knitware

Looks uncomfortable, also looks like your suspension is broken........

Hi, yes I found the clublexus fitting guide but the pics are missing for some reason. I'm going to try and follow the text to see how far I get. It seems that the screws holding the front seat back on were a faff. I'll take some pics of fitting when they arrive. I may invest in a stubby screwdriver The seat trim was posted yesterday so they could be here by the weekend!

I have Sky but I know they will spoil it. I wish the BBC would keep it and their current team together.

Hello Tony. The items haven't arrived yet but I found a guide to fit the seat trim from Club Lexus in the US. The seat trim was expensive, around £100 but these are apparently genuine Lexus bits and people who have fitted them seem to like the result. The chrome door handles were only £20 so if they look naff I'll bin them! I'll post up pics when I get them fitted!

Seeing as though I have one of the most reliable cars out there, I guess we all do being Lexus owners (see other thread), I have decided to keep my car for two more years until the Mk4 GS hits the second hand market! So I thought I'd spruce the car up a bit and I bought this seat trim kit from Sewell in the US. Has anyone fitted these before? I'm guessing I will have to take the seat back off, is this easy, as in I don't want to break clips. I also bought some shiny door handles. I'm not sure how they will look but i'll give them a go! Any advice appreciated.

In this months Whatcar magazine they compiled a reliability table taken from data by Warranty Direct. It turns out you can't buy better than a Lexus IS 05- and the previous IS 99- both at number 1 in their sector. The GS came second for the most reliable car in the exec class. So I guess if you thought about a Mercedes,position 27 out of 35, Audi, 24/35 or BMW, 21/35 you should maybe have a think. Lexus was 3rd /35 overall only Honda and Totota, which I guess is Lexus, beat it. Interestingly Land Rover came 35/35 for the 10th year running!

I think the drive of the car maybe subjective. I own a Lexus GS and I had a test drive in two other cars on the open day. However the ISF which I drove was much more comfortable than the CT. It could be though that the CT had 18" alloys fitted so made the road noise and bumps more obvious. I couldn't believe how much of the road I could feel though, even when the tarmac was smooth, I could feel the seat vibrating, quite harsh. I was disappointed at the interior. Too much hard plastic and the fit just wasn't quite right. The disappointing thing is that Lexus could have made this an absolutely fantastic car. Maybe they will when a facelift come around.

Wow, you really didn't like it did you. Well I still like it, despite the ride which I still feel is too firm for a luxury car, but liveable with. Aside from that it ticks all the boxes for me. :) It does sound a bit harsh, but I think I was disappointed at the time. I'm sure it's a great car for some people. I am afraid I have to agree too, but I would'nt say its a horrid car - I think that is being very harsh to the people who have purchased and are happy. I had my test drive at the weekend and I didnt have to go far before I realised I could'nt live with the ride. I currently drive an A3 Sportback, so I am in the target group that Lexus wants to attract, but they wont be getting my business I'm sorry to say. My car has 17" wheels yet it strikes and excellent balance between ride and handling. The Lexus was also noisier than I expected too. I like the interior, but it didnt have the premium feel which my car has, despite having lots of toys. The hybrid side was amazing of course and I got good MPG on my trip. It will be very interesting to see if they make any suspension modifications and if they do, will they make it known to the public or jet slip it in.... If they sorted they ride then I may well give it another go, if not it will be the new A3 next year :) I'm hoping that Lexus will listen to comments like yours and make modifications to the CT. At the moment I feel that the CT is too unfinished in too many places.

Wow, you really didn't like it did you. Well I still like it, despite the ride which I still feel is too firm for a luxury car, but liveable with. Aside from that it ticks all the boxes for me. :) It does sound a bit harsh, but I think I was disappointed at the time. I'm sure it's a great car for some people.

I wrote this when I went to the Lexus open road event in Leicester. I drove the CT. Horrid car. From the previous two rides, which was the ISF and RX450, this was like stepping into a really bad non Lexus car, from China or India. It took 50 meters to realise I hated it. The road in the grounds were a little bumpy and it banged the cars suspension all the way out to the main road, I was doing about 10mph. When I got onto the smooth duel carriage way I could still feel the undulations of the road through the seat. Noisy and very uncomfortable. The interior is cheap, the seats don't go down low enough and the steering doesn't have enough adjustment. An odd thing with the interior door pull too. There is one on the passenger side and non on the drivers side, odd. This car starts at £25k, this is expensive, it should be better or cheaper, in fact it shouldn't have the Lexus badge. A Focus would be a better drive and have a larger boot. The CT may well produce 50mpg + maybe, but I think I'd rather sacrifice a few mpg and buy a proper Lexus. Sorry CT owners but I think that the CT should have been a lot better, unfortunately Lexus may have cheapened the brand. That's just my view. I'm wondering what CT drivers had previously as cars to make them think that this is a good car. Unless of course the average CT drivers only concern is MPG. Sorry to owners of this car, but Lexus have a dog on its hands. I would expect a revised model soon.

I was told at the Lexus open road that the GS might have 2 engine choices, a 250 and a 350. The 250 hybrid, all hybrid, will find itself into the new IS. EDIT: I've just read the review, the 250 isn't hybrid, which is odd, and it seems its going to be front wheel drive. Excellent price though at £32k! The interior is a bit of a clutter and I think I see a mouse! I like the touch screen satnav! I know its a pre-production car so it should be tidied up somewhat before we get to see it.

