Silver Arrow

This is one of the reasons why it's not a good idea to buy a brand new car. I say that, and guess what? I buy a brand new one....

This might make you feel a tad better - I've lost £16k in 2 years and 15000 miles. That sucks!

Driver's window has this occasional cracking sound when it's all the way up, lowered slightly and the sound can't be heard, anyone has this also?

I had a loaner 300h while my 250 F-sport was in for service. a brand new car and it has this rattle you described, plus a terrible rattle from the center console. sounds like 2 metal sheets vibrate against each other. I have to say that the interior build quality is pretty bad compares to 2nd gen IS. The whole center console looks ok, but feels realy cheap and low quality. So does the doors, seats, steering wheel and the boot. Glad that I didn't swap to 3rd gen IS.

Ditto - my feelings too - that centre console is definitely more "CT" than "GS". There is a big gap in quality.

I did what you want to do - bought a Petrol one after my dismal Is220d. Never been happier....

Same for the new GS....what you do find cost a fortune!

...those controlled tests are in a lab, on a rolling road, not on the road and with expert drivers who know how to get the best out of the drive train....so they are always going to be hard to match in the real world. Also, they follow a strict set of rules - so far in each gear, at certain speeds etc etc, some stationary stuff to try and mimick real world, but there is much less friction etc and so it's never going to be realistic

The 400 defo rolls in corners and pitches more on braking...450 is more stable.

I agree - the rev-ability factor is definitely better with the V6, and the way they've induced a real "burbling/growling" sound from the manifold is, lets face it, far better than it playing through the speakers. It sounds great when you kick down in a tunnel with the windows open....

I'm actually 12 years old underneath.

Im not saying the IS300h is a bad car, its not. But for me, the IS250 is a better bet. Id rather spend the extra money just for the V6 and its not exactly slow either. Its perfectly adequate for normal driving and if needed, is pretty good at joy riding too!

Agreed - even the Gs250 is hardly slow with the same engine. It's OK and shifts decently.

I agree - the rev-ability factor is definitely better with the V6, and the way they've induced a real "burbling/growling" sound from the manifold is, lets face it, far better than it playing through the speakers. It sounds great when you kick down in a tunnel with the windows open....

I'm actually 12 years old underneath.

It really is horses for courses - especially when you consider a GS250 can be had for less than an IS250 (New shape). The GS is in the next class up and better value for money than any of the IS's £ for £. It is bigger, much more comfortable, better equipped, though thirstier and more expensive to run, but I think much better built In fact whilst the IS is closer too look and feel of the CT, the GS is definitely up there with the LS. The £000's you will save at the start will buy you a lot of fuel - especially if you are not a high mileage user. As for resale values - well you have to look at the history of it all.

So it also depends on your budget. It also depends on how long you are going to keep it. Depreciation becomes a lot less pain full if you keep it for a long time.

Hybrids don't hold their value that much better from what I can tell - people are still put off by the notion that they will be a liability as batteries get weaker (whether it happens or not is a different matter - peoples perception is based on the Battery in their mobile phones!!). The GS450h Lux was about £7k more to buy new in 2012 when I got mine. An equivalent one (compared to mine, 2 years old, 15k on the clock) retails for about £6-8k more - so at the moment it's tracking £ for £ in terms of gross depreciation. So you wouldn't have saved a fortune by any stretch of the imagination. If the Hybrids were selling for more than that gap, then yes indeed I would have been better off.

You will half your fuel bill in town with the Hybrid, but on a run I can regularly get 35-6 mpg from my GS250 driving at 70 (!) or there about. You might get 38 or more with the IS250.

I would take a day out and just drive them all back to back, see what deals are available and then decide. The IS300h is a good car - no question. You have to marvel at the Hybrid power train. However for me, as I said above, the GS just seems to have so much more metal for less money.

Think of it this way - for less than a new IS300h SE, you can have a nearly new GS250 (6-8 months old), less than 5k on the clock, Luxury spec with Blind Spot monitor, probably MLS/12 inch screen, full heated/cooled leather etc etc, and enough change to go on a holiday!

Seats are very much a personal thing. I didn't find the F Sport seats to my liking at all - no matter the adjustment....there are very few cars I can drive comfortably :-(

It can be debilitating to say the least....

