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As Alan said, depends on your appetite for risk, or more specifically what you have in the bank and what you are prepared to spend. A three year old Lexus is highly unlikely to go wrong, but if you suddenly faced with say a £2000 bill for a new infotainment screen, have you got that sitting in an account? If you've bought a car with every last penny you could scrape together, something like that could be disastrous. If you've bought comfortably within your means, than probably not; it'd be annoying, but doable. Things do go wrong on cars, it's sadly unavoidable, but with Lexus you are at least minimising the risk. You read some dreadful stories on Honest John of people who have stretched themselves to get a used car they crave then have a unexpected big bill, or have bought something major ticket (mostly Land Rover products it seems) and have no choice really but to stump up out of warranty. If it's any comfort, my IS was seventeen when I sold it, so had no possibility of a warranty, not even after market - and I never had any doubts about that. ☺️

I saw in one video - again a US one - that the 2.5 ICE is "all new". Is this genuinely "all new", or do they mean "all new" to the US market, i.e. the 2AR-FSE we have had in Europe for ages in the IS300h and GS300h?

Indeed. Makes me wish I had worked harder at school, or had more natural talent, or was just luckier. Instead, I live a vicarious life via YouTube...

Bit of an update for any one suffering a pothole destroyed tyre: it's taken four months, but today I have received and email from Skanska (the pothole contractor in Hampshire) saying they will pay my claim. Funny that they - or rather their insurers - admit no liability, but are paying me for a tyre and tracking. Presumably out of pure altruism... Driving home from my son's place the other weekend I was appalled by the state of the A-roads in Oxfordshire, absolutely shockingly strewn with potholes. Berkshire was little better, so that when I got home to Hampshire I was actually quite relieved!

Willing co-driver here! Mind you, if someone as experienced as Harry sounds slightly tremulous at the sight of oncoming HGVs on a road covered by sheet ice, may be I will duck out this time, washing my hair or something... 😉

Some of you will know of Harry Metcalf (founder and long-time editor of Evo magazine, gentleman farmer, JLR SVO consultant and general go-to car collector and guru) who has - in my humble, but ultimately irrelevant, opinion - a simply superb channel on YouTube. Anyway, his latest couple of videos show him taking his eBay sourced £4100 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow to the Arctic circle, in February! Now, it's a good watch in itself, here in Part 1 and Part2. But I wonder, are there any LS400 owners here, who would fancy a similar challenge? It strikes me that that seminal Lexus is the spiritual successor to the Silver Shadow. If you have a set of winters, that is, or prefer to do it in July!

I think if you're unsure of a car's styling when launched, it's probably a good thing as they soon become familiar and so more agreeable. Particularly with Lexus of course, given how bloomin' long they last. I like Lexus are ploughing their own furrow, rather than the minisculely-iterated 'timeless and elegant' designs design of their competitors. I was fortunate enough to have a good pore over an LC500 not long after it was launched, and seen close up it is full of lovely detailing. It's a right peacock of car!

I hope that a figurative spin, not a literal one!

Surely you can't be questioning the integrity of the motoring press, can you? 😉

I can't contain my delight any more - and besides Lexus Blog will soon have the story - but spoilers ahead: LEXUS RC-F WIN AT PAUL RICARD! What a fantastic race, everything that is good about endurance racing, all the ups and downs, the good luck and the bad. Six hours just flew by, and what finish.; unbelievable Jeff! A massive well done to everyone at Emil Frey, magnificent job.

I'm not really a fan of wood in modern cars - seems a bit incongruous these days to me - but I love the bamboo trim being offered in this new ES. Quite a handsome car all round. Interesting to watch one US video the reporter said Lexus had put an embargo on describing the drive, apparently they want all the journalists to drive it first so we should start seeing 'driving impression' videos in a week or so.

I'm happy to pop over and drive it for you Alan! 😉 I reckon this time of year you can get away with once a fortnight or three weeks, but over winter I wouldn't leave it more than a week. If you can, leave the handbrake off I'd suggest (not possible in some modern cars I know, or indeed on my steep drive!). Isn't there something about the 12v battery discharging quite quickly on the Lexus hybrids? Sure I read that somewhere.

Lexus RC-Fs are in action again this weekend, in Europe and in The States. Following a first IMSA GTD victory last time out, 3GT Racing are now at Belle-Isle for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race in Detroit. Streaming coverage should be available at IMSA TV. Meanwhile, SRO will be holding the next Blancpain GT Endurance Cup race at Circuit Paul Ricard. The full grid of 51 cars will compete in a 1000km race in the wide, colourful expanses of the French track (thankfully without the chicane half-way down the Mistral Straight) that starts in daylight and runs into the night. And what a fine sight that is, GT cars racing at dusk... Emil Frey Racing finished an excellent third at the last race at Silverstone, completely on merit it must be said. Streaming is available on the Nismo TV YouTube channel. Good luck Lexus!

