nickjwarman

I'd definitely be characterised as an 'early adopter' too - I took delivery of my first rx300 at 9am may 15th 2003 (release date). I had the deposit down on the hybrid in january '04 too. However I'm still glad i bought my sel last July and didn't keep waiting for the hybrid - the delays were driving me crazy and as it gets closer to the release date I feel there are a few too many drawbacks appearing on the US forum to buy the car without seeing how it performs in the UK. I'm doing my best to take a step back and see what happens instead of jumping in with both feet this time.

whoa! thats even more expensive than the predicted £5000 add-on to the price of the rx300. I looked at the prices of the RX300 on lexus.co.uk and found that the prices have actually increased by about £1000 - i bought mine last year, got no discount and paid 37,950. OK, the 400h will be faster but to get the se-l it would cost £6500 more than my rx300 se-l cost last year. Thats way out of control considering no air suspension and, according to the american forum, no leather on the door panels (cost cutting me thinks)! I did a motorway drive today from weston super mare to nottingham and got 28.3mpg average on the trip computer. The 400h would not achieve that due to larger 330 engine. Economy will only be had in the city driving situation and then apparently only once its warmed up and run in a few thousand miles and so on....(the american forum is making interesting reading just now) I think the 400h is a great new toy but it is bordering on being a gimmick. If you want to go faster, buy a bigger engined car, if you want economy a diesel is still better. If you want both......this car isn't the magic solution it was marketed as.

I have an overland mini z rx300 (2004) in white. You can also get it in silver. They are branded as toyota harrier though. They are made by kyosho. I had my dad bring it back from hong kong but i'm sure you can order them over the internet.

from what i hear, various teams go out and map their assigned local area using local knowledge - hence small missing parts on the map like small roads and tracks etc. I travel a lot and have noticed a fair few missing places and roads (old ones!) and I've had the nav tell me to turn one way way it means the other way too (very occasional). Still, the Sat Nav is invaluable - i wouldn't have a car without it.

Just to avoid any confusion, the a bar on the old rx does not fit the mk2. been there tried that! They are quite different dimensions.

surely, all the time spent checking price differentials, plus all the extra milage, fuel in your car, fuel in the loan car and general inconvienience makes the whole shopping around thing a bit pointless? How much do you actually save once all the costs are taken into account, over going to your local dealer? Or is this more of a protest vote than anything else?

Doesn't look like it - estates are the way forward apparently...... I'm beginning to think that after a good few lexus' I'm gonna have to check out a different brand due to lack of exciting models...

The latest Autocar magazine has several articles on lexus this week. One of them reports that the 350 won't be sold in the UK due to low demand for engines that size. What a shame! Another thing it says is that the IS will come as an estate but not as a coupe as estates are what the market demands. Sounds like Lexus is trying to increase sales by being as dull as possible with the IS. I want a 350!!!!

In general Top Gear gives the GS a good write up, but they have one thing that they complain about which was totally avoidable - the wheels! The GS se has poxy 17" wheels - on a car so big they look like the car is riding on digestive biscuits! Why did lexus send them the GS se with little wheels instead of the GS sel which uses the 18" five spokes that have appeared in the TV ad, promotional pics and on the GS430? The sel looks far better, TG would have given the car a better review and more people would have bought the car. The promotional side of lexus UK seems a bit clueless or are there certain stipulations that car reviews have that would exclude the better spec car?

i was going to say 'no chance' but i'll settle for 'highly unlikely'. the 17" five spokes are in whats called the refurb program and the new alloys you get are actually refurbished old alloys (actually better than the new 5 spokes). The other lexus alloys have to be bought in new and cost lexus way more. Deduce what you will.

I was initially told £3000, but £5000 is excessive, considering some features, such as air suspension are actually missing. The americans are complaining about $5000! With current exchange rate thats only about £2700! What are they whining about?

I would be suprised since we didn't get the 330 on grounds of fuel economy but lexus is planning on varying engine sizes more regulaly to keep sales momentum. Pretty nasty trick, changing engine sizes and making a car that is maybe only 1 year old obselescent.

I decided to go for the sel with all the nice bits that come with it back in July 04 when I got frustrated with the never ending wait time on the 400h. Also I figured that I would be saving a load of cash, which would easily cover the higher fuel bills of the se-l. I prefer the height the air susension can hold the car at too and didn't want to miss out on that. So in sticking with the RX300 i may be missing out on some speed - although if i wanted to go faster (the rx300 is slightly faster than an IS200) i'd have bought a sports car. I've seen the hybrid at Birmingham and again at Geneva and much prefer the alloys and front bumper on the RX300. I'll be fascinated to see how the RX400h performs on the road and who knows, there may be extra tempting toys on it but for now i'm unconvinced. After all this waffle I bet i'll be rocking a 400h this time next year. It's just human nature! ha ha!

ha ha! what rubbish! The is200 values have been plummeting like a stone for months! When i got out of mine last summer it had depreciated £7500 in 8 months (from new). I checked Glass' guide and the resale price was correct The new one is very much the successor to the old IS and although some bits are totally different, like the rear lights, a large part of the car is evolutionary. Looking at the car last week in Geneva i noticed the front wheel arches are very similar and the front profile of the car is similar too. Those tricksters at lexus! Also, the car only looks 10% better in the flesh - maybe a different colour and seeing the car in the right context, ie: the road and not on an angled, rotating pedestal thing would do it justice.

not with the paint protection system! Mine's fine.

lame lame lame. I wanted a fast one this time round. yeh i know, the 250 will be quick, but 350 would be really fun!

yup. thats about right. It will get a bit better but town driving really drinks the petrol. Initially I was suprised, coming from an IS i was used to better economy but then i figured whatever mpg I do, the fuel will never equate to the extra cost of the hybrid. haha. If i was really bothered about mpg i would have bought a diesel van

black! more washing is involved but it is so worth it! The spoiler and under-belly match the rest of the car then, making it look more solid. Black interior is a must for a mucky skateboarder like myself too.

It would appear that the americans get the IS350 in October - so does anyone know when it will be available to us? Obviously the IS250 is scheduled for November - could it be out at the same time? Or will they make us wait?

Just back from a snowboarding trip in Switzerland. Of course I had to swing past the lexus stand at the motorshow to check things out. So in the metal the IS220d is.....ok. My Mum and Fiancee loved it though. Bad sign or good...I don't know! The GS on the other hand - that is an amazing car, struck me like the first IS did - as in - must have one!

So whats the release date on the 350? I think it might be time for something fast!!!

I'm really liking those alloys - still wondering what it would do to the mpg though?

I'd be down for some 20" alloys too - my only concerns would be reduced mpg and reduced ride quality - what are your thoughts?

to be honest i'll have to agree with the sentiment that it doesn't have me running for my cheque book like the old one did. However, the 350 could be well worth while. Whats the release date on that?

thanks for the responses! I'm going into the garage tomorrow - has anyone else got any suggestions so I can get them to check it all out? Cheers!