First_Lexus

I had Mesa Red on my previous NX. It’s a fabulous colour when clean and in the sunshine - very sparkly! Congratulations on the RX. You’ll love it.

Hideously off-topic, but…😆

I’ve been using Lexus Swindon since 2017 and they’ve never been anything other than exceptional. Used Aylesbury Honda for a good few years prior to that, also excellent. I’ve owned my 2004 MINI Cooper from new, and all the MINI dealers I have used over the years - apart from one poor experience in Milton Keynes in 2005/6 - have also been very good indeed. The only dealers I’ve ever found to be poor were Volkswagen when I had a couple of Polos and later a Tiguan. They were all hopeless (Keith Garages in Aylesbury and Citygate Chalfont and Watford). Either I’ve been very lucky or you’ve been very unlucky!

Agree. At delivery in November 2021 my brand new RX was about £150 per month cheaper than a pre-order on an equivalent spec NX using the 1.9% Lexus PCP. I wasn’t looking for an RX - I’d actually decided to keep my previous NX 300h - but the deal was almost impossible to turn down. Reading the above posts I’m pleased I bought the RX. I hate tech at the best of times, and certainly don’t understand most of it - and at least the RX screen and options were familiar to me after two successive NXs. It all seems to work faultlessly too!

Many years (and two subsequent house moves) ago, I lived in a village in Bucks. Nice place to live, quiet, not much traffic. Over a few days, and without warning, the local authority painted a whole load of road markings everywhere, including in residential streets. They were ugly - although hardly the end of the world - but more importantly they seemed totally unnecessary. They were things like white lines around the kerbs and driveways, 30mph on the roads (even though there were already perfectly serviceable signs for the speed limit). Nobody understood why they’d done it, so I enquired. “Safety” was the answer, so I asked for the evidence. They didn’t have any - no surveys had been done, nothing. I was actually concerned at the cost of the works as they seemed unnecessary, and managed to get it on the agenda at the public Council meeting. It turned out the works had been (essentially) done on the whim of one local councillor based on a discussion with one local resident! He hadn’t followed the correct rules in terms of sign-off for the spend, and he was admonished (on the record) for his actions. Fair to say I wasn’t on his Christmas card list… Even so, what really happened as a result? Nothing. The markings remained, the Councillor also stayed in post and was re-elected! It didn’t even make the local newspaper (and I tried to get them interested). I know we were talking about less than £3k but that wasn’t (and isn’t) the point. I wonder how many other local councils are doing similar, and people generally just can’t be bothered to dig and challenge. I’ve dealt with local Government a few times over the years and have always found it to be incompetent and wholly unsatisfactory. But where is the opportunity for change? In most areas local election turnouts are low and people vote (mainly) on national issues. In many ways we’ve only got ourselves to blame.

Speed limits at 20mph were becoming common in central London when I was regularly commenting there in the late-1990s and mid-2000s. They’ve gradually spread to other areas, and were announced in Wales to replace 30mph limits recently. Now it’s Surrey. Will the 20mph limit replace the 30mph urban standard in the next few years? Have to say, I’m unconvinced in many - but not all - areas. Just a few weeks ago I was hooted and abused for obeying a 30mph limit locally, albeit it was a BMW driver so I was able to ignore him on the grounds he was uncouth (there’s a word that’s vanished from regular use!) enough to be driving such a vehicle…but the point is, will these actually be enforceable? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/07/pilot-plan-20mph-speed-limit-country-roads-gets-green-light/

Certainly are. Sainsbury is now at £1.71.9 in Reading, down 5p for unleaded since Friday. BP remains at £1.75.9 but was closed when I drove past earlier as they are refurbishing the shop.

BP in Calcot, near Reading, continues to be 1p per litre cheaper than the nearby Sainsbury. £1.75.9 for BP unleaded this morning vs £1.76.9 for Sainsbury less than a mile down the road.

Have to be honest, I’ve never noticed from inside the car. That said, I usually have music playing…hard to hear anything over legendary sounds from Lloyd Cole, or Billy Bragg, or Elvis Costello, or The The…or Steps, S Club, Taylor Swift, Scooch…😆

+1, I’d love to have this even if just for a while. Superb!