On this first point Malcolm, you can tackle it yourself (there is a video on YouTube I think) as it usually is one of two of the cells that fail, not the whole unit. Alternatively, this chap has been mentioned here - in fact I think he posts here - and is definitely worth a look: http://www.hybridbatterysolutions.co.uk Second point, yes I had a set of a aftermarket alloys with full winters and never had a problem, although admittedly in the time I had them we never had a serious winter here in Hampshire! From previous experience, they are day and night to summers. Harry Metcalfe got his Rolls to the Arctic Circle on winters (check YouTube) so that's good enough for me... ☺️

Hi Malcolm, welcome to the LOC. My IS300 cost me £3000 about five years ago. It was on 95k then and I took it to 185k; I sold it to a member here and it has just got through its MoT at the ripe old age of 17 (the car, not the owner!). In that, time I probably spent the same in maintenance. No older high mileage car will be big-ticket free unfortunately, but I never ever was left in the lurch by my IS, and I never hesitated to do 500+ miles a day in it when the need arose. They are superbly built vehicles - probably even better the older you go. Lots of good advice here when you've narrowed down to which Lexus best fits your need. If you want poke, may be a GS450h or RX400h might come into your budget, but more likely a LS430, GS430 or GS300.

I've no experience of Rain-X (apart from getting high on it when I applied it to inside of a persistently steaming-up car), but this has worked very well for me in the past: https://gtechniq.com/products/auto/perfect/exterior/paint/g5-water-repellent-coating-for-glass-and-perspex I have driven (in my sadly sold IS300) in some atrocious weather with this applied and no wipers were necessary. Needs redoing very four months or so. Oddly, it means when rain is light under street-lights you need the wipers more...

I can't compete with Stephen's composition, but from my back-catalogue of my mobile-phone Lexus shots, I offer this: Hopefully rich1068 sees this to see those winters being put to some use! £5 by PayPal if anyone can identify exactly where this is...

Lovely shots there fella, probably only improved by putting a Lexus in the foreground... 😉

A bit late posting this, but tomorrow is the second round of the Blancpain Endurance series, taking part at sunny Silverstone. Well, it was certainly sunny today - I did get a little bit rosy-cheeked! The two Emil Frey RC-Fs were some way off the pace in the morning 90 minute practice session, culminating unfortunately in one returning on the back of a flatbed. The pre-qualifying session in the afternoon was much improved with Christian Klien topping the timing for a while. However, difficult to read too much into the times as the teams heat-cycle tyres etc. But, fingers crossed the team are getting onto a flatter part of the Pirelli tyre learning curve and the fact that the Mercedes showed strongly shows Silverstone is kinder to the front engined cars. There is a small Lexus display in the paddock including an LC50 and an RC-F. Sadly, I can't be there tomorrow, but hopefully some of you LOC members might be there to wave the flag. I will be looking out for you on the live stream!

Fortunately I can bypass the M27 but a couple of lads I work with slog westbound every morning, I'm sure they'll be delighted to learn about that! Sounds like a hybrid would be ideal...

Hi Martin, welcome to the LOC. You'll not regret getting into Lexus, and the RC is a stunner. I'll look out for you on the M3 and M27 soon! 😁

Yes, I know it is Eurovision this Saturday and that most of you will be glued to it, but also going on this weekend is the Nurburgring24. And yes, I am posting because there is a spot of Lexus involvement in the massive multi-class field of 146 cars. You'll to need to look out for cars No.42 (RC-F in SP8), No.43 (IS-F in SP8) and No.56 (LC500 in SP-PRO). I'm not sure where you can see it, but usually a bit of searching on Google will get you a feed. This link might be worth a go to start with. What is the Japanese equivalent of "Forza Lexus!"?

Lots of horror stories I read on HJ website about the diamond cut alloys on Nissan Qashqai etc. Seems to be that a thin layer of lacquer just isn't just enough protection for wheel alloy in the UK's peculiar cold/hot, dry/wet. salty & stony road environment. That's said, Lexus OEM alloy seems (or did seem) particularly vulnerable, at least in OEM trim...

Winters off? In May?! That's done it! Keep those refurbs away from the kerbs, although it seems they have a magnetic attraction the more recent they are...

Zero confidence in their own products, absolutely shocking!