Carl911

Strangely enough I was at Cheltenham Lexus yesterday dropping off a car and they were moving cars around the forecourt and it happened to be the isf that was started up when I arrived. Does sound lovely though but I agree it just seems too highly priced particularly when compared to the more modern RCF which is only a few thousand pounds more. however, it is a lovely unmolested example in showroom condition. carl

Sounds about right. If you floor it off from a stand still then it wasn't as noticeable and was probably fine but the annoyance is for 99% of normal driving you'd pull off carefully which just didn't feel right. i think sometimes Lexus IS just being too Lexus.. carl

I don't think it was quite as bad in sport but was definitely there none the less. as I say, it's not a deal breaker but it felt like everytime I put my foot down from a standing start there was always this slight delay before the car moved which just niggled me. will be interesting to hear if you experience the same when you test drive one. It is possible that it was something happening only with the car I drove. carl

Posted 9 hours ago · Report post So, this time Lexus borrowed me there latest coupe, the rc 200t in the f-sport package. ive not driven this engine before so was keen to see how the turbo charged 2lt felt. i have to say it's a strange bag and I struggled to decide whether I really liked the engine or not. i have to start with engine note or rather the absence of one. I didn't feel there was much of a sporty note to it which with a coupe that looks this good I'd have liked. The whole engine, exhaust sounds was really rather Vauxhall 1990 cavalier Sri and typically 4 cylinder sounding. You suspect it will perform well but the note is just not that inspiring. Maybe, Lexus being such a refined brand it's still struggling to let go of the quiet and composed note one would normally expect of the cars. So ignoring that I jumped in and pulled off. the new engine is coupled to an 8 speed box so I was expecting some pretty swift response compared to my is250 which its claimed the new engine replaces. the first thing I noticed was there is this rather annoying gap in the throttle response between applying the gas pedal from a stand still and the car actually moving. It's almost like a delay. Even when you give the car full throttle there was this initial hesitance right before everything wakes up and starts to really get moving. I thought this was perhaps Lexus way of creating a more refined technique to pull off from a stop as apposed to a more aggressive acceleration. once the acceleration really kicks in part way through first gear then really pulling into second the car did feel very spirited albeit power delivery was very smooth . once over the initial gearbox hesitance of the mark the gear changes were very good up and down the box. In sport s+ mode the gearbox attends to hold gears longer which was quite noticeable slowing down as I could see the revs much higher as if to hold for a little while in case you reapply the gas to keep the performance maintained. ultimately though I felt a little under whelmed. Somehow 0-60 in 7 and a bit second although not slow just doesn't quite cut it in a car that looks like it should do it in 5. Dont get me wrong, it's not a bad engine, it just doesn't set you alight with excitement. I love the external styling of the rc, it really is eye catching and definitely appealed to the younger generation as I spotted some teenagers turning heads to see what it was. maybe I'm getting old but I think the novelty would wear off pretty quick for me. the interior I had was black leather and black plastic trim. I have to say I'm not keen on this combination. It made the plastics look a little cheap. I think perhaps the interior would have looked better with the red leather against the black interior. At the end of the day I couldn't help feeling like the less adequate slower sibling of the real deal which is the RCF with the 5tl V8. It looks every bit the part but just falls a bit short of delivering. In my oppinion the new 2lt turbo is going to sit better in the nx as it will offer slightly better performance over the hybrid but without having to prove so much out on the road against other sports coupes and not hatches. carl

Thread moved to RC

So, this time Lexus borrowed me there latest coupe, the rc 200t in the f-sport package. ive not driven this engine before so was keen to see how the turbo charged 2lt felt. i have to say it's a strange bag and I struggled to decide whether I really liked the engine or not. i have to start with engine note or rather the absence of one. I didn't feel there was much of a sporty note to it which with a coupe that looks this good I'd have liked. The whole engine, exhaust sounds was really rather Vauxhall 1990 cavalier Sri and typically 4 cylinder sounding. You suspect it will perform well but the note is just not that inspiring. Maybe, Lexus being such a refined brand it's still struggling to let go of the quiet and composed note one would normally expect of the cars. So ignoring that I jumped in and pulled off. the new engine is coupled to an 8 speed box so I was expecting some pretty swift response compared to my is250 which its claimed the new engine replaces. the first thing I noticed was there is this rather annoying gap in the throttle response between applying the gas pedal from a stand still and the car actually moving. It's almost like a delay. Even when you give the car full throttle there was this initial hesitance right before everything wakes up and starts to really get moving. I thought this was perhaps Lexus way of creating a more refined technique to pull off from a stop as apposed to a more aggressive acceleration. once the acceleration really kicks in part way through first gear then really pulling into second the car did feel very spirited albeit power delivery was very smooth . once over the initial gearbox hesitance of the mark the gear changes were very good up and down the box. In sport s+ mode the gearbox attends to hold gears longer which was quite noticeable slowing down as I could see the revs much higher as if to hold for a little while in case you reapply the gas to keep the performance maintained. ultimately though I felt a little under whelmed. Somehow 0-60 in 7 and a bit second although not slow just doesn't quite cut it in a car that looks like it should do it in 5. Dont get me wrong, it's not a bad engine, it just doesn't set you alight with excitement. I love the external styling of the rc, it really is eye catching and definitely appealed to the younger generation as I spotted some teenagers turning heads to see what it was. maybe I'm getting old but I think the novelty would wear off pretty quick for me. the interior I had was black leather and black plastic trim. I have to say I'm not keen on this combination. It made the plastics look a little cheap. I think perhaps the interior would have looked better with the red leather against the black interior. At the end of the day I couldn't help feeling like the less adequate slower sibling of the real deal which is the RCF with the 5tl V8. It looks every bit the part but just falls a bit short of delivering. In my oppinion the new 2lt turbo is going to sit better in the nx as it will offer slightly better performance over the hybrid but without having to prove so much out on the road against other sports coupes and not hatches. carl

