Rapidone

The Parkers guide also mentions "Semi-analine leather upholstery" as standard on the SE-L, but not on the SE or SPORT. Edit : I'm a little confused by the specifications, you can get a cassette player, but not an 8-Track player. Very odd!

I currently have an IS250 SE-L 06, and I've been considering the GS450h, mainly because I want something quieter and with more accelatation. However I'm a little concerned that the extra complexity in the 450h will make maintainace costs much higher. I'm especially worried by the 5 year warranty limit on the batteries, since I'd want to buy a car 2 to 3 years old, and then keep for maybe 5 years. I also like the cornering ability on the IS and I'm a little worried about the effect of the extra weight in the GS. Can the extra weight be overcome by using wider wheels and tyres? I'd be very pleased to hear from anyone that has swithched from IS to GS or from GS to IS, that can comment. Thanks :)

The numbers on the LS600 sugest that the combined output of the electric and petrol motors are equivilent to a 6L petrol motor, but its still slower to 62 than the LS460. I read Lexus say there is permenant 4 wheel drive on the LS600, because there is too much power for 2 wheels, but it accelarates slower than the RWD LS460, that makes no sense to me. Anyone understand why?

When I bought my 06 plate at the end of last year, I found that Autotrader was next to useless. There were very few available, and the prices were either no lower than Lexus approved or if lower there was no reply from the seller. I waited a couple of weeks checking the Lexus approved nationwide every day, and eventually found one reduced to a good price.

There are plenty of people that drive at 85mph as a standard speed on UK motorways, and are no doubt glad of the extra gear. It seems that the police have no interest in pulling over every motorist traveling at that speed. Most cars I've driven also over-estimate speed by 6 to 10%, so you probably wont be stopped by the police even with 90mph showing on the speedo. Just be carefull of cameras :)

Heh, traffic calming. I think they are trying to encourage everyone to buy a huge 4by4 with massive tyres. It's the only way to beat the speed humps.

I'm running 38psi on the front and 42psi on the rear, but rarely going more than 20 miles on any trip. Tyre wear is even so far. Seems to stick very well in the corners.

I have the car in black also. I dont have a single chip on the bonnet, but I'm getting chips on the leading edge of the rear doors. I've been told that mud flaps with stop this, no idea if its true or not. What is certain is that the black paint chips and scratches very easily. It's a nightmare washing the car, new scratches every time. It looks fantasctic when clean, but I wont have black again.

Surely replacing worn brakes has to be alot cheeper than replacing a worn engine and a worn gearbox! Why not swich to neutral for downhill sections? Unless its a long steep descent. That would certainly help with the fuel ecconomy. The Highway Code frowns on "coasting" - see the extract below. Engine braking should be no more wearing than driving the vehicle in a forward direction - especially in an "auto" vehicle where the engine and the road wheels are not directly connected. 122 Coasting. This term describes a vehicle travelling in neutral or with the clutch pressed down. It can reduce driver control because engine braking is eliminated............................................................... yep thats the point of going to neutral vehicle speed downhill will increase quickly......................................... only on a steep slope increased use of the footbrake can reduce its effectiveness................. yep, dont go neutral on a steep descent steering response will be affected, particularly on bends and corners... no idea about that, do they mean no torque steer? it may be more difficult to select the appropriate gear when needed..... if you have to double declutch with no sycnromesh maybe. Hehe, looks like that was written around 1920. I added a few comments to the text :) That's an interesting article, but it should be noted that the engine of the lexus is250 seems to be the most frugal on idle of any car ive ever driven, the average mpg drops much more slowly than any car ive ever driven when sitting at traffic lights. Well, looking at the instantaneous fuel consumption on my car, when getting about 70mpg with foot off the trottle, if neutral is selected the mpg jumps to the end of the scale 90+. Also on a slight incline speed can be maintained in neutral, but in drive, a small amount of throttle has to be used to maintain the same speed, thus more fuel burnt. Try it yourself. I've been messing about with the car and fuel ecconommy for quite a few weeks now, its become obvious that the most fuel efficient method is burn and coast. Accelarate with about 2500 revs, and then hit neutral until speed drops too low. I'm not sure what the effect on the mechanicals would be doing that over a long period, and its rather tedious to do for only 2 or 3 mpg gain, but is kind of fun to see what can be acheived. Oh, the car seems to give best fuel ecconomy with a mix of 95 and 97 ron, I'm still playing with this and havent made a final conclusion yet , but it looks like there is a 6 to 8% gain with an equal mix of 95 and 97 ron in this car. It wont give as much using pure 95 or pure 97.

Surely replacing worn brakes has to be alot cheeper than replacing a worn engine and a worn gearbox! Why not swich to neutral for downhill sections? Unless its a long steep descent. That would certainly help with the fuel ecconomy.

I also seen a white ISF going anticlockwise on the M60 joining from the junction where Lexus Stockport is. Must have been all off 4ft from the bumper of the car in front in the fast lane, and this was dispite a long line of trafic infront. If I hadnt recognised the car, I'd have assumed it was a BMW driver :/

I have the Dunlop SportMax on mine, and I have to say the tire noise is a big problem for me, the only significant problem with the entire car. Maybe its more noticable because the wind and engine noise is so low. I've done alot of reading about tyre noise, and my next set will be 'Kumho KU31 Ecsta Sport' They are worse at cornering than the best, and not good with aquaplaning, but very good at stopping in dry and wet. The aquaplaining problem isnt an issue for me, since I tend to drive very slow in heavy rain anyway.