I seem to recall listening to a theory that the conspiracy theories about whether the 1969 moon landing really happened were started by NASA in order to put conspiracy theorists off the scent of the REAL conspiracy…😆 That’s proper tin-foil hat material! I mean, it’s entertaining, but slightly worrying that some people must actually believe it… Not directly relevant, but this always makes me smile. As usual, excellent comedy probably reflecting reality. Has our politics REALLY changed that much since the 1980s?

Conglomerate

When I was working ‘ooop North’ I often used to stay in Peniston near Sheffield. It must take a special type of person who wants to live in Penist…😆

My RX has this, and you can’t hear it at all when inside the car. A neighbour has a RAV4 and another a Jaguar iPace, and both make a noise when at low speeds but it’s hardly something to get excited about! This strikes me as a ‘first world’ problem - and one that isn’t really a problem at all!

With the weather slightly cooler today, and mainly overcast, I decided to give the RX a full exterior detail (having done the interior a couple of evenings ago). With hosepipe bans likely in this part of the world soon, I thought getting her into top condition now was probably a good idea. The whole car, including all door shuts and under the bonnet, was treated to the following regime: - Snow foam, using Bilt Hamber Auto Foam; - Wash, using Bilt-Hamber Auto Wash; - Wheels, using Bilt-Hamber Auto Wheel; - Dead bugs removed, using Gyeon Bug & Grime (fantastic stuff, it essentially dissolves them without any pressure needed); - Windows, using Bouncers Look Sharp; - Water Spots (minor) using Gyeon Water Spot Remover; - Exterior plastics, using Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel (which has been my preferred choice for years); - Paintwork and wheels dressed, using GTechniq c2v3; - Tyres, using Bouncers Dress to Impress. The car was fully corrected and ceramic coated, using GTechniq Crystal Serum, by Chris at Summit Detailing in Weston-Super-Mare when the car was new. It’s the second Lexus I’ve had treated when new by Chris - who does an amazing job - and it’s worth every penny when you realise how (relatively) simple getting a superb finish is afterwards. Anyway, that’s been my workout for the day. She looks fine in the late afternoon sunshine…😁

Makes sense. As we all know, witches are made of wood…😁

Would that be the same Dominic Cummings who attended Oxford and read Modern and Ancient History?

On heat pumps, I had one in my last house. It was a new build, and the local developer (there were only ten houses) had installed them. Manufacture was Daikin. I lived with it for five years. To be honest, it was utter rubbish. It was cheap to run, but that is the only positive thing I can say about it. It took ages to heat the house, and when it got really cold outside the fan unit froze up and then shut down for 30 minutes while it ran a defrost cycle. It was also hugely unreliable - luckily all under warranty. Daikin came and told us all (myself and the other householders) that everything was working ‘within tolerance’ and that we just had to get used to it. Get used to getting cold they meant! I’m now back in a house with gas central heating and - regardless of cost - I’m happier as I know I can rely on it to actually work!

Asda are trying to steal a march on their rivals. Hopefully the start of a price war. They’ve now reduced petrol prices by 9p in a week. Unfortunately the old saying “up like a rocket but down like a feather” seems to be very apt for fuel prices. https://news.sky.com/story/asda-cuts-petrol-and-diesel-prices-to-help-motorists-save-money-12661418

Amen!

Love it! Haven’t had one of those for any of my three new Lexus so far…but I does indicate a random selection.

The market for used EVs seems to be pretty strong from where I’m sitting. Autotrader bought a cheap Nissan Leaf and did a series of videos about it. All that had happened was the range had reduced on maximum charge. As time goes on, either specialists will appear who can recondition/replace batteries at a reasonable cost and/or manufacturers will develop longer lasting and more reliable battery technology. Maybe hydrogen will also have a part to play in the future, maybe not. Time will tell. For areas of the planet that are more remote or that require longer distances - parts of South America, Africa, even Australia and the US - I would think there will need to be something other than the EV solution we see now.

Only ended up going past today - Sainsbury is £182.9 for unleaded. BP was £179.9, so I filled up there. What is odd is that BP in Aldermaston, which I drove past yesterday, was still at £1.95 for unleaded!

Afraid I didn’t see - I was headed towards the M4 so couldn’t see the Sainsbury price. Will be driving past in the morning so will have a look then and report back!

£1.79.8 for petrol at BP in Calcot, Reading this afternoon. Sign of the times that I was excited by the slight drop in price!