I CU2

I have a 1G0 as well - there's two types of grey available on the IS. 1G0 is called Smokey Granite Mica in the USA and Granite Mica here in Australia. The other option is Nebula Grey which came out for the 2011+ models (1G0 was then discontinued in Australia - not sure for the UK), Nebula Grey is a lot lighter in colour. You can see the two here, the first grey one looks almost black where as the newer colour is more of a silver grey.

You don't have to take apart the entire headlight to change the ballast, you can simply undo the section that plugs into the bulb:

Sports models here in Australia are fitted with Alcantara, feels kind of like suede which I suspect UK models have too: Not sure what's the best way to clean it though but a quick google search show there's plenty of guides for it. Steam cleaners are good for cloth seats as it penetrates through the seats and is sucked back out, not sure how good it would be penetrating leather/alcantara though.

Worth it - adds a personal touch. Us Australians pay $700 to get the long styled plates that you Europeans have.

We don't even get the Accord Tourer here! I'm quite jealous of your markets broad range and especially the prices you guys pay!

None of the Japanese brands over here offer a good diesel engine. Nothing from Lexus/Honda. etc! It's all petrol or hybrid (we do get the IS350 though, took 5 years after the initial US launch though Pricing for German parts though are absolutely ridiculous as well as servicing costs - does the same apply to the UK too? VW destroyed their brand image here with that silly DSG gearbox and the issues it has caused people.

Hi everyone! I'm from Australia and I frequent the Australian/American Lexus forums as they have quite a bit more activity than they do here but I am genuinely curious as to why there aren't a lot of Lexus sales in the UK. I like to post links from UK sites showing Lexus' top positioning in reliability, owner satisfaction, build quality, etc. but it still doesn't look like they sell that much in comparison to its german rivals over there? Lexus took out best manufacturer in 2013: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/driver-power/63991/best-manufacturer-2013 The IS also came #2 in technology and build quality too: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/driver-power/63992/category-winners