My thoughts exactly on the price depreciation in a few years. i love my gs450h but it would be nice to have something I can easily put a cycle in etc. I'm not ruling out the nx that you have although my only concern is if I'd miss the power of my current engine. shame they didn't put the 3.5 lt in the nx as well. anyway, I'm 24 hour test driving the nx in 2 weeks so I'll know then. Carl

I neve I never tried but I'd imagine it would like the normal cruise and then come back on once you slow to the original setting. carl

Yes, the HUD button was on. It's quite a nice touch. Thinking back I can't remember everything it displayed but apart from speed I did notice the speed warnings that told you the current speed limit and then if you exceeded it it popped up a red circled warning of that speed. There were other things indicated but I wasn't taking too much notice which I guess highlights that it's functional without being too distracting. Talking of gadgets I also liked the radar assisted cruise control. I know this is not a new thing but I'd not driven a car with it in before. I thought it was absolutely brilliant the way you set your speed at say 70mph then if anything pulls in front of you or the car you are approaching is driving slower the brakes apply untill you match the car in front and at a safe distance. If you indicate around the vehicle in front then the cruise automatically takes you back up to your original speed setting. It also keeps you in the lane and actually steers the vehicle for you. The weirdest thing ever but clever none the less. I actually took my hand off the steering wheel for a little while and the RX just carried on following the lane around bends etc. Or at Least for about a minute when a warning comes up telling you to put your hands back on the steering wheel. Lol. carl

I used Lexus Swindon.

Lol, predictive texting....

I seem to get bombarded with emails to test drive the new Lexus cars so I thought why not give the new RX450H a test drive. i currently drive the older model GS450h so I thought it would be an interesting comparison. obviously the first thing is the size, it's huge and imposing but in a very satisfying way. Let's be honest, anyone driving one of these beasts is not shy. it says look at me all over it. I had the F-sport models which I think is the best looking externally and of course has the biggest front grille in the land. i should think as I pull up behind lesser mortals they must feel they are about to be swallowed. to drive it felt a completely natural transition from my own car. It has ample power when required and although not quite as nippy as the GS equivilant was certainly no slouch. I did however find my self driving mostly in sport + , mode as this transforms the response and just makes the whole vehicle feel much more nimble. Eco was fine for pottering around but I preferred to have the extra go on tap. one of the first things I noticed was that the exhaust note was much louder than my car. At first I felt this was intrusive but by the end of my test drive I actually started to enjoy the sportier note. This might be a love hate thing as to most absolute quite is the most important Lexus trait . The Rx, despite its huge wheels had very little road noise. On the worst road surfaces it was slightly better dampened than my own GS450h on 18" wheels. I travelled on some particularly bad concrete surfaces near Swindon which are dreadful no matter what you drive. The RX done a very good job over this surface travelling at motorway speeds. handling again was compatible to a saloon. Models of old were a bit sloppy around the corners and under brakng but not so anymore with these new Rx. The smaller details within the cabin also impressed me. The new media system controls can be a bit fiddly to navigate but that just takes a bit of practice and I found it quite intuitive after a bit of playing. i love the electric Windows, they are extremely quiet and the way they slow just before reaching the top just feels so well engineered. It sounds silly but these details just add to the refinement. The seats are very supportive although I'd like slightly more padding in the bases if I'm honest but this is a minor gripe. to be honest after my 24 hour drive I really could not fault much with the Rx other than its has a larger turning circle than most saloons and washing that roof is going to require a step ladder. oh, economy, I was driving this at a decent pace, in he same manner that I would my own GS, and I was achieving around 29mpg compared to nearer 27mpg in my GS. given the size of this vehicle I thought that was pretty acceptable. I'm sure if I had driven more carefully in Eco mode I could easily achieve over 30's around town. unfortunately for me at over £50,000 this car is a little out of my price range but who knows, give it 2-3 years and let depreciation do its thing and maybe I will be considering one of these myself. carl

