jonnyboy

I have used Goodyear Excellence on my last 3 cars and luv 'em. They are superb all-round tyres, quiet running, great in the dry and superb in the wet. In fact, in the wet it is almost possible to drive like you would in the dry (although please don’t quote me to your insurer when you are having your car pulled out of a hedge!). I have found that they last really well, in spite of my rather enthusiastic driving style. The Excellence was launched around 2 years ago and has since become standard equipment for the police (so I am told). They are well priced too. Expect to pay around £125 a corner for 225/40 18's. I have them on my IS220d at the moment and it handles great. Before you ask, I don't sell tyres or work for Goodyear! I just like driving :D

Fair comment; however, what with the higher geared final drive on all but the sport model, the gear ratios do not translate very well to the road speed, leaving the engine struggling, ensuring that fast starts have to be accomplished with clutch slip. My last TD was a Mondeo ST TDCi 2.2, a car that I considered to be very versatile and a rather good drivers' car. Excellent handling, plenty of power available throughout the range, picked up well from a standing start with no clutch slip, 6th gear engaged at 60mph and pulls like a train all the way to 140mph (where permitted!), enough space to whisk the family off the beach at the weekend, all this and a frugal 45mpg too (despite my having chipped it up to 185BHP with a Bluefin). Having owned and driven Audi, BMW, Ford & Vauxhall TDs and with the 6-speed turbo diesel now being a well established line and a highly regarded choice for most, I am at a loss as to how Lexus could make such a monumental ball-up of something as fundamental as the gear ratios. It seems to me that Lexus were perhaps trying too hard to set the IS220d "Sport" apart from the other models in the range. On that note, can anyone verify whether or not the sport suffers from these issues i.e. Clutch slip for a fast standing start, poor acceleration from 30mph in 3rd, unable to engage 6th below 75mph?

I am due to take the car to Lexus tomorrow so that they can attempt to fix the following issues (again): - Very poor fuel economy. - Rough idle when engine is cold (accentuated when outside temperature is also cold). - Overrun when gently backing off the accelerator, e.g. when driving in slow moving traffic. - Awful turbo lag. - All four windows lowering themselves to the bottom, always when the car is locked (therefore invalidating my insurance). - Intermittent central locking i.e. not locking and sometimes not unlocking. - Passenger windscreen wiper only touching on the very outer edges when outside temperature is around or below freezing (wiper heater is working OK - Lexus checked). In wintry weather this results in the passenger side of the screen becoming completely opaque, therefore restricting the driver's view. Combine all this with a gear box full of ratios which makes no sense at all and you have a car which is pretty sub-standard in my estimation. I lease my car so only have to put up with it for another year and a half. I pity those of you who have actually shelled out your hard earned cash as the residuals will probably be very poor if these rather fundamental issues remain unresolved. Nobody's perfect. I don't mind if Lexus have made a mistake as long as they hold up their hands to it and promptly do their very best to find a solution. What I don't like is being fobbed off by the dealer and Lexus GB, both of whom have made out as though the car's shortcomings are somehow my fault! e.g. When replying to my comments about the 6th gear which cannot be used legally in the UK Lexus said, “With regards to your concerns about the 6th gear on your IS220d, I can confirm that the model was designed and manufactured for the European market with performance and reduced emissions in mind. We would not expect 6th gear to be used at speeds below 75MPH and as such the 6th gear is in effect intended for use on the main European routes such as the Autobahns”. They might as well have said, “Well it’s your own fault for living in the UK”. This lady seems to have overlooked the fact that there was absolutely no mention in their UK marketing brochure of being unable use the 6th gear legally in the UK. Are any LOC members in the legal trade? If so, perhaps you could shed some light on the legalities of this. Any comments will be grateful appreciated. I will be getting a courtesy car but these are always petrol rather than diesel.

I recently returned my IS220d to Lexus so that they could investigate and hopefully cure the erratic power delivery. They re-mapped the ECU claiming that it would “feel like a new car” but I noticed very little change, if anything at all, to the way the engine performs. The engine delivers almost no power below 2,00RPM, making it very difficult to pull away from a standing start in a hurry. Example: I have found this unfortunate trait rather dangerous, especially when attempting to join a busy road or roundabout. If the revs to drop below 2,000RPM, the engine immediately bogs down leaving you having to frantically slip the clutch in order to build the revs back up to a level where the engine actually relinquishes some power. As well as being dangerous, this is not very dignified and cannot be much good for the clutch either. Being an experienced driver and having owned and driven numerous 6-speed turbo diesels, I would say that the 1st gear ratio is simply too high for the job. Another example: Try driving at exactly 30MPH on the flat then depressing the accelerator to the floor when you reach a derestricted section of road. With my car it takes a full 3 seconds before ANY change in acceleration is felt. What with the power only being delivered from 2,000PRM onwards, when driving in 3rd gear at 30MPH the engine is just below this critical speed ensuring this numb and rather frustrating response on attempting to accelerate. Having also experienced problems with the useless 6th gear (see my previous post), I can only deduce that, when Lexus changed the final drive in an effort to make a distinction between the “Sport” model and the rest of the range, they have upset the gear ratios to the point that they are now not really practical for the job. In addition to this, there is a subtle overrun which occurs when gently backing off the accelerator e.g. when moving slowly through traffic, which makes the car lurch forward in a rather embarrassing manner. I can honestly say that I have never driven a turbo diesel which such strange and un-diesel like power delivery. Where I would normally hope to enjoy the low-down grunt of a torquey diesel engine, I instead find myself having to endure the quirky power delivery which, strangely enough, is not unlike that of the very first car I owned some twelve years ago, a Mazda 626 with a 1.8 petrol engine. Believe it or not I actually got better fuel economy from the Mazda! Lexus have said that there is no solution to this problem. I mentioned the possibility of changing the injectors to help with the power delivery and they said that this is merely “a myth”. Does anyone know of a solution to this problem? Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Hi I recently received a Lexus IS220d on personal lease and was disappointed to find that the 6th gear could not be used at speeds below 80mph (approx). The Police in my area have a zero tolerance policy when dealing with speeding motorists and since having a licence is integral to my livelihood, I simply cannot afford to risk travelling at this sort of speed. I have owned and driven numerous turbo diesel cars (Ford, Jaguar, VW, Audi, Toyota etc.) and have always been able to engage 6th gear at around 60mph with no problems and accelerate away with ease. This is not the case with the Lexus IS220d I contacted Lexus customer services to complain and they informed me in writing that, "We (Lexus) would not expect the 6th gear to be used at speeds below 75mph" and that, "The 6th gear was designed for use whilst driving on Autobahns" I could not believe what I was reading. Having chosen the car from the marketing brochure, I felt sure that I must have foolishly read past this crucial information; however, on closer examination of the brochure I could find no reference to this whatsoever. I am seeking legal advice and will keep you posted on my progress. If anyone else has any views on this I would greatly appreciate your comments. Thank you.