Hi Steve. First can I say that I'm glad you and your mum weren't hurt in your accident. The 'double glazing' is a double layer of glass, with a lamination inbetween. It's standard. Even the basic version of the 460 has it. Unless you're looking for it you'd not notice. Tax and benefit-in-kind income tax on the 600 has been a bit less than on the 460, but from next year, with reducing levels in all the bands, they end up at the same top rate. Also, the congestion charge relief now only applies to cars with a very low co2 figure - and not to the 600. Up to 62mph the 460 is quicker than the 600. The 600 may be quicker up to 100, but I don't normally drive at that speed. And also, it's only quicker for a short time - the battery quickly drains if you try to push things. The batteries make the car 200kg bulkier, and fill half the already rather small boot, and result in the car needing 102 rated tyres which cost considerably more than the already expensive 460 98 rated ones. Earlier 600s lack LKA. Along with radar cruise control, the gentle part of LKA, which helps you steer, is one of the 460's best tricks - seriously increasing my endurance as a driver. The benefit is lower mpg driving around town (though not on the motorway). Last time I checked though, and did some sums, it would take 10 years of normal driving to break even. You should do that calculation for yourself before plunging - you might be surprised at how little you'd save per year in fuel. You didn't mention the environment. Certainly, less carbon dioxide is produced in running around, but making the batteries produces so much co2 that it takes about 8 years to balance this out. And ten years is about how long these batteries are expected to last - so suddenly it will be time for a fresh set. I'd recommend a 460 SE-L to you. I just think it's very sad that Lexus have stopped importing them to this country. The 600 is far too expensive for what it is, and the price of the 460, before they stopped selling it, was also already far too high. : o ) Hi.. That was a realy good post! I'm thinking about buying a 460 they seem excellent value at the moment. What are they like to live with day to day. Does paying £450 'ish' road tax upset you?

I guess you have just been out anoracked ! I didn't see a shiny wheel, I saw a dirty arch, I'm so sad... :P It takes me hours to clean my car.

You need to spray degreaser (Autoglym) into your inside arches, wash with a sponge then rinse.I then finish the job by spraying tyre shine up into the arches for that new black look. Other than that your wheels look great!

Why don't you look on Autotrader like I just did to gauge a price? Forget amps and stuff, they don't add value, I'd rather, as most people, have standard kit. A quick look found a lot of IS's starting at around £1400 127k miles or a 1 owner FLSH 58k miles £1995 ono. So your car with high miles and a bit scruffy, you could try £1200.

This is a very narrow platform to try to sell your car. You are assuming someone may want your spec and age or car and that someone may view this post, have the cash and buy your car within the day. Realistically I aint going to happen. I would try autotrader or piston heads and be prepared to wait.

Press the button and you can move the lever without having to start the car. That's all there is to it, nothing special. You may need to move the lever for a number or reasons, moving it from P to tow in an emergency or simply to give the lever and surrounding area a clean. Most if not all autos from most manufactures have this feature. Don't worry about it, enjoy your car.

I just joined Sewell as there were a couple of items that I thought would look good in my car. The total for 2 items, 1 seat trim kit and a chrome door lock upgrade kit came to $79. This is good. When it calculated shipping though it came to $239, or in sterling £100 for shipping, this is bad. That seems a little bit excessive. I shall leave these items in the cart. Any way to get these things shipped cheaper?

You don't have to turn the car on to move the gear lever, just press the button.

That's what I thought.........

Worth having a go in one, the GS is probably a slightly sharper drive, but the LS is on a whole other level in terms of comfort - it's so serene and peaceful inside...... Serene and peaceful sounds wonderful. I may go and have a test drive!

The LS460 is a seriously good second hand buy now they are under £25k. I am wondering if I should buy one, would I like it as much as the GS though?

Had a really good day on Saturday, good food and coffee too! I drove the ISF, an amazing car, the noise was very addictive, yes, I wan't one. I also loved driving the RX450H. This is the first 4x4 I have ever driven but it only took 10 mins to get used to the size. The engine is excellent and the ride superb. This could well be my next car, or the new GS. I drove to CT too. Horrid car. From the previous two rides this was like stepping into a really bad non Lexus car, from China or India. It took 50 meters to realise I hated it. The road in the grounds were a little bumpy and it banged the cars suspension all the way out to the main road, I was doing about 10mph. When I got onto the smooth duel carriage way I could still feel the undulations of the road through the seat. Noisy and very uncomfortable. The interior is cheap, the seats don't go down low enough and the steering doesn't have enough adjustment. An odd thing with the interior door pull too. There is one on the passenger side and non on the drivers side, odd. This car starts at £25k, this is expensive it should be better or cheaper, in fact it shouldn't have the Lexus badge. A Focus would be a better drive and have a larger boot. The CT way well produce 50mpg + maybe, but I think I'd rather sacrifice a few mpg and buy a proper Lexus. Sorry CT owners but I think that the CT should have been a lot better, unfortunately Lexus may have cheapened the brand. Apparently the new GS will have two hybrid engine ranges, a 250 and a 350. The 250 hybrid will go into the new IS. Also the next GS will benefit from a step up in quality compared with the mk3 GS. I think the current GS is excellent. I thought that when driving home after the event. Being in a Lexus is a nice feeling, unless of course you drive a CT.

Sound like an excellent day out! I'm looking forward to it now!