Ian J. Parsley

I have a 6, IOS 11.3, but needs to have that page open for me!

I'd be surprised (but some of you may well know better) if Lexus goes much down the "individual options" route for Europe. It's fundamentally not how they do things, and it makes each individual car considerably less profitable. When sales are relatively low to begin with, I don't know why they would do that. It's an interesting move but it's one of those - for me, the GS was absolutely superb and yet its sales dwindled.

Just to note also, if you are using iPhone you will need the actual settings page with Personal Hotspot open when you turn the car on. It's a bizarre quirk but in fairness that one is Apple's fault, not Lexus'!

I visit North America once a year and would on the basis of what I've seen there always have placed the ES more in line with the IS (a bit like an A4 versus an A5 sportback; with the GS more like an A6); so the idea is that in Europe the ES will align more to the (outgoing) GS? Likewise, I wonder how that is supposed to work. I guess it is worth a try?!

Apologies if this has been raised elsewhere on the Forum, but I spotted this week Lexus plans to offer the new ES in the UK from next year. How will it fit into the line-up, do we think? What type of buyer will it attract to the brand?

If you're going second hand there's no harm resurrecting a thread! You wouldn't regret blue, but note there are different shades (varying from trim to trim and no doubt also year to year) so be sure what you are getting. If you're going used, then you'd be better with Lexus for reliability alone. It's also more distinctive.

I've come to the conclusion the noise thing is a bit like living near an airport or a railway line - some people get really really bugged by it, others (like me - I live near a railway line) just aren't bothered at all. I had a four-hour round trip on Saturday (which is mammoth by NI standards!) and just don't notice it at all - motorways, expressways, major roads, minor roads, just not at all. I have Bridgestones, which are not ideal. I would agree that the noise is ever so slightly more noticeable than in an IS, but barely. Just one of those things, I guess.

That's an important point. You will pay a premium for being one of the first on the road. I enjoyed it once - but I'll not be repeating it! :)

Strikes me as quite normal to put a deposit down in such circumstances - it is refundable and you have the benefit of being extremely rare for the first few months. I did similar with the 3rd gen IS (I had the first in Northern Ireland and even a year on it was extremely rare - now you see them quite regularly). From memory my deposit was minimal.

I think they're wise not to go too aggressive - I liked the direction of some of the concept stuff but could I have seen myself in one? This'll be a X1-X2/Q2-Q3-level compact SUV and you can see immediately for the imaging that it's aimed at young professionals. The CT has been discontinued in North America, but then so has the A3 for example. So we shall see what happens there.

Many thanks for that interesting link about - likewise, I found no issue in snow.

Another +1 re tyres. I have Bridgestone. I won't have next set! Very interesting comparison. IIRC the sport has black tyres, which can look quite prestigious (to non-car people!)

It's in the eye of the beholder of course, but I'd take the NX any day of the week (and, by definition, Lexus folk are open to brands such as Infiniti, so I genuinely don't think that is bias). It's hard to discern quite why, but to me that Infiniti interior looks good but far from prestigious. Just a personal view, of course.

The other thing to note with Lexus versus the VW Group is there are far fewer combinations. Taking into account transmission, suspension, fuel type, drive, external colour, spec level, engines, interior trim and the vast array of options you can order an Audi Q5 in literally millions of combinations - there is a fair chance, unless you go for a really common combo, yours will be unique. With a Lexus NX, I estimate that total is below 1000 (as there are few if any options around transmission, fuel type, drive and so on, and options generally come as packs added only to specific spec levels). Many people like the choice Audi offer (and its sales have boomed even in North America) - but others like having the clarity of what goes with what (and, out of interest, Lexus is a lot more profitable per car). So there isn't even as much to discuss there...!

Yes, I could live without it, tbh. Just to note it was one of a few. Of course it depends on how important toys are to you (and you may find they are easier to negotiate prices on than the car itself, although that also depends on circumstances).

Yes, I have an F-sport but would also second that advice - take it on a good run. Doesn't bother me at all, but it does bother others! I'd go for Luxury or F-sport over Sport if at all possible. I seem to recall Sport was reasonably specced but it missed a few "luxury basics" like, I believe, auto-tailgate.

I do use the Connected Services, but of course it depends on what you're looking for. I use them sometimes because I just want to type in a destination without knowing the address (which you can do on Online Search); and sometimes when I have a complex day ahead I use it to send the journey to the car in advance (although admittedly I haven't done that in a while). On the bass, consider also changing the fader and all that. I have mine moved slightly forward.

I understand the "risk" is the CT will be "replaced" by a smaller (Q3/X1-size) SUV. I'm not totally opposed to that idea, although if it's as wild as some of the "CX" concepts I've seen, I'm not sure it'll work out well.

My implied comparison is with an IS, because that's really the alignment; an RX would be more a GS. What I am emphasising is having switched from IS to NX, although I notice there is a decline in power, it hasn't ever bothered me. So if you would be happy with an IS, I'd say 90% you'll be happy with an NX. It is easy to say "Just go for the RX if you want the power" (and that is indeed is my own inclination), but then it is considerably more expensive. So I guess what I am saying is, balancing it with what you actually pay, I don't imagine you'll be worried about "power" in an NX. As Paul implies, if you need a bit of oomph you can flick it into sport. All that said, I once drove to Morocco in a 65bhp Vauxhall Corsa. Anyone who thinks an NX lacks power, I urge you to try that...!

I honestly don't see the problem with the 300h. If you really want power, surely you don't want an SUV to start with? I don't find the NX300h much worse power-wide than the IS300h - the only major driving disadvantage, I find, is the turning circle.

There's a case for just taking the charging tray out of the car altogether (which can be done). Haven't quite got there yet, but it is somewhat ludicrous - charges very slowly and makes phone very hot.

I am just back from the US and would compare the ES more to an IS. It is essentially a more family-orientated car, from what I could see, with the IS more of a driver's car. I saw a good few GS models on the road there too, so would be surprised if they removed them (at least there).

Really the Luxury v F-Sport choice is subjective. I much prefer the look of the latter, which is why I went for it.

Just to pile on the agony, my NX has this. I find it useful when exiting as I often lock using the back door as I pass.

Yes, do be clear about how many services you actually need. If, for example, you are on a 15k/year four-year lease and you hit 60k miles, you are responsible for the 60k service even if you hand the car back immediately afterwards.