TestPilot

Was wondering about this as I'm planning to take a trip down to Le Mans again this year. Les Gendarmes take a particular interest in UK petrolheads motorists that weekend. There's an entertaining little tutorial on headlamp conversion for the continent here, which I used successfully on my Volvo's non-HID lamps - a couple of inches of electrical tape each side did the job very nicely nicely. There's a note about HIDs at the bottom, but I don't think it applies to ISes. The IS dipped beams have a very flat, sharp cut-off compared to filament bulbs, so there's no light to the top left that needs masking off - and I haven't found any likely knobs or adjusters. But I'll remember the tip about turning off the AFS.

Took a trip up the M1 on Sunday - much through the 50mph roadworks section - the round trip average over about 70 miles was 47.2. It was showing about 53 when I left the roadworks first time. (That's the 220d sport loaner *still* !)

Looks great inside and out. Enjoy!

I put 95 RON in my 250 when I had it... and plan to do so again when I get it back. I did a trial with Super in my turbo Volvos - there was a measurable - but small - increase in MPG, and a slight (but probably entirely imaginary) power increase - but not enough extra MPG to compensate for the higher fuel cost. Maybe if a car spends all day on the motorway it would be more worthwhile.

Still getting a little over 33mpg from the loaner. That's town queueing with a short burst of dual-carriageway in the middle. It looks more like 40-odd on the open road.

Well, after more than two months of wrangling and waiting, the powers-that-be have finally decided that my 250C must be repaired (read: rebuilt). I'll let you know how it goes.

Cracking... enjoy!

That could well be the problem then. Loaners don't come with handbooks (or at least not after the first user ). That's so true. The Lex autobox is sooo smooth. And has an extra cog over the bimmer in this case too. I'd say don't worry, it's certainly made a good impression on me after all the carping I'd seen on the forum.

Can you not pair the phone with the car? Or does it not work as expected once paired? How well a phone will work - if at all - depends on the bluetooth functions the phone has. Many phones are sold with "Bluetooth" as a feature, but seldom any more detail as to what the bluetooth does. My wife's Sony-Ericson T303 only really supports bluetooth earpieces. It will pair with the car, but the only control from the car is to answer incoming calls. My old Nokia 6310i, on the other hand, performs all the major functions, though didn't get as far as tranferring contacts from one to the other. If it's a pairing problem, then the order you initiate the pairing and the means of entering the passcode varies from one phone to another. There is a list of Lexus-compatible phones on the Lex website, BTW.

Wow!! 99p is a good price for all that upgrade! But surely the change to a V8 would give more than 20HP more?

Hi Gunther Well, I can only say how the one I had was. Perhaps it wasn't a typical example. On several occasions, when accelerating from lowish revs (I'd think around 1500 to 1800...), there was no response... until the auto finally decided to kick right down - then the revs would shoot right up and I'd have to lift, then wait for it to change up. Most unpredictable. Maybe a gearbox fault, but that wouldn't account for the initial nothingness. (And I'm familiar with turbo lag after more than a decade in wardrobes.) Note - despite the similarities of operation between the 3 series auto box and the IS250's, I was usually using the "normal" auto range - if I had had the car for longer, I'd probably be using the sport and manual ranges more and would have learned different ways to avoid that behaviour. The 220d doesn't have masses of grunt at the bottom end, true, but the delivery from 1500 up to 2000 is smooth enough (again speaking for the one I have). It's willing enough up to around 4500 too (though having driven 5 cyl engines for a very long time, then six with the 250, it surprises me how low the engine note is for the revs shown on the tacho). And, as I hinted, being a manual means there's more control over where the revs are to start with. This one does seem to have the idle set a bit high (about 1100) - don't know if that's typical. (Don't think I have a downer on bimmers - I really like the new Z4, for one) What I really got out of this comparison is that I made the right choice between the 3 series convertible and the IS on equipment and practicality, and that going for the petrol Lex hasn't landed me with huge fuel bills compared to the diesel. Obviously I can't comment on the reliability of the 220d... well I hope not anyway. :shutit:

That has such a ring to it! Makes sense, but I read that Lexus (in the States?) were reluctant to address the problem. Glad to hear that it *is* something that can be retro-fitted.

Always look on the bright side, they say... :( I'm still waiting for the insurance industry to sort out my IS250C (short version - I'm the first poor sap in Europe to have had one pranged, so they can't work out how expensive it will be to fix it... or not). But as a result, I've now had a month driving a BMW 325d M Sport auto convertible and a further month (so far) driving an IS220d manual. Both 08 plates. The bimmer was a good looking beast, had the M Sport kit on, 18inch alloys etc. Sadly that meant sports seats which I would have avoided if buying myself - a bit of a squeeze for my not-oversized backside and a bit hard when recovering from whiplash. Also sadly the weather was not good for top-down (the hire company would not have wanted it full of snow, I'm sure!). Likes - generally good visibility, stylish looks, the blue badge, "extended" exterior lighting. Dislikes - no satnav, no parking camera, fiddly radio, VERY flat-spotty engine, boot small and odd-shaped, compared to 250C. Harder ride. Also I personally dislike the cheap-looking orange instruments and orange glow around the cabin. I know that BMW claim its the best colour for night vision, but... I think I got about 35 to the gallon, didn't make records 'cos I thought I'd only be in it a week or two. The 220d pleasantly surprised me. Lots of torque in the band (2000-2500). Many of the goodies I had on my C, though oddly no leather... I don't see the problem with gearing. When just trundling, it's happy in 4th at 30, 5th at 40, 6th at 50-60. If you want some action, then think ahead and drop a cog or two before activating the loud pedal. Perhaps I just think I'm back in my old Swedish turbo wardrobe. Fuel economy is not what I expected - the first tank averaged 33.1, oddly exactly what was on the overall average when I got it. Taking the cost of diesel into account, pence-per-mile not much different to the 250. I do see the criticism of the SatNav lock-out. It is very annoying to have to Agree each time you start, and (if I got this right) not being able to select a destination when on the move - even from the passenger seat. Unless I got more of a bump on the head than I thought, both of these are fixed on the C. Overall, I won't be sorry to leave the 220d manual for the (or another) 250 auto (as somebody said, more of a "wafty" car), but I genuinely do prefer it to the 325d. Oh and it's great to have the reversing camera again!

...and some folk find the fine wires interfere with forward vision (though perhaps not with the more expensive metalic film type, also Ford's). Both types much reduce the reception on portable SatNavs.

Sadly my 250C was hit *hard* in the rear by a van on the motorway last week. However, the crash protection performed very well and though the car looks like its totalled, I'm still here. The doc confirms whiplash, but believe me, things could have been much worse. Take care folks