Heh, I have to agree about the squeeks and road noise, especiallialy the road noise, but engine noise, certainly not. I've lost count of the number of people that are shocked to see my IS following them on supermarket carpark, they dont know its there till they see it. I was recently in a rush when arriving at my sisters house, and got out of the car without turning it off. :/ 4 and a half hours later my brother in law arrives home, "did you leave your car running?" He didnt hear it, he parked behind it and saw water drops from the exhaust. Then engine is almost totally silent when warm, unless it's given some revs.

Are you talking about china clay? Where would one get some, and how is it used? Anyone got a link to a site showing how to get the paint looking great, or can explain in detail how to do it? I've been using only a high power jet wash with water only during the winter, the car was getting more and more dirty. Then I used what I thought was soap in the jet wash at work, let it sit for a while, and then rinsed, almost all the dirt went. I found out later that it wasnt soap, but was Trafic Film Remover. The car looks great and is turning heads again, but I'm guessing that continued use of a corrosive substance isn't recomended. The user manual isn't much help. Use water only, if that doesn't work use soap and a sponge, and wax when the water doen't bead on the surface of the paint any more. I'm not sure which is worse, using TFR and then a rinse, or using a sponge and risking draging dirt particles across the surface of the paint.

I've run 3 full tanks of Total 97 ron fuel in the car to test it, been getting slightly above 30mpg extra urban. I changed back to Total 95 ron today. The car was running on fumes and was filled when I left work. It made 35mpg on the way home. I know it's not possible to draw any conclusions from a single 18 mile run, but after watching carefully for the last 3 tanks, its immediately obvious to me that the ecconomy is significantly better with the 95 ron. The car made 37mpg driving home from the showroom (200 miles), had a puncture after that which dropped the mpg for a while. I had assummed the low air temperatures were causing the lower mpg whilest using the 97 ron, but now I doubt that. I'll report back again when this tank is finnished, but I doubt the conclusion will be any different.

National tyre quoted me £185 best price for one Dunlop sport maxx 245/45/17 :/ You could check the prices with the online tyre sellers. Tyres delivered to your local fitter and fitted when you choose.

Do the higher ron fuels give better 0-60 times or only better mpg?

I get the continuous tone form the front parking sensors when the front plate is about 4 inches away from a wall or another car, no space wasted. Maybe there would be a problem driving upto a post infornt of the front number plate, but I've not found a problem so far.

Can anyone give a description of the Lexus mats? How deep is the pile? Do they have a luxurious feels? Do they help damp interior noise? Do they have heel pads on the drivers side? Thx.

I'm intruiged to know your reasoning there, old chap. Hmmm .. reversing into your garage; bet that doesn't happen very often. Not sure I like the idea of reversing down a slippery incline into a narrow gap. When driving onto a road you will protrude less onto the road before being able to see to see traffic, than when reversing, you can lean forwards to see more. Only exception would be a car will a very long bonnet. Reversing into a narrow gap is always easier than going forwards, because the wing mirrors can be used to see the gap on each side.

Last time we had a little snow, I quickly learned that this car will not reverse up my snow covered drive. It will however make nice black spots on the drive as the wheels spin up. I didnt even try this time when there was a little snow. The only sollution is to sweep away the snow before attempting to reverse out, which is what I did, and got out first time. Atempting to drive out only results in failure and also compacts the snow making it much more difficult to remove. Reversing onto the drive will help, you will get a patch of grip as long as the car with which to gain some speed, before hitting the snow. You will also get more grip on the snow. Having the engine over the drive wheels helps, so you could buy a Porche and reverse onto the drive, or buy a front wheel drive, front engine car and reverse out off the drive. My advice, buy a stiff brush, maybe a snow shovel incase of deeper snow.

How do these mats compare to the mats from Lexus? Do they have the fixing holes? I was going to order a set of mats from the dealership, but all they could say about them was they didn't have any in stock, but could order them. The car currently has rubber mats, so I've no idea about carpet mats at all. Can anyone recommend any other mats? Or is it best to go with the Lexus ones? Thx

I know what you mean when you say "not punchy", I think a 1.6L focus feels more punchy. The Lexus (granted not the fastest from 0-60) seems to gather speed whithout you noticing it, more of a swoosh than a punch. Have you driven an Astra or Vectra recently? If you want jerky throtle response, look no further.

The 250 and 220D badges and lettering have small alignment holes that will show once you've taken off the plastic chrome, so if you want to debadge be prepared to get them filled. Thanks for the confirmation of the studs Tango. I wasn't considering removing the big L, only the "lexus" and the "is250". But it seems that the lexus name has studs too :/ I've just looked a the boot again, and I'm thinking it would proabably look better with the big L removed aswell. Do you have any recomendation for filling the holes? Would a comany like "Chips Away" be able to do that? I'm guessing they would charge at least £100 for the job. EDIT : Maybe Chips Away would do the whole job. I hate to think of the cost, but without doing it myself with bluetack and nail varnish, I'd have no idea where to try.

I want to take the lettering off the back of the car. Why? I just think it looks a little tacky, and I think cars look nicer without the lettering on them. Whats the best way to do it? Can they be pulled off by hand? Do they have to be prized off? Is there any chance of the paint coming off with the letters? The car is black. Anyone done this? Oh, there will be a small weight saving also, more fuel ecconomy. Hehe :)