod-MP3-Player/Product.html?_$ja=tsid:11518|cc:|prd:3592664|cat:Accessories

JD Power Survey 2010 is out and looks like Lexus and especially the RX has ruled them all:

Overall:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/lexus-dominates-jd-power-2010/250150

SUV page:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/jd-power-survey-2010/suvs/250115

As said above, the 400H and also the 450H are all about lowering consumption in town driving. At motorway / highway speeds you will just be using the petrol engine all the time as you would in a normal car (In addition to having to carry the weight of the batteries!)

These cars excel at stop start and low speed driving where the electric running comes into it's own.

For the wing mirrors - someone has turned it off. Check manual but think it's something like the button to change if altering left or right mirror has to be in certain position for them to drop.

I really hope this isn't against any forum rules (If so please delete!)

I quite often use Drive the Deal to see potential deals and just got emailed about some special offers they have at the moment on 2 SE-L and 1 SE-L Premier Pre-Reg cars that they are offering some superb savings on if anyone was in the market for a 450H (They just act as a broker by the way the actual car sale would still go through a Lexus Main dealer)

http://www.drivethedeal.com/specialoffers06.asp?vans=false

LEXUS RX ESTATE 450h 3.5 SE-L 5dr CVT Auto

RRP: £52,445 Discounted price: £46,495 Saving: £5,950

Two cars available, both in Silver with either grey leather or black leather. These cars are pre-registered in March 2010 with delivery mileage only, and include free delivery in England and Road Tax.

LEXUS RX ESTATE 450h 3.5 SE-L+ 5dr CVT Auto

RRP: £57,600 Discounted price: £50,995 Saving: £6,600

This car is an SE-L Premier. It is available in Windsor Blue with Grey Leather. This car is pre-registered in March 2010 with delivery mileage only, and will be delivered in England free of charge and comes complete with Road Tax.

For 20k you could get an 55-06 SE-L RX400h cheaper to run....if you want to stick with petrol though the 350 is superb as well!

Oh and blame the new CT200h - they needed to move all their cars up in price to accommodate a new entry level.

Even though it's competing with 1 series etc rather than pricing it in same sort of bracket (As it used to be with Lexus vs MB, BMW etc) it seems to be top end (Same thing as the 250c). Reckon they didn't want to have to drop the Prius price.....

I reckon if you can find one buying a new 400h for £35k would be the best value of the lot (Although even Drivethedeal have dropped the 400h off the list)

It's strange but think the car manufacturers have got a bit ahead of themselves in the last few months.

Sales have been good due to all the help the car industry have been given with scrappage and from the VAT change, so much so that most dealers are wacking up the APR they are lending at.

Also as they got stung on GFV's over the last year when everything dropped they have decided "In their infinite wisdom" to hammer down all GFV's - this has just hurt them again as it makes the finance package look much worse both actual money spending each month but also the residual makes you think "damn not buying that as depreciation is insane"

Now while the dealer argues this is to ensure you have some deposit for a new car and not negative equity (Which was the problem they had - of course nothing to do with the financiers taking the hit on GFV).

Just been looking at replacing my SLK with a Z4 and the dealer came up with some crazy figures - saying that a £47k car would have GFV after 4.5 years of £11.5k?!

I will be waiting till the scrappage has ended, sales dip again and then they might think hmm wasn't as good as it looked.

Whilst looking around though if you wanted a very very good finance deal found MB are doing the SL with 1.5% APR! You can also buy the car with that value as either flat purchase or the reduced monthly with balloon. Not what you were looking for I know but made it very tempting :)

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/car-prices...nts-fall/247824

"If buyers can't find a dealer that will match the Target Price, What Car? guarantees to put them in touch with one that will."

List for RX450: £43,165 - £57,580

What Car Target: £41,578 - £55,452

They say Target for RX450SE-L is £50,490 so if you can't get it down to that then give them a ring and they will tell you a dealer who will do the car for that!

Strange as it sounds I just can't understand how the new model commands a £15k premium?! It's moved the car into a different segment. I know that most of the problem has been due to exchange rates etc but I would hate to be Lexus salespeople having to sort out selling new cars at massive price increases over old ones.

The 450 is a superb car but so is the 400...is the 450 worth £15k over a new 400? Not IMO....£5k yes but 15?!

Same thing with the IS250C - it's in a different league to the rest of the IS price range. I'm guessing they couldn't reorder all the prices of models they were currently selling but new models have had to have price inc. I have been keeping a close eye on the new LF-Ch it looks a very interesting car - it's meant to sit below the IS in price from reports yet I have a feeling it could end up being £25-£30k.