Use mine all the time. It is true that unless they have used one before it's likely the staff will have no idea about the card but when they see it, there's never any dispute. the only thing that they always moan about is that the system offers 10 or 20% discounts but for 15% the staff have to actually calculate the discount. This always scares the staff serving..lol. however, the card is super value and has paid for my gold membership several times over. carl

Unless I'm going mad I'm sure the chap said the guy got £32,000 in px. Maybe I Misheard and it was £42,000. im sure if anyone's interested they can ring to double check price.

When I asked the price the guy told me £35,000 which I thought was a lot but then this is all but brand new. Either the website has miss printed the price which seems a bit high even for a superb example like this at £45,000. either way, someone with deep pockets will snap it up I'm sure. Carl

My local Lexus dealers is situated next to my work place so I often take a browse during my dinner break. anyway, they don't come up that often but I think I saw the perfect isf for sale. its a beautiful metric red and on a 62 plate. one doctor owner from new and covered only 5,000 miles from new. apparently the owner just part exchanged against a brand new RCF. of course the mileage reflects the price which I'm told will be about £44,500. that said if you want what looked like a brand new car this is about as good as it gets. if I could afford it I'd buy it myself. carl

I think the cvt Rev that occurs under hard acceleration does sound different and is something you get used to but in my honest opinion the cvt under pretty much any condition Is superior to a standard auto box. For me the quality of a good auto box is one that changes almost seamless without the the driver noticing the transition between gears. The cvt is absolutely seamless as its effectively one continue gear. there is no smoother drive than a cvt because of this fact. i even drove an LS460 several months after ownership of my gs450 and the one thing that I noticed was that I could detect the auto box gear changes and to me it detracted from the smoothness of the drive. yes, you get used to the high rev under load but this not really noticeable unless you have the radio off and windows open. For pretty much all other driving conditions the cvt is without question perfect in prestige cars like the Lexus. if I ever consider buying an ls it would most certainly be the ls600 for me. for me, going back to a standard auto box would feel like a step backwards. carl

I'm not sure id consider the gs450h unreliable. I have read a few isolated cases of such issues but they seem rare in my oppinion. i have had mine a year and it never misses a beat. i would however agree that unless you are very mechanically minded then take out a Lexus warranty for piece of mind then no matter if you should be unfortunate to experience a problem it will all be put right in a professional manner. i have no regrets and still enjoy driving my gs450h on a daily basis. carl

It will be interesting to get the definitive answer on the radio/speaker side of things. i also thought they were not covered on the warranty and I also have the full Lexus warranty. i also find one of my speakers, possibly the sub pops a lot with certain types of bass tracks so it could be on its way out. be nice to claim a new one on warranty. carl

The day I was using my cars as wedding cars a completely random Lexus RX pulled I between my cars also wearing ribbons for a wedding. A bit further on I also saw another gs450h. spooky or whar, four Lexus wedding cars on the same day in the same town. maybe Lexus are becoming a popular choice.

Wonder wheels do a non acidic wheel cleaner which I use and like some of the other cleaners here it turns the brake dust purple/red. its quite slippery when on so makes it easy to clean the dirt off. your local Halfords sell it to. carl

As title, goodyear eagle F1 tyre. 5/6mm of tread. Taken off my IS250. had a punture repaired at a garage but has been sat in my garage as as spair for a while. £15 to collect

There both have different qualities and it probably boils down to your personal preference. i personally think the IS 250 is the better looking car overal, still one of the best cars Lexus produced in my oppinion. It's a more practical size and easier to park in car parks etc. That said, the GS450 is a fantastically powerful engine which never leaves you wanting for more and has a certain presence to it. Even at eight years old with a private registration I have had several people think the car was only a couple of years old by its condition. the GS is much roomier inside, I really notice that when getting back into the IS. in many respects such as gadgets and tech, both cars are very similar so which ever car I drive I feel right at home. both cars are excellent and very reliable. id probably be more prone to want the extended warranty if buying the GS450 as the hybrid would make things very expensive should you be unfortunate to have problems. the IS250, I'd buy as is and never worry because it's rock solid, proven over many years. test drive both and it'll give you a better idea. carl

lol, yes it does but I asure you they flapped well when the wind caught them.

I used my two cars today to help a friend out with her wedding. took a bit of cleaning yesterday and then it rained last night, typical. after a quick dry off all was good though. it was kinda fun actually and got a few looks going to the church and then the reception. always a good excuse to polish up the cars to. carl