Desmond

Thanks for that Reecey, I can well understand why you like the car. So did I, really nice to drive. Just a shame for a car in this price range that the seats don't go higher ........... or a pity we are not a bit taller so we could see over the top of all the black plastic! :D

The 220D went in for service and Lexus Hull kindly lent me CT se-L for the day. Very nice, very easy to drive and I was quite impressed though the SE-L spec on the CT isn't quite as good as on the IS. One minor niggle for instance is that the usb socket isn't nicely hidden away so you can't leave an iPod out of sight in the centre console without trailing a giveaway wire to it. Maybe bluetooth would work but I didn't have time to try it. The thing that bothered us a bit though was the seat height. Neither of us are midgets but we couldn't see any of the bonnet. The passenger seat especially seems low. I guess it's to give more headroom but there didn't appear to be any height adjustment. A little disappointing too that the seats have only manual adjustment. Have any of you CT owners noticed this? Am I wrong and did I miss something? It's a cracking little car and I'd be interested in one but for that snag.

Had the 220d now for 18 months and after a sticky start I have got to really like it. There are quirks and irritations but no more than any other car really. The ratios and the gearbox are a pain at times and there is the slight vibro-massage that goes with the diesel but the engine goes very well and the car is comfortable, handles fine and does everything I've asked of it. Even without winter tyres I've had very little trouble in the snow though it is pretty flat round here I admit. Fuel economy hasn't been good but this is mainly because circumstances have restricted me to a lot of town work over the last 6 months and with winter stop start driving it's been around 35-40mpg. Can't imagine that the V6 would have been too clever at that sort of work either though. One thing I have found about the driving technique on this car is that you should ignore the fact it's a diesel. It runs happiest with a few revs so forget the 1k rpm trundle round the town like I could do in the old Avensis. If you drive it with a bit of gusto on the A & B roads it handles well and the mid-range acceleration is excellent. You might as well just forget about 6th gear because it is truly useless in the UK. Would I buy another? Maybe. I got this one because it was a one-off bargain SE-L model with all the goodies much cheaper than the 250 version but with more or less the same performance. Generally I am satisfied with it, glad I got it. The 200D would have to be made a bit better on acceleration to tempt me to swap. It could be the extra refinement of the 250 V6 and auto box that swings it at changeover time but it would have to be another bargain.

Does anyone know if folding mirrors on locking/unlocking is only on se-L models, or is it standard on all models like the Advance now?

I've had my 220d for just over a year now. Unfortunately circumstances have restricted long distance mileage quite a bit this year so a lot of the 7000 miles I've done have been urban. The car has averaged just over 38 mpg with no special treatment on my part. This is poorer than my Avensis 2.2d but certainly acceptable given the style, comfort & goodies. The small amount of motorway gave an mpg around 48 - 50 depending on my mood. I'd agree about the gearing, having a 6th gear that's useless below 75 mph is ridiculous. In fact I hardly ever use it. The other bugbear is the 1st -2nd gear change which too me a little while to master without the dreaded clunk. I've owned over 20 cars in 40 years of driving but this was the first time ever that I've felt like a novice on a gear change. Other than that I have no complaints but I will have a 250 next time around. :D

Hi SAD Thanks for the hint on the tyres. Did you get them through the dealer & what have you done about storage of the summer tyres? Some poster have said they can get them stored for a fee and I'd have to investigate that. You are right about the Marina by the way. It was lethal in the wet. In snow though it was quite good as long as there was weight in the back. The Wolseley was lovely but it was on its last legs when I bought it. It only managed one winter. I went through all the usual cars in those days but by far the best in snow and ice was a Hillman Imp, as long as you could get it started!

Desmond I have to totally disagree! My ex husband is an advanced driver and has a Toyota Avensis. I am also a trained driver for my job and have the Lexus IS220d. Last winter in that terrible snow, my Lexus wouldnt grip a thing - even with my ex driving it whilst the Avensis was much much better - in fact I used it for three days because I couldnt get the Lexus to move. There are many on this forum who had exactly the same problem. It's nothing to do with driving - if it wont move through 12 inches of snow it wont move. I am taking advice which I have partly gained from here and fitting winter tyres to my Lexus - it will make me AND the car safer Hi SAD! I wouldn't argue with you about the merits of winter tyres, certainly they will make a big difference and anyone needing to do decent mileage in thick snow will benefit. Wise decision! :) Personally I don't do a lot of miles now I'm retired and my winter motoring is mainly short urban stuff but I do live at the wrong end of a half mile straight, untreated, dead end which I have to go down every time I go out. None of my Avensises coped terribly well with this especially if it was icy on top. Maybe this is due to the light body, I don't know, but the grip was poor and back end had a mind of its own. Braking was a lottery. The Lexus was a lot more stable on ice (I didn't try it in more than 6" of snow though!) as I just let it drive itself down the street. The bloke across the road in his Subaru did it better but the one with the Focus struggled and the one with the BMW 320 gave up the ghost. His motor was stuck outside my house for over a week. :P It was my first winter with the Lexus and I'm just saying it was rather better than I expected from reading reports on here. I wouldn't cast aspersions on drivers though, just pointing out that those who have grown up on FWD and instructors who tell them to use brakes and not the gears to slow the car are maybe at a disadvantage. Times were admittedly different but I commuted from Huddersfield to Harrogate in the late 60s/early 70s in a Wolseley 1500 and a Marina van, in snow similar to last winter, up hill and down dale. We all did it and people seemed to have more idea about how to keep a car moving because they were taught how to do it and had to do it. The only 4WD was a Land Rover (or Range Rover for the posh). A lot of family cars and nearly all commercials were still RWD. I'm thinking about winter tyres too though. :D

