Silver Arrow

"Personally I'm hoping the IS2 will be seen as a sweet spot like a 90's merc and hold it's value a little better. I still think the IS2 looks great until you see it parked next to a new one ;)" Agreed - but only in IS250 form, not 220d form!! I put some masking tape on the edges of the boot lid where it struck the bumper, and tried to shut gently. It would normally just not latch on or shut unless I applied enough force for it to strike the bumper. Dealers couldn't do anything (replaced the bungs, adjusted them etc to no effect), other than touch up the paint for me.... The other comment about holding it's value - well I think it's all down to demand and supply. There is a small supply and a small demand, so it should fair no better or worse than the 2IS - personally I think that the 2.5 v6 will become coveted once it's withdrawn which it will be I fear (as is the case with the 4GS). Looks like most 3IS's are 300h's. Wouldn't be surprised if they do kill off the IS250 - just not clean enough for the UK's company car brigade.

I think the Gear change not being smooth afflicts the GS250 too. Having driven several IS2 250 Auto's (which I have to say were smoother) I think it could be the fact that there are a few more electronics forcing things to happen. e.g. the Eco/Normal/Sport control - this is adding an electronic "committee" that decides when and (especially in the case of Sport mode) how the changes happen. It seems to be best in Eco mode I have found. In Normal or Sport you have to almost anticipate the changes and then lift off the pedal a little. The car doesn't like being hurried - it just wants to waft around, a bit like me (lol), so I just leave in Eco most of the time and it's absolutely fine. Seats are subjective of course, didn't fit me at all. The Lumbar adjustment being too high for my back etc. Exterior design etc is very good, grows on you. The ride - well having being used to the supreme comfort of the GS, it's never going to win me over. I did find it hard, though it handled (F Sport) beautifully. The Old IS was firm but "bouncy" in my opinion. The boot lid - interesting - it's surely not beyond the wit of man to counter-balance with correctly weighted springing and damping is it? BMW manage to do it. In the BMW 5 series e60, you pressed the button on the fob and the boot will spring open like it's an electric/auto mechanism and not bounce back. In the GS it feels quite poor. The boot will not spring up when opened, and when you do open it you have to do it gently else it bounces back and risks cracking your forehead open if you start to lean into the boot! I know there is an argument that it's light because it's aluminium, or plastic etc, but they all are, every manufacturer. It was the same on the old IS too - in fact it used to strike the bumper on mine when being closed.

I had an Accord tourer a few years back, and the 2.2 diesel was a cracking engine, the motoring press agreed, so it must have been good. I almost bought one before this Lexus , wish I had now . My son in law has one , traded his 320D in for it as he was so ****** off with the beamer . Not a spot of bother with the Honda and it does more MPG than my Lexus. Going back on topic , I think most Brits see a Lexus as a rebadged Toyota and others seem to think they are expensive , when they are cheaper than the rival Merc BMWs Audis JLR's etc Some of us do recall though, as Brits, the Alteza and the Celsior came here as Lexus. Also, some of the Toyota Amazon's are sold over in the states as RX's too. To be honest, I'm glad that they don't sell well here. It means that we can enjoy exclusivity, great customer service and a bracingly good car. If they start selling loads and loads, the dealers will start having Sytner BMW and Audi style "fast lane" servicing, and make you feel as though they are doing you a favour. So I say let the so called badges of the german cars take the sales.... I do agree though that in my opinion and that of some of the dealers I've spoken to the IS220d was probably the worst car Lexus ever made, it was my first and i swore my last....but....

Guys - could this be the engine labouring? The CVT box, in ECO mode, may be encouraging a very high "gear" (I appreciate that strictly speaking there is only one gear), and the 4 Cyl engine not having enough torque at that speed and the electric motor not really doing anything or coming into play?? Once you hit Normal or Sport the systems immediately allow the Rev's to rise or the gearing to drop just enough for it to go away? I found that when the engine cut in, even driving around town it was noticeable. A very slight judder is felt as if the engine has started/been cranked (again I know it doesn't crank as such) - not quite as much as in the BMW hybrid. In a Prius or a CT it's much less so - in fact imperceptible.

Shame it's not available on GS - mine just kept bleeping today, every time I came to a stop. Clearly the wrong kind of rain drops!!

I think the OP was referring to the the brand new 2014 CT200h, which has had quite a few modifications made to the chassis and suspension to improve the ride as well as other interior/exterior modifications Cool!! No wonder!!