To answer your question though; if I had the money then it would be the Premium.....test drove one and the Heads-up is superb and radar cruise is so useful if you are on long journeys (Just wish they had it working down to 0mph like the Merc one :( )

Very nice!!! Grats on the new purchase :)

Well I've narrowed it down a bit:

1. Audi A6 Avant 2.0 SE

2. BMW 320d SE Touring

3. Merc C250cgi Elegance saloon

OR

4. Lexus IS220d SE-I (MM)

All work out at around the same money a month and include bluetooth & sat nav. I'm still struggling to make a decision...

Hmm given the A6 would be in the same line as 5 series, E class and GS models seems best value if all the same sort of money?!

I don't think there have been major isntances of battery pack failures. But by all accounts they do loose an ability hold charge as life goes on - as with any rechargeable battery system.

I really dont see the point of the batteries when you cosndier that the car can only really run on true battery power alone for no more than 3 - 6 MINs at most...seems to be an awful comrpomise in lugging these heavy battieres around when they only deliver a few minutes worth of efficiency.

But then I'm not a 400h fan ... much prefer the 350 ;)

The only true advantage I see with these cars is with stop start traffic and recovering energy for boost.

Even on cars with Stop Start technology having to fire up and cut the engine all the time is a real waste. Much better it will just run on batteries and only fire up the engine once moving properly. Additionally all that wasted braking energy etc is very nice to store and give you help with more grunt should you need extra acceleration.

Have heard of probs with the 400 batteries going flat after short periods of time with the car not run but other than that they seem fairly solid. 350 is very nice but you'll be hit by the tax man....

I think with Merc's it depends on the models....I got one in my early 30's and love it :)

For me it depends on if you must have Diesel....given petrol choice it would def be a IS250 or if wanted a change a 350CGI Merc....but for Diesel I would have to choose a BMW or Audi from that selection. The Merc ones have too many problems at the moment and unless the IS has changed since I drove it I found the gearing and everything just too way off; running at 30-35 MPH it hated it regardless of gear....

The other thing to keep in mind is with weather like this an Audi quattro will be the only that isn't a total pig to drive!

My suggestion would be if you can keep the car longer might be to hold on another 8 months till the new Lexus LFA Hatch comes out (If hatches are something you might consider) being hybrid it should be great on tax and fairly good on consumption.....plus front wheel drive means it won't leave you as vulnerable in snow.

Congrats on purchase!!

The other thing with very high mileage cars like that is they have to have done most of those miles cruising along at motorway speeds with very little wear and tear on the actual parts; quite often they are in better condition than a car with very low mileage that has done 3-4 mile stop start journeys day in day out with hardly a journey long enough to warm up the motor.

Would be shocked if auto wipers blew a fuse due to being frozen; never had a problem on any car I've had - believe if they can't move easily the motor just cuts out same on folding door mirrors etc.

Agree with you 100% on the 450H if it had arrived at the same price point as the 400 I would have been very very tempted but as it is really don't see how it's worth it. Ok it's cutting edge technology but the RX400 was pretty much up there too and that didn't carry such a premium!

As a car though it's superb - but worth £15k more than 400....don't think so.

What were they thinking when they wrote that bit in the manual about 'Not recommended for off-road use'?

I'm guessing it's more to cover them warranty wise from possible damage to the car rather than the car not actually being capable. Ok it's missing alot of things for proper off-road like low range, locking diffs etc but it seems to go reasonably well (There was a 4x4 comparison on a website comparing ML, X5, Toureg, RX450 in which the RX came second and even though the X5 got stuck twice in the snow the RX coped fine)

Anyone see the Lexus theme on Top Gear - 03/01/2010

Generally slating the company with the vehicles accross the board

Saw it but I didn't think they were slating them.....they started listing all the cars being masterful engineering items with everything very carefully crafted and that they won thinks like best panel gap and paint etc but they said the cars were rather bland and boring to drive.

TBH there are many many times I want a "Bland boring" car to drive if it's like my RX.

It's quiet, well put together, everything works how it should and how you expect, comfortable and enjoyable to drive. My other car is an SLK 350 it's superb fun to drive and amazing with roof down in the summer but I can tell you now if I could only have 1 it would be the RX; the SLK is terrible in cold weather, useless in snow, takes an age from starting up to be able to drive off due to the asthmatic ant of an air con system and has been back 9+ times for electrical problems.

They adored the LFA and even in the wet it demolished the the nearest wet rival (Lambo I think it was) however even I will agree that the asking price of £340k is insane for that car. If it had been £150k then I reckon it would have been thumbs up all round; a proper supercar which should hopefully have Lexus quality and reliability. maybe if they got the car back in the dry and it almost topped the board then they may feel it's worth the money?

My experienced with Croydon have been very good so I would just stick with them they will get things sorted.

There were known issues with the Air suspension so at least it's all happened at the start under warranty and all getting sorted.

Washers fine in mine once engine warmed up; reckon it's more a Hybrid problem possibly with the engine heat being used / recycled more efficiently so takes longer to warm up the jets?

Yep Ford had the patent although from my searching it supposedly ended in 2006.