Last winter was my first with the Lexus and to be honest it wasn't too much of a problem as I rarely go long journeys in snow but the car did everything OK even with normal tyres. The diesel will move off quite happily without even touching the accelerator and as long as you are careful the car will go where you want it to. In fact I found it better than the Avensis in winter conditions. The biggest problem isn't the Lexus but the way other people drive! I'm far more scared of being clobbered by them than I am of hitting anything or getting stuck. There are generations now who have never had to make their way to work in a rear wheel drive like a cart spring Marina so they simply don't have the feel for it - you drive through the seat of your pants in snow and ice.

Indeed it is! Everyone has their own opinions on their own experiences. And I too have experienced these discomforts but I never classify them as defects whereas people see at a "problem" rather the quality of the vehicle and in it's prestige. The 220d for me works better for me not just because I look after it better than my wife or children (I don't have neither so that explains a lot) but considerably because I pay less attention to detail and more to the enjoyment of owning and experiencing a prestigious vehicle and drive respectively. It's suits some people, and doesn't suit others. But needless to say, every car falls in to that category. Perhaps the comments owe more to disappointment that a car of this quality, prestige and price should suffer from such problems? I must confess to being conned a bit by the goodies, performance, style and handling when I did a fairly substantial test drive. Until you own this car for a few months though you don't really appreciate how badly thought out the engine/gearbox combo truly is. To find yourself having to drop down the gears on a relatively modest motorway slope is a bit of a pain for a car in this price range as is the vibro massage when the revs drop. I suppose that Lexus did design it as a sports saloon and therefore they would say that drivers ought to be prepared to use more revs but most diesel drivers are surely wanting to find the torque lower down combined with some flexibility for comfort and to bring the economy in line with what they think a 2.2 diesel should achieve.

To be fair, the Toyota diesels are generally well sorted and economical. I've had 3 and they've all been good and reliable. That makes it all the more surprising that the Lexus diesel seems to cause problems.

I found exactly the same thing. At first I even got the dealer to check out the subwoofer because I expected some really hefty bass from a premium set up. After a while though you realise the bass is there, it's just that the surround and tone separation is so much better with the ML. You need to turn up the volume quite high to get bouncy bass even with maximum bass selected but you get used to the difference.

It's so easy to do. My sympathies - been there and done it. :) My worst trick though was on a new Avensis front spoiler that came very close to the ground. If you caught it on the kerb and reversed it pulled off the clips and fell off. I did it and took it back to the dealer to replace the bent clips and then did it again in the dealer's forecourt on the way out!

difficult question. I drive on 2nd, but I doubt this is more fuel-economical than 3rd, but 2nd doesn't make stress to the drivetrain and engine is much more responsive. I agree with you. This is probably the most awkward speed of all. I tend to use 3rd at 30 with a very light throttle but this makes for a lot of gear changing when the speed of the traffic stream drops. Near stationary queues are a nuisance as well - trying to do lots of clean changes between 1st & 2nd is a pain but the alternatives are to scream in 1st or struggle in 2nd. and like you say in your opening post, a struggling engine uses more fuel. The weight of the vehicle does matter as you said but the main issue seems to be the odd gear ratios. Overall, like Normski I really do like this car. It comes into its own out of town. Unfortunately this year has unexpectedly meant a lot more town driving than usual for me though and the auto would probably have been a lot easier and maybe not much more expensive on fuel.

Quite agree with this and with the OP but just one thing - I bought a car with A/C and I like A/C so it seems a bit pointless to open windows (increasing drag too) just to try to do the Mobil Economy Run. What I'm saying is that mpg isn't the only holy grail, I want to enjoy my motoring too! Like you, I get 38ish on normal short runs but rarely reach 50mpg on a long trip even using cruise. I think that some people, me included, bought the 220d expecting it to behave like a bog standard diesel but it doesn't. You can't tootle around at low revs and you can't pull away like I used to in an Avensis and get 45 around town. But now I've got into the swing of it a bit more I realise that you use 3rd as your urban gear and 5th as your A road gear with 4th for overtaking. It is not a traffic light racer but it is superb at overtaking slow movers on country roads if you get the gear and the revs right. The revs do need to be kept up especially on the gear change. Actually keeping some revs on in the 1st to 2nd change can even stop some of the dreaded clunk.