I do think that the AVS should have been standard on the F Sport. That would have made a serious difference I think in how I found the car. The seats are snug, but being not that tall I found that Lumbar bit was too high for my back and I couldn't get comfortable. I've driven both older and newer CT200h's and the improvement in ride is very marginal - not enough to have made it significantly better. The strange thing is that most owners think it's fine...but I have to say I agree with the Journo's - it's pretty hard! If you want a car that rides and handles really well, look no further than the Mark 6 VW Golf. That is what I would call perfect...(not tried the Mk7 but by all accounts that is even better). I have already decided that I will downsize in the future - and the new C Class looks pretty cool.

...and still not even sold in India....one of the fastest growing economies in the world.....Jag/Audi etc are having good sales there, and they sell a lot of Toyota's there. Missed trick in my view....

Roger - I had exactly the same experience. 1.5 days into a 3 day drive and the car went back - due to hard suspension and seat comfort (or lack thereof). IS 300h F Sport. Wasn't sure about the hard plaggy centre console either. The GS is supremely comfortable.....compared to the new IS incredible value for money now! It feels big though, but the Adaptive suspension takes that wallowiness out. It's worth looking at. Especially the GS 450h Premiere. Go drive one and you'll see it's a much more premium product (i.e. choice of materials and general feel). The parking aids (sensors and camera) make it a doddle to park. In other parts of the world it beats the germans in tests....

People often talk about magazines writing good reviews about those placing ad's. If it was that simple then Lexus could just buy out all the Ad spaces...??? I don't think it's that simple. A better model line up might help - IS350 yeah baby! Co2 would kill it though....

Only commenting on the first few posts, where people are seeing 41-48mpg PS - 320d SE, 8 Speed Auto (not an ED model)

Platypus, and thats where the German cars are better (i.e. more economical), which is why more of them sell (see thread in IS250 section). Lexus will NEVER say that hybrids aren't as good on the motorway as diesels. A hybrid will typically be carrying the weight of the batteries and motors without them doing much unless you drive totally differently - i.e. lift at every opportunity, coast, gently apply throttle to try and get some thrust with the motor only etc etc. It would be come tedious, and you would have to drop speeds considerably to get that 60+ mpg on a motorway with a hybrid. There is still a much bigger difference between what a diesel will get MPG wise in "the real world" on a motor way compared to a hybrid in relation to the govt test figures. The CO2 tests only help to sell cars against a company and BIK/Tax needs. The whole thing is a bit of a sham. At motorway legal speeds my GS250 will easily achieve between 35 and 37mpg consistently. My old 525d BMW (6 Cyl 3.0l Auto) would easily get 45-47mpg, and a friends new shape 320d will hit 53-55mpg without trying.

Hybrids are really not for long distance/motorway driving....the benefit of a Hybrid comes when you use the batteries. Seeing that at best the IS will do is about 31mph on batteries, for a mile or so, you have no real chance of getting good MPG at motorway speeds unless you lift off the pedal a lot...... The Govt figures are obtained in a lab type test - and they will do their best to get low CO2 - with expert drivers!!!

+1

He also says that the LFA is the best super car in the world....

I don't think it's superiority. Most german car drivers will say that a Lexus is extremely well made. I think it's because 80-90% of new exec cars are sold as company cars, and historically the Germans have had lower emissions and therefore have made more financial sense. Things could finally start to change though; both the IS300h and the (recently launched) GS300h currently have the lowest CO2. The problem is though that most company cars trundle motorways, and thats where Hybrids are not as efficient (and drivers know that). Also, whilst the GS and IS might have low CO2 now, the germans will overtake them soon, and Lexus historically have been slow in keeping on top of that particular thing.

On the other hand..... Now that you've got the car, and unless you can get all of your money back, the cost to change could you buy you a lot of diesel. Once you're in this predicament, there is no easy answer. I know a few people on here get decent MPG from their 220d's, but I don't use the accelerator like an "on off" switch and had to be so patient and try so hard to get over 40 mpg with mine, so I can see why you're frustrated. 38ish MPG was about as good as it got under normal circumstances - a figure that IS250 Auto drivers can see without trying on a run.