Pretty sure they are Hydraulic valves on these VVTi's, I think the days of Manual adjustment with feeler gauges are a dim and distant thing from the 80's and early 90's....

How did you get on? I wouldn't get the Manual.....2 reasons:

High Road Tax and not as good to drive....

Wicksy - Mr Muscle Window and Glass cleaner - that green one....works brilliantly! I believe it's alkaline. Used this for years and it works brilliants. Cleans well and doesn't leave any residue behind at all.

To be honest Wicksy I'm sure you're right. It seems that both IS and GS are better than their predecessors in terms of overall build - thats a good thing!!

+1 for SEL, especially the face lifted '58 plated ones with the darker wheels. They only came in Auto guise. I'd even consider a slightly higher miler of those, that way as Normski says, you'll be sure it's had the 60k service if it has a full Lex history.

It all comes down to budget! How much you willing to spend?

Check out Pistonheads, and Autotrader....

+1 on the MLS in the Gen2IS. Even the MLS in my GS doesn't sound as good.....and it has more speakers etc....

I have a simple rule; if you want a good diesel, buy a german car (VW/Audi or BMW); if you want a good petrol car, then get a Japanese one - that means Lexus for a Luxury car, or a Toyota/Mazda. The new Korean cars are good basic all rounders (Petrol or Diesel).

If you have to have a Lexus - then get what they do best - Petrol or Petrol/Hybrid auto's.

Very true, but if more than one person is complaining of a common problem on (lets face it) a very small number of cars sold, then you do have to worry - and I stand by my assessment of the varying grades of plastic.

The old IS was plagued by rattles and buzzing, and at least 2 dealerships I used to try and fix it commented on that very thing (i.e. plastics).

Hi Wicksy - as I posted before - it's no surprise!

The Gen2 had the issue, due to all of those grades of plastic (compounded by the dash clips), and alas it appears my fears when driving the new Gen3 have materialised!! It was one of the things that put me off the new Gen3 IS - as nice as it is to look at, unfortunately those hard bits of Plastic will creak as it all expands and contracts. The F Sport I drove had a definite buzzing from the passenger side glove box area (the 'box was empty).

They really should have given it a miniature GS interior, which is so well made - even now with almost 2 years under it's belt my GS doesn't a single creak or rattle anywhere.

Hope you get it sorted mate, else you'll have to live it through!

Forget the IS220d....do a search on here, too many problems for that age. The IS250 is almost as economical. You might get a good one, but the risks out weigh the benefits IMHO. The IS250 Auto is so much better

A tad worrying, the IS2 was blighted with rattles...in those very places too! The glove box was the dash clips, and the seat belt rattle was a squeak that annoyed me to death. Never did get it sorted, even though the dealer had it in bits several times.

I was recently given an RX450h as a courtesy car when my CT went in for a service and I found the interior materials just as good as my CT, and I fact I was a touch disappointed about the ride quality on the RX and a few rattles from the rear seat surprised me. As others have said, the CT is light years away in build quality compared to the Prius and Auris. A friend of mine works at the Auris factory and visited the Lexus plant in Japan recently and summed up the difference in build quality to me. - with an Auris when the doors are fitted the robots fit the door and then an operator checks it and makes a small adjustment. at Lexus the robot fits the door up, the first operator checks and adjusts it and then a second one checks his/her work and might adjust again.

That definitely does sum it up....shame you only get a 3 year warranty on the better made car. That has always puzzled me.

VAG cars can be set up by the dealer for long life, or annual servicing iirc.

There is definitely a difference in terms of quality between the CT/new IS and the GS. The GS just seems so much plusher. Thats not to say that the CT and IS are cheap, though the hard plastics do seem a bit lower class compared to the GS's fittings.

The there thing is that the CT has a 3 year warranty (+5 for Hybrid bits), whereas the Toyota Auris has 5 (+8 for the Hybrid bits)! That I think is shocking!

Also.......once fitted, check it doesn't 'distort' the vision anywhere on it - especially near the edges - especially along the bottom where it meets the dash. I had a cracked screen on a brand new Audi A4 (1000 miles on it when it happened) and it took them 4 goes to get one that was perfect. By then they had destroyed the scuttle trims....and had to get new ones.