I only collected my Lexus yesterday but compared to a Saab the turbo lag is nothing and build quality is superb. The gearing is on the tall side, warranted, but the cabin is so much quieter it's silly. Methinks some of the rattles people complain about are because they've been spoilt by silence... hearing pin drops can be a curse?! Later that same night; Having read the rest of the posts I am convinced there are a few "Jessies" on here. Seriously, 6th gear is meant for the motorway, not for Tesco parking lots or b roads. You need to be doing 70 to make it work. There is enough torque to maintain your speed in cruise control on the motorway uphill or downhill. That "slight rattle" is probably something your misses left in the ash tray to p!ss you off, like a 5p coin or a small makeup accessory. Again, compared to a Saab, this is silence. Do you think we don`t know that? Anyway, 70mph isn`t enough for me to use 6th on the M/W. It labours at less than 77-80mph and if you hit traffic and drop to 70, you have todrop down to 5th. ANY 5 speed car will cruise between 55 and 80mph without having to drop a gear but not the 220D. Unless you`re bombing along at a STEADY 80mph or more, 6th gear is useless. IMHO of course. I think you are absolutely right. 6th gear is a fairly pointless exercise most of the time unless you are on a clear motorway because as soon as you drop to 70 mph or below you MUST change down. Really bad design feature. But the whole of the gearbox ratios are odd as well and it's something that you don't pick up easily on a test drive. The engine goes beautifully at 2-3000 revs and if you keep it in this band the performance is fine. But that knackers the fuel consumption. The Avensis with a 2.2 diesel and better ratios will pull and also toddle at low revs so the economy is far better. Another minus point is the vibration from this diesel. I don't know why it should give a vibro-massage but it does especially under load. First to second gear is a well known nightmare. My best solution to the dreaded clunk so far is to rev up to 3k and keep a few revs on during the change up. Better but not perfect. It might just be me but even with all the seat adjustment I cannot find a comfortable position for my left leg using the clutch. OK once rolling but the offset means the seat edge digs in unless you put it right down on the adjustment and end up sliding forward under the steering column! The stitching in the leather seats is hard as well. After a longish trip it feels like you've been branded across the backside. It's a pity because mostly the car itself is fine, handling is good. It dealt with the snow and ice surprisingly OK, it's refined and it looks great. Too many unnecessary design faults though. This being my first Lexus it's disappointing and I'd be very interested to know if the 250 is as much better as people say on the forum.

I have the same problem with 1st to 2nd on my 2010 220d but it is never predictable. Changing up slowly seems to work best but that is a pain when you want to get away fast on a roundabout. Very disappointed with the agricultural gearbox and vibro-massage diesel at low revs. I thought it might wear off as it got some miles on but no chance. It means you have to rev up and lose economy. Coming from an Avensis diesel actually feels like a retrograde step. Pity because the 220d is superb in every other way.

So after 20 odd years with Toyotas I forsook my 2007 Avensis T Spirit, without a doubt the best Toyota I'd had, and took the plunge. A beautiful Brechin Slate, 6 months old 220d SE-L seemed so much nicer than a new Avensis but would it actually suit me better? Some differences are immediately obvious. Boot space is a bit limited after a 5 door hatch and interior space is lessened by the RWD configuration and the car is slightly smaller all round. Not that this is any great issue for me as there are only one or two of us in the car most of the time and my days of carrying fence posts and settees are behind me. The drive is quite different though. Much easier in traffic with lighter steering and no FWD drag round the bends, the car feels superbly balanced. The engine is not smooth, or at least not willing to pull easily at low revs. This may be in part because the mileage hasn't hit 5k yet and I was coming from a transverse 2.2 diesel that was well run in. It would be interesting to know from other folks if it does free up with use. The gearing I knew about beforehand but it still took me a bit by surprise after the close ratios on the Avensis. 6th gear is just an overdrive and all the gears are set high. It is clearly a car that needs driving and using more revs than I'm used to. Not a problem unless it hammers the fuel consumption, just different. The ride is firmer, probably down to 18" alloys, but not unpleasantly so and the seats are good enough to stop it feeling harsh. Handling is excellent, equipment brilliant and the car is a real eye-catcher even without spoilers and skirts. Am I satisfied? Overall a definite yes. There's a sort of indefinable difference between even a well sorted Toyota and the Lexus. Whatever goodies you put into an Avensis it is still an Avensis. The Lexus has an air of quality about it and so far I am one very chuffed owner.

Thanks. This will be a new experience for me after so many years of Toyotas. I decided on a Lexus because the new Avensis 5 door looks like a hearse and the 4 door T Spirit with the goodies costs as much as a decent nearly new 220d. No contest really.

Hi, I'm in the process of getting a very nice IS 220d SE-L after many Toyotas over the years and being a TOC member for nearly as long. Just one question for starters do we have any nice Lexus Owners Club window stickers like the TOC ones? If so how do I obtain them? Thanks