If you buy a car with your own money and want to keep it, then you want to make sure it's cleaned well too. I've always detailed/valeted myself. It's not hard, just a bit of elbow grease and it can save you so much. As stated above, you can buy Supagard for £30 odd off eBay, but I invested about £60 in total about 8 years ago, and have done 5 cars with a total of around 9 applications so far, and I still have enough to do another 9 or 10. You also have to remember that Lexus seem to use paint that scratches very easily - and even though other car makers use non-solvent based paints, none seem to scratch up or stone chip so easily. Taking it to the local hand hobby is very risky. One bit of grit in their mitts or sponge and you can be in deep doodoo! Anyway, I've always used Carlack68 AIO (All in one - Cleaner, Polish and Sealant) and then two further coats of Carlack68 Sealant Glaze (24 hours apart to allow it to harden). The stuff is sold as Klasse in rest of Urope and the cleaner and polish are "chemical" as opposed to being abrasive. It's german stuff, used widely in Europe and USA, and is really good. I then only need to give it a coat of Carnuba (P21s - still have 1/4 of a tub) every so often to give it a wet look. This seems to last a good 12-18 months by my reckoning. Dealers really do take the mikey when they say "....oh it's worth £300 and we'll chuck it in for free..." or worse still charge you for it! Ask 'em for £300 off instead and see what they say....I did! And they wouldn't budge. EDIT - I've even been known to not wash the car "quickly" in the winter. I just leave the dirt on it until the weather improves and then give it a proper gentle wash. All of my cars have stayed immaculate. Having said that - it made it even more exciting for some b :doggy: d to key it a few months ago! DJP - Whatever you do, pls don't polish it again - this will remove the Supagard. All you need to do is invest in some good Carnuba wax and apply it. It doesn't haze over and smells delicious. Just don't eat it. Like THIS though this is so much more expensive then googling. I managed to get it from a detailing website for £13 though it was early 2006.

Jet washing won't affect it, but anything abrasive will - like polish. Safeguard, or Supagard, Diamond Bright etc etc are treatments where they polish the car, and then apply a sealant glaze. This glaze is exactly that - a synthetic barrier that allows the shine to come through, but contaminates to stay away. This will wear off over time, and more so if you are braise when cleaning. Use the 2 bucket cleaning method (i.e. one with shampoo, the other to rinse the sponge out in between applying shampoo), and apply only pure Carnuba (or other non chalky) waxes. That will prolong it's life. Turtle wax etc (or any wax that hazes white) is no good for treated cars. The chalk is abrasive.

Try "I'm hungry". On the 2006 IS220d it showed you eateries...!! Seriously!

Dixgas - You can use Sport mode from zero miles if you wish - just keep the revs down to 2/3's of max and don't labour the engine (which you cannot really in an Auto), until it's gone past 1000 or so miles. Modern engines don't really need to be "run in" like they used to (unless it's a really high performance car - like an ISF or LFA), but it's safe to be sensible - especially if you plan to keep the car a long time. You (like me - a private buyer) saw sense in saving the cash over the cost of a new hybrid. You can buy a lot of petrol with the £000's saved....and economy aside there isn't much of a performance gain with the 300h over the 250 (on paper at least). The 300h does seem to deliver better torque to the road though, but it's small benefit. The GS250 Lux was about £7k (!) cheaper than the GS450h, and whilst the 450h is much quicker etc, I couldn't justify it. A BMW 535d made much more sense. PS - they've stopped the GS250 now, and have launched the GS300h (same drive train as the IS300h), and on paper it's slower than my GS250, but much more economical (by 100% on paper). I still prefer the V6 over the 4 pot 300h. It so syrupy smooth.

I had totally lost faith in my IS220d after 2.5 years. In the end for all sorts of reasons I just felt it was time to get rid, and took a £13k (in the end I recall) financial hit. Mine did the Check VSC thing as I came off the M69 and joined the M6 north bound, half way around the 270' bend and it went from 45mph to a lot less and the rear end slid out (it was raining). God knows how I managed to control it - totally unexpected and I still don't know why it shed speed like that (I hadn't hit the brakes). I pulled over onto the hard shoulder of the M6, switched it off, on again and it seemed fine. The lights went off after about 10 seconds. That was the final straw and point at which I got rid. So sympathise with anyone worried about safety. The flat spot on take off also caught me and the missus out at busy roundabouts....several times!!

Net it has to be cleaner to drive older cars. The amount of CO2 in manufacturing new cars is wasteful....

Feeling your pain. This might help?? Check you're getting one from a car with the same type of gear box as there could be some differences

Nice mate - the best of the 220d's in that guise (IS220d Sport)