wharfhouse

I think the IS Phase 3 is ageing very gracefully - it still looks fresh and modern even though it's been out a decade now. Maybe because there aren't a lot on the road to get used to them, when put alongside any new car it doesn't look out of place and the lines still flow very nicely - well that's IMHO and what drew me to the IS in the first place.

And then another IS 300h parked next to me at South Mimms services tonight - so much for exclusivity... 🤣

Yes, been in exactly the same place as you. Had money ready to purchase a new IS when the Mk 4 was released but was not brought to the UK. Tried to like the NX, UX and ES (RX way too big for me) but didn't gel with any - closest was the newest NX 350h which some day I might possibly be able to live with but still prefer the IS style/size combination. Looked at alternative brands but as I came to Lexus for something more left field after a string of German cars (and some Fords and a Honda in the family) it would feel like losing that left field, slightly more exclusive feeling - and I think I would miss what has been its outstanding reliability. So - my decision is... to keep the IS until it isn't economically viable to run it, or something new comes along (Lexus or another brand) with many of the same attributes that really takes my fancy. After all, it's paid for - got a great deal on it when I bought it compared to today's ridiculous new and used prices, and no finance owing, £10 a year VED, although it's 8 years old with 138K miles it still drives like new (and I do get to drive new cars from time to time so I know what they feel like), and has the comfort and economy that works for me - and still maintains some exclusivity as I hardly see another on the road... And with the mess over EVs I'd now like to see what happens over the coming few years before placing any bets with my money on what might be the right technology.

Agreed that manufacturers need to keep improving protection, but my point is the criminal fraternity quickly either get one step ahead of them or if they can't will resort to more intrusive strong-arm tactics to get keys etc. which could mean losing more than just the car. There isn't a simple answer whilst such lawlessness is at large and the police do not seem inclined (or do not have the resources) to bring this under control.

Unfortunately our cocker spaniel would just go and lick anyone breaking in...

Yes, run-of-the-mill cars with some deterrents on is going to stop your average thief / joy rider who will look elsewhere but if you have a high value car, which are specifically being targeted (including Lexus it seems), adding more visible or invisible deterrents (whether by the manufacturer or after-market) isn't going to stop the illicit demand for these cars. If the cars become harder to take by "remote" means then the only recourse for thieves will be confronting owners in their homes for the keys / codes or whatever. So the only alternative is that owners of these cars will need to find ways to take these cars out of the reach of thieves, which may involve putting them behind upgraded security in their own homes, and securing their own homes better against break-ins (which for many people with high value assets they probably do already). Of course, there is a high cost to this, but if certain cars continue to get stolen to order, ultimately by thieves demanding the keys if they have no other way of taking them and the demand is still there, insurance premiums levied on these cars will likely to take them out of the reach of most people unless they demonstrabely can put the cars under much more security.

Just posted this on another post but thought it was relevant here: Just read about a car that was stolen from outside a house while the owners were asleep in the house. The owner had done what they thought was right - keys in a Faraday pouch and steering lock fitted. To steal the car the thieves simply broke into the house by forcing the back door, let the owners dog out to roam the streets to keep it quiet, found the car keys in the pouch, and took the car. The only other thing the owner could do would have been to keep the steering lock key separate to the car keys, but as they said they wouldn't like to think how they may have been confronted by the thieves in that case. I know in some cases thieves wouldn't want to confront owners, but the more one protects the car and the less they can get without entering a property the more likely it could be that thieves end up breaking in to a house to get the keys and then may cause physical harm to the occupants in the process... certainly stating to hear more of these cases where they know they can't get the car any other way than breaking into the house to find the car keys. Simple fact is whatever the manufacturers such brute force like this will always overcome it of they really want the car.

Just read about a car that was stolen from outside a house while the owners were asleep in the house. The owner had done what they thought was right - keys in a Faraday pouch and steering lock fitted. To steal the car the thieves simply broke into the house by forcing the back door, let the owners dog out to roam the streets to keep it quiet, found the car keys in the pouch, and took the car. The only other thing the owner could do would have been to keep the steering lock key separate to the car keys, but as they said they wouldn't like to think how they may have been confronted by the thieves in that case. I know in some cases thieves wouldn't want to confront owners, but the more one protects the car and the less they can get without entering a property the more likely it could be that thieves end up breaking in to a house to get the keys and then may cause physical harm to the occupants in the process... certainly stating to hear more of these cases where they know they can't get the car any other way than breaking into the house to find the car keys.

The only way is for people not to buy BEVs - the manufacturers can put more pressure on the government than the people. Once manufacturers realise that they will not hit the mandated government targets they will be putting on pressure behind the scenes. Of course of the public go and buy BEVs then it will prove the government right - so the power to purchase or not is always in our hands. I smiled at an announcement at the Tory Party Conference when there was an announcement that the government will be starting a campaign to counter what it sees as misinformation about running EVs - looking forward to what green washing they are going to come up with for that...

