J Henderson

DAB was an optional extra, regardless of trim level, and seems to have been rarely-ticked by buyers when these cars were new. I believe the DAB tuner can be retrofitted though if you can stomach the cost (£400+). Facelift cars with a USB port can indeed play music from a connected storage device. Also, Mark Levinson-equipped cars with a HDD-based navigation system allow CDs to be ripped on to it. From memory, the allocation is around 10GB. Regarding the ML system itself. For me, it's not a must-have on the 2nd-gen IS since the "normal" 13-speaker setup is so good. My previous car had ML, and current one doesn't. There really isn't that much of a drop-off so don't let that put you off picking a car that doesn't have it.

You'll have to pry open the blank cover first to reveal the alarm motion sensor, as there's a couple of screws that need to be removed. Once those are removed, you can pry the entire unit away from the roof lining. Only work from the top end and sides though, as there are a couple of hooks on the bottom edge that will probably break.

Never had an issue getting fuel either. Some forecourts have been imposing limits (£35), but the only refinery in Scotland is literally 5mins away, so I'm yet to see a completely dry filling station. Just the odd pump nozzle covered up here and there.

It's the whole range, country-wide. I had already stopped taking my car to the dealership since 2019, but would've considered using them again for my most recent service had the Essential program still been in operation, since it was only a minor one and would been a reasonable price. Not now though since it'll be £300 minimum.

Correct. The vented calipers are different and have 18 stamped on them, so you would need to upgrade the calipers too. As for your issue with the steering pulling. That could be down to the tyres, not the brakes. My own car tramlined quite badly when I had 19" wheels on it.

Speaking of down south... A garage in London was charging nearly £3 a litre for super unleaded...and still sold out. 😳

Wow 😬 Please tell me you at least got the premium grade for that price, not regular diesel?

Filled up yesterday with Momentum 99 for a far more palatable £1.40.9. Car felt good too (sharp throttle response). I think this will be my preference going forward.

Brando

Someone with a GS will be able to say for certain, but I believe, In the UK, these larger discs are fitted to the F-Sport and Premier models. https://www.nipponautospares-onlinestore.com/new-genuine-lexus-f-sport-rwd-rc350-rc200t-gs350-gs200t-front-brake-discs-43512-30371--43516-30061-1776-p.asp

The softer throttle response and general lack of "oomph". It's like the car is in snow mode by comparison

D4S, yep. OEM colour temp is more like 4300K.

Sure seems that way, and I don't see why since there's a freaking refinery 10mins away from where I live! £1.55.9 was the price I paid 2 weeks ago. That was for BP Ultimate. That motivated me to try a cheaper alternative like the Tesco stuff, but my nearest one with a forecourt only had E10 available. I bought some though and immediately noticed the difference in throttle response when I drove off. 😒

Milan

A list of commands are available on the touchscreen once you push the button on the steering wheel. I mainly use it to change the temperature on the climate control - "25 degrees" etc. Enjoy your new car. 😁

True. When comparing Shell "FuelSave" and V-Power at the garage last night, the price difference was 15p/l - £1.38.9 v £1.53.9. Seems supermarket fuel isn't as cheap as it used to be either - was under a quid per litre around the turn of the year, which was way cheaper than "brand" forecourts. Now it's only a few pence cheaper.

What if the sandwiches were £10 ? Would people be buying those without batting an eyelid? 🤔 Going off my last two fuel purchases, which were roughly the same. One with (Morrisons) E10, followed by some E5 V-Power. I never ever fill my car completely, but the cost was the same on both occasions @ £44.00 (because, contactless limit). However, the price difference between the 2 fuels was huge at around 20p/L. The Morrisons petrol was somewhere around the low £1.30s and the V-Power cost me £1.53.9/L. Even comparing like for like (Shell), the price premium for V-Power is still 15p/L, meaning I got around 3L of fuel less for my £44. On a full tankful, that would be somewhere around £10 extra if choosing V-Power. The difference in MPG would need to be huge to offset that cost. In my experience, the economy does actually improve on the higher octane fuels, but only slightly. Nowhere near enough to make up the difference. I prefer how my car feels on the premium fuel, so I'll continue to buy it but I feel the cost difference is being downplayed a little bit (its only a coffee!).

Service kit from lexuspartsdirect includes 7L.

Steam

The black one might have been registered in 2011, but its a 2009-2010 spec "facelift" car. The IS then received a further refresh for the 2011 model year with different bumpers, wheels, clear turn signals etc. That's what the blue car is. It looks like it might be an Advance model?, which was introduced around the same time.

Character

I filled my car with E10 last week. Already it seems like that's the only thing available at the pumps now in terms of normal unleaded. I won't be buying it again though. The performance and economy suffered a noticeable drop-off.

Sand

Not sure if memory seats were an option on SE models, but the mirror-tilting function is directly tied to the memory seat package. You can't have one without the other.

Not sure if it's a straight swap to be honest, or whether some minor modification is needed. I just know the swap was quite popular in the US at one point as it allowed the F-Sport grille to be fitted. Here's a handy 50/50 image that shows the exterior differences of the 09 face-lift. Pretty subtle and hard to spot to the untrained eye. Regarding those silver split-spoke wheels. They're not F-sport. They were available long before the F-Sport model was introduced. 2010 F-Sport cars had 15-spoke wheels. I have them on my car.