It will be interesting to see if the Conservatives actually follow through on any of these pledges (if re-elected) and if re-elected whether they can actually get local councils to align or whether the local councils will continue to do their own thing now the cat is out of the bag and they have had a taste of absolute power over us motorists...! A while ago I had an on-going conversation about a council car parking policy (I won't go into details here) over which I spoke to my MP and the Department of Levelling Up - the result from government was that they were equally concerned as I was over the issue I was raising but that they had no power over the local council to force any change - hence my comments above as to whether this is all words and councils will find ways around it all to hold onto their "power"...

ES still not outselling the IS, even the IS 2019 year when many IS owners would have been waiting the release of the new one before changing. I still believe the IS would have been a better seller than the ES - really don't know what the bean counters were smoking to make the decision they did... Wonder how many IS owners went to another marque due to that decision or even like me decided to simply keep their existing car rather then trade in against a new one?

Lexus is confident that there will be a market for such a car here in Europe, and it’s a confidence that’s been ratified by the fact it’s already over-subscribed. As it stands, Lexus UK has over 170 units already on pre-order, which is nearly nine times the typical annual volume of its LS flagship. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lexus/lm

Yes, I bought that too and concur it is very good and a reasonable price at Costco.

Yes it is - just if there was an LM in the future going really cheap...!

Never done anything special - don't see much need to as cars are tested in all conditions and this country doesn't have anything particular extreme - just keep to the service schedule - check and inflate tyre pressures as needed as the cold weather means they will naturally be low and make the screen wash more concentrated for when it goes below zero. I live in the south of England though tavel all over, however and if I lived in the hills in the north of the country I might consider having winter tyres fitted as I've had some problems in snow a few times on normal tyres. Been running my 2014 IS 300h for 7 years now and nearly 100k miles in my ownership (it's now done 136k miles - bought it 2 years old with 40k miles on it) and it's still on the original 12V battery and I have left it over a week in the summer and over a week in sub zero temps last winter and it started with no problems.

Could be turned into a nice mini campervan...?

Yes that's what I can't understand - Lexus decide not to bring the latest IS to UK/Europe as they said it won't sell enough and leave us with just the ES which is no substitute and doesn't seem to be selling that well, or multiple sizes of SUV - but then continue to have LS, LC and now this LM that all together will only make up a few sales a year...

Some car makers (like Ford) are annoyed but others (including Toyota) said they are in favour of the change as it aligned with the EU and other countries whilst the remainder said it will make no difference to their plans of when that will launch EV models.

Yes, can kicked clearly down the road - IMHO this is a sensible decision (along with the announcements about home boilers) - in principle I have no problem with zero emissions at the tail pipe (shouldn't just be BEVs but also hydrogen should be on the table too) but it should be led by the technology being better than what exists today, price neutral, and not such a jarring change in usability as what BEVs are today. I am sure the technology will keep improving and one day the benefits of EV (whether battery or hydrogen) will overtake ICEs and we will all be able to continue enjoying the same flexibility and immediacy that we have today. I'm sure another decade will see a lot of advancements and then the change will be driven by carrot and not stick.

I'm sure the insurance companies will be gleefully looking at how much they can raise their premiums by as accident rates start and to become "related" to acceleration... The boy racers will soon be priced out from owning any EV with a single digit 0-60mph acceleration in the same way as hot hatches went. Or perhaps the insurance companies will invent a black box that limits power delivery for new drivers - can't be that hard for EVs. At the moment the number of EVs is probably too small with a more affluent (careful?) demographic to have such data on but within a few years I'm sure they will have the data to backup the rise in premiums.

Yes Eco does make a difference - probably a few mpg as it reduces air con and makes the throttle less sensitive and uses the battery to support economy rather than power - takes a few miles of driving after switching for the computers to adjust to Eco mode. I tend to use this for general driving and move to Sport if I'm in the mood for quick driving and overtaking.

Best mpg is when outside temperature is about 20C - more and the air con reduces mpg, less and the need to heat the cabin reduces mpg. However, assuming you are using air con etc same as previously a possibility is that the hybrid fan filter has become clogged - there is a detailed thread on here about cleaning the hybrid fan filter. Although your year and mileage are low (I have no issues on a 2014 136k mile IS 300h) if you have had a lot of dust or dirt in the car from transporting things or pets for example it could be your problem.

Same here - it's surprising how much it will swallow.

In what way?

Yes the roof bars are like the ones I had on a Honda Accord - however take care fitting them as they can damage the area of the underside of the roof above the door where they clamp in place as the clamps there are thin metal (so they don't interfere with the rubber door seals) without much protection. On top of the roof ours had thick rubber pads so that part was ok. Also need to make sure they are clamped up tight as if they slip at all not only is it dangerous but it will damage paint.